Car Museums (a.k.a. Happy Father's Day Weekend!)

For the past 17 years whenever we travel to Mississippi, David always jokes about all the places up and down I-65 that we never get to visit.  We're usually focused on just getting there and rarely make stops along the way to sightsee.

On the spur of the moment as we entered Tupelo, MS on our way David said "I'd love to go to the Tupelo Automobile Museum."  I love a spur-of-the-moment idea any time, so we jumped at the chance.

Look at this smile

In addition to all the automobiles from the late 1800s to today, they had a "Salute to Summer" with a lot of Corvettes.  I think this was my favorite.

The boys had the chance to see some well-preserved antiques.  They were interested in the front hand crank on the really old cars, and all the ways the hoods and doors opened up throughout the years.

Look at David's smile - he is so happy to be showing these cars to his boys.

This is 3-wheeled.  It's hard to believe you need a license to drive it.

This reminds me.  I need to put "Back to the Future" on our Netflix list.  The boys would love those movies!

Because Tupelo is where Elvis was born, they had an Elvis tribute which Brennan was fascinated by.  "Did he really wear those pants and that shirt?"  "Why did he need such a big car?"  "How come I've never heard of any of his movies?"

One of Liberace's cars.  Notice the candleabra on the back.

On our way back we took a day and a half instead of our typical 1 day.  We planned a visit to Huntsville, AL and then spent the night in Kentucky which we never do.  We enjoyed the hotel pool at night and instead of rushing home the next day, we decided to hit 3 Kentucky locations that we had never taken the time to visit on our many travels. 

First up, the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. 

This museum is really well done.  Brennan especially was amazed.  "This car is so beautiful" was heard repeatedly.  The layout of the museum is terrific.

This was at the beginning of the museum.  This baby is waiting for its new owner to arrive and pick it up.

My favorite.

Yes, I was there.  And actually enjoyed myself!

Inside the domed part of the museum.

I love spontaneous stops along the way, so it was fun to get to see some places we've only driven by for years.  And my 3 men enjoyed it too!

I'd love to say I planned all this for Father's Day weekend though :)

101 Places to See Before You're 12 - A Newsroom

A NEWSROOM

For our 20th "101 Places" visit we were fortunate enough to get to visit a Newsroom! 

You thought there had been a lot more than 20 already, didn't you ;)

Uncle Jeffrey was nice enough to set up a tour for us at his old stomping grounds, WCBI.  While in Mississippi last weekend, we took a tour.

Thomas and Brennan in the lobby before we were met by New Director Russ Geller for the tour. 

Sitting at the news desk.  Wow!

The studio

The kitchen set for the cooking segments

The Midday set

Budding meteorologists in front of the green screen

I think David was most impressed with the weather segments, how the screens pop up for the meteorologists to indicate weather patterns and temperatures.

Behind the scenes with Russ Geller learning about editing, producing, and other important aspects of the news.

With Uncle Jeffrey, Ellie, and Taylor just before the live broadcast.

Anchor Aundrea Self just before the live broadcast.  Aundrea was so nice to all of us - we got to sit through part of her Live at Five broadcast.  We did a good job of remaining very, very quiet.

Meteorologist Courtney Cooper who we got to see at work backstage as well.

During a 2 minute break

A huge thank you to Jeffrey for setting up the tour for us.  We learned a lot and it was fun to be in a real newsroom! 

We'd also like to thank everyone at WCBI for spending the time with us.  What a great group of people!

Lastly, this is for my mom.  I've heard many times about her Saturday trips to the Princess Theater to see westerns and Elvis movies when she was growing up.  I was excited to see it was right next door to the station!

From the Book:

#65 - A Newsroom

What exactly is news?  Who decides what we hear about and what we don't?  How does the news circulate?  What's the difference between local and national news?  Visit your local newspaper, radio, or TV station to get "the real scoop".  You may be able to meet with a reporter or an editor, see a newspaper being printed or watch anchor people reading the news live.  Like a good reporter, you should ask a lot of questions so that you really understand what you're seeing.  Some media offer public tours; others may let you visit if you make an appointment.  Either way, make sure you follow up on these leads and get the whole story!

Mississippi Trip June 2010

Ellie (5), Brennan (8), Thomas (almost 10), Taylor (8)

We had a really great time visiting family in Mississippi this past week. We were sorry the timing didn't work out where we could see all of the family, but it was good to get home and spend some time with the Starkville crew, especially the boys' grandparents.

Grandma Carolyn made Thomas a birthday cake, which he decorated himself.

Brennan with Uncle Jeffrey's hissing cockroach

Daddy and son watching tv together

Brennan and Grandpa Don have a staring contest

Thomas with Dumpster

And we had to get a picture of the boys with kudzu.  It wouldn't be a trip down south in the summer without seeing kudzu all around!  This particular patch was in north Alabama.

We did a ton of sightseeing on this trip which I'll put in a separate post(s).

It was a really fun time together and we were so glad to spend some quality time with my grandmother, Mawmaw, who is not doing well.  We're praying for her!

The Day I Became "Mom"

While I'll celebrate THAT day that I became a mom in 2 weeks when my oldest turns 10 (yikes!), I'm really talking about a day recently when I became "Mom".

I noticed this spring that Thomas wasn't really calling me by any name.  I've been "Mommy" all these years and loved it.  I figured at some point there would be a transition, and I figured it was happening.

I've also been thinking that Thomas would talk to us about there being no Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, or Tooth Fairy, but he has not yet.  I think he still believes, or he's trying not to hurt our feelings so he's keeping it to himself until his younger brother is ready to admit it as well!

And that's what I think has been happening with "Mommy".  He didn't want to hurt my feelings, sweet boy.

And then he gave me a Mother's Day gift that he had made at school in art class.  It was wrapped and addressed to "Bonnie".  I knew then that he had not wanted to write "Mommy" on it and be teased by the other 4th graders.  So he played it safe.

Finally a few weeks ago I told Thomas that if he wanted to call me "Mom" he could.  He has tried it out and it works for him.  It still jars me a little when he says it, but I try not to show it because I don't want to hurt his feelings.  Gee, wonder where he gets it from :)

Luckily, I'm still "Mommy" to someone else - at least for now.

Lemonade, Blueberries, and an MG Update

Yesterday Brennan decided to build a lemonade stand.  These photos tell you a lot about my boys.

This was Brennan's idea, and Brennan did all the work.  Notice the box says "Bren's Drinks".

Yet, here is Thomas, somehow in the middle of it, enjoying the only chair while his brother sets everything up.

Notice the crossed legs.  He has a future in management for sure.

The boys lost interest before they had any customers (except for Mom and Dad).  We live on a very quiet street and I suspect everyone was at home having lunch after church or enjoying a Sunday nap.

Thomas took some great photos of our blueberries.  We have two large bushes in the backyard.  Many years the birds have gotten to the berries before they've ripened and we've had time to pick them. 

David won't eat them because he knows about the fertilizer and weed spray he puts out in the yard, but the boys and I have enjoyed a few!

I think Thomas did a great job on the photography.

We enjoy berries over ice cream. 

Heat 2 cups of any berries (we've been using our blueberries and the CSA cherries), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp cornstarch and 3 Tbsp water over medium heat.  When they're bubbly and thick, pour over vanilla ice cream!

In MG news:  David has been consulting all of his manuals - this is going to be a long process getting the MG ready to start up.  They did a great job cleaning up the gas tank this weekend.  And David sent the carburetors off to be rebuilt.

Here's Brennan stopping for a moment to brush off some rust.

Thomas was a little more into it, even pausing to get safety goggles.  Brennan's off again.

After a couple of coats of spray paint, it's looking good as new!