Piano, piano

"Piano, piano" as the Italians say. In other words, "little by little." I'm so far behind on this blog that the only way I'll catch up is little by little! So here are some pictures from our Chicago trip. John and I went up there for a conference of mine. It was a fun trip--on the way, we drove through downtown Springfield, IL, to get in touch with Lincoln.

Downtown Springfield makes for a neat afternoon stroll. You can follow the steps of pre-presidential Lincoln, including his law offices. Okay, on to Chicago!


Our first stop in Chicago was Gino's East, which is famous for its deep-dish pizza. Though the decor, as you can see, is a little grungy, I highly recommend the food.


Here's John, showcasing the glory of deep-dish.


This was my favorite thing in all of Chicago. It's official title is the Cloud Gate, but most people just call it the Bean. I love it. It's just so big and shiny. Plus it reflects the surrounding buildings.


A nice view of the Chicago River.


"The theatre, the theatre. What happened to the theatre?"


Me all gussied up for a night out on the town.


The "L" or "elevated train," which serves as Chicago's metro.


We both liked these buildings. Look closely at the bottom levels--they're parking garages.


From Chicago, we drove over to South Bend to stay the night: John wanted to show me the campus of Notre Dame, which was definitely worth the visit.

The Golden Dome of Notre Dame.


The campus had many, many trees--it looked like a forested park. So since my feet were sore from walking in Chicago, I took the opportunity to recline by one.


"Touchdown Jesus", so-named because this spectacular mosaic on Notre Dame's library is in view of the football field. Despite the tongue-in-cheek name, the mosaic was a good reminder of Notre Dame's need/desire to focus on Christ as the center of truth, academic or otherwise.


John outside of ND's stadium. This is where the magic happens.


On the way from South Bend to West Lafayette, we spotted some unusual barns. Apparently it was a trend at some point to shingle designs into the rooftops. Can you tell what's on this barn?


On our way back from Chicago, we swung east over to Indiana to visit our friends Matt and Courtney (we met them when we were in Italy last year). It was our first time together on American soil! They live on a scenic little plot just outside of West Lafayette, near the campus of Purdue University. Their two kids, Nolan (4) and Meredith (2) enjoyed showing us around their turf. With the help of his father, Nolan even took us on a hay ride! Here he is, showing us how it's done.


In honor of our visit, Matt and Courtney orchestrated a BBQ over by their fire-pit. We enjoyed ribs and corn-on-the-cob, Indiana-style.


Meredith is quite the adventurer. She took great joy in digging under rocks to find bugs and caterpillars.


Nolan, making a car seat look cool.


They also took us on a tour of Purdue. On one part of the campus, there's a child-friendly fountain which Nolan and Matt took full advantage of. We thought we'd better get a group shot, so here it is. Again, we had a wonderful, relaxing time. If only Indiana were closer to Texas. Or perhaps we could start a commune in Missouri. . .


Nolan kindly took this picture for us--good job, Nolan!

A fun video

Here's a fun little video to brighten your day! Here's Amadeus doing what he does.

Amadeus, Jake and Andrew

Once upon a time there was a puppy named Amadeus.

Amadeus was a happy puppy. Mostly he was very excited to live on a farm, because he had access to GREAT BIG cow bones.


Amadeus' mommy and daddy even built him a room all his own that was full of toys, had plenty of shelter, and gave him a pleasant view of the surrounding fields.


Amadeus did not always like his new room, though, because he didn't like being alone. Even when his parents built him a big tall shelter to keep off the rain and sun, he was grumpy and went to his room very reluctantly.


Much to his parents' surprise, his favorite part of the room was not the nice shelter, the toys, or even the Igloo dog house that his parents got for free. Instead, his favorite place was underneath a piece of plywood, placed half-hazardly against the wall as a make-shift shelter. Amadeus was so pleased with this plywood and the soft dirt underneath it that his parents decided to leave it there, even though it was a bit of an eyesore.


One day, two boys named Jake and Andrew came over to play with Amadeus. He had great fun with them, especially when Jake would throw the ball and Andrew would go fetch it!


Here's a little video of his playtime with the boys.


But, whew, those boys had a lot of energy! Finally, Amadeus got tired and hid under the car so he could get some rest. He didn't come out, either, not even when Andrew asked him nicely.


Finally, Amadeus' mommy pulled him out so he could play a little bit more. And he did, or rather, he chewed on a piece of stick while Andrew played next to him, making pirate faces. The End.


To return to our standard blog narrative. . .
Here's our garden in full bloom! Some of you may notice that there are empty rows. It was a big garden--some of the seeds didn't germinate and others, well, didn't get planted in the first place. But we're up to our eyebrows now in zucchini!


And finally, a belated presentation of John's birthday gift from Tyler. Doesn't everybody need a collegiate garden gnome?


Hope you enjoyed the story and the pictures! Love, John and Lindsey.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Mom, we love you. Thank you for being so supportive and sacrificial towards us and for always being willing to talk. You actually like us and we like you, too! Oh, and thanks for giving it to us all these years. . .

Outside activities - bluebonnets!!

Well, we just finished up the bluebonnet season. Bluebonnets were EVERYWHERE. There were people parked along rural roads and busy highways stopping to take pictures. We had a beautiful field near us that we frequented.







We also had some friends out visiting us (and really, the bluebonnets). Their son, Cameron, hit it off with Amadeus. They were best buds by the end of the day!


And, of course, we had our quality time with the puppy.




John, like most good Texans, takes great joy in bluebonnet season. Isn't the field behind him spectacular?


Cameron walking Amadeus. He had to learn some finesse, since at one point he was literally dragging the poor puppy through the field, but he caught on.


After our friends left, the mower broke down for a critical couple of weeks. Amadeus LOVED romping around in the tall grass out front. Unfortunately, he romped through some grass burs and had to spend hours getting them picked out. And as we all know, that's no fun for anybody, including those doing the picking.


In pursuit of more freedom (the ability to leave the house for more than three hours), we are building Amadeus a kennel. Here he is on-site, helping John, mostly with emotional support.


He has no idea what's coming. . .


Okay folks, that's all for now! Love ya! Don't forget to look below for the exciting cow video!

Amadeus and the cows

The other day Charlie and some helpers came by to work on the calves. I brought Amadeus out for the show. It turned out that the cows were more interested in him than he was with the cows! I took this video from sitting on top of the fence post, by the way. It's not terribly exciting, but fun, short, and it makes one smile to see how many cows Amadeus attracts at the end.

Missouri pre-Easter

We begin this post with a picture of a moth. Not because it's a Missouri moth, but because its camouflage looks like a twig off of a tree. Very impressive, Mr. Moth! Alas, your camouflage fails you when you land on a screen door.


Here's a view from the drive up. We think this is Kansas. But it's still beautiful.


The second night we were up in Missouri, John and I drove two hours over to Hannibal to attend a retirement party for my beloved English professor from Hannibal LaGrange, Dr. McNutt. We had a great time--it was rather like a family reunion--chatting with friends and former professors. Here is Dr. McNutt with our crew of English (and formerly English) majors.


We returned home late Friday night, then all sorts of family members came up on Saturday and by Sunday, we were preparing for Easter the next week. Here are some snapshots of our egg-decorating party. Don't be troubled if everybody looks a little grim. Egg decorating is serious business.


It requires a small amount of adult assistance.


And long periods of thoughtful concentration, as Brooke here demonstrates. (Thanks to Neal and Theresa for coming up for the weekend and providing their two adorable little girls for photo shoots.)


But the final product is worth it! Aren't they lovely?


After decorating the eggs, it was time for the annual Plastic-Egg Filled With Candy Easter Egg Hunt (or the PEFWCEEH). Like every good hunt, helmets and hounds were provided.


I forgot to mention that Amadeus came with us up to Missouri. He demanded to be part of the PEFWCEEH, as well. I'd like to say that he found us some good eggs, but alas, all he found was Noah.


Would you like to try a poisoned app--er, egg, Nana? *Cackle, cackle*


Even the sick babies got to join in (referring in this instance to Caleb, not Ryan).


And don't forget the tractor parade! Oh, the memories you can create when a beat-up old golf cart is stranded, only to be pushed to safety by a big blue tractor.


After the golf cart was secured, Uncle Pat took a very excited Madison for a ride, as well.


After all the excitement, everybody needed a good stretch. Here are Seth and Ryan practicing their yoga moves.


Amadeus really enjoyed Missouri. He loved playing with Mom and Dad's little Westie, Dexter, and trying to run with the big dogs. But there were some adjustments. No longer puppy extraordinaire, Amadeus found that he had become just one more hound.


Sigh. . . .


But lest, good viewers, you think he suffered too much by being merely 'one of the canine crowd,' let these pictures assure you that he was not entirely out of the spotlight. Here he is making friends with the children. . .


. . .slithering out of Steph's grasp. . .


. . .bringing Papa down to his level. . .


. . .and in general getting himself into some extraordinary positions.


It's enough to wear a pup out, which made for a very quiet ride back home.