Christmas is upon us!

Christmas is happening. We have snow and ice here, festive parties, gifts mostly purchased, some gifts wrapped, Christmas cards to address, Christmas carols are being sung, concerts attended, Pageant rehearsals, cookies to bake (hopefully), menus are planned...on and on!

If I don't stop to blog our Pre-Christmas happenings, I know that I never will once I am bombarded with the million of photos I will take on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.

A friend of ours from church does a Gingerbread party every year and we LOVE this party. She has a huge room in her house that she leaves empty all year until Christmas when she lines the floors with plastic, has long tables, chairs, boxes to be covered with graham crackers, bags and bags of white sticky icing and bowls and bowls of candy. She and her husband get such joy out of this party. You can tell how much they love it! It is truly every kids dream. We love to take our kids there because it is very freeing, meaning they can't really do anything wrong. Their gingerbread house is their own creation. Scott and I love this party almost as much as our kids.

Here are our creations:

Our entire gang (we had Lillian too)- It was raining candy at Lillian's house!

Claire really got into her teacher gifts this year. She really wanted to make hot cocoa mix. We went to great lengths to get all the ingredients: Dutch processed cocoa, powdered milk, powdered sugar and a pinch of cayenne pepper made our mix a one of a kind! I packaged it up with one of those popular coffee cups and some candy canes for stirring. I was really pleased with how they turned out. I hope our fabulous teachers enjoy them!

I hope you and your family are not going to crazy in the hustle, bustle of Christmas. It really is a fun time of year if you take time to enjoy it. I am typing that trying to remind myself of it! Our pastor reminded us a couple weeks ago in our sermon about how Jesus was really a fun guy, he enjoyed food and a good party. I think we can remember the manhood of Jesus at Christmas as well as him being born a baby. I think he would have appreciated the joy and wonder in my children's eyes as they viewed all those bowls of candy at the gingerbread party and I know he would love dutch processed cocoa. All that to say that because of his birth as a baby and his death as a man...we can live as FORGIVEN this holiday season. That is a true cause for celebration, don't ya think?!

Anniversary Thoughts

Today is our 12 year wedding anniversary. WOO HOO! I say this half way sarcastically because I know the people that have been married 60 years look at us and say, "hang in there...you've got a long way to go!" But I can rejoice in the fact that newly married couples can say "WOW!"

When I look back on my wedding day I have few regrets. We had a 70 degree day in November and were surrounded by friends and family. Other than the reception going by too fast I really did not have any complaints. And after being married only 12 years I can still look back at my wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses, flowers, cake and hair and still like it. I do not feel too dated, yet!

12 years ago we thought we were in control of our destiny--HA! Now 3 kids later we are living life together. Day by day. We have had a tough year this year. Our kids are growing up too fast and challenging us in all sorts of ways. We have been busy. Too busy. Often too busy to keep up with their growth. We recently went to a seminar at our church about "Sex and Parenting". It was like a date night for us. Childcare was free. We were cuddled up in the pew in our church learning about how to talk to our kids about sex. YIKES! This has made me realize that life goes by too fast. I do not want to have this talk, mostly because it makes me feel old. Don't worry...we aren't going to tell her EVERYTHING!!

So here I am, 33. I have to think about that every time I type it or say it. And I have been married 12 wonderful years to a wonderful man and I have 3 awesome kids. That makes me say "WOW!"

Reasons why I want to be married to S.S. for another 12 million years:

#1. He makes the best coffee

#2. He washes dishes

#3. He tells me he loves me numerous times a day, and he means it

#4. He loves our kids and would rather play with them than anything else

#5. He supports my friendships and my hobbies

#6. He will tell me when I am freaking out!

#7. He loves God and Praises God for answered prayers--even when I want to give him the credit!

#8. He is quick to say he is sorry

#9. He is just plain nice!

#10. He lives life with me. The joy and the pain. The clutter, the mess, the laughs that make us a couple. He is my husband. He puts up with me and I am well aware that I can be a pain.

If you remember, on our 10th anniversary we got a dog. I was not thrilled. 11 was uneventful. I might have to look back on the blog to see what we did. 12 so far is uneventful as well. S.S. has been working all weekend. We have not even seen each other at all today. Bummer. I do still miss him and I think that says a lot for 12 years of marriage. We generally do not do big anniversary gifts so no big deal. 12 is probably the anniversary of paper or cork or something cheap anyway! I am sure it is not the anniversary of anything I would want. So really all I want is another year of marriage. A year of growth. An increased understanding of each other. Another year to get to know each other even better. To know what challenges us and where we need to push one another. Or where we need to let up. To bring out the best in one another for another year.

Happy Thanksgiving

Turkey day has come and gone. I was too stuffed last night to be able to blog about it. Scott and I were having a "snack" with the kids around 5:30 last night and we all felt like it was about 9pm. We had a very fun day, but the girls were not feeling well and so we all went to bed early.

Here are some pictures of our day:

The kids table

Complete with hand painted pottery "china" and decorated with cornucopias thanks to Melanie!

Emma with her snowball! This was close to all the snow in our yard, but she was very proud of it!

Kids in the snow! Within seconds they were all geared up. It was truly amazing!

In addition to the Maynors, we had my grandparents, my Grandma Herbst, my sister, my Dad and my cousin Donnie. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Go Hoard!!

They are here! Go get some. That is if I leave any for you. My cashier today told me that he saw a box on ebay for $40 over the summer. If they are really that addictive, what do they put in them? Either way, I don't care. I am going to experiment this year with freezing them. I know you can freeze girl scout cookies so I figure I will give in a try. I would like to imagine myself having one ( or 10) this summer poolside! CAN'T WAIT :)

Candy Exchange

In my previous post about Halloween I mentioned a Delta Dental candy buy back! It does exist here in STL next weekend. So if you are interested here is the info.

Candy Exchange

What • A post-Halloween event to get candy out of the hands of children by swapping prizes and a medieval-themed fun fair.

When • From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 6.

Where • A hall adjacent to the Dental Health Theatre, 727 North First Street, on Laclede's Landing.

How much • Free. Kids get prizes for every pound of candy they surrender to the Dental Health Theatre.

More information • Visit ddhtstl.org or call 314-241-7391.

Halloween weekend

We had a very enjoyable, yet hectic Halloween! Saturday we had only 1 soccer game because Claire's got cancelled. That freed us up a bit-yeah! Saturday afternoon we had our first ever (since we have lived in our house) block party. As the story goes, if you want a block party you just better plan one! With help from our neighbor we got this party going with very little effort and had U. City block off streets, deliver tables, benches and trash cans. I love it when my tax dollars go to work for ME!

Lee and Scott--After the Mizzou loss. Scott still appears to be very happy. I think his Gators may have won!

Festive neighbors!

Sunday was a little less hectic which gave Claire and I time to take Blitzen on a jog and Scott to take Emma, Sam and Stanley to the zoo. We have not forgotten about Stanley!

Sunday night was lining up to be sort of a disappointment as all of our normal trick or treat neighborhood friends were going other places for their treats this year. This resorted in me making a last minute call to a friend who I know lives on a very kid-friendly block so we busted it! And it was good! And then we came back to our block to trick or treat from our neighbors. My kids are veteran trick-or-treaters by now. They do not stop until the pumpkin head is full and neither does Dad!

Here are our puppy, NBC peacock and Indiana Jones

Having 3 full pumpkin heads completed the evening. We had to get to bed. It was a school night after all. I assured them it would be waiting for them in the morning. I am not really sure what time the girls awoke, but all I can tell you is that I came downstairs and this is what I saw...
They had organized each type of candy into it's very own ziploc bag!!! Why can't this amount of organization go into their room! Claire said the funniest thing, "Mom, last year it was so hard to have to search through all the candy when you knew what kind you were looking for." To which I replied, "Oh, that sounds really tough!" And then there was the candy that did not make it into it's own Ziploc bag. Emma said it is the candy they want to donate to the homeless shelter. I am pretty sure shelters do not take candy. In fact, I have been down this path before. However, I do think Delta Dental does a candy buy back. I will be checking in to that!

In the meantime I am trying to resist the Reese's cups that keeping looking at me.

Hope you had a fun Halloween!

Think Pink!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I am sure you have noticed since practically everything in Schnuck's in pink. I am not joking. Here is a list of all things pink or pink ribbons that I have noticed in just the past couple of days.

1. Eggland's best eggs have pink ribbons stamped on each and every egg in the dozen

2. Chicken sausage at Schnuck's is in a pink package with a little pink ribbon on the corner

3. Pink reusable grocery bags--I purchased several of these last October

4. Tonight on the news I just saw a tattoo parlor is tattooing pink ribbons, for free!

I think awareness is great. That little pink ribbon is a universal sign and every woman knows what it means. Some know what it means more than others, but we all are aware of breast cancer and it's mean, ugly take over of women both young and old. It does not discriminate.

When you see this ribbon how does it make you feel? Does it make you want to go to the shower and do your BSE? If you don't know what that is, you should! Or does it make you pick up the phone and schedule your mammogram? Does it make you want to wear pink bunny ears and run a 5K in the St. Louis heat?

Today is October 21st. This is the day I lost my mom to breast cancer. She was 40. I miss her. When I see that pink ribbon I think of her.

My run

After months of training today was the big day. Since racing has become more of a mental game for me than anything else, I decided to play it extra cool. Race? What race? I am just getting up at 4:30 to go running....yeah right! Well, it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Along with prayer, music, more mental games, cheering from friends and family, perfect weather, God's divine intervention with my bathroom routine, a little help from my Garmin and my Sir Isaac Newtons!

Check this out

Yep! Let me explain these little boxes to all you folk out there who don't own a Garmin or don't run. Today I ran a half marathon (13.1 miles) or as the little box on the bottom left displays 13. 29 miles. This is because I like to round corners, etc. Either way this distance was from start line to finish line. And the box on the top left displays my time. That's right folks, I did it. I met my goal of finishing in 2 hours. My "official"time on the website is 2:00:18, but luckily the Garmin does not do seconds. And the bottom right box displays my average pace of 9:03 minutes per mile.

I am so satisfied.
And so tired.

Thanks to everyone who has prayed for me and encouraged me in little and big ways for this race. My friend Melanie has been encouraging me (and the rest of our GT study group) to look for windows in my day/life where I can see God's delight in me. Today was one of those days. I did not walk and I did not have any degrading thoughts in my head. I did not allow myself to beat myself up when I got tired or to even allow myself to go there. When I race, my experience has been that I have built it up so much in my head that I have to meet a certain goal or time, that I have made that my focus. Not on enjoying myself or other runners or just enjoying the experience. Melanie kept telling me to just have fun. And although she was not there this time I had her voice in my head and as I was running across the Mississippi river I actually looked at it and saw it's beauty. I enjoyed the other runners as I would choose one out of my pack to try to pace with. And I enjoyed the crowd. The signs were funny and I laughed.

One said, "Run faster. I just farted."

Another said, "If you stop this baby cries" It was a dad with a stroller.

Overall, the race crowd is a fun bunch!

On mile eleven I saw my family and Scott shouted "finish strong!" Those are great words. I mean that is really all any of us want out of life. We just want to finish strong. I took those words to heart and ran faster. The stretch to the finish seemed like forever. I could see the balloons, but they were very far away. Then I saw these 2 ladies that also had the same goal of finishing in 2 and I chased them. I had heard them talking and they motivated me. I wanted what they wanted and I heard one of them say "Oh we will finish this in 2!" That was what I needed.

There are a lot of reason that I run. To win the race is not one of them. Some people might find it silly to keep doing races when you are not even close to placing in your age group. However, I think signing up for the race is what keeps you motivated. And if you let the race be fun...you will always have a good run!!

First Pitch Fever!

If you know Sam, you know he is a Cardinals fan. For a 6 year old it seems a bit much. He knows practically every Cardinals player's number and he is always aware of where they are in the ranking. When he does not know something about the Cardinals he knows he can go to his PaPa Bill or his daddy for the answer. Our PaPa Bill is a HUGE Cardinals fan. He grew up in St. Petersburg, FL where as a young boy he could walk to Cardinals Spring Training and once he grew up and moved to upstate NY he continued to follow the games on KMOX. Scott talks about sitting in the car in their garage listening to Cardinal games because that was the only place they could pick up KMOX! So the history of loving the Cardinals is deep in the male DNA of this family. Which is why I am here to tell this story. The story of tonight's big event...

Back in April at a CCS fundraiser Scott purchases a package including on the field batting practice, 4 box seats and throwing out the honorary first pitch at the game. Scott purchased this for his dad as a birthday gift. PaPa Bill decided that he would rather have Sam throw out the first pitch and so the practicing began!

Here are my boys at the batting practice. We thought we got there on time, but we missed most of the Cardinals batting practice. Major bummer.

Although, we did get to see this guy...

Big Mac is back!

And although these guys are no longer Cardinals, we still like 'em!

Ryan Ludwick

David Eckstein

And Ryan Ludwick proved to be extra cool because while waiting in the batting line-up he replied to a shout out from our daddy and came over to sign a ball for us-WOW!

3 happy guys!

After the batting practice we got to go back to a hospitality room where Fred Bird paid a visit. Scott got some cute video of this that I will try to post later. Fred Bird gave Sam a lot of fun love! Then Sam was handed a new baseball and we headed out to the field to get ready for the pitch.

Here he is on the big screen, approaching the mound.

Although he was told he could stand anywhere to throw we encouraged him to go all the way to the mound. I mean, when else will you get to stand on the mound??! So he went for it. And much to my surprise the ball landed just 2-3 feet shy of the plate. Good job Sam! When he concentrates he uses his tongue and you can see that in this picture. Look at that follow thru.
After the pitch he got Salas (the cardinal who caught the ball) to sign that ball and he got a picture with him and Fred Bird.
This all went pretty fast on the field. It was cool to watch them prep the field. Grandma brought Claire and Emma and they got there in time to see Sam throw the first pitch.
We purchased extra tickets so that we could all sit together for the game. It was a great game. After a streak of loses to the Cubs, the Cardinals beat the Padres 4 to 1. We will take it!

And we got to see this guy too! Although not up close. Only through our zoom lens! We love Albert.
A very fun experience that I believe Sam will remember for a very long time!

Funnies

Just wanted to update the bloggy world. School has thrown us for a loop and we are not yet in any sort of a real routine. I have not really found a good time to blog and that is part of the problem. I am struggling with our lack of routine. Scott's schedule is unpredictable and that throws me off. I pretend to know his schedule, but I really do not. I am glad when he is home. I am especially thankful for him at homework time and in the mornings. Emma has been a stress lately and sometimes I just want someone around to validate my feelings. My feelings of "yes, she really is being sassy and disrespectful." Plus he realizes that if she does it to him it is 100 times worse when she does it for me!

I often times think I should rename this blog "Adventures with Emma" however that is not fair to my other 2 kids. I definitely blog the most about Emma. She challenges me in so many ways. God is working on both of us. We had a good cry together last week. I won't tell you who cried first, but I will tell you that she made up first and that softened my heart toward her.

I have not been taking many pictures lately and the good ones I have on my iphone won't upload tonight so I have posted some funny pictures taken over the summer.

This is a picture of Sam or Samantha as we like to call him when he is dressed up as a girl! So funny!

And while I am on Sam I have to quote the funniest one liner from him tonight. We were in the car coming home:

S: We had a substitute today and we have one again tomorrow. (sounds sad)

Me: Where is Mrs. W.?

S: She is working with those people in the closet.

Me: Heeeee, Heeeee (laughing uncontrollably)

Supposedly "the closet" is where Mrs. W. is doing some assessments of kids in the class. Sam told me he had already been to the closet and that he knew almost everything! Good boy. Funny story.

Here is a picture of Emma after she had tiny braids in her hair all night and took them out the next morning. Reminiscent of a crimp iron I would say!
Today was the dreaded picture day. Don't worry this above picture is not from today! There was a mini meltdown this morning because Emma went to her bangs with some scissors about 2 weeks ago. She has been wearing a headband ever since and this morning she just could not find the right one. We practiced our smiles at the breakfast tables. Everyone got to choose their own clothes. Scott commented, "Whoever started picture day?" I thought, good question. It has been around for a long time. Even one room school houses generally had a class picture. Anyway if you want to hear a funny song about picture day check out Justin Robert's song "Picture Day" it will crack you up. If I knew how to link you there I would. Maybe someone out there in blog world could teach me how to do that. At this point I am glad just to have a new post!

And my friend Amy is contagious. Last week everything in her house and both of her vehicles were breaking and now she has passed it to me. My microwave broke and I have a leaking pipe under my kitchen sink!

And I am not contagious, but I sound like I might be. Ragweed is because of the fall. I am allergic to it. Big time. Miserable. I can hardly think about going outside or running which is bad for my training. Lewis and Clark October 3rd- be there! I feel like I am putting subliminal messages in this post.

And my girls are getting a new room. It might be post worthy. Depends how it turns out. I think it is going to be good. Scott is not so sure, but he is trusting me!

And..............

I will save it for another night.

The night before the big day!

We have had a great summer! We have had a lot of fun and a lot of freedom. We have slept late, gone to bed late, had a messy house, made smoothies, baked cakes and such, built forts, played with cousins, had birthdays, taken trips, caught bugs and butterflies, learned dives and back flips, rode in an ambulance, got 3 staples in our head (Emma), played with Annie next door, read a few books, watched a lot of TV, got to hold a roman candle, got to go up in Sears tour, watched hours of Cardinals baseball, got our ears pierced (Claire), ran, went to the Y, went to Festus, played with friends, spent countless hours at the pool, did lots of "shows" and got great tans, BUT NOW IT IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now we are back to a routine. A morning check list of :

get dressed

brush hair

eat breakfast

brush teeth

get lunch

get folder and back pack

get water bottle

get clothes and shoes for after school practice

get shoes on

and run out the door!!!

There is no time for lounging around in pajamas or tolerance for un-brushed hair and teeth! We must get there on time to avoid the dreaded pink tardy slip which is really more of a reprimand for mom that it is for the kids, let's face that fact. And tomorrow we will have to be more than on time. We will have to be early if we want to get a parking space.

Although I will miss our leisurely pace I have let a lot of things go that need my attention. My house is getting a little out of control. Particularly my basement. We need to purge a lot of things and clean with a shop vac if ya know what I mean. Your average Hoover cannot handle what is down there! I need to organize closets and drawers. My girls want a room upgrade that got started this summer but will involve painting their room which I quickly realized would need to wait until the fall. And I plan to make more freezer meals so that homework hour is not so tough with me trying to help all 3 and cook over an open fire. So there you have my to do list for the fall, along with do 2 Bible studies every week, walking the dog, train for a half marathon, help Scott with Acuity stuff, do laundry, wipe toothpaste out of sinks, drive the Gilbert Toodie (our van's name) shuttle, dust, vacuum, play tennis and watch the news. I do not read as most of you know but I do love to keep up with current local events :) Which brings me to my next list.

And along with my list of to-do's comes my list of worries. I am a little worried about my Emma this year academically and socially. She is worried too. I hate this for both of us. I am trying to not jump to conclusions because it is only the night before school starts and not the 3rd quarter, but I also know she is not where she should be. I am afraid that she has fallen behind this summer and I blame myself. I have nagged her to read, I have taken her several times to the library to find something she likes to read, I have brought 20-30 books home for her to try. I have extended effort. An effort that has proven to be unfruitful. She has no interest in reading. I have given up. I am praying that her teacher will not be shocked by her lack of ability to read. I also pray that she can foster a love for reading that I have been unable to do this summer. I joke a lot that I do not read. I probably need to clarify that. I do read. I was an excellent student. I just don't read for fun. I read to learn what I want or need to learn. I am resourceful. I have never been one to read fiction or get "lost" in a book. Maybe my Emma is the same way. I don't know, but I worry about her.

Maybe she will love to watch the news!

So as I fall asleep tonight I will be praying for my Emma. She is also worried about some "playground issues" that kept her awake last night. She is a very complex kiddo all wrapped up in knit pants, mary janes, crazy teeth and bangs. I know God understands her and created her as complex as she is for his glory. I know he knows what is best for her and I trust him with her although it is hard.

Each school year brings a new set of challenges. Each year they are older and even more complex. It takes more than a new backpack to get them ready.

We can do this! Goodbye summer! See ya in the morning, school!

Double Digits and a Golden Birthday!

I really cannot believe this. How did it happen? How did she get to be 10! Claire had her "golden birthday" today. She turned 10 in 2010! I could go on and on about how big she is and what a great kid she is, but I won't. You already know!

This afternoon she used some of her birthday money to get her ears pierced. She really wanted this. Scott and I took a long time making this decision. Going back and forth about what age is right/wrong. Can she take care of them? Will she want to wear gaudy, big, trashy earrings?, Will there be earrings all over the house? We ultimately decided that we would leave it up to her. We said it would be fine for her to get her ears pierced if she had the money to. We did not want to give it to her as a gift because I wanted it to be her choice. She got the money and off to Claire's we went! Claire's is the piercing house of the mall! After Scott signed his life away and I approved the hole placement, they were in. She was very brave. Just a hand hold was all she needed. She even had an audience as we ran into Melanie and her kids there and they just had to stay and watch!

She chose some beautiful CZ studs as her starter pair. She has to keep them in for 6-9 weeks and I told her diamonds go with EVERYTHING!

Doesn't she look so big? And beautiful?

After she got her ears pierced she had a birthday party with 4 of her closest friends. We met at Dewey's for pizza.

Even 10 year olds like to watch their pizzas being made. Luckily it was not very crowded so the kids got to stand up here the entire time we were waiting on the pizza

After we had pizza we went next door to a new pottery painting store. The kids each got to paint something. They all did a great job and Scott was so glad the mess was not in the art center at home.

Claire and 2 of her friends tried to make a plate look like tie-dye. I think they used Raphaella's shirt for their inspiration. I am excited to see how they are going to turn out.
After everyone was done painting we headed back to our house for presents, cupcakes and play.

Claire chose lemon cupcakes with lemon frosting and strawberries. Olivia said, "Mrs. Smout those cupcakes look like store bought ones!" It may have been my proudest moment as a baker! Here she is blowing out 10 candles and hopefully making a wish.

Scott and I love Claire's friends. I am not sure if it is because they are getting older, but they are so sweet to each other and love to carry on conversations with us that we enjoy. After we cleaned up the cupcakes we watched them playing 4 square out of the kitchen window and it was amazing how they got along, no fighting, someone would get out and go wait in the line to rotate back in. These girls are also very good about including Emma and Sam. They played some Jenga too and then it was time for their parents to pick up. I would say it was a perfect 10!

Father's Day weekend

So far our summer has been one long staycation! The walls of our house have been closing in and I have been desperate for a change of scenery. Our good friends live in Nashville and it seems that most years we generally see them on the weekend of the 4th of July. On Tuesday night we were trying to make plans when we determined that the 4th was not going to work, but this weekend would! So like the great friends we are, we bombarded them, all 7 of them with only 4 days notice! They still love us...I think!

We got in late Friday night only to be awoken at 6:06 am on Saturday morning by excited children eager to play. We eventually hit the pool, having a great time! That was followed by a weak attempt at water balloons, dinner at home and an early bedtime!

Sunday was church, lunch out, Dad gifts and more playtime/talk time for the adults. Here are some pics of the kids with their dads.

Claire made Scott a duct tape wallet. It was seriously the cutest thing! She cut out pictures of deer and fish and wrote things like "hunter dude" on it with a Sharpie. She learned how to make it out of her Clubhouse Jr. magazine and was able to teach Jackson so Jason got one too!

We also got Scott the standard Dad day gifts: 2 ties, one FL Gator shirt and a pair of khaki's.
Out of the Ellison 5 I might say this guy is the cutest. He also gives his mom and dad a run for their money which makes me laugh. Rye is persistent they say! I say CUTE is what he is!
Jason got a variety of handmade gifts including a Mad Lib filled in by Annie. We brought him a bag of his favorite Kaldi's coffee which he cannot buy in Nashville.
So sad, it is time to go home :( Actually the saddest part of this picture is that this is the only picture we got with all the kids and I can't even really say that because baby Truett was asleep. Oh well, we will try again next time.
We were so glad we went. Not only was it great change of scenery but it was just a good time with friends from the past. Jackson and Annie are exactly the same ages as Claire and Emma. These are the people we lived life with when we were having babies. Ok, they are still having babies, but you know what I mean! Kim was the only person who could call me between 4 and 6 pm and know exactly what I was going through. I could vent to her so that I did not have to save it all up for my husband when he walked through the door. I love her, I love her family. And I love that my children have had much better manners since we arrived home! Gotta love the South!!

Feasting Fun!

This year while I was running in Nashville, my lovely husband was in the CCS gymnasium bidding on things! He and 10 of our friends went together to bid on the Fiala Feast offering. Jim Fiala, owner of 4 fabulous STL restaurants (The Crossing, Acero, Liluma and The Terrace View) kindly donated this to raise money for our school. It was a progressive dinner starting at the Crossing, Appetizers/salads at Liluma, pasta at Acero, main entrees at Terrace View and dessert back at The Crossing. The topper was that we all rode in an Escalade limo!! It was a total CCS prom! Cheesy you may say?! NO. You have just never rode inside a limo in which the interior changes color!!

Ana and Me outside "our ride"

The Guys

The gals

The food was all delicious. Our favorite entree (out of the 4 we got to try) was the skate. I am probably not spelling that right. The waitress kept saying, "When I say skate, you say_____." Can you fill in the blank? It is stingray! That is right, the fish you get to pet at the zoo! Down right delicious. I never would have guessed. I thought it would be oily and stinky, but not when cooked just right. Go to The Terrace View to give it a try!

I love food and friends and this night was the best of both. We laughed a lot. We were eating and laughing for 5 1/2 hours and it went by way too fast. It actually felt rushed at times. The only thing I did not like was that we would eat one course and have to be back on the move to the next restaurant. I realized that the thing I love most about eating out is having someone clear the table while I sit and linger. We did not have a lot of time to linger, but we did have plenty to eat :)