Go Fish!

Beth recently took part in the First Grade musical called 'Go Fish!'. She did two performaces at her school, one matinee showing in the afternoon & a one in the evening.

This was a musical play specifically designed for the earlier school grades & included a Tuna Fish who couldn't carry a tune, a Star Fish who couldn't get an acting job, a seven-legged Octopus, a Zebra Fish with spots, & a Tiger Shark who wanted to be friends with everyone. The play was all about how the Tiger Shark & his unique collection of friends discovered how their differences made them each special.

The play lasted about 25-minutes & included 5 songs that the children sang. A number of teachers from the school (including the Principal) also took part in the production, playing the 'fishy' parts & telling the story whilst the children sang the songs.

Halloween (3)

As Halloween neared there were more & more houses being decorated in our subdivision. One of Mary's daughters, Angie came over to our house with her husband, Mike, & their children, Devon & Kayleigh, to go 'Trick or Treating' with Cheryl, Beth & Mary.

There were lots of houses where the owners were sitting outside ready to give the children candy. There was one house on the next road up from our house where the owners had dressed up & were sat waiting for the children. Their house had lights & smoke machines & if the children didn't tell a joke (a St Louis tradition) they they didn't get any candy.

I didn't get in from work until late & so missed the first round of candy collecting, but went out with everyone around a another part of the subdivision. We finished at about 8:00pm & the kids all got loads of candy!

Pumpkin Picking

Pumpins are a traditional part of Halloween, & there are a number of 'Pumpkin Patches' over here in the US where you can pick your own pumpkins. We went to a local patch a few miles south on Hwy 141. As well as well as pumpkins, they also had pony rides, a playground, tractor rides, live entertainement, & a farm shop where you could buy other produce grown at the farm. Beth had a ride on a pony & then found a 'wagon' so that we could transport the pumpkins back to the checkout. As we left it quite late to get our pumpkins there wasn't much of a selection, but we were still able to find three nice ones so we could each carve out a pumpkin & make the jack o' lanterns' in time for Halloween.

Halloween (2)

Cheryl & Beth went to The City of Kirkwood for their annual 'Trick or Treat' night just before Halloween.

Kirkwood, is located in West St. Louis County & was established in 1853. It is a 9-square-mile community with a population of about 30,000. There are over 300 acres of park land, including a large central park that contains an aquatic center, ice rink, outdoor amphitheater, ball fields, tennis courts, picnic sites, & playground areas. It was the first planned suburb west of the Mississippi River, & owes its existence to the railroad that passes through. The city was actually named after James Pugh Kirkwood, who was the engineer in charge of locating, surveying & building the railroad. This is probably the most 'UK' type city that we have visited so far as it has a number of shops along the main street, making it feel more like the traditional 'high street' that most UK towns have.

The Trick & Treat event is run in conjunction with the local businesses so that a safe, friendly, environment is created for the children taking part. Beth met up with some of her friends & they all walked around Kirkwood collecting loads of candy. It is advised that all candy is checked before the children are allowed to consume it just in case someone has tampered with the sweets. Beth had so much candy that it took Cheryl & me almost an hour to check all that she had collected!

Fall Colours

Autumn (or rather, 'The Fall), is a beautiful time here in the US & a lot more spectacular than back in the UK. There are certain places in the US such as Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Washington, & Minnesota, that tend to be fall colour hotspots, but even here in Missouri the colours can be amazing.

Certain leaf colours are characteristic of particular species. Oaks turn red, brown, or russet; hickories, golden bronze; aspen and yellow-poplar, golden yellow; dogwood, purplish red; beech, light tan; and sourwood and black tupelo, crimson. Maples differ species by species-red maple turns brilliant scarlet; sugar maple, orange-red; and black maple, glowing yellow. Striped maple becomes almost colorless. Leaves of some species such as the elms simply shrivel up and fall, exhibiting little color other than drab brown. Have a look at http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/fallcolr/fallcolr.html for a more detailed description of why the various colours are produced.

There are a lot of trees on the way to Mary & Tony's house. Mary commented that there is often just one day where the colour changes, sunlight, weather, etc all combine to produce a really vivid display, so Cheryl & Beth drove out so that Beth could take some photos. Since the photos were taken from the car at 55 mph, the full brilliance of the colours is somewhat lost, but the change from what seemed to be completely green foliage the week before was amazing.

Birthday Time

I had just celebrated my birthday before I moved to the US, & so with my first anniversary of living in St Louis rapidly approaching, it was time to celebrate my first 'US' birthday. As with most celebrations here in America, things are done in a much bigger fashion, which meant that Beth & Cheryl found some really cool twisty candles for my cake in a local party store. Although my birthday was on a Sunday, they baked the cake on the Friday before whilst I was at work, so that it would be a surprise.

On my actual birthday, we went to the local Pasta House Italian restaurant. I had previous signed up for their reward scheme & received a coupon for a free meal to celebrate my birthday. Dessert was a special birthday slice of strawberry cheesecake that was covered in cream & sprinkles & had a candle in it. Despite my protests, Cheryl & Beth were adamant that the servers should sing happy birthday to me. This meant that all the waiters & waitresses were now crowded around our table loudly singing the Pasta House's own unique spin on 'Happy Birthday'. Quite embarrassing, but pretty cool.

Guns'n'pumpkins

During our last visit to Tony & Mary's house, Cheryl started making a sugar pumpkin for Halloween. Cheryl had already made the outer halves of the pumpkin & the decorations (made from icing) to go on it, but could go no further as she had to wait for the halves to dry. We went back so that Cheryl could finish off the decoration.

Whilst Cheryl made her pumpkin, Tanya & Bubby played with Beth & did some art & crafts (which Beth really liked), I had a look at Tony’s gun collection. Tony has a comprehensive knowledge of guns & rifles, with his collection ranging from a modern AK47 sub-machine gun to antique rifles, (including British Enfields), some of which are over 100 years old. Most of these have seen action in various conflicts, but are all fully operational since Tony has skillfully restored them to a condition that is better than when they were new.

EFPD Backdraft Rodeo

Sherri, Steve, Jordan & Emily invited us to a local Rodeo at Lions Park in Eureka, which is about 10 miles east along I44 from where we live.

The Rodeo is organized by the Eureka Fire Protection District (EFPD) Firefighter's Association, & this year was the 14th Annual Backdraft Rodeo. Each show lasted about 3 hours & all competitors were actual cowboys & cowgirls making the rodeo circuit & competing for cash prizes and recognition. The Backdraft Rodeo is a Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association (MRCA) and American Rodeo Cowboy Association (ARCA) sanctioned rodeo.

The rodeo included a variety of events, some of which were individual competitions whilst others involved teamwork between the cowboys & cowgirls. Entertainment during the interval included a stunt show where a cowboy was whipping items out from his assistant's hands with his whip, & showing his horse control skills by jumping his horse into the back of a pickup truck.

Before the rodeo started again, a local ford dealership drove a pickup truck around the arena. Cheryl thought it looked really cool & was surprised at how cheap it was. One of the cowboys then followed after the vehicle throwing t-shirts into the crowd. Cheryl caught his eye & he threw her a t-shirt (which I think made her night!).

Another popular event was the calf chase. All the children at the rodeo lined up at one end of the arena & a number of calves were released in there with them. Envelopes were attached to the calves & if you managed to get an envelope, you won a cash prize.

There were a number of trade & food stalls at the event, selling cowboy attire & I guess what is 'traditional' rodeo food, including barbequed meat, beans, & chilli. We also had our first taste of Funnel Cake, which is made by pouring batter through a funnel into hot oil in a circular pattern & deep frying it until golden-brown. It is then covered with powdered sugar (& tastes real good).