Indiana State Museum

 


August 5th we got up and ate breakfast. We had a lunch date with my friends at Apria Healthcare in Southport so off we headed. They had reserved the conference room and had pizza, salad, cookies and soda just for us. It was super sweet of them to host us. It has been 6+ years since I worked there. It made me feel super special that they wanted to see us and set up the lunch.

After our lovely lunch, we decided to take the kids to one more Blue Star Museum before heading to Fountain County. We chose the Indiana State Museum. I had NEVER been there and I was quite impressed. The kids had a great time. I think their favorite part was the bird watching, searching. They had stuffed birds in the museum and the kids had to find them with the attached binoculars. They had several exhibits, but unfortunately no flash photography is allowed so I had to wing it and the lighting was pretty bad in most areas. I did manage to get a few decent shots of our time there. I am super glad we went. It was definitely worth the time we spent there and I got to learn a little more about my home State's history.

Aug 4: Soldiers and Sailors Monument

 


Downtown Indianapolis boasts Monument Circle and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. It's pretty hard to deny that this is the center of downtown and the heart of the city. At Christmas time, it is transformed into a very large Christmas tree. Our hotel was right around the corner and I figured it was the perfect opportunity to take the kids over to snap some photos. The kids weren't really interested in sitting still and letting me get the 'perfect picture', but there were a few cute ones in spite of the lack of perfection.

August 4th: Buca di Beppo

 


I don't have a sister. But if there was someone on this earth that was the closest person to that it would be my big cousin, Brenda who happens to be just slightly less than 3 months older than me. Brenda had to pick up her 3 boys from the airport in Indianapolis on Wednesday afternoon so it worked out for her to meet up with us for dinner downtown at Buca di Beppo for dinner before she headed back to Cincinatti. Her boys Jason (14), Josh (12) and Robert (9) were with her and we enjoyed a family style Italian dinner and then went over to Circle Centre Mall and the Arts Garden to hang out. It was great to get a chance to see all of them!

August 4th: Conner Prairie

 


After getting our pictures taken at Butler, we headed up to the Castleton area to meet my niece's mother so that we could take my 6 year old niece Ashleigh with us. I hadn't seen Ashleigh for about 20 months so I was really excited to get to spend some time with her and so was Ian. He LOVES his cousin!

We had looked up online and got a list of Blue Star Museums. These museums have allowed active duty military families free admission since Memorial Day and will conclude the program on Labor Day. There were several in the Indianapolis area and we decided that Conner Prairie was a must. I think it was possibly the hottest, most humid day of the year and it was still worth going. Conner Prairie is a living history museum that preserves the William Conner home. There are several re-enactments and demonstrations on site and there is a discovery center where the kids had fun with hands on crafts, etc. The kids made paper, performed a puppet show, and made a wagon wheel as well as dressed up in period clothes. Outside they were shown how to make a doll from reeds, actually got to milk a real cow and pet newly hatched baby ducks and chicks. We also toured the settlement and talked to the employees who were all in character. We found out that it cost 12 cents per night for a spot on the bed and were allowed to choose our spot. We saw how native americans made homes, went to the trading post and then escaped back to present day to enjoy ice cream. It really is a great experience and we were thrilled that as a military family that we were "treated" to free admission. Ian and Ashleigh ate it up and Aaron had a pretty good time, too!

Tastings.

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Location:W Washington St,Indianapolis,United States

Morton's and Tastings

 
 
 


One of my best friends from college, Jen, was able to meet me downtown on Tuesday evening for a night out kid free! Devour Downtown had started and we took it upon ourselves to get reservations to Morton's Steakhouse. We both enjoyed a salad, filet mignon, mashed pototoes and broccoli and chocolate mousse. It was delicious! We then made our way over to Tastings which is an interesting wine bar. You purchase a "debit card" and insert it into wine dispensing machines to get "tastes" which are 2 ounce samples of the wines. After sampling you can then sit down and order a bottle at the retail value vs the restaurant value and appetizers to go with it. We both really enjoyed our time together. It was great getting out and having some fun adult, girl time!

August 3rd: Indianapolis Zoo

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday morning started off in a not so great way. During our Indianapolis stay we made our home at the Conrad Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. It is easily one of the nicest hotels in all of downtown and has some pretige associated with it. Well, we were able to stay there at the government rate so we were hardly their normal clientele. But because we have Diamond Status in the Hilton family of hotels we were put on the 16th floor. This floor we later learned was shared by us and Anthony Edwards of ER, Top Gun, Revenge of the Nerds fame and his family. Yes, GI Bill and his family were staying with Hollywood celebs. So we tried to keep our children quiet. We tried not to draw attention to ourselves. We did an okay job of this until Tuesday morning.

We went to breakfast that the Capital Grille which is the ritzy restaurant inside the hotel. We went to eat and were sitting their listening to people behind us talk all about Hollywood this and celebrity that. Bill and I were rolling our eyes at each other. Little did we know that it was Anthony and his entourage. So when they all left, we were just enjoying some quiet when Bill looked up and told me that the dude from ER was in here and he just smiled at him. Well at least he thought it was that guy from ER. I laughed and told him that he was crazy. Then I caught a glimpse of the guy's profile as he left the restaurant. I told Bill that he had a striking resemblance and maybe, but honestly we were in Indianapolis and why would a celebrity of that caliber be there. So we finish up, charge our meal to the room and get our ticket for the valet to bring our car. We are standing out there when Anthony Edwards walks out and does the same. No doubt this time that it IS INDEED him. And his kids and wife. Whoa. And it was the same family that was staying on our floor. And then Ian BARFS all over the place right there in front of everyone. So much for being low key and not drawing attention to ourselves. I posted a Facebook status update and got all sorts of ER and Top Gun quotes. It made light of a very embarrassing situation and NO I did NOT ask for a photo.

The day got better when we got to the zoo. We were able to meet up with our friends from the pregnancy board that I was on when I was pregnant with Ian. Dawn, her mother and her two adorable children Michael (who is Ian's age) and Alison were able to enjoy the zoo with us. It was hot, but we had a great time. The 2 four year olds kept us plenty entertained!

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

Indianapolis downtown

View from hotel room



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Location:W Washington St,Indianapolis,United States

Aug 2: Indianapolis Children's Museum

 


The Indianapolis Children's Museum is the world's largest chilren's museum. I remember going to the museum as a first grader and have judged all children's museum by Indy's standard. I always feel like something is missing from other museums and taking my kids to this museum only reinforced my thoughts. We arrived at 2:30pm and left when they closed at 5. We easily could have spent 3 or 4 more hours there. It's that big! A lot has changed since the last time I was there. More exhibits, a bigger entrance... the list goes on and on. But we had a great time and I wish we lived closer. It makes me want to remind my friends in Indianapolis how lucky they are.

Indiana. We are here.

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Location:W 16th St,Indianapolis,United States

A day in St Louis

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St Louis!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

On August 1st, we stopped in St Louis on our way to Indiana and saw a few sites and took in a Cardinals game. The kids were in awe of the big Gateway Arch and went through the museum inside running from display to display. After the Arch we stopped at the Old Courthouse Museum and enjoyed that before heading over to Busch Stadium for the Cardinals game. The boys were ecstatic to receive a special issue Ozzie Smith genuine Build A Bear made especially for the St Louis Cardinals. They even have their own Build a Bear store in the stadium so we had to go get some accessories to go with the shirt that the bear came with. That coupled with an Albert Pujols home run topped off our day in St Louis!