What Will You Be When You Grow Up?

Last night, we drove down to Crown Center to take the boys to a little exhibit there. They had set up a walk-through for kids so they could try different careers...fireman, astronaut, etc. The boys had a great time dashing from one job to another. The first one was auto mechanic, complete with an "engine" to work on and one of those rolling dollies (?) that you could lie on and work underneath the car. Of course, Blane grabbed the tools and started working on the engine right away. There was also a NASCAR driver set-up, complete with sound effects--another favorite of Blane's. Zac liked the football player set in particular. Seth just ran from set to set as fast as he could. Anyway, the guys loved it, and it was free.

Next, we went outside to look at the fountains in front of CC. For those of you who may not have seen it, there is a large courtyard across the street from Crown Center. The front part of the courtyard has a rectangular grid of fountain spigots across it. These spigots shoot off at varying intervals (sometimes it is coordinated with music, most of the time, it isn't). It was a rather cold and damp night, so we were bundled up, and as soon as we could, we crossed the street to look at the fountain. Seth was running and lost his shoe just as he was about to hop onto the opposite curb. This caused him to trip and his shin landed in a puddle. But the consternation was soon forgotten as Daddy and Zac started to run through the grid, risking wetness and coldness. Blane stood with me, holding tightly to my hand and looking nervous. Scott almost convinced him to join them, but in the end, it just didn't look fun enough to risk it.

We went back inside and went to the gardens in the Westin hotel. There is this three-story limestone cliff inside the hotel, planted beautifully and with small waterfalls and a pool (not the swimming kind). I read on the plaque that this was originally a limestone bluff called Signboard Hill, that they build the hotel into. The boys loved dragging their hands in the pool, of course.

After that, we meandered home, but not before we passed some kind of disturbance on Ward Parkway with police blocking the road. We learned later it was a standoff with a crazy person. No guns involved though--everybody was safe.