PeanutButter Fingerprints: A day at the Con-Ag Expo

A big reason that we took Ethan with us was so that Grandma wouldn't feel over -whelmed by all three children, plus we figured that Ethan would be the best behaved at the Expo. We picked up our name tags the day before, which turned out to be a smart move because the line to get them the first day was a several hour wait. We got to the door and were informed by the guard that, "The young man needs a tag."

"I called beforehand and was told 17 and under didn't need a ticket."

"I'm sorry. I can't let him in without a tag"

He's six. Are you serious!!?!? We went over to an official booth that didn't have a line and told the woman the problem. She saw that I was pregnant, and we were both obviously just tagging along with Daddy. She took us into the next room with another line and brought us to the front. She explained to the other lady what the problem was and then as she was leaving she whispered to me, "I just saved you two hours." I thanked her profusely, and Ethan got his official tag (no, we didn't have to buy a ticket).

I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was A LOT of construction stuff. I'm interested in it only because it's what Michael's interested in. As it was, I got my fill of construction in the first half of the day. Ethan wore out pretty quick with the walking and walking and walking.

We went and had lunch in the Hilton Buffet, which was...ok. We met up with Russ and Michael who gave me the keys to go home. Ethan asked if he could play one of the games. So, I explained to him about the age limits, laws of probability and how casinos make all their money.

Since the convention was going on parking wasn't free unless you were a guest at the Hilton or saw the Star Trek thing. I figured, "Hey, tickets can't be more than $30." I took Ethan over to where it was and asked for the ticket prices. $35 for a child and $45 for an adult...oh and pregnant women can't go on... and children can't go on unaccompanied. Right. Like I would have paid that much, even with $30 off. That's RIDICULOUS!

Michael had the car checked into the Vallet and I didn't have any cash to give him a tip. I felt a little awkward not giving him anything, so I gave him my certificate for a 1 lb box of See's candies that's been in my purse for the last year and a half. He seemed genuinely grateful. I was just relieved.

Unfortunately I left my GPS at Karen's house so I didn't know how to get back. I called Karen, who gave me directions like I actually knew how to follow them. I feel pretty competent in many areas but when it comes to directions I am a complete RETARD! I thanked Karen, but then called Michael who stayed on the phone with me until he got me all the way to her house. Mental note: do not leave home without GPS. That Garmin GPS and Google raise my IQ by several points. I guess it's OK to be reminded of my actual capacities every once in a while. Eeek!

My nephew Jared had a Chemistry project due Friday that he asked me to help him on. I started thinking of what we could do....baking soda volcanoes are so overdone. He wanted me to show him how to make Thermite. Uh...no. I looked at a recipe online. It was fairly simple, but decided that if he can't figure it out...it's probably better off for everyone.

I bought a red cabbage for the pH experiment that I did with Ethan a few months ago. We took pictures for his report. He thought it was pretty cool as the purple liquid changed colors, but still wanted to blow something up.

Recipe: