gatecon- day 2

and so we headed into an unprecedented second day of stargate love!  the convention itself has always been an all-weekend event, but we've never felt compelled to throw in our lot for more than one day until this year.  it was long heralded as the last year they would have the convention, but over the weekend it was announced by the promoters that, due to the overwhelming response from fans, they would actually have one more.  i have mixed feelings about this announcement.  on one hand, i'm glad that i can look forward to going again next year, but on the other hand, jon and i both felt a little bit cheated by their claims that this was going to be the last year...  oh well, we figured we would just kick back and enjoy ourselves and worry about next year when it happens.
again there were some great guests who came to share and talk about all their stargate memories and what they are up to now.  we stopped by the merch tables one last time.  i had a little bit of money left, so i fixed that problem immediately!  we headed out right away at the end of the day so we could hit the road- we both had to work the next day and our homes were a time zone away!
i have a feeling that if they want to keep having conventions, jon and i will keep showing up...
(more pics)

a knight to remember

with the con over for the day and nothing else to do, jon and i decided to head over to schaumburg for the evening and see what was shakin.  one of the attractions around there is medieval times.  I had never been there before but jon had and was totally up for going again.  he even offered to spring for my ticket as a belated birthday gift.  well, ok, twist my arm!
i kind of knew what i was in for, but the reality of it is so much cooler than i expected.  about the only experience i've ever had with it is what they featured in that jim carrey movie 'cable guy'.  they mocked it pretty mercilessly, so i didn't really take it very seriously.  we got in there and wandered around in the lobby for a while, it was pretty cool, the whole place was decorated like a castle and you could go look at the horses or wander through the 'dungeon' and see different torture devices from the era.  as the showtime got closer, the king and princess came out, heralded by the trumpets, and proceeded to announce different birthday parties- even knighting the birthday boys and girls!  finally, they called in the different groups for their seating areas, and the magic began.  like i said, i knew it would be kind of neat to see the horses and their riders, and i knew it would be kind of fun to see the whole presentation play out, but i was surprised at just how awesome it was!  at the beginning we were instructed to clap for the knight from our seating area, so i did, politely.  but by the time the jousting and hand to hand combat was underway i was swept up in it and cheering and screaming for our guy!  it really draws you in!  the food was good and we had so much fun watching and cheering along to the two hour show!  i am definitely going to have to come back with ledger and diana sometime soon!
(more pics: 1, 2)

gatecon krispie

on our way to the hotel we stopped at a convenience store to get a few treats for the night.  jon, who always has a flair for the extreme, decided he would get the biggest treat there ever was: a huge rice krispies treat!  he was so thrilled about his find that it became the source of hilarity through out the rest of our weekend.  as you can see by the picture, he was very proud to be the new owner of the most ridiculously large rice krispies treat ever...  sure, i like them just as much as the next guy, but come on- that thing is absurd!  i told him he had to eat the whole thing and he claimed that wouldn't be a problem.  yeah, we'll see...
(more pics)

gatecon- day 1

we got an early start on the day so we could arrive at the convention before the first scheduled event.  we knew we couldn't check into our hotel room, so we just went straight to the venue and wandered around the merch room for a while.  as the first guest was getting on stage we found our seats, eager for the days' festivities to commence.  there were a bunch of fun actors from the different shows who had come to share some great stories and answer fans' questions.
one of the things that always surprises me about these conventions is the people who attend them.  now, i would assume that i know the type of people who would go to a stargate convention; initially i would picture a 35 year old fat white guys who still live with their parents (...oh wait, this is hitting a little too close to home), but the reality is that its filled with many different kinds of people!  the majority of the people attending are actually women, couples, and kids too!
jon and i attended a few of the speakers, walked over to macs for lunch, then got to hear a few more sessions.  eventually though, we were both too excited about the hotel that we ditched the last one and headed out to check in for the night.  the closest place we could find available and cheap was about 4 miles away, so we headed out and started planning out our night.
(more pics)

last gate con

 i look forward to it all year and its finally here: gatecon!  i've been obsessed with the show 'stargate' for many years now and five years ago my obsession took its ultimate form- by attending a convention dedicated to stargate!  (yes, they actually exist...) and i happen to live close enough to one of the only ones in the world, chicago.  since the last stargate related tv show has been off the air for over three years now, the guys that put the convention on had declared that this year would be the last one.  after this, no more conventions.  well, when i heard that i knew i needed to make sure this one went out with a bang!  jon has gone with me to the con for the past couple years, so i asked him if he wanted to make a whole weekend out of it and go for two days instead of just the usual one day.  his response?  of course!  so we made our plans and booked a hotel room so we could stay the night.  then we patiently waited... finally the big event arrived and we were thrilled!  jon came down to pick me up and we were on our way!

big jet!

as i was doing a little organizing in the garage i came across a box of some of my toys when i was little.  there was a bag of old transformers toys, so i ruffled through them a bit and found a jet that i knew ledger would love.  ledger found another jet transformer a while ago at mema's house and really loved it- every time we went up to visit he would always want to play with his 'big jet!'  he and that toy were inseparable!  now, finding another one for him at our house, i showed it to him and he was thrilled!  this one is a bit sturdier, so he isnt constantly asking us to 'fix' it because he accidentally pulled on part of it causing it to begin transforming into the robot form.  its such a simple little toy, but it fascinates him to no end.  i kind of see myself in the way he can just completely lose himself in his own little world and play so intently!  i used to do that all the time, loosing an entire afternoon to a handful of micro machine cars!  (alright, if im being honest, i still do...)

monkeying around

after we hit up the museum, we headed over to one of the main streets in south bend where they have a few things for the boys to enjoy.  down the way was the south bend chocolate company, a cool little cafe that also has an ice cream shop and a play area for kids!  right outside the cafe is this funny gorilla, which the boys loved!  inside the ran straight toward the play area, but were quite easily coerced into joining us at the table by the ice cream we offered them.  after the ice cream was gone, though, they wanted to head right back to the play area!  tavish was all about the tall equipment, quickly racing around the structure and down the slide, but ledger was a little more hesitant and a little scared by it...  eventually the two of them wore themselves out, so we headed back to the cars and made our way home- exhausted by a fun day!

a day at the museum

one of the days that alanna and tavish were here, the whole family headed out to the health works children's museum in south bend.  ledger had never been there before, so he was thrilled when we got there- the place looked like so much fun!  toys everywhere!  one of the exhibits they had was a food market.  the kids could play with all the different types of food that they had; everything from fruit and veggies to bread and cheese!  with so many options, of course our boy latched on to the grossest and ugliest choice there was: a dumb little fish.  he then proceeded to carry that fish through out the rest of the place, showing it all the different attractions and activities the place had to offer!  by the time we had seen everything and were ready to head out, he was still chatting it up with his little fishy friend...  it took some real work, and lots of distractions, to finally convince him to set down the fish so we could leave.  for the rest of the day he whined about missing his fishy, and then proceeded to talk about him for the rest of the week!  i'm starting to think our boy has a one track mind...
(more pics)

tavish back in town

as summer begins to wind down, alanna and tavish stopped by for a visit!  it was really nice to see the two of them, and ledger was absolutely pumped to get to spend a few days with his best buddy!  it only took them about 2 minutes before they were back to their old tricks- running around, tavish being chased by ledger who just wanted nothing more than to copy everything tavish did!  the two of them played nonstop- ledger showing off his new toys and tavish showing off the new things he had learned since last we had seen him.  the two of them were inseparable- whether tavish wanted it or not...  for diana and i it was really great to see alanna again!  she has been doing much better, finding some great work thats kept her excited and busy, reconnecting with her old friends, and making some fantastic progress with tavish.
at night, after the boys were put to bed (or watching a movie with their grandma), we got the chance to use the firepit we had put in earlier in the summer.  one night barbara and james were able to join us, another night miranda and levi stopped by for a fire.  since alanna and tavish were only in town for a few days, they made sure to pack them full of fun stuff to do- at one point alanna and the boys met up with one of her friends and their kids and went to a fun waterpark and all the kids got to play in the splash pad!  its always so fun to see our boy playing with other kids and having so much fun!
(more pics)

fernwood fun

diana has always told me about the fernwood botanical garden and how she and her family would go there from time to time when she was growing up. she has always said that she would like to go there again.  it took far too long, but we finally got the chance to go there for an afternoon!  we gathered up all the troops- diana, ledger, mom, barbara, and james, and we made our way to fernwood.  it was a pretty neat place, there was a visitor center, and then you walk out onto a beautiful trail and field.  as we wandered down the path we came across a fun sculpture garden and cool outdoor train set that ledger loved!  as we got further in to the gardens we got to check out the bird sanctuary and the narrow path through the forest.  we came across an old fashioned water wheel and ledger even spotted a bunch of fish and frogs in the pond!  every stop along the path ledger wanted to show us everything he saw- he totally loved it!
(more pics)