Levi turns 10 at the State Capital Building

We asked Levi where he wanted to be at the exact moment he was going to turn 10 years old. He chose the Iowa State Capital Building! (We had been researching the capital building that morning and had watched a video of the renovation of the glass floor in the atrium.) 

 The view from inside up into the dome. They have spent many years now renovating the building and bringing it back to it's original grandeur. It is really impressive, much more than my photos can show.

 Levi, boy of the day, posing in front of a giant painting depicting the settlers coming westward in covered wagons.

 Exactly 2:18 pm on July 1st, 2013 we present out newly double-digit boy standing on the glass floor.

 Posing in front of the big bell (I think it was a bell off of the U.S.S. Iowa battleship..??)

 A replica of the U.S.S. Iowa battleship. I wonder how much model glue this one took....

 A better view of the inside of the dome.

 The law library. It smelled like wonderful old books, leather and wood policy. Absolutely gorgeous. I could have sat in their all day just staring and sniffing the smell of old knowledge.

 The staircases in the law library. These were all made entirely by hand. All the intricate carvings must have taken many years off the lives of the carvers....

 My happy boy, enjoying the library. (He was actually pretending here, in a rare moment of fun. Mama, take a picture of me pretending I am in time out!) Heh, who has to pretend. Just wait 5 minutes....

 A replica of the Liberty Bell in the parking lot. Chris held Ahren up to ring it. We were all expecting a weak pull of the massive clapper but he grabbed that rope and pulled with all his might. Chris almost dropped him, we all clapped our hands over our ears, and then Chris yelled 'Run, the police are coming'  just as we heard sirens. The boys lit out for the car like scared rabbits. The rest of us just laughed and laughed. The bell has a sign that says to try it out, but the boys didn't see that. Hahahahah!!!