Catching up on June

I figured I should do a little catch up before we go on our big adventure. 

Last weekend was fun, with Amber's family in town for a wedding. They didn't stay with us, but we did get to see them a few times. We had hot dogs in the back yard and played some games on Friday night. Then on Saturday I had the pleasure of hanging out with little Louisa while everyone else attended a wedding reception. She wasn't very happy about going to bed for me, but Amber gave me the green light to put her in the car if needed, and that did the trick immediately. 

This past week has been busy. It feels like someone in the family has had a medical/pre-natal/dental appointment every day this summer. Monday was Pete's turn for a fun procedure at the hospital to try to figure out some of his gut issues. He rallied that night, though, and we met up with his parents and Liz and Vivian for a night at Ravinia. I didn't take too many photos, but this one captures the coolness of the evening. We were there for Esperanza Spalding. It was a great show, but both kids cashed out. 

 Tuesday night was Henry's last baseball game of the season. He got some good hits and did some fine fielding. I was most proud of him when he got out at second base and handled it well. Pete and I could see him taking some deep breaths- but there were no tears!

Vivian came to watch the game for a bit too. She was pretty okay with Pete...until she wasn't. 

 

Clara did lots of loving on her cousin. Hugging babies and toddlers is her specialty.

 Mostly Vivian was just go-go-go!

Last night was great fun as Kevin and Beth were in town from Belize. We only get to see them about once a year now. Unfortunately, with our packing and craziness we were just able to spend an afternoon with them, but we tried to make the most of it. It was hot, so while we waited for Pete to come home the kids played in the pool and then we dragged the little one over so adults could cool their feet while chatting. The kids wanted in on that action too...and Henry shared his Garfield books. 

Once Pete got home we all went out for sushi. It was delicious. 

Even though we had plenty to eat at dinner, I felt like the night called for ice cream....so we ended the evening with a stop at Baskin Robbins and a little playing at the Village Green. That should tide us over until we get to see them again next year! 

And now, stay tuned for short mobile posts from the road!

Summer Catch-Up

 Since the power can't be an excuse anymore, and the heat is keeping us inside, I thought I'd play some catch-up. Here are a few things we've been doing this summer. Not necessarily in order....

I took the kids to the Botanic Garden and let them loose with a camera and sketchbooks.  Now we have to get around to letting them do a blog entry with their photos.

 At the beginning of July we were in Iowa City for Jazz Fest. It was extra special this year because so many people were in town to enjoy it.

 There was also a new food booth with these hand-dipped ice cream bars. Amazing.

 We all gathered together for an awesome and loud display of fireworks.

 We had breakfast in Amana.

 Before leaving Iowa we spent a little bit of time with Adelaide, before she became a big sister.

 (Amber has since had her baby...another beautiful girl.)

 From Iowa City we drove up to Minneapolis for one night with Will and Sandy and then from there we went on to Hayward where we were welcomed by this little snake.

 We did lots of fishing.

 Clara spent lots of time communing with worms.

 Henry was trying to figure out what Franklin heard in the water.

 On the way back home we made our usual stop in Osseo at the Norske Nook. Clara and I shared this amazing piece of "moose pie".

 Oops....out of order. Henry caught a huge walleye off the dock. He's still telling people about it.

 

Before the heat got so crazy hot we spent some time playing in the pool in the backyard. We might need to graduate to a larger pool soon.

 

And, finally, we've had a couple of nights at Ravinia this summer. This picture was taken last weekend when the CSO was playing Brahms. Put Henry OUT on the blanket, and then they both fell asleep in the car on the way home.

 

That about brings us up to this week. Mostly we've just been trying to handle the heat this week...going to the pool early in the morning or late at night, grilling instead of turning on the stove, spending time at the library....

Right now we're waiting for Pete to get home so we can go to the pool!

Fancy

Here's my new group of rugrats. They seem to be a pretty great group of kids. Tonight was curriculum night so I had to dash home and get all fancied up. Henry told me I looked pretty. Then he asked why I had to get all fancy. Then he told me he had to poop and asked if it was okay if he did it in the bathroom I was using. I said "sure" and he said "but what if it makes you all stinky?" What a considerate little guy.
Last weekend we took the kids to Ravinia for a Ralph's World concert. A good time was had by all.
Our neighbor-friends came along and before I knew what was happening, Ed had brought back slushies for the kids.How are you gonna say no at that point?
I'll refrain from telling you about the poop Henry had the next day. Suffice it to say...I've seen a lot of poop in my life, but never one that color...

A Good Day

There's this Kevin Henkes book we love called A Good Day. Today was kind of like that, except without all the sad stuff happening at the beginning.
We woke up and decided it was a perfect Sunday for a breakfast picnic. Here we are about to head out the door and get in the wagon. I purposefully did not take my camera along because I wanted to first focus on my family and second focus on my studying while Pete played with the kids. For today's picnic we packed hard-boiled eggs and fruit salad and stopped at Starbucks for coffee, chocolate milk and a couple of scones. Delightful!
Bonus! It was Art in the Park and some of the booths opened early. We bought this beauty for $35! Love it.
After laundry/lunch/grocery shopping/naps we took off for Ravinia. They were performing all Tchaikovsky tonight and had activities set up for kids beforehand. Here's Henry playing giant bowling. He got a strike on his first kick. He was delighted with himself!
Then he told the balloon lady he'd really like a skunk. She hadn't made a skunk before, but incorporated a white balloon into her usual kitty technique and came up with this little guy for Henry. He named it Charlie and it is now sleeping on the headboard of his bed.
The coolest thing they had set up was the Instrument Petting Zoo. Henry tried out the cello and was told he was a natural.
He also tried the oboe and blew some nice sounds on his first try. They told him he was a natural.
And then we waited a bit to try out the French horn. The guy was duly impressed and said he's definitely a natural brass player.
We were about to head to a place to put out our blanket, but we got sucked in by the story-teller guy. He sang a little song about "cross your legs and put your hands in your lap" and even though he was the only kid sitting down at first, my sweet little guy was absolutely perfect. (Man! I love this kid.)
A couple other kids joined in and Clara toddled over too. The story teller told the story of the Little Red Hen, and sang a participatory song too. Henry soaked it all up.
Then we finally got our blanket spread.
After eating a bit the kids were restless. Pete took Clara for a stroll and when they came back I took Henry for a stroll. We found Bampa and Grandma. Henry sampled some of the desserts from their group.
We had lots of nice family time too.
Towards the end the orchestra was getting going on the 1812 Overture. Bampa stole Henry away to watch the cannons. Henry covered his ears, but was reportedly impressed. On our way out I took some photos of him up close with the cannons. In this shot he's demonstrating how they shot.
And now I'm hoping, once again, to watch Harry Potter.....they didn't have it in at Blockbuster, and the download is going very slowly....