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!

CopyCat

It's been very busy times at school. We have a big building project going on. The 'wing' that my classroom is in isn't having construction, exactly, but we are having all of our cabinetry pulled out, plumbing work done (we have a sink in the classroom), new carpeting put in and painting done. Next year we'll have new furniture too. So this year- before the last day of school, which is Thursday, we have to have every last paperclip packed up. In addition to the regular end-of-year work, report cards and whatnot, it's been a lot of work. 

In the meantime, though, we had a nice visit last weekend from Kevin and Beth. They were up from Belize for a family wedding. They spent Saturday night with us and we had a fun time hanging out. Max was staying with his grandparents, so we didn't get to see him this time.

 After their visit I developed a cold that stuck around and really drug me down for several days. That was a bummer. I'm starting to feel better, but we did decide to stay home instead of heading to Iowa City for the weekend as we had been planning. It sounds like we missed a really good Arts Fest. But we took the opportunity to work on a project. We got the idea from Carrie's friend Samantha, who made a couple of these for her girls.

 Pete and Henry did the sawing and drilling while Clara and I went to Sharon's to use the sewing machine. I told Sharon about my fear of sewing and she set me right up and made me do most of the work myself. The hems are a little wonky, but I'm hoping nobody will be looking too closely.

That's it from us for now! 3 more days of kindergarten for Henry!! You'll hear from me again after that, probably.

Last Goodbye*

Way back in 1999 (or was it 1998?) I decided to pick up and follow Pete to Chicago. The first few months, while I tried to find a job (other than Barnes & Noble barista), I just stayed with him (and his roomies) in his place on Montrose. Pete was working in the International department at Shure back in those days, which meant he was taking frequent trips out of the country. I didn't really know anybody in town until Pete introduced me to Kevin. Kevin used to make sure I had something to do so I wouldn't get too bored and move back to Iowa. We'd go out to dinner or movies or to free shows at the House of Blues...(the benefits of working at Shure). I was with Kevin when we hung out and had some beers with the guys from Los Lobos. Cesar Rojas told me all about where to eat in New Orleans. (In case you wonder, he recommends Mothers for breakfast.)
Eventually Pete got moved out of International, I made more friends, Kevin got married and we became friends with Beth too. Together they made a friend for Clara (you've heard of Max) and now they're all picking up and moving to Belize to run a pizza joint. You know, just because. So Friday there was a going-away party at Pete's boss's music studio.
Michelle (Jonah's mom) came with 9-day-old Lucas. I might have absconded with him for a while. Can you tell I'm doing the "you can't have him back!" mom-block?
There was some playing of instruments. Here's Max checking out Pete on the drums.
There were several different arrangements of musicians throughout the night, but for a while these guys launched into "One" (U2). And it just seemed a little emotional.
You can see Jonah waiting patiently with his drumsticks there on his dad's lap. And if you look closely you can see Beth got a little teary watching Max dance.
Anyway....long story short....we're going to miss these folks. I know, now we have a reason to visit Belize (my intended honeymoon destination...alas) but honestly, in this economy?
I guess the best we can hope for is that they have happy reasons to come back, and maybe that Kevin joins facebook.
We love you guys!!
*And really Friday wasn't the actual last goodbye....we had a last-minute Moody's burger with them last night too. Clara just wanted her chance to say bye to Max. Hopefully Beth will post some photos....