Day by Day

Morgan's "Where I'm From" Poem for Lit Class

2012-01-24T22:25:00.001-06:00

Love love love this! So sweet to see the world through my little girl's eyes.

Making Me Smile

2012-01-09T12:38:00.002-06:00

If you are considering making stilts from your Crocs, you might like to know that Coke Zero cans are not as sturdy as Mug Root Beer cans. Isaac and Ethan highly recommend a stronger can, so your stilts don't collapse. I absolutely LOVE the creations these boys come up with. They make me smile! The white tape, I was informed, is not for structure. It's only to make them look cooler (as if homemade stilt shoes weren't cool enough to begin with!).

Great Article on Gratitude

2012-01-04T08:16:00.005-06:00

I loved this article from Sunday's Parade magazine. A perfect reminder at the start of a new year. (Link to article: http://www.parade.com/news/2012/01/up-your-gratitude.html )

Lazy and Not So Lazy Christmas Break

2012-01-01T22:14:00.001-06:00

750 piece puzzle completed tonight...lazy. Four rooms of new hardwood floors laid ourselves...not so lazy. Overall makes for a perfect holiday break. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from the Three Amigos

2011-12-25T11:20:00.001-06:00

Feliz Navidad!

Look Ma No Arm

2011-12-24T22:16:00.001-06:00

Ethan: "It's okay, he's like the girl from Soul Surfer."

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-20T09:47:00.004-06:00

CHRISTMAS LETTER 2011:

Merry Christmas Friends & Family!
We moved! And that pretty much sums up the entire year; organizing, purging, fixing, staging, listing, showing, negotiating, packing, loading, storing, waiting, closing, cleaning, painting, unloading, unpacking, organizing…and renovating--which will likely continue for many months to come. Good thing HGTV is our favorite channel. It’s amazing how much effort is required to move five people a few miles across town.

Our favorite part of the moving process was six weeks of “homelessness” between houses. We passed the time in Brussels, Belgium where Brent spent weekdays working at his company’s European office while Michelle and the kids explored the country (poor Brent). Morgan’s friend, Ima, even joined us for the first week. On weekends we packed up our diesel Peugeot station wagon and unlike most Europeans, we drove! We took advantage of Brussels’ central location with weekend road trips to Paris (sunset atop the Eiffel Tower—très bonne), Amsterdam (charming bike rides--and unforgettable half-naked people in the park), Germany’s Rhine River Valley (amazing hikes to beautiful castles), and Belgium’s Ghent & Bruges (picture perfect postcard towns). We ate lemon sorbet and croissants to our heart’s content and discovered a new found love of real Belgian waffles, Speculoos cookies and Belgian french fries eaten with tiny plastic forks (yes mom, the fresh fruits and veggies were great too).

On the way home from Europe we stopped for a 24-hour whirlwind tour of New York City. Ethan was so jet-lagged he fell asleep standing-up in the corner of the subway station—among other places. But breakfast in central park and cooling off in a downpour at the end of a record heat day were memories well worth a little sleepiness. After a few days back in Chicagoland we headed out for one last roadtrip to Utah and then Colorado for the wedding of Michelle’s youngest sister, Rachel.

The kids love adventure as much as their parents and did great with all the travel and transition this year—nevertheless they were happy to get back to their favorite activities at home. Morgan is almost thirteen (7th grade) and constantly amazing us with gravity-defying gymnastics tricks. Isaac is ten (4th grade) and loving his travel soccer team, reading Harry Potter, playing the piano and creating with Legos. Ethan is six (1st grade) and proud of the one-mile and ½ mile races he ran this year. With Ethan in first grade, Michelle is alone on school days—but still anxiously awaiting the day she finally feels bored with nothing to do. Brent works in Marketing at Fenwal, Inc. by day, then puts on his paint jeans and works on home improvement projects at night. Despite our whirlwind summer he also trained for and ran the St. George Utah Marathon.

This year has been nothing short of eventful. As we head into the holiday season we are especially grateful for our Savior and the love, guidance, protection, comfort and peace provided us while making big decisions for our family this year. May you also feel His love and peace this holiday season and throughout the coming year. Merry Christmas!

Gymnastics Meet Season Begins

2011-12-11T10:09:00.001-06:00

Morgan's first meet of the season was yesterday. She's been with several of her teammates since kindergarten. It's amazing too see how far they have all come. Their routines are so fun to watch.

Shine On

2011-12-09T11:44:00.001-06:00

With 6 out of 10 lights burnt out it was time to take matters into my own hands. I'm happy to report the bulbs are changed and I made it down...but I really hope they last awhile, I'd rather not climb up that death trap on a regular basis. I had no idea that banquet tables weren't solid until I was half way up the ladder. The plastic surface is a bit squishy in fact.

Shine on vintage '80s brass light fixture, shine on!

My Kind of Town

2011-09-20T08:53:00.000-05:00

Last night Brent and I spent a pefect Fall evening on a cheesey (but fun) dinner cruise on Lake Michigan. What could be better than spending three hours talking with your one and only while enjoying beautiful weather and the beautiful Chicago skyline. I do love this city (and my one and only - xo)! Thanks Mom for holding down the fort.

Grandma? Is that you?

2011-09-11T09:51:00.001-05:00

Packing Light?

2011-09-08T15:18:00.004-05:00

My mom is coming to visit tomorrow, here's the message I got from her today,

"Hi, Michelle, it's Mom. I was just wondering if you have any 3-pound weights. If you have them then I don't have to travel with them. I'm getting all packed so let me know!"

In the past my mom's been known to travel with a full-sized industrial blender, her own mini-trampoline, fresh vegetables (not small snack-sized bags to munch on the plane but full grocery store bags of vegetables), 2-pound bag of flax meal, salt, green drink mix..and the list goes on. So naturally throwing a few exercise weights in the suitcase would not be a problem.

As you might imagine, she prefers to travel Southwest --where bags fly free.

Can't wait for your visit mom...and can't wait to see what comes out of your suitcase this time! Love you!

When the kids are all in school then I'll have time for...

2011-09-07T17:38:00.002-05:00

For years I've had big plans. Plans for what I'd do with ALL my time when the kids were all in school all day; Read, write, paint, organize, declutter, exercise, cook, be crafty...and generally just become the fabulous person I've never had time to become. Well it's week three and so far there has been no transformation. Just as I was about to embark upon my new life of self refinement we decided to buy a project house. All my plans have been put on hold and days are filled with searching for flooring, painting, decorating and other such fun. My to-do list is huge. Even with kids in school all day I don't seem to be checking much off my list. But this weekend (with Brent's help) we did manage to paint the front door and shutters (thus the photo). So although my kids are no longer joining me for midday trips to Target, I'm still learning to exercise patience. Rome wasn't built in a day and apparently I can't accomplish everything I'd like to in two weeks unaccompanied by children. Darn!

Before:

After:

Now...back to work on the inside!!!

Christmas is Coming...

2011-08-21T23:30:00.001-05:00

School hasn't even started yet (tomorrow's the big day for my crew), but I had to post this cute Christmas idea I stole from my friend, Melissa's, Pinterest board (thanks Melissa).

Wrap 24 Christmas storybooks you already own. Put them under a small tree in the kids bedroom. Unwrap one story each night.

Pure genius fun. I will be doing this. Maybe I'll wrap them this week so I don't forget. I hate it when I forget about a cute and clever idea I stole from someone.

Movie Night in Belgium

2011-07-13T16:27:00.002-05:00

Harry Potter 7 part two released today in Europe. Morgan desperately wanted to take the chunnel to London for the midnight showing there. We'd heard rumors of the huge HP fan party that it is. It sounded fun, but a lot of driving (4-hours) for a movie. So, we went to the 7:45 PM show close to home.

We LOVED going to the movies in Belgium. First, the regular popcorn was kettle corn style (sweet). Yum! Second, the seats were amazing. They were wide, with a nice wide armrest between, and comfortable mold-to-your-body styling. Finally, the screen was huge and sound system was great. Ah, perfect for the final chapter of Harry Potter. ...oh, and you get a reserved seat which was so convenient.

The only downside, using the bathroom cost $0.35 (as do many bathrooms in Europe).

Our movie was the "VO" version (version original) which meant it was in English with French and Dutch subtitles. We thought it might be tricky to find it playing in English, but apparently a lot of people like to hear the actual actors speaking, so it isn't uncommon for movies to be shown in both VO (with subtitles) and French dubbed.

We all loved the movie. As soon as the movie finished Ethan announced, "THAT WAS THE BEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE! WE HAVE TO BUY THAT!" He kept repeating it over and over. I have no doubt he is watching the movie over again in his dreams right now. After we came home I heard him in his room talking to his teddy bear and telling him about the show. Then during his prayers he said, "Thank you that we were able to see Harry Potter 7 part 2 because it was the best movie I've ever seen in my life."

The rest of us loved it too. Usually Brent and Morgan hit the midnight show and the rest of us catch it later. It was fun to see this one together as a family.

Amsterdam - By Ethan

2011-07-10T22:30:00.001-05:00

The biking was really fun we saw these trees that were dangling down into the water but one of them wasn't and we couldn't climb on that one because there was a party by it.

I didn't get to get my own bike. I had to go on a seat behind Dad. The seat on the bike looked really small but I actually could fit in it really well. When we were walking trying to find the place where we get our bikes I saw these two people a mom and a sister but the sister wasn't on the back, she was sitting in this thing where you carry stuff you need like a book or coat or anything like that. It was really cool and I was thinking about riding like that, but instead I got a seat.

We saw a giant chess and a normal chess. There was fake board painted out on the ground. There were still the same colors (black and white).

I couldn't really find anything to get for Amsterdam [souvenir] but then I remembered I really wanted this hat that matched my coat for winter. And I'll wear it all the time when we stay where our apartment is (I'm wearing it right now).

The boat tour on the water was fun. When were were in Brugge we were on a little boat tour and the boat was small. At Amsterdam the boat tours are big instead of small.

We went to this watch like store (we have the movie of it [The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom's House]), they had this button that makes this noise and it means to go into this hideout. The hide out was really small and damp and cold and wet. Me and Isaac got to go in it. There was this little way where everyone went in it to hide. People had to hide in there because there were people coming trying to kidnap them or kill them because there was a war. There was this part where they take them away and they say, "work is freedom".

I liked Amsterdam. My best part was going to the park where there was a big swing and Isaac pushed me.

Amsterdam, Day 2 (7/10/11) - By Isaac

2011-07-10T22:00:00.005-05:00

PANCAKES IN THE PARK - For breakfast we had pancakes in the park across the street from our hotel. The pancakes were like crepes, but a little bit more thick. I had bacon and cheese, Ethan had bacon, Morgan had strawberries and whip cream, Dad had ham and cheese, and Mom had apples. We all loved our pancakes. They were delicious.

I AM AMSTERDAM SIGN & PARK - In this park there was an "I am Amsterdam" sign that was made out of metal. You could climb on the sign. The I was the tallest letter and I went on top of it. Morgan climbed on top of the M, and Ethan climbed up on top of the E. Next to the I am Amsterdam sign there was a playground. At the playground there was this round swing. I pushed Ethan and he went super high. He was all the way sideways. There was also this net type thing that you could climb up. There was also a slide. The slide was very steep.
VAN GOGH MUSEUM - We also went to the Van Gogh museum that had over 200 paintings from Van Gogh. I love Van Gogh's style of paintings. I like his style because he makes gloppy blobs of paint on his paintings. I like that it gives the picture texture and makes it more real life looking. In the museum there was a treasure hunt for kids. On the treasure hunt they gave you a puzzle piece of a picture and you had to find out what picture it was. It was hard. If you did the whole treasure hunt and turned it in at the front desk you could get a prize. The prize was a little postcard with one of Van Gogh's paintings on it.

BIKING - While we were in Amsterdam we went biking because Amsterdam is famous for biking. There is more than one bike per person in Amsterdam. On our bike ride we rode our bikes around a gianormous park [Vondelpark]. In the park there was a river and the river had a couple of trees that feel over and were touching the bottom of the river and sticking out of the water. We climbed up on the trees. It was really fun. On the other half of our bike ride we rode around the city. We rode over steep bridges. It was hard. The bike ride was VERY fun.
I had a really fun time in Amsterdam. I hope we can go back again.

A Recent Jumble of Happenings By: Morgan

2011-07-06T17:30:00.000-05:00

I can not believe that I forgot to tell you guys about the sock monkeys Ima and I sewed while on our trip! They were a LOT easier than they look and turned out SUPER cute!!!

Ima left!! I am sooooooo lonely! Just kidding! I have my family to keep me company but I do miss her. She did make it safely to Sweden and is having a great time with her her grandparents. Right after she left, Ethan said, "Finally! Ima left! Now I don't have to be squished in the back seat. Yes!" I thought that was pretty funny. Later he confessed that he would miss her.

Yesterday morning, my mom made us Belgium pancakes (crapes) for breakfast. Though she is just a beginner, I thought that they were great. Ethan on the other hand thought they were just okay.

It seems like these past few days we have been just hanging out at our apartment watching "CBeebies" (A T.V. channel fo toddlers in English) Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Batman Begins or Gnomeo and Juliet. On CBeebies there is a show called "Small Potatoes." It has a very catchy theme song that we have been humming these past few days. Just talking about it gets it even more stuck in my head! "Small potatoes, small potatoes..." (See the link to hear it) Speaking of potatoes we have been eating lots of potatoes here but I don't know why. We have also been playing lots of games on our iPod Touches. One game that Ethan has been playing a lot recently is Tiny Wings on Isaac or I's iPod. One day when he was playing he said: "Dad. I'm playing a game called Tiny Wings but I don't know why it is called Tiny Wings. I think it is because there is this one guy and he is like this bird and he has tiny wings so he can't fly so he jumps off mountains instead." My dad and I just laughed though Ethan had no idea what we were laughing at.

Last night we were watching Lord of the Rings and my dad is totally OBSESSED with Lord of the Rings. He was on his computer while watching it and still said every line before it was actually said.

When we were still at the bed and breakfast, I was sleeping and my dad came over to my bed where he kept his cologne. While he was putting it on, I (kind of) woke up and said:"Dad, I can smell you!" and went right back to bed. I always smell his "purfume" and point it out to him.

I recently started reading "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl." I started it yesterday night and am already over half way done. I wouldn't be reading it so fast but we are going to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam this weekend and my parents want me to have a good time at the museum. They think that by me reading the book it will be more meaningful to me. I don't know. We'll see how it goes.

One strange thing about our apartment that I wanted to poin out is that there are 3 bathrooms, 2 showers/baths, and 1 toilet. Speaking of bathrooms, we ran out of toilet paper even though it hasn't even been a week. We got some more and it has astronauts on it. To my mom, I was like: "Poor astronauts! This is going to be a much harder job than landing on the Earth's moon." Maybe we'll get the dinosaur ones next time. They probably won't mind as much.

4th of July in Belgium

2011-07-04T22:00:00.000-05:00

We really missed our neighbors on the 4th of July! For the past few years we've BBQd together then ridden our bikes to the high school for the fireworks. Needless to say, there were no fireworks or BBQs this 4th. We thought about popping over to England to say "ha, ha we won!", but then thought better of it. So, we made do with a red & white meal (served on blue placemats) and red, white and blue sundaes for dessert. We were going to make a flag cake but couldn't find a cake mix or anything that resembled Jell-o at the grocery store. Since our kitchen isn't stocked well enough to cook from scratch, we settled on ice cream instead. Before dinner we took a walk through the beautiful Hallebros Forest. In the spring it is covered in a carpet of bluebelles, but now it's just a beautiful dense forest. There were tons of runners out and Brent was itching to sprint off and join them.

Ghent, Belgium - by Isaac

2011-07-03T22:00:00.001-05:00

Church--While we were in Ghent we went to our own church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). At the church there were headsets we wore to translate what the Dutch were saying into English. It was cool because we thought we were just going to be listening to Dutch and that wouldn't have been so fun. It was great becasue that way we got to listen to sacrament meeting and understand what they were saying. When they were passing the bread Ethan ate his and said loudly, "THIS BREAD IS WAY BETTER THAN OURS!" We all laughed.

Castle--We went to this awesome castle and in the castle was a dungeon. The dungeon was 18 feet deep and cold and dark. There was also a torture room. In the torture room there was a thing that would chop off people's heads and there was also a torture where they pour water down their throat. There was also a well full of water that they would drop the prisoners in to torture them.

Graffiti--The graffiti street was a street full of graffiti. You couldn't see as spot where there was no graffiti. When we were walking down the street we saw a guy spray painting graffiti that was really cool. The graffiti was kind of cool and it was on windows and doors and cement...it was just everywhere! It was so cool. There was so much graffiti because it was allowed (legal) on that one particular street.

White Tile Game--Whenever there is white and black tile in a church we always play this game where you can only hop on the white tile. If you touch the black tile you are out. We've played this a lot while we've been here. It's a really fun game.

Climbing the Bell Tower - We climbed this humongous bell tower. The bell tower had about a 100 bells. It was five stories high, but each story was like two stories high. The ceilings were like double size. While we were climbing up we heard the bells, they were loud and beautiful.

Eating Speculoos Ice Cream - I LOOOOOVE Speculoos Ice Cream. Speculoos is my favorite kind of ice cream. I love it so much because I love speculoos and I love ice cream. Speculoos is popular in Belgium. There is speculoos ice cream, plain speculoos, and speculoos cookies. It is just famous here.

Eating Belgian Fries w/Tiny Forks--In Belgium they eat everything with utinsels (even pizza). They even eat fries with tiny forks. We think it is kind of wierd, but here they think it's weird that we eat french fries with our hands. That shows how different our countries are. So we decided to try something new by trying to eat french fries with forks. It was fun.

And that what's we did in the city of Ghent! I had so much fun! -Isaac

Brugge, Belgium - by Ethan

2011-07-02T22:00:00.005-05:00

My favorite part of Brugge was seeing a guy play a weird instrument. We went on a boat tour. When we were on the tour boat there were two dogs in a window, one dog was laying there and sleeping on a pillow at the open window. At the boat tour when we were waiting for our turn there were bathrooms and it was really funny because there was no sink. There was another funny bathroom where the boys and girls shared one sink and the urinal was right by the sink (where the girls are too). When we ate dinner there was a rope that blocked you off from the upstairs like at Great America when they put a string in front of you and it means no more people can come in or a chain that means you can't go that way. Isaac and I couldn't get down from upstairs. So we just went over the rope. That's all I have to say. -Ethan

Lillois, Belgium (just outside Waterloo) - our new digs!

2011-07-01T22:30:00.006-05:00

We have a new apartment! It's actually quite large by European standards (4-bedrooms, kitchen, living room, two bathrooms). We are most excited about the kitchen and laundry. Eating out is great once in awhile, but after 10-days of eating lunch and dinner away from home I'm ready to cook again.

Morgan's room has it's own shower and sink, the hall has a tub/shower and double sinks, and the only toilet is in it's own little room (next to the hall bathroom). So, we have four bathroom sinks, but just one toilet. We all get a kick out of this European style bathroom set-up.

We are right on a busy road, so it isn't quiet and tranquil like the B&B was, but the slightly more urban feel is kind of a fun change. We were excited to step out our door and walk 1/2 a block to the bakery for croissants in the morning, but sadly found it wasn't open (it looks like it may be out of business). The train is just a block away as well (although getting around in our diesel station wagon with GPS has been so easy, we tend to drive everywhere).

Ottignies, Belgium - by Michelle

2011-07-01T22:00:00.003-05:00

The first 10-days of our visit we stayed at Le Manoir de Morimont Bed and Breakfast in Ottignies (just 5 minutes from Brent's office). Our inn-keeper, Gert, was gracious and kind and so sweet with the kids. He made them hot chocolate every morning for breakfast, and provided many typical Belgian chocolate treats for breakfast. They were in heaven with chocolate sprinkles on their toast, chocolate cereal and chocolate wafers to melt inside a hot croissant (mmmm). The B&B was up a tiny lane nestled in a forest with paths for running and walking. Brent had running trails to explore in the mornings, the kids and I had cool shady paths to explore in the afternoons. Best of all there was a river that ran right through the yard (or garden as the locals would call it). The kids made a lean-to fort in the river and had fun playing with the sweet dog, Ferrah. We are sad to say goodbye to the beautiful Le Manoir de Morimont, but it will be very nice to have our own kitchen again as well as a washer and dryer in the apartment where we'll be for the rest of our stay!

Morgan's French Lesson For YOU!!

2011-06-30T14:44:00.006-05:00

Imagine an English man sitting next to a French woman. The man wants to start a conversation, so he tries to get to know the woman.

"Bak dom? Escusemoua?"
"Oui?"
"Ah, bonjour. Como tally vous?"
"Bonjour. Bien, merci."
"Bien, bien. Esku voo company le engle?"
"No. Jne compapa le engle"
" Oui oui. J copo apu le francais. Ba tre bein!!"
"Hahaha! Oui oui. Esku vooset American?"
"Oui Madmouiselle. J suit American."
"Desole. J dois y aller! Ouivre! Merci!"
" Ouivre Madmouiselle, ouivre."

~~TRANSLATION~~

"Excuse me? Excuse me?"
"Yes?"
"Ah, hello. How do you do?"
"Hello. Good, thank you."
"Good, good. Do you understand English?"
"No. I do not understand English."
"Yes. yes. I understand a little French. Not very well!!"
"Hahaha! Yes, yes. Are you American?"
"Yes Miss. I am American."
"Sorry! I have to go! Goodbye! Thank you!"
"Goodbye Miss, goodbye."

J espere que vous avez appris un peu le francais! Restez branches pour plus de lecons de moi!

~~TRANSLATION~~

I hope that you learned some French! Stay tuned for more lessons from me!

Napoleon Who?

2011-06-29T14:19:00.003-05:00

Michelle: Morgan, do you know who Napoleon was?
Morgan: Napoleon Dynamite?
Michelle: No, not that Napoleon.
Morgan: Then I don't know him.

This conversation took place while driving through Waterloo, Belgium (where Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815)...maybe world history comes a little later in the middle school curriculum?

Speedos and Other European Fun

2011-06-28T14:18:00.002-05:00

Yesterday and today were hot hot hot. The thought of wandering the streets of a cute new town didn't sound quite as appealing while melting in the heat. So, we stayed close and tried to blend in with the locals.

Today we planned to visit the seashore (about 1-hr away), but there was a huge storm on the coast that was forecast to stay all day. So, instead we visited the local pool just down the trail from our B&B. We noticed odd signs that seemed to say shorts weren't allowed in the pool. Thankfully we saw many boys in board shorts, so surely they meant street shorts, right? After the kids had swam for awhile a lifeguard alerted us that the boys board shorts were indeed problematic, speedos were required for all boys. At that point I started noticing that boardshorts were actually male cover-ups. The boys would wear their board shorts while out of the pool with Speedos underneath. No need to worry the lifeguard informed us, for 1.50 Euro we could rent speedo boxers from the front desk. I looked at Isaac, and got a great big, "No way! I'm not wearing one of those!" Followed quickly by, "and, someone else has worn it too? GROSS!" Thankfully everyone had had their fill of the pool by that point and were ready to go anyway (although Ethan made it clear he'd have no problem wearing a Speedo--no surprise coming from the boy who was photographed in a yellow bikini last summer). We wandered back to the B&B and the kids spent several hours building a fort in the river that runs through the garden while I sat in the shade on a bench and read "The Hunger Games".

Yesterday we did some much needed laundry. No one spoke English at the laundromat or surrounding shops, so we did a lot of smiling, nodding, pointing, and hand gesturing to communicate. I'm getting very good with the phrase, "jin compapa le France" (I don't understand French...spelled phonetically, our French auido CDs have not taught us to spell yet :-). Isaac thought going to the laundromat was awesome. The other kids were less enthused. We all had fun trying to iron on the enormous ironing aparatus. The right sleeve of Brent's dress shirt turned out perfect, sadly, I couldn't get the rest of the shirt to go into the machine straight, so the rest was terribly creased. After several attempts we gave up and stopped at the dry cleaners (which are WAY more expensive here--3Euros/shirt (about $4.50) as opposed to $1.25 at home!). Brent discovered that professionaly pressed & starched shirts aren't standard work wear here, so next time we might just try a regular old iron.

Yesterday evening we took a beautiful hike/walk (or a "tour" as our innkeeper calls it). The area where we are staying is in the hills/forest with hiking paths and bike trails all around. The kids had a great time walking through the river and exploring the woods.

Ima leaves us tomorrow to continue on to Sweden :-(. It's been so nice having a 4th child to even out our family. We will miss her!

1st day Paris - by Isaac

2011-06-25T22:00:00.005-05:00

Outside the Louvre

In the morning we woke up at 6:00 the were on the road by 7:00 it was a 4 hour car ride to Paris [traffic]. When we got to Paris we drove to the Louvre when we were at the Louvre we [kids] were so tired and almost feel asleep. After the Louvre we sat on the side of the river and wached the tour boats. Then we ate amazing crepes yum! yum! yum! yummy! Then we walked to Notre Dame's Cathedral cooooooooooool and preeeeeetty! Then we ate dinner at a pizzaria [in the Latin Quarter]. Finally we went to the Eiffle Tower - tall! At the top we watched the sun set then we climed the stairs down FUN!!!!!!!!!! Finally I bartered with a guy selling keychains.

The Mona Lisa

Playing in the dirt outside the Cathedral of Notre Dame

Top of the Eiffel TowerThe kids (with our adopted daughter/friend Ima)
The family

Maastricht, Netherlands (Holland) By:Morgan and Ima

2011-06-24T22:00:00.003-05:00

The first thing that you should know about Holland is that there are a LOT of bikes! Not only Holland but all of Europe. But there are more in Holland than anywhere we have gone. On the way there we had to take two billion and seventy three pit stops for Ethan to go to the bathroom. Literally. About 10 minutes from the city, my mom was the one who had to take a pit stop but she didn't quite make it to a bathroom....she peeed her pants!!!! [Michelle: We go all the way to Holland and THIS is the memory Morgan chooses to report?!? I'm considering pre-post censorship rights.] Good thing we were in Europe and no one there knows us!At least it started raining a couple minutes later(her pants blendede in more). While we were there, we bought some fruit at a little market. It was the very best fruit in the whole wide world!!!! Really. You should have tasted it! I've never tasted fruit that good!!! Morgan got raspberries(like heaven!), Ima got blackberries(so sweet it's like my eyes are popping out of my head!!!), Ethan got stawberries(Awesome!), and Isaac got a green apple(delicious!). While we were there, we hopped over almost all ofthe pegs in the city! (Thats how we entertain ourselves while we are walking around). All we really did in Holland was walk around and explore cute little streets. We had some gross hamburgers for lunch. No really. They were G-R-O-S-S. While exploring, we came across a store named Cool Cat. Ima and I got SSUUPPEERR cute matching shirts. Later, we watched a mini concert from a balcony nearby the concert. we had a perfect view of the porta- potties and of a man peeing in a urinal that we didn't know was a urinal. We thought it was a sink until we saw a man looking at us awkwardly. He was standing there for a while so he couldn't have been washing his hands. When Isaac and Ethan went down there to go to the bathroom, we asked them when they came back up what the thing was. Lets just say that we were right. :-) After that we went on this castle thing then left. The ride home had WAY less pit stops. The best thing about Holland was the fruit. Holland is amazing!! You should definately go there.

Brussels Atomium & Mini Europe

2011-06-23T13:23:00.006-05:00

Atomium

(Monument constructed for Worlds Fair in 1958)

Mini EuropeView out the window of the top sphereLooking out from the top sphereFrom Morgan - Hi everyone! This is Morgan. I just wanted to say that I had a great time today. The things that you can find in Belgium are incredible! Today at mini Europe we saw some amazing things. Though they are just places in Europe, they seem even more amazing in mini form when you can see things that are too high or too far from that ground that you can not see in real life. Now I can say that I have been everywhere in Europe!!

From Ethan - It was good. It wasn't like great. It was okay. We went to the thing with the balls [Atomium]. We went to this place where you get to see all this stuff that was in Belgium and in Brussels and a mini Eiffel tower. We walked around and pressed these buttons. At first we didn't know what they did, but they made music and stuff. My favorite button was the volcano because the ground would shake and it was like "ahhhhh oohhhhhh". We could drive boats. We went on a carousel. We went to a park. It rained a lot. I can't think of anything else. Yesterday we got to have Belgium waffels, they had ice cream and whip cream on them. And there were these statues that said, "Hey who farted".

From Michelle - Mini Europe was silly to me, but it was conviently located across the street from the Atomium which was pretty cool. Best dinner so far at a yummy pizza place near Brent's work. More French audio CDs while driving (we moved on to lesson 2 today), Morgan even got brave and practiced a few lines on our waiter who didn't speak much English.

A Few Additional Comments from Michelle

2011-06-22T16:28:00.007-05:00

Driving a Stick Shift - Wow, it's been a long time! Reminds me of the days when my sister, Angela, taught me to start our old Honda on a hill at the Cottonwood Mall (very scary). Now I have an audience of kids who think it is hilarious when I forget to push in the clutch before starting the car (except for the time Morgan was only half way in the car when it lurched forward--not quite as funny that time). I claimed to have only killed the car twice on the first day. Morgan thought it was more like four times. Glad it's a rental, I've been accused of riding a clutch before. Yesterday I found myself unknowingly going the wrong way on a very narrow one-way street (oops)! Thank goodness we got a printout of the road sign definitions today.

Speaking French - I can't speak more than two words of French. All those years of Jr. High Spanish have helped me get around Mexico in the past, but here I'm at a complete loss. I look at menus blankly. No idea what's being served. I really appreciate picture menus in resturant windows. The kids (and I) had a great time listening to a "learn to speak French" audio CD today as we drove in and out of Brussels (about 30 minutes each way). I was surprised at the kid's enthusiasim to learn the language (we repeated lesson one three times throughout the day). We hope to devote 30 minutes each day to French. After an hour and a half today we can ALMOST (sort of) say, "Excuse me, do you understand English? Do you understand French? Are you American. I speak a little French." This language is not coming easily!

Traveling with Kids - I love what entertains them. They played leap frog all day long over the posts that line the sidewalks of Brussels. An adult could walk by those posts a million times and never once think to make a game out of them. Last night they spent 30 minutes inventing a game jumping between some posts in a park. They would have played longer if I hadn't coerced them to continue on. And my darling boys, no surprise they loved the statue "Mannequin Pis" (or "Peeing Boy" he he he) and the story of "Which Statue Farted" in the town square Thanks Rick Steves Guidebook for that tid bit--it's sure to be their fondest memory from the trip.

Our Day in Brussels - By Isaac

2011-06-22T14:31:00.011-05:00

Today we woke up and walked down for breakfast there was toast, eggs, ceareal, orange juice, fruit, ham, turkey, cheese and croissants.

After breakfast we went to the city of brussels. On the way to the city we had some french lessons [on audio CD]. When we got there we parked then when we got out of the car we looked over the balcony and looked out to the city. Then we walked to this really old church and saw this really pretty garden in the garden there was a big fountain across from the garden was a mansion.

Then we walked down to the town square where we ate beljum waffles with ice cream, whip cream and choclate sauce. We heard a story about the stachus; the 1st stachu said who farted the 2nd stachue said it was him (pointing to a statue across the square) the 3rd statue said no it was him (pointing to an old sheaperd statue on the other side of the square) he said sorry it was me. Then we saw the mannequin pis (peeing boy statue). After that we got on the road to pick up on my Dad. Then we saw a place to eat we ate then we went to the bed and breakfast.

That's what we did today.

-Isaac

Day 1: Belgium

2011-06-21T15:33:00.003-05:00

Bonjour!! This is Morgan and Ima (Ima is a friend who is going to be with us for one week before she heads off to Sweden to see her family who lives there!!). Day one has been crazy! At around 9 a.m. (Belgium time (1 a.m. Chicago time)) we got off our plane and set foot in Europe. Before we left, we rented a car. After we got the car (and figured out how to use it) we found our way to our bed and breakfast through lots and lots and LOTS and lots and lots of round abouts! When we pulled into the beautiful bed and breakfast, we were greeted by a cute, friendly dog named Farah. We were shown our rooms which are AMAZING!!! They are very very beautiful!! After our tour, we brought our stuff in and got settled. Soon after we all took naps for about 2 hours. They were really needed!! After the naps, we explored the area and found an Aldi. We got lots of snacks for the car.We explores a little more, then left to pick my dad up from work (in Belgium). We explored a popular area in the area we were staying in called
Louvain-la-Neuve and ate dinner there. We ate at a Chinese restraunt for dinner. Ya. I know. Our first dinner in Belgium and we choose Chinese. After dinner we came back to the bed and breakfast and got ready for bed. Now, we are sitting on the bed writing this to all of you. We are eagerly awaiting the breakfast that will be served in the morning! :-) yay!!
Bonsoir! Well, good afternoon to most of you. Talk to you tomorrow!

-Morgan and Ima

P.S. Visit www.morimont.com to see pictures of the bed and breakfast! (you should check it out -its pretty cool-)

House is sold...we are off to Europe for four weeks!

2011-06-20T17:18:00.001-05:00

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. In early April we put our house up for sale. Thirty days later we had an offer (amazing). The buyer needed a quick closing so we knew we'd be homeless for a bit between houses. Brent seized an opportunity to work from his company's office in Brussels Belgium for a month and the company generously agreed to provide us with a car and housing for the whole family. So after moving out of our house last week we put all our worldly possessions in Pack Rat storage containers (with overflow into a few kind friend's garages and basements...thanks Gratons and Morris's). We stayed with our friends the Walkers for a week (thanks Paul and Melissa) while Morgan was at girls camp and now we are sitting on a plane ready to depart for Brussels. Phew! I can hardly believe it all worked out. We are so excited for the adventure. Europe here we come!

Ragnar Relay - Madison WI to Chicago IL

2011-06-10T15:53:00.003-05:00

Ragnar=crazy (running all through the night)

Ragnar Friday/Saturday, Moving on Tuesday=completely nuts-o

The timing was horrible, but we were so glad we did it. Fun friends, fun race. Good times!

Mike Smiley, Tim Holloway, Kim Holloway, Andreas Lex, Kylee Eyre Dial, Rodney Dial, Melissa Walker, Paul Walker, Brik Eyre, Susan Eyre, Brent Paul, Me!

Lake Forest Beach

2011-05-23T08:15:00.006-05:00

I love the water! Ocean, lake, it doesn't matter. Large bodies of water give me a calm, happy, peaceful feeling. For two years while Brent was in grad school we lived in a high-rise apartment right on Lake Michigan. Every morning we woke to beautiful Lake Michigan. I loved that view. We now live only about 15 minutes from Lake Michigan, but we don't get over there often enough (mostly because the lake front villages are persnikity about their beaches and make it next to impossible for non-residents to gain accesss...grrr!). Yesterday Isaac had a piano recital in Lake Forest so we took an impromptu drive to the lake afterwards. I can't think of a better way to spend a half hour with the family on a Sunday afternoon.

Isaac's Piano Recital

2011-05-22T19:00:00.001-05:00

Isaac had his second piano recital on Sunday. It was held at a beautiful old chapel at Lake Forest College. His teacher, Michelle Ryder, is wonderful. We are so happy to have found her. Isaac's been with her for a year now and is doing great. Isaac peformed "Windmill" and "Concert Time" from his Alfred book.

Our New Home

2011-05-18T22:00:00.002-05:00

Our cozy little home sold in just a little over a month and the buyers need us out by June 14th. So, we are offically moving on. It's bettersweet. Exciting to look forward to a little more space and a huge DIY project, but sad to say goodbye to the nicest neighbors and friends anyone could ever ask for. We've been blessed to be surrounded by a pack of sweet, creative, smart, fun kids, amazing parents, great families--and wonderful friends. My neighbors have helped me raise my kids. My kids have grown-up with the comfort of knowing there are five back-up moms and five second homes they can pop into for anything they might need (snacks, band-aids, snacks, phone, snacks, potty, snacks...).We have an inspection scheduled for the new house on Tuesday. If all goes well we'll move-in sometime around mid-July. The new house needs a lot of love. We have some fun ideas but it will take time to get it where we'd like it. It will be a work in progress for awhile.

Life in the Olden Days

2011-03-02T18:09:00.003-06:00

Ethan: “Mom, were there only forks in the olden days?”
Me: “I don’t know, I think they probably had spoons.”
Ethan: “Well! (with attitude) You were there, not me! You should know.”

A Week with Jane

2011-02-18T16:09:00.001-06:00

I've spent the last week with a new best friend. I admit I'm obsessed. Her companionship has made all the mundane tasks of my day perfectly pleasant and even enjoyable. Thank you Jane Austen for keeping me entertained as I fold laundry, wash dishes, shovel snow, run on the treadmill and even shop. The free audiobooks on my new Android phone are amazing. In the last 10 days or so I've finished Pride and Prejudice, Persuassion, and Emma--all while productively completing my routine tasks. This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

(So far I've listened to Libervox readers Elizabeth Klatt and Karen Savage. I highly recommend both!)

Proud but Scared!

2011-01-11T23:42:00.004-06:00

Morgan's gymnastics meet season has begun. She's a great little gymnast and a delight to watch--although as a parent it's pretty scary to see your little girl flying through the air and landing on a 3" wide beam. We're proud of her and all the long hours and dedication she puts into the sport she loves. Here are a few photos and videos from her first meets of the season.

BTW - Morgan doesn't like any of these pictures. She claims they make her look bad because her toes aren't pointed enough, knees aren't straight enough, yada yada yada. I think they are beautiful, so I'm posting them whether she likes it or not (someday she'll thank me).

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T08:29:00.002-06:00

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

2010-12-25T12:21:00.004-06:00

10:30 PM 12/24/2010

12:00 AM 12/25/20108:30 AM 12/25/2010 And now we relax and play!

Wish List

2010-12-23T07:26:00.003-06:00

This week Ethan asked Santa for an Xbox 360 with Kinect. I gave him a head's up that Santa wasn't going to bring an Xbox this year, but maybe he'd bring some new games for the wii. Ethan decided if Santa couldn't produce, maybe someone else could. As he was saying his prayers before bed he made his final plea, "please bless that I'll get an Xbox 360 for Christmas".

Ethan is Front Page News

2010-12-18T13:40:00.002-06:00

Making gingerbread houses in Ethan's kindergarten class was front page news this week (clearly, our sleepy little suburbian town doesn't have a lot of news to report :-). Needless to say, Ethan was delighted to see his name and his cute mug in the paper. Gotta love those milk carton and graham cracker gingerbread houses.

It's Become Comical

2010-12-07T17:33:00.002-06:00

I'm not usually one to dwell on the occasional lemons in life, and I especially don't care to keep an ongoing chronicle of such things. But, recently we've had such an onslaught of broken stuff, it really has become downright comical. Forgive me as I make a list of the things that have broken in the past ten days:

My Car - $1500 repair to pass emissions, ouch! ...and it still needs brakes.
DVR - Just quit recording, total hard drive failure. New one arrives tomorrow.
Telephone - After 1-1/2 hours with tech support we have dial tone again.
Treadmill - Mat started jerking. New $140 part on its way--let's hope it works.
Garbage Disposer - It's making weird noises and frequently needs to be reset.
Dryer - Sensor isn't working--dried one load all night long.

Brent's just happy that his finicky lights above the kitchen island are working well!

Thankfully our bodies are healthy and for that we are very grateful!

I Wish I Had...

2010-11-16T17:31:00.004-06:00

Last week Ethan's kindergarten class celebrated the 50th day of school. In honor of that exciting day, my darling, sweet, little 5-year-old (the one who constantly gives me hugs and kisses and says he just wants to snuggle with me) drew the picture above captioned, "I wish I had 50 machine guns". WHAT?!? Not 50 pieces of candy, 50 Chuck E. Cheese tokens or 50 dollars? Nope. 50 machine guns. Oh boy!

Help!

2010-11-12T09:12:00.000-06:00

My good friend and next door neighbor nominated her niece, Stephanie, to win a new VW Bug through a contest at a local dealership. Stephanie made it as a finalist and is currently in the lead with the most votes for her story! In order to maintain her lead, she's making a plea to friends of friends to help out. She's hoping to get votes from all 50 states (and specifically asked if I could round up some voters in Utah and Cali). So, I'm asking you now--I know you have a million other things to do today, but could you take a minute to click through and vote for Steph?

Stephanie has made it through four re-occurrences of brain cancer and is currently doing great. She just graduated from college and is hoping for a new car to get her to work (hopefully in PR at Children's Hospital in Chicago where she's spent a lot of time over the past 10 years). She's a sweet girl from a very sweet and humble family. This would be huge for her! THANKS!
The LOVEbug LOVEbug 2 Contest… Presented by Fox Valley Volkswagen

Carving, Costumes and Candy

2010-10-31T22:00:00.001-05:00

The Carving

Every year we pick our own pumpkins at Thompson's farm in Wisconsin (only about 30 minutes from home). You can fill a whole car with pumpkins for $60. We usually split the load with two other families and end up with more than enough pumpkins to decorate our porch for the month and carve for Halloween.

The Costumes

Oscar the Grouch, Captain Cody the Clone Trooper, and a Rubik's cubeThe Candy

The neighbor friends always get together to sort and trade after the first round of trick-or-treating. The "junk" or "free" pile was full of Charleston Chews...who hands out Charleston Chews?

The Compilation Collage

Our Cousin Charlie

2010-10-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

It's been over a year since we've had cousins come to visit (hint, hint...anyone want to come visit :-) so we were excited to get a call from Charlie's mom saying she had last minute tickets to Oprah and was bringing Charlie along for a visit. We loved hanging out with Charlie on our turf. When he showed the boys how to make trampoline snowboards out of duct tape and cardboard boxes we knew they were kindred spirits. They constructed a blanket fort in the basement, visited the Kohl children's museum, and had lunch at McDonald's on the tollway oasis bridge (it's always a novelty to eat a Happy Meal while watching cars race by below). I'm surprised how much the boys look alike in these photos--there is definitely a family resemblance.

My New Favorite Photographer

2010-10-15T13:41:00.012-05:00

Love, love, love this photographer, Brittany Cascio http://www.casciophoto.blogspot.com/! She is so talented I just can't stand it. She came out to Chicagoland to snap photos of several families here, but she resides in the greater SLC area (Logan-ish to be exact--but she travels to the whole greater SLC area and beyond). So if you need photos call her, she is amazing. You won't be sorry. I am so excited that she'll be doing my sister, Rachel's, wedding next July and can't wait to see what kind of magic Brittany works with a beautiful subject like Rach.

Click here... photos ...to see the whole session Brittany recently did with our little family at the beautiful Illinois Beach State Park along the shores of Lake Michigan (a few favs are below). My ONLY regret is that she couldn't take 20 pounds off me and add it to Brent. But I suppose that is outside of the scope of her job. How to make an uncooperative 5-year-old smile.

One for the 3rd grade ladies...he's dreamy, isn't he :-) My girl! You'd never guess this precious little guy was being so silly and uncooperative. Somehow Brittany magically captured beautiful photos of him.

Rate My Space - My Bedroom Revealed

2010-10-03T23:20:00.010-05:00

My poor bedroom was neglected and in much need of an update. I had intended to repaint for years (I never liked the green I painted) but somehow the bedroom was never top on the priority list. So, when Brent went to Europe for work this week I decided to do my own HGTV inspired "surprise design". Seven days later Brent came home to a repainted, redecorated, and revitalized bedroom.

BEFORE...

Notice the attractive forest green and burgundy matted cherry frames. Yup, artwork from our first apartment. We bought the maps on our honeymoon and had them matted to match our forest green and burgundy decorated apartment--fashionable home decorating in 1994. I'm not really sure why I thought it was a good idea to hang the maps in our bedroom 16 years later. Yes, we really had two nightstands stuck next to each other on one side of the room. An HGTV nightmare. Since they were hidden on the far side of the room I told myself you couldn't really see them and it wasn't too bad. But now that I see it in a photo--argh, what was I thinking?! What a cluttered mess!

Drum roll please... prepare for the big reveal...

AFTER... I dusted off the sewing machine and made the black pillows myself!
Notice the vintage photography from 1994 :-)...a little throw back to the wedding.

This was my grandma Regan's dresser. She found it in the garage of a house her family once rented--left behind by the previous tenant. All the years she lived with us, this dresser was always in her room. I have fond memories of rummaging through these drawers as a child. They were jam packed with all sorts of treasures--boxes of cards, a baby food jar of polished rocks, a blue plastic container of buttons, and sometimes (if you were really fortunate) a piece of Brach's candy.

Oh, and I also whipped up this cool little upholstered board for my necklaces (we have a weird duct that runs up the wall in 1/2 of one of the closets, so this was a great way to put that wasted space to good use)...

So the reveal wasn't quite like HGTV, Brent didn't burst into tears overwhelmed by the beauty of his new bedroom. But, he was caught off guard and he did like it a lot. I was just happy to have the deadline of his homecoming so I could get the whole thing completely 100% finished with no lingering half finished details.

Don't Worry Mom

2010-10-01T17:23:00.002-05:00

While Ethan was sitting on the toilet recently we had the following conversation:

Ethan: "Mom, I don't want you to worry, I'm just going #2 right now."

Me: "Oh, um, okay, that's great." I was perplexed as to why I should be worried and didn't really know how to respond.

Ethan: "No mom, it's not great, IT'S AMAZING."

I'm still not sure why #2 is so amazing, but Ethan seems to find joy in many things. And I find joy in his hilarious commentary.

20 Years Later

2010-09-26T18:28:00.005-05:00

I loved this article in today's Sunday paper -- Return of the Class of '80 Parade.com. The author perfectly summed up my thoughts about my 20-year High School reunion last month. Everyone seemed so genuine, so normal and down to earth. I'll admit I had a fair amount of anxiety over going to the reunion to reveal my aged and expanded self. Somehow I assumed I was the only one who no longer looked like she did at seventeen. Miraculously, everyone else had changed a bit too (go figure). While the girls were all beautiful, no one looked just as they did before. What's more, no one cared. We were a bunch of old friends genuinely happy to reconnect and reminisce. Go Titans!

It's For the Ladies

2010-09-15T13:12:00.004-05:00

A few days before school started Isaac got a new "Justin Bieber"-like haircut. We were joking around that his new haircut was, "for the ladies". After the first day of school I asked Isaac if "the ladies" liked his new haircut. He responded, "No one really said anything about it...but a few girls did keep staring at me during class." Can't say that I blame the girls, I think he's pretty dreamy myself.

Isaac Knows a Few Things For Sure

2010-09-12T21:45:00.003-05:00

Just found this in Isaac's "Friday Folder". Made me smile.

Sister Love

2010-09-02T09:02:00.005-05:00

My friend, Jennifer, just lost her sister to cancer this morning. Her sister had five kids ranging in age from 5 to 14--not too dissimilar from two of my sisters. I can't stop crying as I think about how painful it would feel to loose one of my sisters. I see my sisters twice a year at best, and I'm not a great phone person, but just knowing they are a phone call, email, or plane ride away means everything. My heart aches thinking of my nieces and nephews and how seemingly alone in the world they would be if their mom was no longer on earth to love them. So today while I am sad for Jennifer, I am also grateful. Grateful for health. Grateful for sisters. Grateful to love my sisters so much that my heart aches and tears flow just thinking of one of them missing from the world. Grateful to be a mom and know what it feels like to be the center of someones universe. Grateful for kids who can come home from school today into the eager and anxious awaiting arms of their mom.

Roadtrip to Utah - August 2010

2010-08-29T18:41:00.003-05:00

We spent an uber long vacation (2-1/2 weeks) in Utah this summer. It kicked off with my sister Rachel's engagement party followed by boating at Bear Lake and a weekend of camping at the Tony Grove campground near Logan with my family. My uncle Ron brought my grandma Adair to visit, we haven't seen her in a few years so I was so happy the kids got to spend a little time with her (you can tell by the photos that Ethan was a little wary of her wrinkles). We spent the rest of the week with the Shaeffer cousins slip-and-sliding on the lawn, going to the drive-in theatre, playing Ms. Pac Man and just enjoying being together with cousins and sisters. Then we switched to the Paul cousins for fun at Snowbird, rafting down the Provo River, golf (Brent), and the Provo River Half Marathon (Brent & I). The kids spent hours outside at night playing a new game called 21-dot-dot. In the midst of it all we went to my 20-year High School reunion and spent time with many of my best girls from school. Fun times!

Roadside Relief

2010-08-15T01:53:00.004-05:00

Often called monotonous and void of any interesting landscape, the Midwestern stretch of I-80 gets a bad rap. While the drive between Chicago and Salt Lake City can be boring at times, somehow, we managed to find beauty every time Ethan needed a between-gas-stops potty break.

Nebraska or Iowa on the way home

Wyoming or Nebraska on the way home

Wyoming (I think) on the way out

Wyoming on the way out

Colorado (technically not on the I-80, but close by)

Staying Cool in the Pool

2010-07-20T16:22:00.000-05:00

This summer has been a HOT one! We've spent many days cooling off at our community pool. Ethan showed off his awesome swimming skills by passing the swim test (an unassisted swim across the deep end)--thus granting him access to join the big kids riding the slides and jumping off the diving board. After five years of being too little for the slides, it truly was a glorious day. He wore his wrist band with the pride of an Olympic medalist and pointed it out to many friends (and a few strangers). With my youngest now swimming I have graduated to a mom who can sit at the side of the pool and read...however it's been so hot I've opted to swim with the kids instead--but I love that I have the choice!

The day after Ethan first jumped off the diving board he told Isaac he was going to do a front flip off the diving board. Isaac tried to talk him out of it but when Ethan refused to listen Isaac defered to me, "Mom! Ethan says he's going to do a front flip off the diving board!" I told him it could hurt his back or maybe he could hit his head and that maybe he should wait until he was a little bigger. He kept pestering me till I finally relented assuming he wouldn't actually do it. When we got to the pool all the kids scattered. A few minutes later I was scanning the pool for Ethan when he approached me from the direction of the diving pool with a huge grin across his face. Yes, he'd marched straight up to the diving board and done a front flip all by himself. The boy's got guts that's for sure!

The Hurricanes take Second Place in the League

2010-07-18T18:08:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Morgan's softball team, the Hurricanes. After the last two tournament games in the sweltering heat on Saturday they finished the season in second place. This was Morgan's second softball season ever (her first was in 1st grade). I think she surprised herself as a great little player...and she had a lot of fun too (thanks to great coaches and great teammates).

Crazy for Coasters

2010-07-16T18:32:00.000-05:00

Camden C with Isaac, Ethan and Morgan at Six Flags We are a family of thrill ride lovers. So, when summer comes along we look forward to many visits to Six Flags Great America. Since it's only 15-20 minutes from home we get season's passes and visit often. Last year Morgan was tall enough for every ride in the park--even the big scary coasters which she rides with a big grin on her face and a sparkle in her eye. Last week Brent and I went for a date night and as we rode the Raging Bull roller coaster I screamed, "I can't believe we let our little girl ride this ride!" It's a great coaster, especially from the front row --but scary when you think of your first born child riding! Other favorites are Superman, Batman, and Vertical Velocity. Isaac is tall enough for the Viper and American Eagle, and also loves Giant Drop (my personal favorite...technically not a coaster, but an awesome drop ride). Ethan's favorite is the Whizzer (because he can ride all alone). He also loves the Jettson's and the Demon. Last week we visited the attached Hurricane Harbor water park for the first time and found some favorite slides as well.

Friends Forever

2010-06-26T18:14:00.000-05:00

For the past five years Morgan and her friend Camden have switched off visiting one another during the summer. These visits require an unaccompanied minor flight across the US. These brave little girls made their first solo flights at 8 years old. They each look forward to their week together with much anticipation and there are always tears when their time together comes to an end. They have been friends since the day Morgan was born, and it's sweet to see how connected they've stayed even though they've lived far apart for 8 of their 11 years of friendship.

The girls kept super busy during Camden's visit with Six Flags, the pool, our village's carnival, a horse show, a visit to the former workplace of this year's American Idol, shopping, playing at home, and of course a day in the city. Downtown at the Bean

Shopping success!

Former workplace of this year's American Idol, Lee Dewyze

The Temple Lipizzian's horse show

Parting is such sweet sorrow :-(

Ode to a Well-Worn Couch

2010-06-07T18:32:00.003-05:00

Farewell beloved green couch
Olive, cotton, worn, soft, stained.
Cozy and smooth like a favorite blanket,
Now rejected in your tattered and weary state.
Once a place of refuge for an exhausted child, mother, father, friend.
You comforted us when we were too sick or sad to sleep in our own beds.
You welcomed our guests.
You enveloped a new mother nursing her newborn infant.
You were patient, brave and strong when armies of toddlers trampled over you like a playground.
For seven years you were the hub of our home.
In our small apartments you were always close by, always available.
But we thought we needed more space, more rooms with more couches.
And so we moved, and bought more couches to fill the rooms.
You were showing your age and we were ashamed of you.
We had stained you, torn you, tattered you, and so we banished you to the basement.
Abandoned in the sea of toys and tots.
A vibrant red couch took your place as the most popular seat in the house--but it never felt quite the same.
Months would pass between our infrequent visits with you.
We’d lay on your familiar cool cotton twill softness and reminisce of our joyful young family in cozy one-couch homes.
You felt like California and Chicago.
You felt like Thursday night “Must See TV”.
You felt like a late night rendezvous.
You felt like mornings that started much, much too early because a toddler was done sleeping.
You felt like lazy Sunday afternoons.
But, whenever we were to host a guest we were ashamed of you—-so soft and comfortable, but so unattractive.
We wanted more seating for our growing family, we wanted something prettier.
And so, one day a truck arrived with a pristine new sectional.
You were sent to the garage. No longer fit for even the basement.
A $50 Craigslist ad went unanswered. You were of no value.
Weeks passed, we reposted you, worthless, for free, and finally a taker.
Too impatient to wait around to greet your new family, we left you on the snow covered porch, covered only by a haphazardly placed plastic tarp.
Our parting thoughts were, “my doesn’t that couch make our house look trashy,” sitting there absurdly, humiliatingly on the front porch.
Maybe you are covered with a slip cover now.
Maybe you are in another basement now.
Maybe you are again the hub of a home.
We watched Chair, your loyal lifelong companion, topple into the garbage truck. The tear on her arm too unsightly for anything but landfill. I felt remorse for not trying more diligently to find her a new home. She was a good seat too.

Onward and Upward...Farewell Elementary School

2010-06-03T16:35:00.000-05:00

It doesn't seem like that long ago when I snapped this photo of Morgan on her first day of Kindergarten. Back when she'd wear darling little dresses with matching socks and let me braid her hair and finish it off with matching hair bows and clips.

While it may not seem that long ago, somehow six years has come and gone in the blink of an eye. My darling girl has graduated from elementary school and is anxious to embrace the world of middle school. No longer interested in matching socks and hair bows, she dreams of the day when her parents will get with the times and grant her access to a cell phone and Facebook account. My baby girl is growing up. Time is rushing by, but I have no regrets. I'm grateful for the darling girl she was in Kindergarten and the sweetheart she continues to be. She works hard at everything she does and is beautiful inside and out. I'm so proud to be her mom.

Ah, what a cute little Tinkerbell she was in Kindergarten!

Morgan's Kindergarten class

Morgan's 5th grade graduating class

The Sweet Signs of Summer

2010-05-27T17:38:00.006-05:00

The ice cream truck made its first visit to the neighborhood today. The kids all lined up, fists full of cash, anxious to make their first selection of the season. All was sweet and magical until Isaac's cotton candy ice cream bar froze to his tongue. At first I thought he was being a typical silly 8-year-old boy, pretending his ice cream was stuck. Then as tears began to stream down his face I realized the bar really was stuck and he was in serious pain. We tried pouring regular water on it to no avail. Two cups of warm water later his tongue was finally free. Ouch! Thanks to my friend, Jenny, who in the moment of crisis noticed my camera dangling around my neck and urged me to snap a quick picture. Priceless.

Deep Thoughts

2010-05-17T22:05:00.003-05:00

Two funny conversations from last week. They aren't as funny on paper, but they made me giggle enough to stop and write them down.

This one came out of no where as we were driving down the road:
E: Womens they like have really long hair. They should get it cut like every day. Rockstars, they like theirs growing down.

This conversation ensued as Ethan was trying to negotiate a brownie appetizer to lunch:
E: Mom, we should eat sweets first.
Me: Really, why's that?
E: Because if you eat healthy stuff first and sweets last then it won't be healthy for your teeth.

He was making the argument that leaving sweets to sit on your teeth was bad. So, if you ate your veggies last they'd wash away the sweets leaving a healthy veggie residue behind virtually eliminating the effects of the sweets eaten first. Nice try buddy. Nevertheless, he had to eat lunch before the brownie (no fun, I know!).

The Money Shot

2010-04-15T09:54:00.006-05:00

Yup, that's my darling little boy. No, not the one in the grey sweats, the one striking a pose in the pink polka dot bikini. We thought Ethan had outgrown his passion for dressing-up in his friend Alena's clothes. But, nope, yesterday he showed us that phase was not yet history. And clearly he had no shame in showing off his digs for the camera. All I can say is that we are lucky parents to have this kind of "money shot". When he's older I imgaine he'll do anything we ask to keep this photo from leaking out. Muwwwahhhh ha ha haaah. What power! (BTW, the other kids in the photo are all neighbors - Alex & Alena D, Molly G - Molly looks a lot like Morgan).

Morgan's Gymnastics Photos

2010-04-02T18:26:00.008-05:00

I loved how these turned out and just had to share. Thanks to Pizzazz Photography in Arlington, TX who came to the gym for the photos. They were fantastic! www.pizzazzphotography.com

The Gift of a Perfectly Ordinary Day

2010-02-21T22:31:00.002-06:00

This video clip was forwarded by a friend. I almost didn't click through, but I'm glad I did. Make sure you have Kleenex handy if you watch it. It's a very sweet reminder that someday life will be much more calm and quiet and we'll all look back and really miss the chaos of a household full of kids.

We'll Be In Trouble if He Ever Discovers QVC & HSN

2010-02-15T23:49:00.006-06:00

The other day Ethan started calling to me excitedly, "Mom, mom, come quick, you've got to see this!" I ran to the family room where he had paused the "Smooth Away" infomercial for me. He was insistent, "Mom, you've gotta buy that, you don't need a shaver." This week I heard it again, "Mom, mom, you've gotta see this!" This time it was the amazing color changing foaming cleaner, Kaboom Foam Tastic.
Thankfully he has not yet learned to change the channel. We might be in trouble when he eventually stumbles upon QVC and the Home Shopping Network.

Isaac's Movie

2009-12-25T22:08:00.002-06:00

Okay Adair Family, since I got you to all log-on and look at Morgan's meet video, it's only fair I share some of Isaac's highlights for the year too. This was the movie I made for his baptism last month. Merry Christmas to all of you. Wish we were hanging at the Shaeffer's tonight too! Don't have too much fun without us.

Loving My New Easel

2009-12-25T21:51:00.002-06:00

Brent surprised me with an easel for Christmas today. This painting is what I whipped up this afternoon (it looks better in real life). It felt great to get the creative juices pumping again. Thanks Brent!

Morgan's Beam & Floor Routines - 12/19/2009

2009-12-25T21:10:00.005-06:00

Morgan's gymnastics season got off to a rough start this year. First, she fell on the bars and cut her lip (tooth through upper chin) so she took two days off practice. The next week she was elbowed in the wave pool at Six Flags and broke her nose so she couldn't go upside down for a few days. Then, we went on vacation for two weeks. When we came back from vacation, the gym was closed for their annual week long summer break. So, after being off for about four weeks in July/August Morgan couldn't wait to get herself back in the gym. About halfway through her first practice she had a big rebound and stumbled backward right off the cushy floor. When she reached out her hand to save herself her hand hit the concrete and her wrist broke. That meant a hard cast and four more weeks of no bars and no tumbling. After eight weeks of hiatus, Morgan was finally able to start training again around the first of October. She worked super hard and was barely able to get all her Level 6 skills just in time for the first meet. After this meet she moved up to Level 7 so she had just two months to learn all of her new skills before the first meet. She was so excited to finally get her beam routine down just in time for the meet on 12/19. She did awesome and we were so proud of her. We also just love her cute floor routine this year. We think her coach, Angi Rawles, did a great job with the choreography.

Brothers

2009-12-19T10:36:00.002-06:00

Ethan and Isaac were outside playing in the snow this morning. Brent was watching them outside the window giving Morgan and I the play-by-play:

Ethan makes snowball with the snowball maker tool
Ethan throws snowball at Isaac and misses
Isaac throws snowball at Ethan and hits him in the face
Ethan cries, and hits Isaac with the snowball making tool
Isaac falls down
Ethan continues to hit Isaac with snowball making tool
Isaac gets up
Isaac throws another snowball at Ethan's face
Ethan cries again
Ethan again charges Isaac with snowball making tool
Isaac takes tool
Isaac helps Ethan make a snowball
Isaac stands still and lets Ethan hit him in the face with a snowball

They seemed to be having a great time. Apparently this is how brothers have fun together.

Thinking Outside the (Toy) Box

2009-12-01T22:33:00.012-06:00

Last year Isaac's favorite Christmas gift was a stack of cut 2x4s. He was slightly disappointed that Santa didn't think to leave nails too, but thank goodness Dad had plenty in the garage to share. This is the same kid who wanted nothing more than his own rolls of Scotch tape for his 3rd and 4th birthdays. On that same note, one of the most used "toys" in our household this year was a huge sheet of whiteboard that Brent bought at Home Depot for about $12 and mounted to a wall. The kids have spent countless hours drawing and coloring on their wall-sized canvas.

Last Friday (Black Friday) as I walked through the war-torn aisles of Toys R Us, I couldn't stand the thought of bringing one more useless toy into the house, knowing full well that it would likely be forgotten within a few days and sent to Goodwill within a year. I hate that I've become fond of video games as gifts only because I know they get used and they don't take up much space.

Each December Ethan's preschool sends home a great "alternative gift list". I just couldn't throw it in the recycle this year without posting it where I knew I could always find it (here :-). So, here's the fabulous list (with a few of my own embellishments) that inspires me every year to think outside the (toy) box:

HOLIDAY GIFTS FOR YOUR CHILD (from Totline Parent Flyer)

If your house is overflowing with forgotten toys, try these gift-giving alternatives this year. Friends and relatives might also appreciate suggestions for practical, meaningful gifts for your child.

Subscriptions - Children's magazines, book clubs, activity books

Lessons - Music, tennis, art, gymnastics, ballet, swimming, computer

Tools for Learning - Globe, pens and pencils, magnifying glass, magnets, puzzle books, reference books.

Games - Concentration, lotto, deck of playing cards, dice, marbles, number games

Music - CD or iPod player, CDs, iTunes cards, musical instruments

Tools for Creativity - Special kinds of paper, felt tip markers, crayons, stickers, rubber stamps, paints, pipe cleaners, colored duct tape, yarn

Things to Build With - Blocks, building sets, hammers, pliers, screwdrivers, nails, scrap wood

Special Keepsakes - Photo of you as a child, a favorite old toy or book, your first teddy bear, a scrapbook or photo DVD

Entertainment - Tickets to a play, movie, or other special performance, roller skating passes, bowling passes, climbing wall passes, zoo or museum memberships

New Hobbies - Art posters and children's art books, camera, photo album, soccer ball and jersey, kid's cookbook with apron and cooking utensils

Your Time - A special day spent together, doing an activity of the child's choice

Rock Band is Rubbing Off on Ethan

2009-11-23T17:13:00.006-06:00

Here's the very serious life planning conversation I just overheard between 4-year old Ethan and his friend Alena today:

Ethan: "Alena, when I grow up and I'm a rock star I'm not going to wear a shirt. Actually, I'm going to wear my Bolt shirt (shirt w/lightning bolt on front)."

Alena: "You should wear a coat. Rock stars wear no shirt with a coat. But you have to wear pants."

Ethan: "Well, I'm going to have a guitar. You know, sometimes rock stars don't wear a shirt with their guitar. Alena, I'm going to play the guitar, but you can be in it too if you want."

I wish I could have recorded the whole conversation. Alena went on to give some career counseling advice suggesting that Ethan may want to consider other professions. If only I could recall exactly what was said. It was pretty comical. Maybe we should put "Lego Rock Band" on the Christmas list to tone down the serious rocker images our little guy is getting from the wii.

Here's a photo of Ethan playing the air guitar with his buddy, Mitchell Dickson, in Baltimore last weekend. Rock on!

Clever Costume Ideas

2009-10-28T09:38:00.008-05:00

Here are instructions for Morgan's costume. I've also posted a few more we thought looked fun from the same book (Make Believe, a Book of Costumes from Klutz Press). It's an old book from 1993 but may still be available at the library.

Ready to Collect Candy

2009-10-27T11:06:00.005-05:00

Last year after Halloween it was decided that for 2009 we'd be a pirate family. Twelve months later and twelve months more "pre-teen", Morgan wasn't interested in participating in the family costume. So, she went with her own cool "headless woman carrying her own head" (which turned a lot of heads and won her the teen choice award at the church party...and even better was pretty easy to put together). I'll post instructions if anyone is intersted.

Smelly Boys

2009-10-22T16:35:00.006-05:00

Isaac and his friend, Michael, are in the room next to me playing wii. Here's the conversation I just overheard:
Michael: "I don't get what the big deal is about character underwear. You don't even see them anyway. They are always covered up."
Isaac: "I don't get why you have to have clean underwear. Why does it even matter anyway."
Michael: "Yeah, clean underwear should be against the law."

Speaking of clean undergarments, I was having trouble finding clean socks for Isaac for the past few days. I knew I was behind on laundry and figured they were in a basket somewhere. Tuesday morning I told Isaac I didn't have any socks for him and he said, "Oh, it's okay mom, I have a whole bunch of them in my backpack". He opened up the front pocket of his backpack that was stuffed full with about 15 pairs of dirty socks. He'd been taking them off halfway through the day at school and stuffing them in his backpack. Ewwww!

My Funny Four Year Old

2009-09-10T14:40:00.004-05:00

Thank you to the creators of Caillou for the very inspirational episode today. Caillou's dad used a marker to draw a mustache on Caillou's face. What a wonderful idea to put into a 4-year-old's head.

Next came the bath to clean up. Who knew a 1/2 bottle of plaque rinse would make 1/2 a tub of water so blue! Ethan was so pleased with his discovery. I'm happy to report there is no hidden plaque on Ethan's skin AND he's smelling minty fresh.

Good thing preschool started yesterday so our hours of mischief making can be kept to a minimum.

First Day of School - August 24, 2009

2009-09-07T09:41:00.004-05:00

It feels like school just got out, how can it possibly be time to start again? This summer raced by for me. The kids were busy with summer school for the first 6-weeks of summer. Morgan took Drama and Orchestra (she plays the violin). Isaac took Science and Cooking. Both loved the classes they took, but waking up at 7:45 each morning for the first 6-weeks of summer was very un-summerlike. After summer school ended Isaac had a week of all-day Camp Invention then a week of all-day Cub Scout Day Camp. After camps ended we headed to Utah for two weeks, then Brent and Morgan continued on to California. We'd been home just a week when it was time for school to start again. Phew!

Morgan's must haves for school this year: 1. A school BAG not backpack 2. Clothes from Aeropostale and American Eagle NOT Justice (Justice was sooo 4th grade) 3. Converse 4. Skinny jeans 5. Her own school supplies (not the generic supply pack purchased from school).

Isaac's must haves for school this year: Whatever mom picks-up (gotta love little boys for that).

The Best Thing About Summer!

2009-09-07T09:10:00.004-05:00

Look at all those X's. Ahhh, it's a little bit of heaven isn't it? Harnessing the workhorse in those little bodies is so satisfying. Morgan worked all summer for a North Face fleece. Isaac worked for two DS games. Best of all the kids were motivated an generally quite happy about their chores with sights set on big rewards. Well worth it in my book!

Morgan's Summer of Mishaps

2009-09-07T08:49:00.003-05:00

June - A tooth cuts through Morgan's chin after nasty fall on the bars at gymnastics. Thankfully her teeth are okay and no stitches are needed.

July - A teenager accidentlly elbows Morgan in the nose at the wave pool at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor = broken nose.

August - A silly stumble at gymnastics (that can't really be blamed on the sport) results in a broken wrist and a cool neon green cast for 4-weeks.

I've heard it said these things often come in threes. So I think we're done, right? ...knock on wood.

Daddy-Daughter Backpacking - August 14-16, 2009

2009-09-07T07:29:00.008-05:00

Morgan met her first friend, Camden Carter, on the day she was born. Camden was eight months old and came to the hospital to welcome her friend, Morgan, to the world. About a year later a new friend, Brooke Tennison, moved-in. The girls spent three fun years together in Mountain View, California playing at the park, playing dress-ups, taking baths, making lots of crafts, and getting into all the mischief that one, two and three year olds can get into. When Morgan was 3-1/2 our family moved to Chicago, later the Tennisons moved to Southern California and the Carters moved to Sacramento.

In the summer of 2006 Camden turned eight and was old enough to fly alone to Chicago. The next summer Morgan flew to Sacramento. It's become a yearly tradition the girls look forward to all year long. This year was again Morgan's turn in Sacramento, but this time Brent showed-up for the last few days of the trip as did Brooke and her dad, Matt. The group of dads and daughters strapped their gear on their backs and hiked up to Penner Lake in the Sierras for a few days of camping. Two other dads and daughters (friends of the Carters) and Camden's Grandpa "Panda" also joined the expedition.
Morgan, Brent, Camden, Brooke, Matt:

Brooke Tennison, (Sutton Carter), Camden Carter, Morgan:

Brent, Matt Tennison, Ian Carter at the Carter's house in Sacramento:

Snowbird, August 7, 2009

2009-09-06T23:26:00.004-05:00

Growing up my family had a summer timeshare at Snowbird Ski Resort. Every summer we spent a week swimming, playing tennis, hiking, playing in the game room and generally doing a lot of relaxing and hanging out. My dad's timeshare week this year happened to land during our visit to Utah, so he invited us to join him, his wife, and their three boys for a day. Much of Snowbird is just as it was 25 years ago (or maybe more?) when we first started spending time there, but one thing is for sure, there is a lot more to do now (and it's really beautiful and fun)!

Max, Luke, Sam, cousin Jaxon, Morgan, Isaac & Ethan on the Snowbird tram:

Morgan on the climbing wall:

Grandpa and cousin Jax riding the alpine slide:

Grandpa Adair (my dad) on the tram with the kids:

Isaac riding the mechanical bull...he went over and over again!
Me doing flips on the trampoline:

Brent climbing the climbing wall:

Utah with the Pauls, August 1-15, 2009

2009-09-06T23:04:00.004-05:00

A nasty flu bug and a precious premie newborn kept us from spending as much time as we'd like with Rich & Ash and our Paul cousins this year. But as always we had just enough time together to really remind us that we don't have enough time together (does that make sense). Back in 1993-1997 we spent most weekend nights hanging out together as two newlywed couples. During those years we each bought, renovated, and decorated our first homes, we bought a boat together, and Rich and Ash had their first two babies. We moved away in 1997 promising to be gone for only a few years but here we are 12 years later and thousands of miles away. It was hard to say goodbye knowing that little baby Bella will already be walking and talking by the time we see her next summer--how much we miss living far away! I think I need to figure out how to Skype.

Morgan, Lexi, Jake, Ethan & Isaac (Josh is missing):

Welcome sweet Baby Bella:

Utah with the Adairs - August 1-15, 2009

2009-09-06T22:32:00.005-05:00

It's Labor Day today and I've neglected to blog almost all summer. I guess it's a good thing that I haven't been tethered to the computer while the weather has been perfect out. Our summer was very cool, so much so that I'm still waiting for my tomatoes to ripen (I've only had one red tomato so far...maybe I'll have to try fried green tomatoes). Everyone complained about the lack of summer. I think I was the only one who thought perpetual spring was a really great thing. Afterall, Chicagoans love to complain about how we never get spring, the weather goes right from winter to summer. So, I say lets enjoy spring while it's here. The only downside was that we didn't get to swim much and never got much of a tan. It was actually the coolest summer in Chicago history with not a single day over 90 in July (and maybe August too, but I'm not sure since we were gone for two weeks).

Thankfully, we made our annual trek home to Utah where days in the 90s are always plentiful. While there the kids played and played and played with their cousins, and only reappeared when they were hungry or so tired they couldn't stand up any longer.

My great little travelers in the SLC airport all carting their own gear:

Isaac, Ethan & Morgan on the way to Lake Mary above Brighton Ski Area:

My sister Rachel with her boyfriend, Jeremy, hiked with us:

Me and my 4 sisters, my mom (in the middle...yes, hard to tell she's the mom), and my brother's girlfriend, Katie (in the black next to me):

Ethan standing "on top of the world" at the top of the tram at Snowbird Resort:
Morgan with cousins Courtney, Elise, Monet, and Great Aunt Marge:

Lake Geneva - July 25, 2009

2009-09-06T22:19:00.004-05:00

After mountain biking with the family in Kettle Moraine State Park, WI we stopped off in Lake Geneva for dinner. Lake Geneva is a charming little tourist town just over the Illinois border in Wisconsin. The boys headed straight for the water but Morgan decided it was too cold. Instead of swimming Morgan entertained herself (and many onlookers) doing back flips and back handsprings on the sand.

Mountain Biking Rediscovered - July 25, 2009

2009-09-06T18:39:00.006-05:00

Each semester in college I loved taking an easy one-hour credit/no-credit class with friends. Bowling, tennis and racquetball were just a few. One of the best classes I happened to stumble upon was mountain biking. After an unsuccessful attempt to join a Greek sorority I decided to use the money I would have spent on sorority dues to buy myself a mountain bike. Atop a shiny new bike I spent the semester riding up canyons I never would have dreamed of climbing on my own and off-road trails I'd previously thought could only be ascended on foot. The class introduced me to a whole new world and I was addicted. Brent and I spent many a Saturday hitting the plentiful trails in Utah.

When we moved to California we again found plentiful trails, but with babies in tow off-road mountain biking became a distant memory. The baby bike trailer was great for the kids, but not so great for the steep and narrow mountain biking trails. So, we stuck to the flat paved trails for years.

Then, we moved to the Midwest. With vast flat plains of cornfields we assumed the sport of mountain biking didn't exist. We had been told there were trails just over the border in Wisconsin but with three small children it required too much planning, cost, and effort to get away for an entire day for a bike ride.

Fast forward to the summer of 2009. A garage sale around the corner provides us with a "tag-a-long" bike that attaches to my bike for 4-year-old Ethan. Ethan can't get enough of his new "one-wheeler" bike and suddenly we think we could possibly attempt an easy off-road trail as a family. We head to the Kettle Moraine State Park about an hour away in Wisconsin.

We check in with the Ranger for maps and directions and are told the John Muir mountain biking loops would all be much too challenging for the kids. We choose to disregard the Ranger's advice rationalizing that our kids are pretty tough, and if the trail is too rigorous we can walk our bikes along the short 1.5 mile loop. The kids agree and we hit the trail.

1.5 miles later everyone is feeling confident and having a blast. I'm pleased with how well the tag-a-long bike works, and how Ethan can help me out on the big hills with his own pedals. Morgan is well equipped with an aluminum bike with gears and shocks, but Isaac is stuck with his heavy as a refrigerator hand-me-down bike from the neighbor next door. Instead of crying and complaining that the trail is too hard with his ill-equipped bike, Isaac quickly runs (not walks) his bike up the hill whenever it's too steep. What a little trooper.

After the second loop (4 miles), we are pleased as punch with our tough little brood of kiddos and excited to have reopened the door to the world of mountain biking. The kids seem pretty excited about their new discovery as well.

Loving the Lake

2009-07-02T13:31:00.007-05:00

We've been spending a lot of time at Lake Michigan this summer. The kids love playing on the beach and swimming in the calm fresh water and I love how peaceful it is. The best part is it's just a quick 20 minutes from home. Can't beat that!

Irish Twins

2009-07-02T13:16:00.003-05:00

Brent's "little" brother, Rich (or maybe "younger" brother is a better description), had a meeting in Chicago and came for a visit. He was in town for his birthday, which meant he and Brent were able to spend a few days together while they were both 36 years old. Brent and Rich are less than a year apart. Brent's birthday is June 20th, Rich's is June 15th, so for five days each year they are the same age, Irish Twins. I can't imagine how crazy 1973 - 1975 were for Brent's mom having two baby boys less than a year apart!

Rock On!

2009-07-02T12:52:00.004-05:00

My surprise Father's Day gift has been a hit! We've had to ban a few inappropriate songs from the tender ears of our young kids, but overall we are logging many (maybe too many) fun-filled hours rocking out together as a family. Morgan is great on the guitar and loves to stay on "easy" mode so she can get 100%. Isaac is the drummer--he sticks with them even though a lot of his friends avoid the drums saying they are too hard. Brent and I trade off playing anything that's available. Ethan surprisingly isn't interested in playing, but doesn't seem to mind when everyone else is. Last night Brent played with both Morgan and Isaac, then at about 11pm after everyone (including myself) was asleep he fired it up again for a few songs before bed. Rock on!

Ahhh the 80s!

2009-06-10T08:36:00.005-05:00

Ahhh, the 80s! 20 years ago when our little 35mm cameras were horrible we loved to spray our bangs and head over to Olan Mills for a photo shoot. I recently came across these beauties and just had to share. ...did I really just say 20 years ago! How is that possible?

My sister, Angela and I in 1989 (I was 17, she was 19).
My best friend, Emily Tyler and I...not sure the date, probably sometime during our Senior Year in 1989 or 1990.

Congratulations Little Mathlete

2009-06-05T10:09:00.002-05:00

Apparently miss Morgan is a mathlete. Who knew? Unbeknown to me their school participated in the Continental Mathmatics League math contests during class time throughout the year. Morgan was the runner-up in her grade (second only to a boy named Daniel Oh...go figure). Add, subtract, win, goooooooo mathletes!

Ethan's Anatomically Correct Snowman

2009-06-01T12:55:00.004-05:00

Having a 4-year old around (especially Ethan) provides a lot of good comedy in our house. This drawing (and Ethan's explaination) made me laugh today.

An Expensive Bag of Nuts

2009-05-22T08:15:00.009-05:00

Monday, as I waited for a flight in the Palm Springs airport, I was starting to get a little hungry. So, I thought I'd grab a snack for the flight. I headed over to the closest kiosk and grabbed a tiny little pathetic looking sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap. Maybe I haven't been eating in airports enough lately, but I was stunned when the girl behind the counter told me it would be $9.50. WHAT?! I'd expect to pay that much for a Wolfgang Puck airport sandwich, but this one? No way! In protest, I put the sandwich back and went to the kiosk next door for a $4 bag of nuts. This is where all the fun begins!

Normally, I just choose plain nuts, but the trail mix with M&Ms suited me this day. So off I went to catch my flight with my bag of mixed nuts/M&Ms/raisins.

I didn't finish the bag on my flight, and came home with 1/2 a bag of trail mix in my purse. On Wednesday night Ethan discovered the bag and thought the M&Ms were Skittles, so he secretly snuck a snack from the bag. My dairy allergic kid quickly realized he'd just bit into chocolate and spit out the M&M. Still feeling the urge to snack, he next decided to be adventurous and try a cool curvy looking cashew. Within seconds he was complaining that it was so so "spicy" and his mouth was burning. Unfortunately he'd already swallowed the nut. His throat started to get scratchy and he started to get scared as he began having an anaphylactic reaction.

Thank goodness we live just a few blocks from the hospital. I whisked my coughing/wheezing little guy off to the ER as I called a neighbor to pick-up Isaac from baseball practice and called off my other responsibilities for Young Women's at church that night.

An hour later Ethan had an IV and was pumped full of Epinephrine, Benadryl and steroids and was breathing much better. Just when we thought we'd be going home soon, he started to break out in hives. What? I couldn't believe he could break out in hives with all the drugs that were pumping through his little veins. The rash got continually worse until the nurse had to give him another shot of Epinephrine.

The hives decided to be stubborn, and wouldn't clear up. So, the doctor admitted Ethan to the hospital for overnight observation. Since Brent was traveling for work, I called upon my wonderful neighbors who swooped in to take over Morgan and Isaac for the night.

By the time we got to the pediatric wing the rash was finally clearing and Ethan looked much better. Ethan loved sleeping in the hospital. Some of the highlights were the stuffed monkeys he was given, the cranes doing construction work right outside the window, fruit loops for breakfast, and the buttons to move the bed up and down. Truthfully, we had a pretty fun time together at the hospital...we didn't get much rest, but then again, isn't that a sign of a great slumber party?

As we were leaving the hospital at 11:00 the next morning Ethan said, "Mom, I liked sleeping at that place, I want to eat one of those nuts again sometime so we can sleep there again." Needless to say we had a little chat about that.

In the end, I think the sandwich would have been the more economical option. I initially saved $4.50 by going with the less expensive bag of nuts. I think that bag will end up costing more than another flight would have cost. Bummer!

Loved

2009-05-20T11:10:00.005-05:00

The great thing about having a birthday and Mother's Day so close to one another is I get a whole week of love. This year's celebration started off with hand painted flower pots from the kids (project director Brent), the kids even picked their own flowers to fill the pots. Very cute.

The sweet Mother's Day letters are always the best for making one feel loved. Some of my favorite parts from the kid's letters were, Isaac: "I know my mom cares because she 'kisis' me to bed". Ah, he is a little guy who truly loves to be tucked, sung to, and kissed each night. He also noted, "My mom is smart because she 'nose' how to 'mace' 'benana' bread". Morgan made a diagram of things she thought made me a good mom, among other things were listed, "knows how to do a backflip, has good handwriting". I'm especially relishing, "knows when to give consequences, fun 2B around, and dresses well"...I assume it won't be long before she changes her mind on these few.

For my birthday the kids and Brent made a carrot cake with raisins on top, just like the cakes from my youth. They celebrated without me while I was in Palm Springs soaking up the sun with a few of my best girlfriends. Couldn't ask for a better week!

My Quirky Family

2009-05-01T10:00:00.008-05:00

We all have quirks, I'll refrain from admitting mine, but here are a few I wanted to document about the rest of the family. Their quirks are ever changing, and my memory is ever worsening, so I have to get this all down before it's gone. Sadly Miss Morgan will be all grown up before too long and we'll laugh that she was at one time adverse to showers and grooming. I imagine it won't be long before we are begging her to spend less time in the shower and bathroom.

ETHAN:
MUST wear his undies backwards (he likes the "pocket" in back)
MUST eat with a kid-sized fork/spoon
MUST have his place at the table set with a specific blue checkered napkin as the placemat (make sure it isn't the identical looking napkin with fringe, or as he calls it, "feathers", or he'll reject it)
MUST sit on the end of the bar (WILL NOT sit in the middle seat)
MUST lay in his special spot on the couch (WILL kick out anyone else who dares to sit there when he's ready to lay down)
MUST have his bed pillow and couch pillow propped at just the right angle
FOND of Caillou (who sometimes makes visits to our house in his invisible/imaginary form)
FOND of Tickey Bear (who he's taken to school for show-and-tell all but one of his turns this year)
FOND of sleeping (he's so high energy during the day that he's worn out and easy to put to bed at night)
FOND of hanging with the big-kids in the neighborhood
FOND of showing off his 2-wheeler riding skills
FOND of death defying stunts (yet he's a scardy cat when it comes to dark rooms or slightly scary movies)
FOND of ignoring mom and doing his own thing
ADVERSE to cleaning (although he's reluctant he's actually a good helper once he stops complaining and gets to work)

ISAAC:
SKEPTICAL of all food (even when we try to remind him that he's had it before and liked it)
ADVERSE to gel in his hair (but mom usually wins on this one)
ADVERSE to tucking in his shirt at church (but what 7-yr old isn't?)
ADVERSE to waking up in the morning (he can sleep and sleep if we let him--but thankfully he's good natured enough that he isn't too hard to wrestle out of bed)
FOND of building with Legos, experiments, riding bikes and scooters over his ramp
FOND of neatness and tidyness (he's great at organizing)
PROUD of his ability to read simple chapter books
PROUD of his bravery on big rides at Six Flags (he stuffed his shoes with extra layers last summer so he'd be tall enough to ride)

MORGAN:
ADVERSE to showering and grooming in general
FRUSTRATED by cavities or any tooth related issue
FOND of her turtle Kimmy, violin, soccer, gymnastics, her teacher, SCHOOL!
FOND of roller coasters
PROUD of out-lasting every boy in her class during the endurance/fitness test in gym class (she did more sit-ups, more push-ups, more sprints across the gym, and other such stuff...and she beat all the boys but one in the mile run)
PROUD of straight As on her report card

BRENT:
FOND of running, camping and roller coasters
FOND of cool wheels on cars (I don't have enough testosterone to understand this one)
ADVERSE to student loans and and the dentist
ADVERSE to many of my music choices
FOND of me...which makes him quirky :-)

Isaac's World

2009-04-13T11:15:00.007-05:00

Brent found himself alone with Isaac this week and tried to engage him in a fatherly conversation about how things are going in his life. Their conversation went as follows:

Brent: "So Isaac, do you feel like you have any challenges in your life right now?"
Isaac: Thinks for a minute, "Yeah, time is a challenge".
Brent: "Really? How so? Do you feel like you don't have enough time to do everything you want to do?"
Isaac: "No, I just can't keep the big hand and the little hand straight, I forget which one is which".

I have a feeling this one will keep us laughing for years to come.

In other news, Isaac lost his two front teeth last week. He looks adoreable, but hates the attention from everyone who notices and comments. Uncle Matt came to visit from Arizona and the kids had a blast with him. I thought this photo was so cute of Isaac snuggled up to his favorite uncle (sorry to any other uncles who may read this...if you move closer you might be in the running--then again, Matt's a pretty tough act to follow).

Gymnast Morgan Doing Her Thing

2009-03-24T15:58:00.003-05:00

I've promised it for weeks, finally, here it is...video from Morgan's best meet of the year (so far).

February, 15, 2009, St Louis, MO
9.325/2nd place Bars
9.200/2nd place Beam
8.750/6th place Floor
9.100/1st place (tied) Vault
36.375/2nd place All Around

The season is almost over, just the state meet is left on April 4th(the boys will be so relieved, gymnastics meets are long and boring for them). Instead of spending our Saturdays in a gym we'll move on to Saturdays at the soccer field and baseball field. Should be fun to get a little fresh air on the weekends. Hooray for Spring!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezW_qb5b3Yg