Happy 21st Birthday To Our Bolivian Godsend!

We love you, Melissa!

What's More Chaotic Than A Poolful of Nine-Year-Old-Boys?

Today, we held Jacob's ninth birthday at the illustrious party spot: The Sea Lion Aquatic Park in Lisle, IL. He invited his closest friends, a group of strange, cool, sports-obsessed American males. Here are two excerpts of the party conversation:

1. "Hey, this baseball set comes with two balls."
"Two balls? Did he say two balls?"
"It does! Two balls; just like us!"
Teeheeheeheeheehee.

2. "Hey this gift is from Dick's Sportin Goods!"
"Did he say the gift is from Dick's?"
"Heh, Dick's!"
"He said Dick's."
























Jacob also insisted on having his cousins, Julia and Christina, who held their own with this mess of misplaced and misunderstood testosterone. It seemed like everyone had a good time.

Only in Wisconsin

Visit with the Klingeman's

At the end of our vacation, close friends of ours, Keith and Roza Klingeman, came for a visit. Roza and I became fast friends in late 2004 where we met during a class preparing us for twins (Ha!) Sarah and Izzy are a just few weeks older than Caity and Isabel, and Aidan and Nataniel are the same age.

Happy 4th of July!

I was excited to share the American tradition with Melissa while we were in Wisconsin. Growing up, my Mom and I would spend our summers in Wisconsin. My favorite part of the summer was the 4th of July. We would drive into another small town called Genoa that is nestled into a bluff that overlooks the Mississippi River. One Catholic church is the hub of social activity for the community. Every 4th, the church sponsors a chicken dinner for the adults, games for the kids (including a minnow races) and all the bingo people can handle. The whole event is run by amazing older church ladies who can bake a mean pie. As I grow older, I am always happy to return to see time standing still.

What is wrong with this picture?

Girls.

Mississippi Paddle Boat

One of our favorite things to do when we go to Wisconsin is to take a ride on an authentic paddle boat down the Mississippi River. After the first 15 minutes, the novelty wore off and Isabel did not like the boat. However , the rest of the kids really enjoyed the tour.




Isabel (Left) and Caity (Right)










My happy Aido.

Caity being a monkey.

Rainy Day in Wisconsin

I am finally catching up on pictures from our vacation to Wisconsin. We had fabulous weather except for Wednesday when it looked menacing most of the day. We opted for the low-key, hands-on Children's Museum of La Crosse.

Inside the museum, they have a mini Quick Trip. Outside are vehicles and gas pumps, and inside is a fully stocked store. The kids spent most of their time in this area. The concept of doing what adults do in Montessori is called Practical Life. It is most powerful for the ages of 3-5.



Aidan loved to be the store clerk.



The museum catered to younger kids but Jacob was a good sport.



Jacob and Dan got into trouble while I was hanging out at the Quick Trip. Check out Jacob in is pretty, pretty princess dress.

One of the cool exhibits is a modified working fire engine. In addition to getting into fireman gear, you can drive the fire engine, turn the lights on and off and flip a lot of important switches.

British Soccer Camp

Over this past week, Jacob and Aidan attended the Challenger British Soccer Camp in Lisle, IL. Last year, Karen and I decided we would be a host family to a coach. We ended up hosting two coaches because of the lack of involvement in families agreeing to host.

This year we got three coaches: Rich, Kelly, and Rose. As you can imagine, the house was a crazy place to be for the week. The three of them were polite and made for fine guests. Aidan took a shine to the girls, and especially warmed up to Kelly when she revealed that she drives a Mini Cooper back in England.

This is a picture of Aidan and Coach Kelly.

Here is a video and some pictures of the fun we had over this past week:





Jacob is wearing an Argentina kit (a gift from Melissa, who is from Bolivia, but is a staunch Lionel Messi supporter), but played on team Italia for the week's "Copa del Mundo".
The world's smallest flag of Italy.
The world's smallest flag of Brazil.Coach Rose.

Long Run Goal for the Week

Listed below is my favorite mapping software. I am unoficially training for a half-marathon. I am slowly increasing my distance and hope to do a 6 mile long run this weekend.

Dan has been a great supporter. In Wisconsin, he ran with me every day. He would stay with me for about 2.5 miles of my 4.5 mile run. This is great considering he had not been running prior to our vacation!

[Edit: Dan is physically, morally, and fundamentally opposed to any sort of organized, premeditated exercise. That's cruel and unusual when it is forced upon another person; it's downright frightening for someone to knowingly submit himself or herself to that kind of torture. No thank you. I'd rather be waterboarding. If it happens spontaneously (i.e. chasing three and five-year-old children through parks, zoos or museums; flash soccer/ baseball/ ghost in the graveyard games in the backyard; emergency walking treks for beer ten minutes before the game begins, biking to work work because gas prices make you nauseous {that's a true story!}, etc.), great! Put me on the front of a Wheaties box!]

Happy 9th Birthday, Jacob

Here is a video I made when Jacob was two(?), three (?)... Before we had even two kids... I'd like to eventually do something like this with all the children, but... Well, you know.




My favorites things about my eldest son (in no particular order):

• He introduced me to the comic genius of Captain Underpants. Although, his spelling and grammar has regressed. Go figure.
  
• He can explain to me, citing accurate stats, why Reggie Bush is his favorite NFL player.
• He shares my opinion (I KNOW he does) that Alfonso Soriano is a bum; but, like a true, blue fan, defends him vehemently.
• He lets me win, sometimes, when we play each other in FIFA on Playstation.
• He laughs at my jokes, and is a true, hard critic when my jokes aren't funny; which, he has just informed me, "happens, like, 11 times out of 10"... He also banks at the 5th/3rd Bank.
• After every soccer game, no matter if his team wins or loses, he comes to me for a big hug.
• At nine years old, while he is embarrassed of my spontaneous breaking into Britney Spears/ Drake & Josh/ Hanna Montana/ iCarly songs in public, he is not yet too embarrassed to walk up to me at a crowded picnic and give me a big, genuine, kiss on my bald head.
  

Welcome to Wisconsin!

Yes, dear family and friends, we travel at 4:00 AM. Why such craziness you ask? My parents' summer home in Wisconsin is a 5 hour car ride (sans stops) and we find that by the time the little monsters awake from their slumber we are most of the way there.

When we arrived in Stoddard, Wisconsin (population 815), Grandpa Pretzel, Grandma Bobbie and my Godmother Marilyn were enjoying the beautiful scenery and quiet company. Well, that changed quickly as the kids ran wild, happy to be released from the captivity of the car. We strolled the few hundred feet to the bank of the Mississippi river and admired the beauty of the river and bluffs. We also found a small park and sandbox adjacent to a Field of Dreams-like baseball field. Jacob promptly ran and slid into every base. He came back with a satisfied grin and covered in dusty dirt and white chalk from the fresh lines on the diamond.

We took the kids to Grandad's Bluff which is the highest point on the local bluffs. Due to the very wet spring, much of the area was not accessible because of sink holes (yes, a new nightmare for me as a mother). Afterwards, we went to the Alpine Inn where we ate hambugers, played music on the juke box, played a game of pool and played in the sand volleyball courts. That night, Dan and I went to dinner at Schmity's with my Dad and Bobbie. The kids stayed home to take a bath and go to bed in anticipation of the next day's adventure.

Caity asked me throughout the day (and week), "Mama, where you going? You going to work?" I responded that I was not going to work because I was on vacation and my job was to play. And play we did!