I joined Jake on his class field trip on the 7th. We went to the Botanic Garden. I think the kids had the most fun while waiting for the bus in the big field.
Jake started playing in a basketball league at Brooks park. It was his first experience with basketball, and he seems to really like it. Here's a shot from his first game:
We had our November girl scout meeting on the 13th. Our topic was dining etiquette and we had a nice guest speaker.
Here's a shot from Jake's second game. He's a pretty good dribbler.
On that Sunday evening after the game, the kids helped me make an apple crumble. They also put on some diner hats and made themselves mustaches and nametags. It was so funny.
We went back to Bughouse Studio on the 19th. Jake made another bowl:
Megan came with us this time and caught on pretty fast for her first try at the wheel:
She has a lot of confidence as an artist. Not bad for her first piece (all by herself):
I also forgot to mention that Megan signed up to be in a play at Sauganash Park. She had practice every Wed. and Fri. after school for 2 hours. One Wednesday, Jake and I went to Starbucks (his request) and he did his homework there, while enjoying a hot chocolate and croissant. Megan thinks that he looks like a businessman in this picture:
On November 23, we celebrated 50 Years of Marriage for Mimi and Papa. The whole crew went to dinner at L.Woods.
On the 24th, Megan, Darin, Larry and I participated in the Lincolnwood Turkey Trot 5k. It was brutally cold that day, but we survived.
We made it back to the Bughouse Studio for one more crack at pottery on the 27th (the kids had no school). They glazed some of their pieces:
Jake decided that he wanted to do some hand-throwing, rather than the wheel. He made a pirate ship. We still have to go pick it up. Here's the before photo. Watch for the "after" to come soon.
On Thanksgiving Day, Megan and Darin ran the Evanston Flying Turkey 5k (another cold one).
And then the Cleavelands hosted the Thanksgiving meal. Jake and Pierce celebrated as cowboys.
That about sums up November!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
November 2013
Jake the Potter
Megan was requiring much of my time throughout the fall with the coaching of cross country and attending soccer games, so Jake was feeling a bit left out. I told him to choose an activity that just he and I could do together. He suggested that we "go do that thing with the clay where you spin it in front of you". I found a studio in Skokie where kids could participate in wheel throwing. So, Jake and I headed out on one of their open studio nights and fortunately we had the place (and the instructor) to ourselves. She gave us a good lesson and helped us create two pieces each. We had a really fun time. We had to go back on another day to glaze them and then another day to pick them up. Somewhere along the way, Megan got the bug too and I'll show off some of her throwing in November. This was our finished product from our first try:
October 2013
My birthday was on the 2nd. Darin picked up a Red Velvet cake and we had a nice little celebration after Megan's soccer game in Arlington Heights.
On the 5th, Megan had a cc meet at Niles West H.S. They had a 2 mile race, followed by a one mile exhibition race (meaning no prizes available). Megan ran in both races with only about 20 minutes or so, in between. This kid continues to amaze me.
On Oct. 19, they had what was meant to be their final meet of the season...the big CYO Invitational at Maryville Academy. Megan had a good race, finishing 33rd in the JV girls race and earning herself a ribbon.
Uncle Scott came up to watch and afterward we had him over to our house to celebrate his birthday. The kids surprised him when he arrived with a silly string attack.
QAS ended up with an opportunity for one more cross country meet at Edgebrook School on the 24th. There were 4 schools represented and Megan took 3rd overall (6th grade and under girls) with a time of 7:20....her best yet. I snapped a photo but she was going so fast it didn't focus in on her!
On Oct. 26, we celebrated the life of Uncle Adam with a Memorial Service in Oak Lawn. I wanted to give a special shout out to one of our loyal blog readers. We got to meet Aunt Charmayne in person and snapped a quick photo. I wish I would have taken two, because this one is not so clear. But I guess it will have to do.
Now we get to the Halloween portion of the month. My company produced the Trick or Treat Trot in Evanston on October 27. I got my group to dress up as Power Rangers.
Then, for my second costume, Jake had our whole family dress in a Bat Man theme. Jake was Bane, Darin was Scarecrow, I was Bat Girl, Mimi was Catwoman, Booje was Batman and Megan was Poison Ivy. Papa was a photobomber.
I made Megan's Poison Ivy costume and I think her's turned out best (I guess I'm a little biased). Here's a closer look:
Jenny came over earlier in the month and decorated our yard with all of her fancy decorations. Here's a view in the evening (who is that ghoul?!)
And here is an extra spooky photo of Aunt Jenny on Halloween.
Happy New Year - Here's Sept. 2013
Yep - New Year's Day 2014. I am going to wrap up last year today. I mean it!
September was another busy month for us. We were at the cottage for Labor Day weekend. Jake and Darin were out fishing and - no lie - Jake was catching fish as quick as Darin could take them off the hook and re-bait. He must have caught at least 30 small fish that day. As a matter of fact, he threw in his hook with no bait a few times and even caught fish on that. I went out there and grabbed the little Barbie pole and after about 5 casts, I caught this monster:
We made it to the Walworth County Fair (just like every year). Here's the cousin photo by the Tilt-a-whirl:
Megan had a busy sports month with lots of soccer games and cross country meets.
We had our Balmoral block party on Sept. 7th. One highlight was the donut eating contest. It hung from string and you couldn't use your hands!
The kids loved the DJ and the bouncy house, as well. A good time was had by all.
Megan had her first cross country meet on Sept. 9th. It was a really hot day, but she handled it like a pro. Look at this form:
She had another meet on the 13th at Bunker Hill with approx. 500 girls in her race. That's one intimidating start line!
That same day, we had to leave the meet right after her mile run and head over to a soccer game. She basically changed into her uniform in the car and we arrived at the game right after it started. She was definitely warmed up already!!
Then, this superstar athlete had another cross country meet the very next morning! Oh, how I would love to have that energy!
Did I mention that Megan was also taking guitar class at the Old Town School of Folk Music on Thursdays for all of Sept. and Oct? The four of us went to her class on the 19th to watch a special performance by a band from Mexico. After the performance, Jake and I got to go to class with Megan and Darin. Jason (her teacher) brought Jake a guitar so that he could join in.
Here's an interesting cross country story. On the 24th, QAS had a meet at Regina High School. They had chip timing and a big finish line structure. They had the top 7 from each team race in the first race and then had an open race for remaining runners. Megan typically finishes in the top 3 on her team, so she ran in the first race. I believe she ran about a 7:30 mile that day.
When they had announced the open race, she said she wanted to run again. She decided to pace two of her team members in the second race. I gave her a goal to get them to run a 9:00 mile. (previously, each of them had only run as fast as a 9:45). They ended up finishing at 9:01 and 9:03. That's my girl!
We were back in WI for the weekend of the 27th. I made the kids pose for a couple of pics. This is one of my faves...
The Marino family joined us on Saturday night and then the whole crew went out on Sunday for some apple picking and boating.
Here's Jake and his buddy, Jack at the Apple Barn:
It warmed up enough in the afternoon to hit the lake. Each kid got to drive for a while.
And that's a wrap for September.
Monday, December 30, 2013
August 2013
This was the month of Megan (obviously her birthday is this month!). We headed back to the cottage for the first weekend of August. Brian, Damien, Ada and Scott joined us. It was the first time there for all of them. This was also the debut of our "Welcome to Corndog Island" sign.
I was glad Damien and Ada got to experience some new activities. Ada is up for just about any adventure, while Damien tends to be a little more conservative.
Megan's birthday was on that Sunday, so we celebrated with cake once we got home.
Not sure if I mentioned in an earlier post, but Jake helped me plant the garden this year. He's taken ownership of it (weeding, watering etc) throughout the season. On August 5th, he harvested his first zucchini. Look at the size of this thing!
On the 8th, we had Megan's friend party. We created a photo booth in our basement and set up a bunch of props. I'd have to say that those girls had a pretty fun time. Here's the group:
And, of course, we had to take a family photo:
We even got Mimi and Papa to participate:
On the 9th, I took Megan, Jake and Francesca to the Sox game.
We got there early enough to see the players warm up and get a couple of autographs.
I had Francesca take a pic of me with Megan and Jake. Notice Megan's blue mouth from a slushie and Jake wouldn't take his eyes off the game!
On the 10th, Megan and I, along with Aunt Jenny, Lisa and Lili, went to the Taylor Swift concert at Soldier Field. Aunt Jenny booked a limo which was awesome!
Our seats weren't great, but it was a great show and Megan can't wait to go again.
The next weekend we were back at the cottage. It was the weekend of the Lighted Boat Parade. Jake's friend, Michael, joined us for the weekend. The boat had a pirate theme this year:
The boys also got in a little fishing.
Darin and I went to Ravinia to see Journey with Erika and Matt. It's tough to take a selfie in the dark:
On the 23rd, we were able to put together another group beach outing. This was the last Friday before school started. I never did get a big group photo, but the girls all got together:
Then I got a solo of Jake (not sure where the boys all were, but there were a bunch of them).
It was a super wavy day and they had so much fun.
Our summer came to a close on the 26th, with the first day of school. Here's Megan starting 4th grade with Ms. Doyle:
Here's Jake at his 1st grade desk. I didn't get a photo of him with his teacher, but in hindsight, he's probably glad because he's not too fond of her.
Megan had soccer practice on the first day of school:
And then their first game was the very next day. Look at the size of this kid she was matched up against.
Cathy Mullen is such a good coach. Megan was nervous and she gave her a super pep talk. Whatever she said, worked, because Megan got in there and mixed it up with the rest of them.
July 2013
We spent the 4th of July in Wisconsin. The boys got in plenty of fishing and the kids got lots of outdoor time. We saw fireworks on the 4th at Geneva National. It was our first time there - we'll definitely go back. We also ran into Jake's baseball teammate, Matthew!
We finally got 2 kayaks and the kids were really great at maneuvering them (especially since they had never paddled before!).
The following week, I sent a message out to a bunch of area moms to see who might be able to join us at Loyola Beach. Look at this turn out:
It's always fun to have lots of friends at the beach!
Jake's baseball picnic and awards took place on the 13th. Darin got to present each player with their trophy - he also said a few nice words about each of them.
We had a playdate scheduled with the Marinos for the following week, but since it was brutally hot, we decided to take the kids bowling. (It cost a small fortune after hitting the arcade, too).
Jake played in the All-Star Game on July 18. It was a cool experience at a fancy ballpark (they even had an announcer).
After the game with his All-Star medal:
We spent the last two weekends of the month in WI. It was nice and relaxing - lots of swimming, boating, kayaking and general outdoor fun.
Aside from that, Jake went to Sports Camp at Sauganash Park and absolutely hated it. Megan did swim lessons at Northside Prep (every day for 2 weeks) and really loved it. My Undie Dash event took place on the 25th. Unfortunately, that was probably the last one. I saw Heart at Ravinia with about 40 other QAS gals. It was a rockin' good time.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
June 2013
Lots of baseball, a birthday and general good times!
As you'll see from the photos to follow, we spent a lot of time at the baseball field in June. Darin coached Jake's Diamondbacks team and they had a really strong early season - perhaps they peaked early! Either way, they had a fun time! Here's the team photo:
And an action shot in the field:
Near the end of the school year, QAS had a picnic. Megan got a pretty cool face painting:
Here is Megan with some of her fellow 3rd graders on the last day of school:
Since the last day of school was only 2 hours, we scheduled our last scout event of the year for that afternoon. We went sailing on the Tall Ship Windy. We also combined with the 4th grade troop. Look at the size of this group:
We got a chance to swim in Jenny's pool. Big jumps all around:
And while I'm a bit uncomfortable posting this next one, I don't want to be one of those moms that is never photographed. I also want them to remember that I can be fun (not all business with homework, brushing teeth, etc):
Jake had a ball game on his actual birthday. I made cupcakes for the team:
He also got to play catcher (all of that equipment is fun):
And I just happen to love this one:
Here's another "at bat":
Jake had a bounce house birthday party again this year. (The beauty of having a summer birthday)
Here's the whole gang:
And the whole gang with a big cheer!
Jake started using a sleep mask back in June. It's now December and it's part of his nightly ritual.
Megan's big news in June was that she cut off her long hair.
She donated that braid to Pantene Beautiful Lengths (they make wigs for cancer patients).
And here's Jake's last regular season game:
