Wednesday, January 21, 2015
April 2014
I'm going to attempt a quick catch up here! Last April, during spring break, we went to St. Louis. The kids are perfectly happy to swim in a hotel pool. We could be anywhere, really.
They went into the Arch with Darin (I stayed behind on that one).
And we went to the St. Louis Zoo. Always a hit.
They went into the Arch with Darin (I stayed behind on that one).
And we went to the St. Louis Zoo. Always a hit.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
March 2014
It was still cold in Chicago in March. We celebrated Mimi's birthday at our house with the whole crew.
Here's one of Megan and Mimi:
Megan got her expander from her orthodontist in mid-March. Here's a pic of her on the first day with it.
Jake and Darin made sure to keep fit over the winter with plenty of workouts in our basement. How cute is this one:
In late March, we made a trip to the Shedd Aquarium. Jake had been asking to go, as he was really interested in seeing Sharks. We saw lots of interesting exhibits. Here's a little seahorse....
And we saw the dolphin show.
Unfortunately, Jake was disappointed with the shark exhibit. He said he was expecting it to be much better. On the bright side, it was a pretty nice day outside, so we took our time getting back to the car and the kids played around the museum campus for a bit.
Here's one of Megan and Mimi:
Megan got her expander from her orthodontist in mid-March. Here's a pic of her on the first day with it.
Jake and Darin made sure to keep fit over the winter with plenty of workouts in our basement. How cute is this one:
In late March, we made a trip to the Shedd Aquarium. Jake had been asking to go, as he was really interested in seeing Sharks. We saw lots of interesting exhibits. Here's a little seahorse....
And we saw the dolphin show.
Unfortunately, Jake was disappointed with the shark exhibit. He said he was expecting it to be much better. On the bright side, it was a pretty nice day outside, so we took our time getting back to the car and the kids played around the museum campus for a bit.
Monday, September 22, 2014
February 2014
My baby lost his front tooth in February.
It occurred to me yesterday that the kids really love reading the stories about themselves. I have to remember to jot down some of the funnier ones, rather than archive our lives with only photos. One particular conversation comes to mind. Last year (June 2013), I was on the back porch with Jake, Megan and Mimi. Jake made some joke about farts or something and Mimi said, "What is it with you kids and all of this fart and poop talk? What do you think would happen if your parents went to a party and started making those noises and talking about farts?" Jake said, "Well, then it would be a pretty fun party". He didn't miss a beat. Note to self - get this boy some Improv classes and put him on a stage.
We did a little more skiing at the Grand Geneva on the weekend of President's Day. Was able to get all 4 of us into a photo:
We started going to the YMCA for indoor swimming after school on Tuesdays (early dismissal day). I had to sneak a photo because no cameras are allowed on the pool deck. I wasn't able to get both kids in the shot.
Jake finished up his basketball season in February. Ironically, I was just filling out the form for this year's season today. He only wants to play if Dad is gonna coach.
Here's the big award from the season:
I think I mentioned in my January wrap-up that we had a ton of snow over the winter. Megan and Francesca took advantage of one of the not so freezing days (or maybe it was just as freezing and they were just sick of being inside).
We had tons of snow in WI as well. I just happened to like this picture:
And I'll wrap up this month with some frozen lake running:
It occurred to me yesterday that the kids really love reading the stories about themselves. I have to remember to jot down some of the funnier ones, rather than archive our lives with only photos. One particular conversation comes to mind. Last year (June 2013), I was on the back porch with Jake, Megan and Mimi. Jake made some joke about farts or something and Mimi said, "What is it with you kids and all of this fart and poop talk? What do you think would happen if your parents went to a party and started making those noises and talking about farts?" Jake said, "Well, then it would be a pretty fun party". He didn't miss a beat. Note to self - get this boy some Improv classes and put him on a stage.
We did a little more skiing at the Grand Geneva on the weekend of President's Day. Was able to get all 4 of us into a photo:
We started going to the YMCA for indoor swimming after school on Tuesdays (early dismissal day). I had to sneak a photo because no cameras are allowed on the pool deck. I wasn't able to get both kids in the shot.
Jake finished up his basketball season in February. Ironically, I was just filling out the form for this year's season today. He only wants to play if Dad is gonna coach.
Here's the big award from the season:
I think I mentioned in my January wrap-up that we had a ton of snow over the winter. Megan and Francesca took advantage of one of the not so freezing days (or maybe it was just as freezing and they were just sick of being inside).
We had tons of snow in WI as well. I just happened to like this picture:
And I'll wrap up this month with some frozen lake running:
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
January 2014
This winter was a cold one! We spent New Year's Day in Wisconsin. The kids always like walking on the lake when it's frozen.
Jake really enjoyed ice fishing with Eric in the little tent (it was actually pretty warm in there!).
We headed back to Chicago for the last weekend before the kids went back to school and got hit with lots of snow. Boy, did they enjoy that.
But then it got so cold that their break was extended and additional two days due to extreme weather. Once they got back to school, it was time for the annual roller skating in gym class. They both really love it. I didn't get a chance to help out with Megan's class (I guess they're old enough that they don't need help anymore!). I did manage to snap a few pics of Jake.
We went back to WI on the 11th to ski with the Cleavelands. We had a pretty nice day (really cold early, which maybe kept crowds down, and then sunny by the afternoon).
Here they are enjoying cocoa in the lodge.
Jake had been asking me if we could make donuts. So we embarked on an adventure to make the real deal donuts....no shortcuts. We prepped the batter in the evening.
Then, the next morning, we rolled out the dough, cut the donuts into their shape and let them rise.
Finally, we fried them up and gave them a dip in glaze. Some of them even got a double glaze! They were delicious.
Megan completed a project on Finland for her class' cultural fair. She presented her project at the school's Open House on January 26. We had to find some Finnish products to go along with her poster board and we ended up discovering these delicious caramels that we found at the Sweden Shop. They are called Dumle. Those were eaten up quickly!
We ended the month with a 70's and 80's skate party at school on the 31st. We went with the 80's look. I channeled my mom and made Jake's t-shirt at 10:00 the night before! I think it turned out pretty good!
All in all - a good month!
Jake really enjoyed ice fishing with Eric in the little tent (it was actually pretty warm in there!).
We headed back to Chicago for the last weekend before the kids went back to school and got hit with lots of snow. Boy, did they enjoy that.
But then it got so cold that their break was extended and additional two days due to extreme weather. Once they got back to school, it was time for the annual roller skating in gym class. They both really love it. I didn't get a chance to help out with Megan's class (I guess they're old enough that they don't need help anymore!). I did manage to snap a few pics of Jake.
We went back to WI on the 11th to ski with the Cleavelands. We had a pretty nice day (really cold early, which maybe kept crowds down, and then sunny by the afternoon).
Here they are enjoying cocoa in the lodge.
Jake had been asking me if we could make donuts. So we embarked on an adventure to make the real deal donuts....no shortcuts. We prepped the batter in the evening.
Then, the next morning, we rolled out the dough, cut the donuts into their shape and let them rise.
Finally, we fried them up and gave them a dip in glaze. Some of them even got a double glaze! They were delicious.
Megan completed a project on Finland for her class' cultural fair. She presented her project at the school's Open House on January 26. We had to find some Finnish products to go along with her poster board and we ended up discovering these delicious caramels that we found at the Sweden Shop. They are called Dumle. Those were eaten up quickly!
We ended the month with a 70's and 80's skate party at school on the 31st. We went with the 80's look. I channeled my mom and made Jake's t-shirt at 10:00 the night before! I think it turned out pretty good!
All in all - a good month!
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Summer Break
It's official. School's out for the summer. So far, it's been pretty laid back. On Monday, the kids tagged along with me to CrossFit and then swam at the Y for a while. On Tuesday, they had to come to my office with me for about an hour. We got a slice from Village Inn and are it at a park in Skokie. Jake and I played basketball and he beat me fair and square. 
They played at the playground for a while before heading home for the afternoon. On Wednesday, the weather was pretty rainy, so they played xBox in the basement and went to CrossFit with me. It cleared up enough in the afternoon for Jaje's team to get their last regular season game in. Although it did rain while they played. They were able to get in 5 innings and came out victorious with a score of 4-3. 
They played at the playground for a while before heading home for the afternoon. On Wednesday, the weather was pretty rainy, so they played xBox in the basement and went to CrossFit with me. It cleared up enough in the afternoon for Jaje's team to get their last regular season game in. Although it did rain while they played. They were able to get in 5 innings and came out victorious with a score of 4-3. Wednesday, January 1, 2014
December 2013
Our Elf on the Shelf, Harold Sweetcheeks, had a busy month. the kids liked this mustache prank that he played.
They got a chance to talk with Santa on Dec. 8th. Jake mentioned that he really wanted Wii U and Wii U Lego Marvel Superheroes. Megan told him that she wanted a real puppy. And a computer.
My little sous chefs got to work making some banana bread one Sunday evening. They have such a blast cooking and baking.
Harold found himself a Barbie stuffed animal and made himself a little bed on the mantle.
On the 11th, our girl scout troop made our way around Sauganash and did our caroling in very freezing weather. We had our fun cocoa party at the O'Donnell's afterward.
More mustache fun with Harold:
Megan and I ran the Jingle Bell 5k on the 14th in really snowy, crummy conditions.
On the 18th, Cariane and I hosted the WAX Ugly Sweater Christmas Party at Rabbit's.
On the 19th, QAS had their holiday concert. I took video during the program, so the only actual photo that I have is of Jake and his friend Joe.
Megan's big acting debut was on December 20. She played Pig Pen in the Sauganash Park production of A Charlie Brown Christmas. She was so excited about it and did such a great job.
Here's the cast:
She can't wait for the next program to begin!
On the 22nd, we went to a Northwestern basketball game. Here's Jake and Michael:
And all of the kids in our group (it cost a fortune to feed this crew!)
On Darin's birthday, we took our train trip downtown. We visited Macy's.
The line was way too long to eat in the Walnut Room. Our backup, the Burnham Hotel, had reservations all booked, so we couldn't eat there, either. We stopped by the Chris Kindle Market, but it was really, really cold. We got a couple of Churros to appease the kids. We ended up at a little Asian restaurant. Nothing screams Christmas meal like potstickers (and churros)!
After lunch, we headed back home.
The train was pretty crowded and Megan got stuck sitting next to a sleeper.
That photo still makes me laugh. We ended the day with a visit from Aunt Jenny and Portillo's chocolate cake to celebrate.
This was Harold's last appearance on Christmas Eve.
We hosted Christmas Eve at our house this year.
Here's the grown-up table (minus my dad, Brian and me):
And the kids:
Aunt Jenny got Pierce a Wii U game system and Jake was horrified because he was the one who actually wanted it. His reaction when Pierce opened it was priceless.
Once the guests left, my boys got into their Batman PJ's to retire for the evening.
Christmas morning brought a smile to my boy's face when Santa came through with the Wii U.
And Megan was just as pleased with her laptop computer.
We went skiing at the Grand Geneva on the 27th. Megan's bindings weren't tightened properly and she lost a ski on the lift (it actually happened twice before we went to have them tightened).
They got right back into the skiing as if no time had passed since the last time they were out there.
Jake entertained us with his new move in the lift line.
After skiing all day, these two decided that they wanted to sled. We stopped on the way out and they spent about an hour at the sled hill.
We got back to the cottage and hung out for a while. We got geared up and walked to Jenny's at around 7:00. It just so happened that she wasn't home so we came back. Since they were already suited up in snow gear, they stayed outside and played in the dark with headlamps for another half hour or so. Endless energy......
We had to leave early the next morning so that Darin could help out with a school project that he volunteered for. I caught this little pic of a pretty sunrise.
We went back to WI for NYE. Megan enjoyed playing Sims on her computer.
We had crab legs for dinner, the boys did some ice fishing, kids had milkshakes and we rung in the new year in a pretty low key manner.
And there you have it. It is January 1st and I am officially caught up through the end of 2013. I will try my best to not wait so long in between posts!!
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