Soccer Season

We have THREE soccer players this year!

While the boys are excited to be back on the field, Lily is not so sure. Mostly she just runs next to the child who has the ball. But at least she's right there in the mix and not off twirling or something.

August...

Do you ever wonder who wins those ENORMOUS stuffed toy prizes at carnivals, theme parks and county fairs?



Well wonder no more. That's Joey on the right (and his good friend Sam on the left). Three baseballs, 3 throws 3 clowns knocked down. Ding, ding, ding! Winner! And lest you think this is a fluke, he did the same thing last year. Now, he is the proud owner of a Scooby Doo doll that is bigger than he is and this lovely banana. Do I need to explain why I am a little bit excited that we will be in Finland next summer and will probably not have the time to go to Great America?

In many ways, this was a huge summer for Joey. He attended day camp and at the end got to help as a "junior counselor." He loved every minute of camp this year. They even took the kids to a YMCA sleep-away camp for a couple of nights.



These look like pretty posh accomodations compared to what I had at sleep-away camp, by the way. But again, he had a great time.

Joey also completed his first kids' triathalon this summer. I plan to document that in a seperate post.

As I write these blogs post about our summer, it seems as if we managed to cram a lot into our summer eventhough our mission was to save money for our upcoming trip to Finland. We did try to spend more time in our yard, at local parks and playgrounds, at the beach and at other places that don't have an entrance fee.

Millenium Park is always a hit with adults and kids. Honestly, the Bean (Cloudgate) has to be one of the best sculptures in the world...





At least it's one of my favorites!



And the Crown Fountain? Genius...





Bowling is almost free in the city during the summer....



water playgrounds are always free...



and bubbles are cheap if you make them from dishsoap you have on hand (but maybe not so cheap if your child uses the Costco gallon of dish soap you had in the basement for filling up the soap bottle on the sink every month or two...) Honestly, Joey spent hours making bubbles with his friends and siblings, but we seriously did go through 1 gallon of soap.









We had a great, end-of-year, last minute trip to the Michigan Dunes. Joey had had a fever for 6 days straight (including the day of the triathalon). He woke up the Monday before school started and said "I feel great!" We literally threw bathing suits and one towel into a bag and ran out the door to the dunes. Usually, I pack extra clothes, snacks, water bottles, toys, camera, books, ugh! No wonder why summer outing exhaust me. This time, we ran out the door with our suits and one towel and we had THE BEST TIME! it was a perfect day!

Summer...in review

Yeah.

Apparently, after taking a photo a day for a few months, I really loose interest in taking pictures.

So here is a recap of the first half of our summer.

This summer...

we played (and watched) a LOT of baseball



went to camp



had a mini reunion with 4 of the 7 families we traveled to China with



watched (and marched in) a parade



climbed some fences



played on the beach





a lot...




spent time with our cousins



learned to row a boat



trained for a triathalon



became an official "Lake Monster"



relaxed...



made friends with some farm animals



checked out the Chicago skyline from one of the tallest buildings in the world







and that was just July...

136/365 Show and Tell Bag

School's Out and I've got the Show and Tell bag!

123/365 Tommy the Bird

Sam disappeared this morning for about 3 minutes. We were calling him and looking for him. It was time to walk out the door for school. We couldn't find him anywhere.

We finally found him in the backyard hunched down looking at a birdie on the sidewalk. He wanted to keep the birdie for a pet. He wanted to name the birdie Tommy. I'm pretty sure in the 3 minutes he shared with Tommy, he made lots of pet plans.

But Tommy was a featherless hatchling who must have fallen from his nest. He was kind of a dead birdie.

I put Tommy in a plastic bag to toss him in the trash can, but Sam asked me to "take care of him." I said I would bury him and place a tombstone on his grave.

Of course, the first thing he asked when he got home from school was "did you bury Tommy?" I fibbed a bit, because I had forgotten, and told him I was waiting for him so we could do it together.

Sam said it was "gross" and he didn't want to touch Tommy. So I conducted the burial with an audience of one. We placed the rock on his grave (the words on his tombstone are Sam's exact words).

After dinner, Sam said "I hope Tommy is okay." Rob and I feared momentarily that Sam didn't really grasp Tommy's....shall we say...situation?

Tommy has now been added to the litany of people in the "God Bless _____" prayer before bedtime. He comes after Izzy and before Grandma and Grandpa. Sorry Mom and Dad.

121/365 One third

I am one third of the way through my 365 project! For the past two weeks, I have thought about dropping it--there is so much going on in the spring. But, I'm going to try to stick it out!

I am taking a class in natural light photography and I have to admit, I have learned much more through the class than I have by taking a photo every day! (Today's photo is not a fine example of my learning!)

My kids are just so over being photographed. No amount of money, chocolate, extra screen time or other bribes seem to work anymore. I am thinking about bribing my friends kids next.

Backlighting assignment take 2: outdoors
Bribe: chocolate
Cooperative subject: not a chance...

Project 64--Pacific Blue

Pacific Blue...who knew my son's shirt and eyes were Pacific Blue?



To see more Pacific Blue entries...hop on over to Project 64

112/365 Homework blooper

I posted this already, but something happened to it...

110/365 Blue Sky?

According to the forecasts...this is it...our ONE day of blue sky for our entire Spring Break.

We took advantage and headed out to one of our favorite playgrounds in Greek Town. It's got something for the little ones, the middle ones and the older ones too!

107/365 Spring Break

What do you do when you stay home for Spring Break and it's rainy outside and really, really cold?

Head to the library for some vacation reading...

102/365 Natural Light 101

I'm taking a Natural Light class through Clickin Moms. I had to re-do my first assignment 4 times! This photo is not one of the ones I turned in--it is a bit out of focus and his bright blue eyes do not really show, nevertheless, it is my contribution as today's photo of the day...

99/365 Screens

This picture frightens me...

97/365 - Rainy Day

On the way to school in the rain...

112/365 Blooper

This photo is a homework blooper, but I really, really like it.

Sam saved for months to buy this little hippo he saw at Target. When he finally saved the money, Target no longer carried it.

Today, I found the hippo at our school rummage sale. He wanted me to take pictures of him with "Jack Hippo Jr.," but he was really preoccupied with a piece of dried skin on his lip.

I just love this little blue-eyed beauty...even if he can get a little crabby sometimes : )