Strap on your party helmets, it's vacation time!

Returning from a long-distance skid across the lake


Waiting at the bus stop


Our snowshuttle


The Payoooooooooooooff!


Affectionately known as boomball


Triple, lutz?


Sig making tracks


Only hills slowed Kola's snow-jogging


Hooray! Kola's 4!


Ethan on a solo flight


Kola picking a snowball fight...


It's so telling that every year, Ethan starts his winter countdown that ends at Afterglow, with Christmas as a milestone but not the final destination. This is just a glimpse (let me know if you'd lke to see 115 more on snapfish!) of the outdoor fun we had with grandma and grandpa in WI near the U.P. border. Every day was a new adventure and the boyz never once complained of the cold. Could it be that they were fueled by cookies, birthday cake, hot chocolate, and grandma and grandpa's hugs, smiles, and book-reading? Returning from each activity, I'd peel off the boyz layers to find snow where snow should never be, chapped faces, and wetness wicking from every appendage. I was proud to see them walk 2.5 miles on a snowshoe trail, tube solo for the first time, try broomball (a.k.a. boomball) -- not discouraged by the falls, and have to be coaxed off the lake after an hour-long 0 degree skate. Funny how today, they complained about the cold trip from the house to the car.

We all made new discoveries - Sig learned how to play rummy royal, grandpa helped the boys find a trail of squirrel pee in the woods (in 44 years, I swear, I've never seen it), grandma shared her theories about why there would be a live fly in our cabin, and I learned the plural of Fez, among other things.

We all felt very lucky to have shared such a great trip and are counting down to our 2010 reservation! Now, we're all in party mode, sans helmets (though that might be a mistake) as we celebrate Ethan's 6th and Kola's 4th birthdays. Also, check for updates on Ethan's loose tooth! xo b/s/e/k

Our holidays A to Z

A is for All the dear friends we've seen - from as far Away as Singpore, to points in between. Many near to our hearts, we've long-time Adored. And lucky for us, some are right next door.

B is for Babysitters, who helped us attend evening parties! They're always nice and luckily never tardy.

C is for Cookies, the types there are many. I had a few, the kids they had plenty.

D is for Double Decker trains, Doubling the fun!


E is for Ethan Exploring presents, Each and Every one.


F is for Firetruck - santa brought the perfect gift for Kola, what luck;)

G is for Graduation at the Gymnastics center, Great teachers Great tricks. Both boys made it, but only got one pic.


H is for High school, the reunion party was fun. Thanks to Dave and Karen for Hosting everyone. (and the fire department for responding to the excessive fireplace smoke.)

H is also for Hannukah, where we learned of driedels and light with good friends at twilight.

I is for the ice storm that came barreling our way and provided us a jammyfest after Christmas day.

J is for Junket - let's load up the car. With food and presents and a 20-minute snooze, it's not far.

K is for Kola the Kooky Kook in his fancy tall hat. You want fries with that??


L is for Lights - I hung them up high. A few burnt out, so some extras I'll buy.

M is for the Memories from years so long ago. Dad played Ramsey Lewis Christmas - once on vinyl, don'tchaknow.

N is for our Nutcracker and Nativity set, I'm so glad to they're on display. We carried them home from Germany, though no customs fees were paid.

O is for the Ornament-making we whizzed through in Kola's class. Ethan and Alyssa made some later, at age 5 they're not as fast.

P is for Pictures on all our friends' greetings. We love to see the kids grow up now I know time is fleeting.

Q is for evening Quiet as I strolled down our street - the holiday lights were glistening a winter wonder treat.

R is for Rain, today flooding the plain. I need to mop the basement since we don't have a drain.

S is for Sleep - fast and sometimes deep. Dreamt of my new red sweater and where did I put that receipt??

T is for Tree with ornaments some homemade, some bought. When Kola brushes past the tree his pjs often get caught.

U is for Unique and thoughtful gifts, some white elephant some not, we had some laughs and thank yous, too - makes the shopping and wrapping a pleasure to do.

V is for the Voices at my niece and nephew's show at church. They were loud and proud and practiced hard we got there early to find our perch.

W is for Wonderment, I see it in their eyes. Reindeer food, santa letters, all a fun surprise.

X is for the x box, I have no idea what it is. Someday I'm sure I'll see it all, but they're still little kids.

Y is for You for keeping close in touch. The cards and holiday letters, it's never ever too much;)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ready or not, here it comes!

christmas is music to their ears!


it wasn't his breath - I checked.


sugar buzz, anyone?


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I've vowed to get ahead of the game this year, so the days leading up to Christmas feel less like Christmas-cram (as I've named it in previous years while morphing into scrooge) and more like a celebration. I'll let you know how that works out. But so far, we've done most of our holiday cards, baked cookies, put up the outdoor decorations, put up the tree, and done most of our shopping. It's party time! So now we can look forward to the kids' school parties I'm helping with, a reunion with former co-worker friends, high school friends' christmas party, caroling, block ladies' white elephant, .... well you get the idea. I'm looking forward to all the hugs and good cheer.

The boys have been enjoying every activity so far, showing me that there is Zen in The Art of Christmas prep. I looked past the cookie dough that splattered on the walls and floor as the boys put a good three hours into our cookie making, and just as much gusto into decorating, licking, and eating. After a warm bath to get all the sugar out of his hair, Kola said, "I'm as fresh as a cupcake!" Kola helped me carry the tree into the house, while Ethan gave directions and held the door. The boys did a great job at the holiday photo shoot - and thanks to our good friend and talented photographer Werner for his keen eye and patience to get some great shots sans the blur of boys in constant motion.

A steady stream of holiday crafts, hot chocolate, treats, snowfalls and Christmas prep have all added to the boyz energy level and excitement. But no matter how they tried (even with a present at stake!) they couldn't fake a smile for Santa. I think the photo up top says it best - to say the boys were nervous and wary is an understatement. We have annual photos of santa where Ethan shows his consistency...



luckily, the place where we saw santa had its act together by asking kids to fill in a wish list to bring to santa's lap. When Santa asked what the boyz wanted, Ethan was silent but nodded when his card was read - Kola mumbled "firetruck." They both wanted to know if the next day, their gifts would be under the tree if they were good. Ah the waiting is the hardest part. xo b/s/e/k

Skate/school

He's up!


He's down...


Backwards swizzle


Kola teaches grandma about cars


Grandma answers questions about owls


Grandpa teaching his craft


Ethan's class - future illustrators?


Deep into the Fall, we're fully immersed in schools: Kola's preschool, Ethan's elementary school, gymnastics, art class, skate school, and starting tomorrow - soccer classes. There's so much learning going on around here, I had a dream this weekend that I flunked the kindergarten geography entrance test and they had me taking classes at Ethan's K-5 school. It was harder than you think, but at least I could get a glimpse of what's going on in there. Ethan's in school about 14 hours a week, but we get about :20 minutes of recap. Lucky for us, K's and E's schools are very welcoming to visitors. As you see, I brought a couple ringers in! Grandma visited Kola's school with screech owls from the field museum and grandpa took the reins for me (I'm a member of the art appreciation committee at E's school) to teach face drawing to Ethan's class. Both kids were very excited to show us around, and Ethan made sure Grandpa saw his locker.

Skate school has been fun to watch, and the kids like it. The only casuality was Kola's bike helmet, which got pretty cracked up with falls. His first day on the ice was mostly spent horizontal in various poses, but he got a lot of practice getting up;) He was a great sport about it and still wanted to go back. He's improved a lot but after about a half hour he's pretty "wiped out." Ethan has definitely built on his skllls from last year and excels at backward swizzles!

Aside from my duties social secretary and backpack/homework tracker, I am now chair of the Greening Advisory Committee for our village's park district. If you've been reading for a while, you may recall that I started this committee a year ago as a working group to draft the park district's first environmental policy. We've now formed an implementation team to enact the policy, which I think is pretty exciting and can make a difference in so many ways.

Sig has a new boss at work, and that seems to be going well. And all of this just reminds me we have lots to be thankful for! Thank you for keeping in touch with us. More soon! xo b/s/e/k

Das Vote

We're all decked out in red-white-and-blue today, and Ethan posted our "I voted" stickers on the door. It's hard to believe that when the presidential candidates tossed their hats in the ring, we didn't yet have a date to travel to meet Kola!!

I'll leave this non-partisan, since we have dear friends favoring different sides, but I had to throw in this voting story: I went to the polls with Kola in tow. Always wanting to know what's happening next, I told Kola to bring his Thomas book, we're going to vote and we might be in line for a little while. "Boat!!! What boat??" he repeated loudly as we were entering the polls. I explained, no, there's no boat, we're getting a piece of paper with names on them and we have to vote for people to do certain jobs. This was completely tuned out as he tried to flush out more info. on the boat. "Will it be a long line? Where's the water? What boat?" Luckily, there were cookies at the polls, so he wasn't completely disappointed. On the way back to the car he said, "no boat. vote. vote?" yes, vote.

;) b/s/e/k

Tricks and Treats!

The anti-vampire with friends


Dive in!


A smile and a treat from Shelley


An extra treat to have grandma and grandpa along


Pop rocks, straight up


Anyone see a tall frog and a short giraffe, with heavy bags in tow? Who could have asked for a better day of looting the neighborhood, with spectacular weather and grandma and grandpa along for the festivities? As if the day wasn't exciting enough, to have star celebs G&G come for T-or-T, bringing goody bags, hugs and smiles was like chocolate on chocolate. When Kola heard G&G were coming he shrieked, "I hope they bring their (trick-or-treat) bags!" Grandpa did manage to snatch a couple handfuls out of our bowl on the way out, but unlike my childhood experience, grandpa left the the kids' bags unraided. But a few hours later when the kids were asleep, I felt the need to uphold family tradition by making their bags a few ounces lighter...(oh how much can a few milk duds weigh?) Heard by our 7-year-old neighbor waving past our house at end of her T-or-T run, "Merry Christmas!" That summed it up and after a about an hour of tossing in their beds with visions of sugarplums and veins of sucrose, the boyz finally succumbed to sleep.

The next morning was like christmas with the rustling of wrappers and snapping of pop rocks in modified shot glasses. The kids assessed their haul, the squirrels munched on the pumpkins they'd knocked over, and Kola asked, "Can we do it again today??" and kept referring to T-or-T'ing as "the block party." The candy has prompted a new game, a variation of P.P. Petunia and monster, called M&M mice. I place a single M&M on the sectional, bookcase, ottoman or rug in our living room. The boys stalk it from the staircase and I hide in the kitchen, ready to pounce on them as they sneak down the stairs to steal the M&M. I'm thinking the energy we all expend in this game will help the M&M's follow the "zero calorie" celery diet (where the calories it has and the calories spent eating it are a wash.) The candy had also been a great incentive - Kola gets it for napping and for a dry night diaper. All of a sudden, he's napping religiously and dry every morning! As E's french teacher would say, "C'est bon." I say, c'est bon bon.

more soon, xoxo b/s/e/k

water music

Noah!


making the best of a soggy weekend


the concert headliners


later participants in an all-out jam session


a small but enthusiastic audience


The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements, often considered as three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered in the summer of 1717 (July 17, 1717) when King George I requested a concert on the River Thames. The concert was performed by 50 musicians playing on a barge close to the royal barge from which the King listened with some close friends (including the Duchess of of Bolton, the Duchess of Newcastle, the Countess of Godolphin, Madam Kilmarnock, and the Earl of Orkney). Sounds very similar to the events of our last few weekends.

The first movement was a three-day rainstorm that left our basement and many others in the area a soggy mess. Ours only reached two inches deep, which was our great fortune because nothing in our file cabinets or on our storage racks got wet. But it did mean we had to continually sweep water from the floor into our sump pit. Aside from a few blisters and soaked coloring books, there was no real loss for us, but we drove past many homes after that weekend with wet mushy piles mounded on their parkway for garbage day. I've now made another round of postings on craigslist;) to minimize our collection.

The boyz got tired of the lockdown by day 2. Our area was pretty gridlocked, some places and streets were closed, and with the sweeping and keeping an eye on the fort, field trips were out of the question. By day 3, when the rain stopped, the boyz were happy to suit up and ring the block looking for juicy puddles.

An unrelated fundraiser concert followed. While not rivaling the attendance of Live Aid, about as much fun was had - especially by the headliners and guest musicians. Ethan got the idea during a recent Grandma and Grandpa pick-up at the airport. One afternoon, we took the popular excursion to the airport to ride the tram, admire the baggage carosel, and see some planes come and go. Ethan found the 'street' musicians there fascinating - especially since the one he really paid attention to had no particular musical talent and a decent-sized tray of dollars and coins he'd earned. Kola was especially interested in the street person who'd found his way into the men's room, passed out on the toilet, and fallen asleep across the floor of a few stalls. Luckily, Kola performed no re-enactments.

The weekend after the airport visit, rich with ideas, Ethan set up a concert using a variety of instruments from our house. He asked for a box, set up chairs out front in neat rows, short to tall, made signs, and waited on the porch with an empty box. The street was atypically quiet, so he raised a few coins inside the house. With that tapped out, he asked me why people weren't coming. So, after fine tuning the art of concert promotion (and discussing the O'Hare ped traffic vs. that of our street at that time,) he started knocking on doors to set a concert time and remind people to 'bring their money.' I was surprised by the initiative and that he only needed a little encouragement to gather the guests. He'd originally written a sign and taped it on a 3.5' cabinet door which was cleared out from our recent clean-up, so he lugged the door from house to house as a visual aid for the show. And thanks to our fun-loving, generous neighbors, the concert was a success. Kola acted as manager by handing a coin to each guest musician but Ethan took the biggest cut. The next day he packed a few quarters in his pocket knowing we'd be somewhere with a vending machine and confidently bought a pack of starburst.

The kids are coming up with new ideas at an exponential rate - other clues they're in school and learning from life: Kola encourged us to settle down for books at bedtime with: "sit on your tushy-toosh if you want to read a book." and has an obsessive and not always appropriate use of the word "weird." When Kola interrupts, Ethan replies with "zip it lock it put it in your pocket." And Ethan's teacher has nicknamed him "her little investigator," with his steady stream of questions. No wonder they're both pooped and in bed a little earlier every nite;)

More soon! xo b/s/e/k