Parental units are on the move

Hey y'all. I talked to Mom last night. She and Pop were "in the middle of nowhere" in Wisconsin. She said they were due east of Milaca, MN. They were planning to head further north today, aiming for Lake Superior. The PW seems to be running like a champ so far. They've been setting the cruise control at 58 because the car-fixer guy told them not to push their new tranny parts too hard. She's not sure if they're going to have enough time now to do all the visiting of nieces and nephews that she wanted to but they'll do the best they can.

I hope Sami has found some new semi-sedentary hobbies for the time being! This morning Gavin figured out how to pull himself up to standing in his crib. We've got some serious baby-proofing to do....

Love and hugs to my bros and sis-in-laws and niece and nephew and lil' peanut.

Sami Part 2

We saw the orthopedic doctor this morning. He said that she is healing well and doesn't need the splint or sling anymore. But she still needs to be very careful, no bike, skates, pools or climbing high places. Chris was told not to dive on her. I almost wish that she hadn't been around when he said she didn't need the splint because at least with them on she was physically limited in her actions. Now she's going to forget that she's wounded and be hanging from her bed and body surfing down the stairs. We go back again in a month.

Shower Fun!!!

Thanks Peggy and Michele for coming to the shower. It was a great time. I have landed back on planet Earth, but am still amazed at the display of generosity towards my growing family. Here are some pics to share with all...





Looks like Daddy-to-be, Dave is ready for diaper changing duty thanks to Michele's clever idea.
I'll keep you posted on the baby news and the ultrasound next week. Say a prayer for little peanut.

Guess What!!!!!! ????

Trip's over. We had a great time.

NOT! We left this morning with joy in our hearts and all the excitement one could have beginning a new adventure. We got as far as Naper Blvd. and Ogden Ave. when the transmission went out on the PW. Being Sunday there is no place open to have it repaired so we have to wait until tomorrow to find a place. It probably won't be a one day thing so I guess the vacation to Minnesota is canceled. We are thinking of doing things around here or maybe downtown Chicago for the next few days.

Right now we need to get in the RAV4 and go to where the PW is parked and remove everything that we need or that might spoil.

We'll be in touch.

LOVE YOU ALL

Pop & Mom

northbound

We'll be leaving this morning, heading for Duluth and then a leisurely drive along the north shore of Lake Superior. The land of the giant mosquito - the Minnesota state bird as Uncle Bob likes to say. We have lots of repellent with us....

We're hoping the yard won't suffer too much in our absence. All of the new plantings should not be allowed to dry out, so rain would be a bonus. By next weekend, we'll meander down to Milaca to Bob and Mary Ann's, and then try to see as many nieces and nephews as we can. We plan to be home no later than Monday evening.

The shower for Melissa was lovely; her cousin and her friends did a great job, and she and Dave got lots of "stuff" to get the ball rolling. Dave is now equipped with a diaper changing tool belt, courtesy of Michele. Very ingenious, so he's good to go.

All of you be good this coming week. Sami, keep healing that collarbone. Occasional phone calls to Gram would be a plus.

Lots of love, from Mom and Pop

Happy Birthday to Brandon!

Can't let this day get away without sending good wishes to Brandon for a happy 35th. I hope you managed to have more fun today than I did. Basically, I went to work and picked beans. Guess they've been out there awhile, cuz' there were sure a lot of them. I suspect that this will show up as a post from Pop, but it's frim me (Peggy). I just forgot how to change it :-(.

Hi All,
Saturday the plan, after I got off work, was to go to Cantigny Park in Wheaton, IL for the Support the Troops Concert. Well it poured rain for most of the morning while I was working and was still drizzling when I got off. I thought that we probably would not go to the concert. So I laid down and took a nap ( at our age they are really great) When I woke up it had stopped raining so we decided to chance going. By that time Bob and Vicki had called us to say they were already there and staked out a spot. By the time we got there the sun was starting to peak through the clouds. We met B & V and took a tour of the museum (I love that place) When we were through with that the sun was out and there was not a cloud in the sky. We met up with Phil and Lynn and settled in to watch a great concert. Oh yes, It was Lynn's birthday so Peg had bought six cupcakes and we sang happy birthday. Oh we have so much fun!

Yesterday, Sunday, Peg and I decided to go back to Cantigny since we didn't have time to walk around the grounds and take in the gardens. It was a beautiful day but a little on the warm side with high humidity. We decided to take the tour of the mansion as it was air conditioned. I have attached the pictures we took in the gardens.

PEGGY'S 66

July 7th was mom's birthday and we celebrated by taking a trip to the city. It started out by us missing the last bus to the train station in Naperville so we had to drive to the parking garage in town. When we got there we found signs all over the garage that said PERMIT PARKING ONLY BETWEEN 2:00 and 9:00 AM. It was 7:30 AM but we decided to take a chance and parked anyway.

We then walked six blocks to the train station just in time to see the train pulling out. We were lucky that we only had to wait twenty minutes for the next train

When we got down town it started raining. We were able to get on the bus to North Pier before the downpour. Peg wanted to stay on the bus and ride in circles until it stopped raining but I insisted we get off at the pier. We had brought an umbrella with so we didn't get wet. We stood under a doorway canopy until the rain let up then went down to the pier. The reason for going there was to take the architecture boat tour on the Chicago River. When the tour started the rain had let up to a slight mist. It was a great and informative tour and the guide was very knowledgeable. But don't ask us the names of all the buildings we saw.

After the boat tour we walked about a mile or so up Michigan Avenue to the water tower and had lunch in the pump house.

After lunch we got on the bus up to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It had been at least twenty five years since we had been there. We spent the rest of the day walking around looking at all our ancestors. We really wore ourselves out and it was great that right in front of the zoo we were able to catch the bus back to Union Station

By the time we got on the train my feet were really sore and burning. It was a good thing that I was able to rest them on the ride back to Naperville to be able to make it the six blocks back to the car.

When we got to the car there was no ticket on the windshield. LIFE IS GOOD!!!

All in all I spent a wonderful day with a wonderful woman.

Let's do it again soon.

Sami Update

We were able to see an orthopedic pediatrician this afternoon. Sami and Chris were excited because the office had a fishtank and a water dispenser. That kept them busy for a while, but not long enough. They were growing restless by the time we were called in. The nurse was very patient and explained to Chris how the colored bars on the door were used to tell the doctor the status of the rooms and patients inside.

We waited awhile for him to show up. Then he pressed on the collarbone and confirmed it was healing properly. He gave us some encouraging news, and said it should be better in three to four weeks and not six to eight weeks. His examination took maybe five minutes, it took him fifteen minutes to get out as Sami felt he needed to know every detail of her life.

We will go back for x-rays in three weeks and will let you know what we learn. Until then, we need to find a way to convince Sami that once she can move the arm basically painfree, it is not fixed and she still needs to be careful.

Happy Birthday!!!

Peggy,

Happy Birthday!!! Hope you're enjoying your day off. Let us know what you decided to do to celebrate.

We're thinking of you.

Melissa & Dave

Sami's break

While riding her bike Thursday afternoon Sami fell in such a way that the handlebars on her bike whacked her shoulder. Dad comforted her and she went her merry way. Mom was out getting last minute supplies for the 4th of July party and wouldn't have known anything had happened had Sami not shown her the bruise when getting ready for bed.

Friday afternoon she and Chris were sent to clean Sami's room. He was to help because they had had a sleepover recently and his sleeping bag was in there. Anyway, being siblings, they were roughhousing and he hit the arm and she was in a world of hurt. She got better, but throughout the party it got worse and she used it less. Then this morning she was helping take down the decorations with dad's help and the arm moved backwards suddenly and quickly. This time she did not recover and when given the option she asked to go to the ER right away. She wanted both mom and dad there so Chris got to come too. She was x-rayed and as you can see the clavicle is broke. She has a cute splint, worn like the straps of a backpack and because she walks hunchback to minimize the pain, is also in a sling to keep the shoulders level.

We are now working on following up with an orthopedic pediatrician. The ER referred one, and recommended we talk with her pediatrician for a referral. It being a Saturday and holiday weekend, both offices were closed. So Monday morning we will be making calls.

We will keep you informed.

Happy July!

That last message from Pop was from me (Mom). I don't know how to change the settings. Is there any hope for me in this 21st century?!

Lots going on around here, it seems. Pop's major landscape revisions are well under way. He sent Julie an e-mail with more details, so I will copy that to the rest of you. We latched onto some landscapers who were working in the neighborhood. Pablo and his crew came last Saturday and removed all the designated sod and hauled it away. Today they just returned and are going to rototill the area and spread about 10 yards of dirt. I'm sooo glad that Pop could bypass that part of the project. He'll have enough to do with planting all the new stuff. When that's done, we'll be needing a whole lot of mulch. I understand that Sami's a pro at spreading mulch. Sami, are you for hire?

Melissa, you look terrific in your latest post. I'm glad you are getting along well. I know it gets harder as you get bigger, but I'm sure it will be worth it. Look how lucky I was!

We're looking forward to Sami's 4th of July party. It will be nice to see everyone. Marilyn and Gerry won't be there, however, since they're busy cruising the Danube. That's a trip that Gram was all set to take a few years ago, but cancelled since the uprising in Kosovo was causing some bridges to be blow up along the Danube. I'm sure it's safe now, and I decided not to share that story with them before they went. :-)

A bit of sad news: Dr. Soper died last week. I also heard that Marge is in an Altzheimer's facility, so at least she is being looked after. They had moved to Tennessee where she has a lot of family around. They were good people.

Sue and Tom are taking a short (5 day) vacation to Iowa this coming weekend. And the Chards will be meeting up with Mike, Megan, Anthony and Henry in West Yellowstone in a couple of days. I'm sure we'll see pictures on the GVC blog. He is certainly a busy little boy.

We haven't been anywhere in the PW so far this year. We're going to try to do at least an overnight sometime this month. Next Monday we're going to take the train downtown and spend the day being sightseers in Chicago. We'd like to take one of those river tours, but have yet to look into the specifics. We also hope to go to the band concert on Thursday for the 1812 Overture and other patriotic music. On the 19th we're going to the Rockin' for the Troups concert at Cantigny, with the Ritchey's and the Janus'. We'll be meeting Michele, DJ, Chris and Sami at Great America on the 25th. I'm holding the 26th for a very special baby shower. I've also been invited to a baby shower for Dawn Hach Lawler on Aug. 9th. I'll be doing "Linda relief" from Thursday evening the 10th through Saturday evening the 12th. Wait til the schedule maker at Jewel sees that there are only 2 days that week that I'm available to work! Serves them right, since they keep scheduling me for more than my designated "3".

Gram is doing pretty well, although she's tends to get depressed over her continually declining vision. Linda walks her outside most days. She had a nice letter from Rob the other day. He sent a professional picture of the 4 of them, and would you believe Tristan just had his second haircut last weekend? He's got tons of dark hair, and blue eyes. Kathy e-mailed me a few photos of assorted children , so I'll forward them to you as well.

The truck is dumping 10 yards of soil on our driveway as I write this, so I must go and get ready to go to work.

Love to you all! Mom

Happy July!