Happy Anniversary!

To my favorite Mom and Pop: Hope you took a little time to gaze into one another's eyes today and reflect upon your many years together. I love you! ~ Julie

Snowshoeing

As a reward for all the hard work we put in shoveling mounds and mounds of snow off the driveway on Saturday, yesterday we decided to enjoy the snow. So the kids and I went to the Arboretum for rented snowshoes and romped in the snow. We had a lot of fun and Chris and Sami had a snow mist fight. Sami called it that because the snow was so light and powdery that they couldn't pack snowballs and it looked like they were throwing mist at each other. Sami enjoyed it so much she wants us to buy snowshoes so we can go snowshoeing other places than the arboretum.

Woo-woo!

A quick pic of Gavin playing with his train puzzle. Thanks, Papa!

We hope that Santa made it to all your homes without crashing. It's pouring rain right now and our WHITE CHRISTMAS is melting. We enjoyed seeing Dave and family yesterday if only for a brief while. We also had a nice telephone visit with Julie. Today we'll be heading to North Aurora with Gram and her new caregiver Irena. It will be wonderful to be together with the rest of our family.

BLESSINGS TO ALL

LOVE
NANA & PAPA

Eeeww!

For some reason I thought the incision would be an inch or two long but apparently I underestimated....

Feeling a bit better today and looking forward to taking a shower!

Good Luck, Julie!

We are wanting to send best wishes to Julie, who is going to have her clavicle repaired this morning. You'll be in our thoughts and prayers for a successful procedure and rapid recovery.

Food Bank Benefit Concert

I've been spending my Sunday evenings for the last couple of months rehearsing Christmas music with an interfaith choir. Our performance tonight was a benefit for our local food bank - admission was a can of food. It was held in the Logan Tabernacle which is a neat old building with a grand pipe organ. Brandon was brave and brought Gavin to hear us sing. They made it through our first few songs, but unfortunately Gavin turned into Gavzilla and they had to make their exit before our Hallelujah Chorus finale. Here's a little footage (you'll never be able to pick me out of the chorus, but I'm in the very upper left corner next to a tall woman with white hair). The folks down in front in the white shirts are the Westminster Bell Choir, who were a marvelous addition to a couple of our songs, and performed a couple of impressive numbers on their own. I'm also including a couple of pictures of Gavin in the sweater that Mom & Pop's friend Linda Brooke knitted for him for his birthday.

Sophia Ann

(From Mom) Rob called this morning and left a message that Sophia Ann was born about 4:15 this morning (Dec. 8). They left home at a quarter to 3, so she arrived in only 90 minutes. Mom and baby are doing well, but I have no further info about size or anything. They fit on my wall calendar perfectly, right between Chris on the 7th and Rob on the 9th.

Happy ninth birthday to Chris! Pop and I are thinking about you and what a fine young man you have become. Enjoy your week without school - I hope you have some fun things to do. See you Saturday!

Love, Nana and Pop

30 Days with a Grateful Heart

I recently got reacquainted with our cousin (or niece, as the case my be) Jote on Facebook. We don't really chat or anything, but we've been able to see pictures of and learn about each others' lives. I absolutely love to read her blog. She just started a daily posting called "30 Days with a Grateful Heart". If you have the time, I highly recommend checking it out. If you don't have the time, here's a quick update on Jote: She lives in Austin with her husband Matt. They have two kids - Liam and Fiona - and they own their own 'architectural millwork' business. Her kids are beautiful and her perspective on life is, too.

We enjoyed our little holiday, but were saddened by the absence of Missy, who had to work, and the Chards, who were out having fun in southern Utah. Dave performed a masterful job of turkey carving, and we shall be certain to always have rubber gloves at the ready for future turkey adventures. Another cause for sadness was little Evelyn, who was battling a fever and absolutely not feeling well. She was content to be held by her Daddy for the duration, but her tummy refused to hang onto her dinner. Michele's sweet potatoes and apples were delicious, and Chris and Sami did a fine job of preparing the plain sweet potatoes. I think a fine time was had by all who were here.

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving to my dear family! Wishing you lots of good eats and great memories and maybe a nap or two thrown in for good measure.

We are hitting the road south tomorrow morning, headed to Pete's house (near Zion) for "Thanksliving" weekend. Friends will be trickling in from all over the inter-mountain west on Thursday and Friday and our big meal (Pete is expecting ~30 folks total) will be on Saturday afternoon. The weekend's festivities include a horseshoe tournament (Brandon and Tony are the reigning champs), the annual cribbage tournament (I've taken 2nd place the past 2 years in a row - it's my turn to win it all!), and a Turkey Trot 5K across Gooseberry Mesa (my idea - not too many folks have signed up for that one).

We will be thinking of, and thankful for, you all!
Love,
Julie

Welcome home, DJ!

And a belated blog-post happy birthday to you! Hope your trip to Philly was a success and that you your birthday dinner was worth traveling for.
Lots of love from Utah, Julie, Brandon and Gavin

12 weeks down, 24 to go

I think I spend more time counting down the days until summer break than my students do. This year we decided to take a week off every six weeks. So last week we celebrated making it through 1/3 of the year. We made the mistake of starting our celebration on Sunday by buying them new clothes, to replace the ones they've trashed or outgrown. Sami wore a new outfit every day and everyday between rain and wet leaves, she destroyed each one.

On Monday, we made amends with our library and returned very overdue books. Then we played at an indoor gym for awhile. On Tuesday, we hung out with Cousins Kathleen and Joey, at Cosley Zoo and McDonald's playland. Sami entertained Joey by pretending to sneeze so hard that her coat flew over her head. Then we came back here and decorated spooky Haloween cupcakes On Wednesday, we hung out at Brookfield zoo. We saw their new lioness, the first female lion they've had in 13 years. We spent more time admiring the professionally carved pumpkins than the animals. I think that every animal was carved into at least one pumpkin. The polar bear had a lot of fun with his pumpkin treat. On Thursday, after tennis lessons, we took our yearly trip to Tekawitha Woods. Since we are treeless, the kids enjoy playing in the leaves there. The trails were completely covered but we managed to make our way down to the river and then back up to the Nature Center. It never ceases to amaze me how running in the woods can completely change Sami's personality. They had a blast jumping in the leaves, sliding down leaf hills and climbing fallen trees. From there we visited Kathleen and Joey and my parents and helped to make some witches brew.

Thanks to our GPS, I braved a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry on Friday. Samantha saw a commercial for a new exibt, You The Experience. She really wanted to run in the people sized hamster ball. At the ticket counter, I received an unexpected surprise, admission was free. So we paid to see one of their special exhibits, the Smart House. Turns out this is the greenest house in Chicago. The tour was interesting and I was very proud of Chris and Sami's behavior. Sami even asked a couple of very relevant questions. The only downside of the day was that the hamster ball was being repaired. That and the rain on the way home. So, I guess we will have to go back again. This time with DJ who was a little disappointed not to be joining us.

Chris and Sami had a blast trick or treating. They went around the cul de sac with a neighbor boy. Then went out with their cousins and the fathers, by Kathleen's house. DJ was beat when they got back, but the kids were ready to keep on going. So they grabbed a flashlight and went to a couple of more blocks alone around here. Sami was so excited about going to what she called the scary cul de sac.

It was not fun starting back again, but we survived. These pictures are a small sample of the three hundred or so I took this week.

trip to the zoo

We had a great time last week. Dave, Evelyn and I spent the entire week together! It was such a treat not having to work. We went to a snowboarding convention in Schaumburg with some friends. Dave and I went downtown for Marissa's 30th birthday celebration. We also enjoyed the Halloween parade at Gram's and joined her one night for dinner. All of these pictures are of our super fun adventure at Brookfield Zoo. Dave started his new job on Monday. He remains at HSBC, but is now doing forecasting. Still accounting, but more finance. (that's what he tells me anyway) He's now working for 2 guys he worked with at Wamu, which is nice. So far, so good. But with a promotion, he will be traveling to Buffalo at least once a month.

Two,Two...

Happy Golden Birthday to Gavin!!! It looks like you had a fantastic time at your party. Wish we could have joined you...

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all!!! I have spent the entire morning attempting to upload a video of Evelyn and her pumpkin, but have been unsuccessful. I will keep trying... We are going to Mundelein to Colleen's to trick or treat, then to my parents neighborhood. (Colleen made Evelyn's Raggedy Ann costume.Too cute, huh? The woman is 7 1/2 months pregnant and insisted she make her costume. I told her to surprise us and am very pleased with the design.) Any plans for any other families?

Not as good as a garage but better than a weedy mud puddle.... right?

We somehow got inspired to have some asphalt laid where we park our cars. Not exactly in line with my tree-hugger sensibilities, but it'll make snow removal easier and it will cut down on the amount of mud that gets tracked into the house.... right?

The old folks have some fun. Mom and Pop celebrate October Fest with friends at the Edelweiss restaurant in Norridge, IL. Lots of singing and shunkling. Hard to believe that mom only had two beers.

Headin' South

Hello, family! This morning we are heading south to Bluff, UT to meet up with some friends and float for a few days. This will be Stella's (our raft's) first multi-day voyage as a Chard and Gavin's second multi-day trip. We (~20 of us including 2 toddlers) are floating the San Juan River from Sand Island (near Bluff, UT) to Mexican Hat, UT. This is the same stretch we did last year with Mom and Pop. It will take us 3 days from put-in to take-out. As you might imagine we won't have cell service down there, so don't be alarmed if we don't answer our phones for a few days. Tootles!

fun-filled fall day...

Yesterday was a great day!! Not only did I turn 13 months old, Mommy and Daddy and I went to Goebbert's. It's an animal farm and pumpkin patch in South Barrington. We went on a pony and a hay ride, watched pig races, pet lots of soft fuzzy animals and picked out pumpkins. They even had camel rides, but I wasn't big enough.

Arden's Birthday Celebration!!!

Here are some pictures capturing Arden's spectacular 1st birthday party. What an event!!! Dave & I were thinking it should be on an MTV show. What fun...and all the food!!! The man standing next to the girl on stilts ate fireballs. Later on, he was doing magic tricks. Really wish Gavin, Julie, Brandon & DJ could have shared the enjoyment with us. Dave & I are happy Evelyn won't remember her 1st birthday party...She'd think she got robbed. :) (I was having an incredibly difficult time posting all these pics in the same entry, so that's why I broke them up.)

attractions galore

There was also a not so kind character artist, who appeared to be good at his job. I don't think any of us got a drawing???