Door County Get-a-way

Last week we did an impromptu vacation with Matt and Judy and the kids. We rented a big "log cabin" in Door County, Wisconsin. We divvied up the bedrooms and shared the common spaces. It was great. (This "log cabin" was really just a nice house with a log-cabin look to it. Believe me, we weren't roughing it.)

The coolest part was seeing Jonathan and Luke playing together. They got along so well, really enjoying each other's company. That was a lot of fun to watch.

After the kids were in bed, we'd hang out a little--before we conked out ourselves.

The weather was hit or miss, but we didn't care much. We were having plenty of fun just hanging out.

It was tough getting ourselves together to go places, but we managed a few outings. We did an authentic fish boil (BIG flame). We went to a great petting zoo they just opened.

The P.C. Junction restaurant was a big hit. A model train brings you your food. The kids loved it.

We didn't get many pictures. Here are a few...



The tractor across the yard from our cabin was a huge hit with the kids. Our host offered to let us drive it, but we didn't trust ourselves. (It looked nothing like a car--pedals and levers everywhere.) We'll stick to pretending.


At the PC Junction restaurant. There goes the train!


Luke was so excited about the train he about had a seizure.



There's the potty! I'll be out in a minute! (This was behind the restaurant, not our log cabin!)

Thanks for a great time, Matt and Judy! (And Jonathan and Andrew!)

Returning to the Scene...

A few shots from the summer. Does the location look familiar?



The answer is here.

P.S.: I don't know what that expression is, but ain't it cute?

Monday is National Family Day

Monday, September 25th, is National Family Day -- "A day to eat dinner with your children™", Brought to us by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

It's "A national effort to promote parental engagement as a simple, effective way to reduce youth substance abuse and raise healthier children."

I'm tempted to react a few different ways. Instead, I'll just be glad that family time together is getting some sort of promotion.

So, Happy Family Day!

Luke's Chicago Birthday

Luke's last birthday celebration. (I promise!)

This time we celebrated my parents' anniversary and my mom's birthday, too. (She's sneaky--she avoided the camera all weekend, I'm sorry to say.)

Good times were had by all.




Grandpa and baby Andrew.



Luke opening presents, Jonathan enjoying it too. Thanks for the puzzles! They're great!


Grandma and Grandpa's present: a digger! Wow! Thanks! (And Grandma's almost in the pic.)



Chillin'.

Rain Man

We hung out in Riverside today. We had lunch with Paul and Kathy Brush, went to an open house, checked out the local art festival and then walked around the neighborhood until Luke woke up from his nap. All in all it was a great Sunday afternoon.

When Luke woke up from his stoller nap we were right by the Riverside Library. We decided to let Luke play in the children's section for a while before he went into his carseat for the ride back to the city. Jim read to him while I read a magazine. All of a sudden I hear a familiar toddler voice say in a non-library voice, "WHERE'S THE PEE-PEE?"

We've noticed Luke tends to repeat things over and over (much like Rain Man) until we acknowlege what he's saying. Unfortunately Jim froze - not knowing what to say. And, Luke pointed to the above picture and said even louder "WHERE'S THE PEE-PEE?!" OVER AND OVER.

Thankfully, Riverside schools are public and they can't blackball us from the "good schools" for saying pg-13 things in public places.

Luke more than made up for later. He hugged me and without any prompting told me "I love you. I love you. I love you." He can be my little Rain Man anyday.

Belly Up!

I love this picture of Luke and Peter Chavez. (His mom and I have been friends for years.) They look like ol' chums hanging out at the local pub.

CHEERS!

"That's Sarah's!"

A little pink blanket suddenly showed up around our place. I wondered where it came from, and asked Luke.

"That's Sarah's!" he said confidently. Sarah has been babysitting for us for several months now.

Oh, Ok, I thought. That made sense. Pink is one of Sarah's favorite colors.

As it turns out, Kirsten had bought it on a weekend trip she recently took.

A pretty good guess anyway, Luke!

Luke's Party at the Grandparents

On our way back from Columbus, we stopped in at the grandparents' place. Luke calls them Grandpa and Mormor. (Morfar didn't stick for some reason, and Luke seems fine with two Grandpas.)

They threw him a wonderful birthday party!






Yummmm... Good times were had by all.

Thanks, Morfar and Grandpa!

Bigger words

Luke is saying bigger words like "cement mixer" and "finger paint" and "ambulance." (Ok, he's been saying "ambulance" for a while.) He's still working on pronounciation (big-time), so we often struggle to understand what he's saying. It's frustrating for him, but he often sticks with it.

I struggled last night to get what he was saying. He was in the bathroom rubbing his hand on the heater grate, saying "air conditioner!" My finally understanding him was rewarding for both of us.

Hang in there, kiddo! Don't mind our blank stares.

Columbus' Easton Mall

In Columbus, we stayed near Easton mall. There was a lot of fun to be had there. Lots to explore.



A giant, 3-D, outdoor train set. He could watch this for hours.

Brunch with the Goddards

We had a fun visit and meal with the Goddards on our Saturday in Columbus. (Sorry, I'm catching up out-of-order.)

They set aside part of an already-very-busy weekend to hang out with us.

Courtney kept an eye on Luke while we caught up. Luke had a ball playing with the semi-truck (he knows that word). He loved the bunny rabbit, too.


Caleb's jeep. Luke went wild over it. Courtney gave him a ride, which he loved at first. Then, something about it scared him. Then, no one was allowed on it. (He's looking out for all of us.)


Parents (and Sydney!) bringing up the rear.

Thanks for taking time for us! We love you guys! Enjoy school!

Faith Covenant Visit

The weekend we were in Columbus, we visited Faith Covenant, Kirsten's church.

It just so happened that they were having a picnic that day! Our luck! And, you know, being the guests we didn't have anything to bring, but they let us stay anyway. (Yessss! Free food!) It was great catching up with everyone.


An extra special treat: Kirsten's cousin Brit is a member there, so we got to visit with her.

P.S.: Hey, Palmers: who replaced your babies with little boys?!?!

Shack's Mom's Song

A very touching song from Veggie Tales' Rack, Shack, and Benny. Shack's Mom's song:

Think of me every day, hold tight to what I say,
And I'll be close to you even from far away.
Know that wherever you are, it is never too far,
If you think of me I'll be with you.

Columbus Bookstore

One big attraction in Columbus was the bookstore. They had a Thomas the train set, and Luke could spend an hour or more there at a time.




Being a bookstore, kids would come and go. Some were pretty pushy. Luke did very well with all of them. I was proud of him.

P.S.: I showed Luke these pictures today, and he started saying, "Bookstore! Bookstore!", with a big nod. He remembered and really wanted to go back.

Luke's First Second Birthday Party

We were in Columbus over Luke's second birthday, so we had the pleasure of celebrating it first with Angie.



The frog wrapping was as entertaining as anything.

"Awesome!!!"



This was the first of a few birthday parties we threw for him.

Thanks, Angie, for being such a blessing to us.

CHIC Slide Show

If you went to CHIC, or are more than a little curious, here are all of our CHIC photos as a slide show.



Enjoy.

I'm pretty amazed at how the mainstage shots turned out on our cheap little digital camera.

P.S.: To browse them, click here.