a memorial start of summer...

It's not official and school's not entirely done, but as far as we're concerned...this weekend marked the start of summer.

Sarah wrapped up her first year of school last week with send off in the park. She made a pretty good little friend this year (and I know he checks the blog :-)), so we were sure to get a picture of them together.Saturday morning, the kids packed every non-essential item in their rooms as we grabbed the sunscreen and such and off we went to Jeff's folks' cottage for the long weekend.
Oh, how the kids love it up there and it is so awesome to see them so free to be outside splashing in cool water and rolling in warm sand!
Julia didn't even consider eating the sand this year, which brings us one step closer to sinking our faces in a good book instead of wild-eye supervision.
She loved running free and being her silly self.Everyone loved the boat rides this year...which is a first.
Next time, maybe we won't be packing 43 stuffed cats and a mess of other trinkets that pretty much just get kicked to a corner in favor of a swimsuit and a water squirter...or whatever floats their boat (no pun intended).

one beautiful little lady...

To mark her seventh year, I took Lauren out for a little photo shoot. If you'd like to see these pictures a little bigger, you can find them on the photoblog.

seven years (and two days) ago...

Well, she was two days late in coming, so it's only fitting that this blog is two days late in posting! Saturday was our oldest baby girl's birthday.

Yup, seven years ago, after an uncomfortable morning, Jeff and I hopped in the car and....drove to the hospital. About three miles out, I panicked and blurted out, "I don't like the name Adam!...I don't. I don't like it at all. It's not good!!!"

We arrived and were promptly escorted to a sprawling suite. But despite the many gizmos and gadgits in the room, we soon learned the nurse could not find a single blue knit hat in the entire hospital...there wasn't even a yellow or green one...pink was it. Oh boy! (or not).

It was later that evening...that we welcomed with absolute joy, our beautiful baby girl, Lauren.
Little did we know then, that in the years ahead, we'd drive to the hospital two more times without a boy name and "pink hats only please" in the bassinet. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

We had a great day celebrating seven wonderful years in the life of our little lady. She was up bright and early to begin the day!

Grandma and Grandpa came from Ann Arbor to celebrate not one grandchild's birthday, but two! As of last year, Lauren is happy to share her birthday with her cousin, Brandt.

Good ol' Kit got to join in all the celebrating too.

Trying out the brand new rollerblades. After 24 hours on these things, she was a pro! I am in awe of her speed and balance. The only way I'd wear rollerblades is lounging on the grass with an ice cold drink.

We took a break from celebrating seven years, to give some hugs to the little guy ringing in his first birthday. He was one lucky boy in a full house of people that love him. Lauren did wonder why everyone there didn't bring her a gift, but she understood.

Then it was back to our humble abode for party time with (airplane) Grandma and Grandpa, and her Uncle, Aunt and cousins.

Lauren said "See ya later" to her fear of fire and let us spark up the candles for a Happy Birthday tune. We then dug into the cake and barely made a dent in it, although if we gave Julia a chance, she could've downed the whole thing.

Thanks for a great birthday everyone...

just a little bit further this time...

The alarm clock went off on another Saturday morning in our house. Another road race to conquer. This time it was still dark outside as we needed a little extra time to wake up and prepare for the Fifth Third River Bank 25K Run (that's 15.5 miles).
After coffee and bananas, my parents arrived to watch the munchkins, and my brother, Mike, picked us up for the trip downtown. We arrived to cloudy and cool skies and swarms of people (about 17,000 is what we heard). We noticed about half them were in line for the port-o-potties, and since we're no dummies, we joined them. It's a little known fact how much fun it can be to wait around for a vacant "seat".

After some stretching, it was time to take our place in the start line. I dropped off the boys at the 9 minute pace area and headed on back to the rif raff in the 10 minute corral. I started fussing with my iPod just as the skies fell open and rain dumped on us in sheets. I looked around for the weather forecaster who said the rest of the rain would miss us, but he must've been hiding somewhere. So, there we stood, waiting for the gun to fire and set us free to dodge at least a few raindrops.

And we were off. I do love the beeping buzz of the start line...it usually trumps whatever song is in my ears at the start. The rain immediately felt just fine and puddles turned the road into an obstical course...which was kinda fun. As the puddles faded behind us, the hills grew in front of us. They weren't as bad as we had expected, which was a relief and with every uphill, came a downhill...which, I've found is not always the case.
At just past five miles, we got to the point in the race, where there was coming-and-going traffic and were able to see the the fast of the fast, or elite, runners. When the first group went through, we all cheered and clapped, which was pretty cool. (here's a picture of them)
Shortly after that, I had the chance to try this stuff called "Gu". It's an quick release, carbohydrate, energy boost. Now, I should've figured it out from the name, but I was incorrect in assuming that it was a liquid that you down in one swoop. As it turns out, it's the consistancy of toothpaste and since I downed most of it, I nearly needed the Heimlich at the next Aid Station. Yikes. But...it did the trick (I think...or maybe I was just happy to survive).

I was happy to see some folks I know at the half way point and hear my name shouted (so, thanks for coming!).

The hills continued, and since the road was slanted, my hip began expressing a disinterest in continuing to function in a helpful manner. For about 4 miles, I started fading, just looking at all the people walking and thinking how my hip would thank me if I did that too. But, when the 12 mile mark came into view, I knew I could get some more Gu and just think about how awful it is instead of my crummy hip. Between the Gu and the silent prayers, my hip silenced itself and I felt pretty good running the road to the finish. Ahhh...the sound of the crowd and the beeping of the finish and the sight of everyone you know waiting for you with open arms is just fantastic!

Now, for the finish time results.

I am mighty proud to post Jeff's time first, who, as you'll see, clearly waited for me with open arms for a long time ::
As for me, I hit my goal of posting a time just over 3 minutes faster that my last 25K (eight years and three kids ago) ::
We even got these fancy little metals that the kids will likely play with more than we will (well, maybe).
My brother clocked in at 2:24, which is perhaps my goal for next year (no, I'm not...ahem... competitive). Sorry there are no pictures of us. A camera just wasn't something I was trapsing around with up and down the hills of this town. So, there you have it...the "Couch to 25K Program".

blowing in to the windy city...

We hit the road this weekend and took the kiddos on a trip to the Big City...Chicago!

The girls had been looking forward to this for awhile...especially Lauren (you'll see why further in). So, bright n' early Saturday morning, we got going and arrived to beautiful blue skies and a hotel room ready for early check-in (sweet!).

The hotel is one we hadn't stayed in before and had a great rate...so we checked it out and were happy we did. This place (The Avenue) was a great location and had the best views (pictured below)! The girls loved just standing by the big windows and taking it all in.

There were 255 pictures, so I made some collages to share as many as possible. To see them larger, just click on them.
Our girls are hotel junkies and love checking out every corner. This picture is their test to determine bed comfort. After much jumping and rolling around. It was determined that no peas lied under this mattress and it was fit for sleeping.
After getting settled, we took our first of many walks in the city and headed to Navy Pier. We felt pretty lucky to have such beautiful weather. The kids loved the carousel and we all enjoyed the ferris wheel...even if it was "a little slow" for the older girls.
While the younger girls rested, Lauren and I got some shopping in. We headed to Crate and Barrel. What a sight it was to see my little shopper in action. Although, she enjoyed the escalator waaaayyy more than all the goofy stuff I was looking at. And, for the first time in years, I walked out with nothing at all...which was the perfect thing to buy for Jeff.

We then met up with the rest of the crew at Niketown, where the kids made the best of it while Jeff and I perused all the stuff that keeps you dry while you run (I can't see why they don't think that's fun).
Then (drum roll, please)...it was time for the trip-focus: American Girl. Lauren got to pick out the doll of her choice for her birthday. She has read the books and watched the movies and after much deliberation...she chose Kit Kitterage to take home.

There's nothing like a smile that melts your heart...and she gave us plenty of those. We tried to spend some time looking around the store as not to rush things. But, she knew what she want and she wanted to get poor Kit out of the box "so she could breathe"!
Before leaving, we freed Julia in Bitty Babyland and just let her do as she pleased. So, amidst the clammering crowd, she got a baby down from a shelf (with the help of Sarah, her doting sister), and promptly sat right down to love and snuggle the baby. We soon left, and Julia danced in the streets of Chicago, just happy to be free.
With kids so sweet (and overstimulated), how do you not take them out for ice cream at the Hershey's store? It seemed criminal to pass it by, so in we went. Lauren didn't care where we were, Kit was getting out to take her first breath of fresh air...and it smelled of chocolate (lucky doll, huh?). The walk back to the hotel was as busy as can be. The warm weather brought people to Chicago in droves. But, watching an almost seven year old navigate the city sidewalk holding her new best friend and stopping to hug each of us ten times along the way was just so priceless that I didn't see another person except that little girl for miles.
There were concerns in the back our our grown-up minds that we'd miss the Kentucky Derby for the first time in as many years as we've known each other. But, the rush to get Kit into the comfort of our hotel room, allowed us to catch the two-minute race. The sun set on Saturday just outside our window...and my, what a sight!
Sunday morning, we must've been up before the birds as our girls were unaware and/or unconcerned with the time change in Chicago.

The second part of Lauren's birthday surprise was revealed to her when I handed her a dress to wear and told her she and I had plans to have breakfast with Kit at the American Girl Cafe. We enjoyed a peaceful walk down Michigan Ave., before our breakfast. What a beautiful city!
It was pretty special to sit and chat with Lauren for over an hour. She was such a little grown up. There were questions on the table that we could ask one another as conversation starters. So, my little reader and I took turns asking questions. (I was a little dissapointed that I wasn't the "funniest person she knew"...a young man in her class has that distinction...humfph). One question I asked was "What's the best suprise you've ever had?" (pictured below by Kit). She teared up, smiled and answered simply by pointing at our table. My overpriced pile of eggs, got much tastier after that!
After a memorable meal topped off with a happy birthday candle and singing, we found Jeff and the younger girls, who were hanging out with the locals at a sweet little park right around the corner. Before leaving for Chicago, Sarah said she wanted to "ride a slide" in Chicago. That little park made her wish come true.
We then started our trip towards Shedd Aquarium with a stop at the fountain (the name of which I never paid attention to).
Shedd got off to a rocky start with two disgruntled parents steamed up about paying $19 for parking. We grouched our way through lunch, but then cleaned up our act before heading in to see the fishies.
It was a fun little place, which the kids enjoyed and very much sealed the deal on them being tuckered out.
We headed home after Shedd, but not without promising up down and sideways that we would return to Chicago!