A Surprise Birthday Party!

Yesterday I took the kids to the park and we noticed a small group of people having a birthday party nearby. Later they came over and asked all of the kids who were at the playground if they wanted to come over and have a go at the pinata. Of course! Here are some photos of my kids' attempts.

Afterword they had some cake, too! Wow, it was really nice and totally unexpected. The kids had a great time. In a way it was a surprise birthday party. How good is that? Dad takes them to the playground and if that wasn't enough they get cake and candy also!

Nice families, like the one that invited the kids to participate yesterday, help to renew my faith in people. It is so easy to get caught up with all of the jerks in our lives, but there really are good people in this world.

Don't Slober on Me!

Isn't it nice to know that creative children can always find a way to annoy each other? Sometimes it's when they are mean to each other. That makes sense, right? I would say that most people get annoyed when someone is being mean to them.

But even being nice can be annoying at times. Witness above my son's attempt to give his sister a kiss. I think her hand in his face might be a clue that she is sicked-out by this. To be fair she sometimes returns the favor and he usually runs out of the room screaming.

Finally, Something Colorful to Photograph

When I got out of my car on Friday morning I could hear what I thought was a Cardinal chirping. I spent several minutes looking for it and then way up in the top of a tall tree I spotted it. I am a little confused, though. The shape and color of this bird would suggest that it's a female and yet it seemed to be chirping a lot, which I thought was the male behavior of attracting a mate. Maybe the females chirp alot also? Maybe they aren't trying to attract a mate anymore. Maybe they're saying "I'm fat with eggs so leave me alone".

Regardless, I'm just happy that after months of grey blah weather there is finally something worth taking a photo of.

High Fashion

One of the fun things about working at a major university is the eclectic collection of people who inhabit the campus. I'm not sure but I would guess that this guy is from Europe. Why do I say this? Well, for one he is wearing black socks with his gym shoes. Then there is the goofy pants and to top it all off he is wearing a purple jacket. Maybe he bought his pants at a Def Leppard garage sale? These pants remind me of the ones the various big hair bands used to wear back in the 80's.

Below is his female counterpart, however you can tell that this girl is an American. Why? Because if you look closely at the buttons on her backpack strap you'll notice that they are angry band buttons. "Bastard" and "Queer Topia", etc.

The First Flower of 2009

It's here! It's here! The first flower that I've seen this year. I was walking over to the library yesterday and I saw it. I whipped out my camera and took a couple of photos just to prove it. I was really surprised to see this flower because every other plant I've seen is just a couple of inches above the dirt.

One of the things I don't understand about spring is where are all of the bugs coming from? Two nights ago it was really warm and I saw 5 or 6 moths on our window. Huh? Where have these guys been hiding all winter? It has been a pretty harsh winter and yet the bugs have found a warm spot to tuck themselves into. Do bugs migrate like birds do? I know that Monarch butterflies migrate south for the winter. Oh well, maybe some year I'll figure it all out.

Glorious Weather!

Wow, yesterday was the nicest day we've had since last September. It was in the mid-70's with a slight breeze off the lake. I took a walk along the lakefront and, as you can see, many of the students on campus took advantage of the beautiful day. It sort of reminded me of the videos I've seen of seals on their islands off the coast of California. All getting frisky and laying on top of each other. You know what I mean...

Today isn't quite as nice but I must admit that I prefer it. I can't sleep when it's too warm. I much prefer a cool room to sleep in. But, it will be nice for the warmer weather so I can turn my furnace off. I'm getting tired of my high gas bills. But don't worry, my electric bill will make up for it.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My children, in addition to being mostly German, have a generous portion of Irish blood. We honor this heritage by dressing them in green today. They were really bummed that St. Patrick's Day is not a school holiday. "Isn't it a half-day today?" and "Do you have to go to work today?" were just two of the questions I got this morning.

St. Patrick holds a special place in Ireland's heart and an argument can be made that he saved Western culture by spreading Christianity to the Irish people. While England and the rest of Europe descended back into Paganism after the fall of the (Christianized) Roman Empire, Christianity was safe in Ireland. Later it was Irish monks that brought Christianity back to England and other European areas. It's no wonder that St. Patrick is such a hero.

By the way, don't tell the Irish that St. Patrick was actually an Englishman.

The Giant Ice Cube

Even though it's warmer than it's been in months the lake is still frozen. Yes that is ice and snow in the lake behind the jogger. Some people have even taken to running on the ice. I have no idea why they would want to do this. It seems dangerous to me.

I'm bummed at the moment because I was about the make a sandwich for myself and the bread has gone green! Yuck.

The Great Outdoors

Sunday was a beautiful Spring day. It was in the high 50's and sunny. The kids spent most of the afternoon outside playing with their friends. Right now our church starts at 11:30 am and it works out that we get home around 3:00, but next year we start church at 2:00 and I'm worried that the kids are going to give me a fight when they have to leave their friends for a few hours. It won't be a problem during the winter but summer is going to be a problem.

I cooked a turkey breast yesterday and you know what? The kids actually ate it. I'm impressed! Usually they turn up their noses at what I cook and ask for a PB&J sandwich just before bedtime.

Vitamin F

Saturday evening was our ward's annual Chili Fest. This is one of my family's favorite activities. The chili is great and we can relax with friends. There are many people in our ward that we just don't have time to connect with on Sundays but we can chat with them to our heart's content during the Chili Fest. And the kids have a great time running the hallways with their friends. The picture above is Ian trying to cool his mouth off after eating some of the hotter chili.

We entered a chili in the contest without expecting to win . . . and we were right. Oh well, it's just fun to participate. One of the slightly disappointing things about this year's party was not as many people participated in the cornbread contest.

The Young Women had a bake sale that everyone enjoyed. They sold out within 15 minutes or so. Everything was very tasty!

Let It Rain...

It's Spring on the Northwestern University campus. One day it's 6 degrees and the next day it's raining and windy. It will be like this for the next month or so, which we all are looking forward to oh so much. The girl above, I have no idea who she is, is an example of the unfortunate people who had to be out in the weather.

On a brighter note my Wii tennis score continues to climb. Last night I had a particularly good session where I only had a couple of temper tantrums. Thankfully no one was home to see me being stupid.

Cami's Freeform Dancing

Here is a short video of Cami dancing at her recent Father and Daughter Dance. Daddy was not out there dancing at that particular moment because he was the one taking the video. Cami hasn't quite figured dancing out yet, but looking at the video I don't think she really cares about that.

There were inflatable pink poodles on every table and at the end of the dance they were raffled off. Cami was so excited that she won one of them. I'm happy that when they called her name they actually saw her. All of the girls had crowded around the stage and they towered over Cami.

Here's an example of how small Cami is. There is a skirt that she has had for some time that she is finally able to wear without it just falling off. We looked at the label inside the skirt and the size is "24 months", and Cami will be 6 years old in four months.

The Floods Are Back!

It's not even mid-March yet and the Des Plaines river is almost out of its banks already. Here is a photo of the river coming right up to, and almost over, the road I drive to work on. A few more inches and they'll close the road and it will add 30 minutes to my commute as I try to find an alternate route.

Yesterday it was raining and in the 60's but today it is beautiful and sunny but only in the teens with a windchill that makes it feel like 3 degrees. No wonder everyone here has the flu.

A Handsome Boy

Somehow I have spawned a handsome boy. I've never considered myself a good looking person, and neither do women incidentally, but thankfully my kids are. Hopefully they'll be able to maintain their looks as they progress through life.

In this picture Ian is laughing while watching a video I took of Cami at her dance last Saturday night. I'm not sure what it was about the video that tickled him but he was laughing almost uncontrollably at times. Alas, I didn't capture that exact moment so this picture will have to do.

A Break in the Weather

It rained like a booger all weekend to the point that the Des Plaines river is almost out and spilling itself all over town. But today the weather is sunny and clear, though it's still cold. I think it was around 35 degrees this morning. It still doesn't stop the kids from getting out there and getting messy.

Here's Cami at the school playground. Notice the two kids in the background that are sitting in the wet snow. I hope they have dry clothes in their lockers.

Waittress!

Because of all the mud that is covering our area we have been spending a lot of time at the McDonald's Playland instead of heading out to the park. Here is a photo of Cami refilling Daddy's pop. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of what happened just prior to this smile. She had put my cup up to the filler-thingy but she had neglected to take of the lid, so pop went flying everywhere instead of going in the cup. Oops!

It doesn't help that Cami is so tiny and can barely reach the machine. To me she doesn't seem that little. She has really grown recently but she is still so small compared to other kids her age. I think she is the second smallest kid in her kindergarten class.

Father and Daughter Dance

There are some things in life that are a drag. Financial problems, health problems, no raises at work, etc. are all a pain, but then there are those things that make life a joy.

One of those joyous events took place this Saturday night at the Father and Daughter dance that was organized by my daughter's girl scouts council. Here is a photo of us just before we left for the dance. Cami was so excited to go she was twittering about it all week. Mommy got her all decked out and daddy even looked nice.

And I will have everyone know that even though daddy isn't the best or most enthusiastic dancer he was out there on the dance floor with his daughter trying his hardest to make sure she was having a good time.

One odd thing though was Cami refused to slow dance with me. Virtually every other kid was out there with her dad when the slow dance came but Cami just didn't seem interested. Oh well, maybe next year.

I really am happy that I was able to share this experience with my daughter and I hope that Cami had as good a time as I did.

Dog Days of Late Winter

Friday was a really nice day here in Evanston so I thought I would take to the streets to see what I could see. I saw lots of students in various degrees of undress, no photos though, and I noticed this refelction off of one of the buldings. It's not the best picture in the world but it shows the mood of the last days of winter. The temps aren't so bad but it's still grey and icky looking.

Speaking of icky, the melting snow has resulted in lots of mud. Lots and lots of mud. You can't step off the sidewalk for fear of being swallowed up. And don't even think of letting the kids outside in anything less than play clothes because whatever they wear those clothes will become play clothes by the time they're done.

Spring Is Just Around The Corner

Here's a view of Chicago from the Evanston campus of Northwestern University. At this point the surface of the lake is (mostly) frozen, which is sort of cool. As I walked along the lake I could see people walking around out on the lake, which probably isn't the safest thing they could be doing. Even though it's frozen I wouldn't count on it not having cracks where they could fall through.

The Ultimate Athlete

I know you'll all be impressed that Daddy has improved his Wii tennis game to such an extent that he has gone into the "Pro" category. Of course, I sit here at work with an aching arm but all great athletes have a high pain tolerance.

The Wii is very fun and I'm glad that my friend Brian gave us one for Christmas. The bad thing is my family is broke and we can't afford to purchase any additonal games. Ah well, over the course of this year we'll stop at GameStop and find some good used games. Besides, I don't think it's healthy for kids to have too much video game gear.

The Joy of a Wedgie

There's nothing quite like a good wedgie. Here are my kids practicing the art of underwear manipulation in the privacy of our local McDonald's playland. Ah, it's so gratifying to see my children being such good examples for others.

When I was a kid we called them "Heiniebinders". Whatever they are called they can be life altering. I remember many years ago I got a nuclear powered wedgie from a neighbor and I practically needed a crowbar to extract my undies from my crevice. I'm just happy that I was still able to have children later in life.

Woo Hoo!

I love being a dad! I can't get enough time with my kids. My only regret is that I'm not younger. I'm 45 Twinkie-filled years old and I have a hard time not having a "grabber" when I spin my kids around. Not only am I getting older but my kids are getting heavier. Phew! I'm ready to barf just remembering taking this picture. And of course all the kids in the neighborhood wanted a turn.

Perhaps in the summer I will try to get into a little better shape. I'm looking forward to resuming my walks along the lakefront and also taking some bike rides with my kids. It's hard to imagine taking a bike ride just yet with all the snow that is falling outside right now, but it's March now and in a few weeks it should start to warm up a little bit.

A Good Looking Kid

My son is much better looking than I was as a kid. Thankfully for him he is reaping the benefits of being handsome. Just about every girl in his class flirts with him and the girl scouts in my daughter's troop (pack?, gaggle?) get all atwitter about him. I hope he can maintain this throughout his life as good looking people have better lives and have higher salaries than we trolls do.

We didn't make it to the talent show last night, which bummed me a bit. I was looking forward to a little bit of a social event. I was also looking forward to seeing some people who have moved out of our ward but have stayed within the stake. Oh well, such is life.