Halloween Eve - 2009

This picture was taken on our way to school today, which is one day before Halloween. All of the kids were encouraged to wear their costumes to school for their Halloween party. Both Ian and Cami are excited about Halloween this year and they were especially excited to show off their costumes to their friends. And, of course, they took candy to school to share and I'm sure they will receive candy from everyone else as well. I suspect that by the time I get home tonight the kids will already be on a sugar high and will be bouncing around like crazy. And it isn't even halloween yet!

I'm glad that Halloween is on a Saturday this year because every year I carve pumpkins with the kids and it's hard to do it the night before. This year we'll be able to carve them and put them right outside. In the past we've always waited until the last minute to carve our pumpkins because they get eaten by the various animals that inhabit our area. Opossums, raccoons, squirrels, mice, and who knows what eat our pumpkins to such a degree that in just a day or two they are almost completely gone.

Cami's 6th Birthday Party

This last summer Cami wanted her birthday party at a local mini-golf place. They had a good deal where each kid cost $7.50 and that got them a day's golfing, a hot dog and drink, and it included the picnic area as well.

All the kids had a great time golfing even though some of them were really really bad at it. I was surprised at how many of their golf balls wound up in the river (the motif of the place is a mountain with a river running down through the rocks with a lake that has a water wheel, etc). Thankfully the place didn't charge us the fees it claimed it does whenever someone loses their ball.

Cami chose her own cake and being a loyal fan of Spongebob Squarepants her choice was easy. Not only did it look good but it was very tasty as well.

Our First Camping Adventure

Several years ago Aura bought a tent and, with the exception of putting it up in our yard, we've never used it. At some point this last summer we decided that we wanted to go camping, so we packed up and went.

Aura found a KOA campground up near our favorite beach in St. Joseph, Michigan. When it came time to put up the tent I was really happy that I had practiced in our yard. It's funny that when you're putting up a tent everyone else, meaning other campers that were around us and not my family members, just sits and watches. I was really glad that I didn't come off as too much of a putz.

The kids really had a great time camping. Aura and I really enjoyed it also. We borrowed her sister's air beds so we didn't have to sleep on the lumpy ground and, while I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit it, we even put an air conditioner in there. It was really comfy and we even discovered that our tent was water tight when a big thunderstorm moved through during the night. I was surprised that we all slept so well. One annoying thing was many of the other campers there at the campground got up really early and they were all surprisingly noisy.

One of our favorite things was the campfire. We sat around it and roasted marshmallows and just basically enjoyed each other.

We also went to the beach that weekend. Lake Michigan's water temperature never really warmed up this year because it was such a cool summer. The water was especially cold this time around. The little kids just played in the sand and the various teenagers that were there braved the cold but you could tell that they really didn't want to be there, but none of them were brave enough to be the first ones out of the water.

It was really fun and we hope to go camping again sometime soon.

I'll Miss Summer

This last summer was sort of odd in that we did lots of things, like fishing and camping, but because it was a cooler year we didn't go to the beach as many times as we had hoped nor did we go to the pool as often as we anticipated. There were some really cold days this year and they were made even colder by being in a wet bathing suit.

This year the kids and I went fishing a handful of times. We did it once as part of a Cub Scouts activity and they decided they really liked it. So, I bought them some inexpensive fishing rods and off we went. We tried the Chain O' Lakes area several times and we tried Busse Woods lake and a couple of other local lakes and we never got a bite. I fully believe that there are no fish left in Illinois. The entire state has been fished out. It's been hard keeping the kids excited about fishing when they never catch any fish.

Ian is Growing Up

When Ian was born everyone warned us that time would go by very quickly and he would be grown up before we knew it. Well, today he is 8 years old. It's hard to believe that the last 8 years have gone by so quickly. He's been in the hospital for his asthma a handful of times, he's broken his arm and his nose, and he's had a least three sets of stitches that I can remember. In spite of this he is a happy kid and never fails to find something fun to keep himself busy.

Looking at these pictures it's so hard to remember how small he was. Small not only because he was young but because he was a premie and was extra little. Aura reminded me that one time he was running around a playground and a little girl shouted "Mommy, look at that little baby run!"

But, as they say "time waits for no man". I keep telling both of our kids to stop growing up so fast, but so far they haven't listened. Before you know it they'll be asking for the car keys.

Crazy Hair Day - 2009

One day last week, I think Friday, was crazy hair day at school. Our kids got their hair colored with some sort of spray that washes out. Cami just wanted various parts of her hair colored differently while Ian wanted stars on his head. You can sort of see a blue star just above his ear.

The picture above doesn't really do their hairdos justice. It was raining and we didn't want the colors to run so I didn't get a chance to take any closer pictures of their hair and for some reason (user error I'm sure) the photo that I did get is out of focus.

Mommy got up early that morning so she could help the kids with their hair. Even though she has not felt good recently she still wanted to make sure the kids didn't miss out on the fun.

Ian the Forest Ranger

The kids and I really enjoy poking around in the forest preserves looking for critters and birds and stuff. Today Ian and I went out by ourselves, Cami was at Grandma's house, to make some plaster casts of animal tracks. Here's Ian posing with one of the frames we made.

We saw quite a few critters today. Lots of frogs, birds, a few snakes (and one that was so small that I was surprised that Ian even saw it) and lots of trees that have been damaged by beavers. We didn't see any deer this time around, which is actually sort of surprising because we always see deer in this particular forest preserve.

Mad Scientists

What are they teaching kids in school these days?! Ian came home the other day and wanted to show me how they created a volcano. Two boxes of baking soda and three bottles of vinegar later we had a major mess going.

It was pretty cool how the foam would come shooting up out of the bottle. There is one trick I learned to do by mixing baking soda and vinegar but it was late and the kids had to go to sleep so I couldn't show them, but if you mix them in a bowl that has high sides the carbon dioxide that is created will stay in there and if you blow bubbles over it the bubbles will land on the CO2 and appear to float. It is actually a pretty cool effect.

Cami's Trip to Hawaii

Ok, so Cami didn't really go to Hawaii, though she thinks she has. She put on a hula skirt, grabbed her "coconuts", and started dancing. Winter really hasn't started in full force just yet so I can't imagine her suffering from cabin fever so soon.

She's Still A Little Girl (Thankfully)

A few weeks ago Cami decided she was going to go to sleep in her dolly's crib, and oddly enough, she fit. Even though she has grown so much recently she still is a small kid. As a dad I am really happy that she is still a little girl and hasn't grown up just yet.

All Good Things Must End

Kiddieland has been there for over 80 years but this last weekend it shut its doors forever. I didn't want the kids to miss out on the Kiddieland experience so I took the kids there on the last Saturday that the park was open. Apparently a lot of other people had the same idea. The line was extremely long, but I must say that it didn't take too long to get in.

I made the mistake of getting on one of the rides with the kids. It was a spinning ride and after the ride was over I was sick to my stomach for the rest of the day. I wanted to barf and I didn't feel better until the next day. The fumes from the train engines didn't help.

The kids had a great time! They each had massive amounts of cotton candy, played a bunch of games, and rode lots of rides. We didn't get to ride the train (the line was way too long) which disappointed me and we didn't get to ride the bumper cars because they could only fit two people at a time and the kids were too small to go by themselves.

There was one ride called The Tornado that the kids insisted on riding. I took a video of us on it and as you can see the kids really enjoyed it.

In all the kids had a great time and I was very pleased that I got them there. I would have been very disappointed with myself if I had missed the chance to go.

Apple Picking - 2009

Every year we like to go apple picking up at Homestead Orchard in McHenry county. I believe the town is Woodstock. Anyway, we go to the same place every year because we know they have good apples and they sell our jams and jellies in their little store.

This year Mommy went and, due to her poor health, it probably wasn't a good idea. Not only did she not feel good but it was a hot day and that really drained her of energy.

The kids had a great time running around and taking bites out of apples to see if they wanted to pick more. I think we eventually settled on some Jonathans and another variety that I can't think of the name right now. Oh, and we picked some really large apples that are intended for cooking. Aura's mom made an apple pancake with them and it was very yummy.

Young Love

Ian is definitely a ladies' man. Girls just love him. Here is a neighbor of ours that finally got him down on the ground after a lot of chasing. Of course, when I asked her if Ian was her boyfriend she screamed "Yuck!" Proof positive that she is absolutely smitten with him.

A Short Vacation

A few weeks ago the kids had a couple of days off for Labor Day, so we decided to take an impromptu vacation. After pondering for a while we decided to take the kids back to the Amish village in Millersburg, OH. We were there a couple of years ago and the children really enjoyed a petting zoo that was there. Not only did they have animals but there was a train that we rode around the farm and we also took some buggy rides with an Amish man.

A few funny things happened while we were there. Our hotel room had a balcony, which the kids really enjoyed, but one time Cami ran right into the sliding door. She came running through the room and jumped to go over the threshold of the door and bounced right off the glass. She cried a lot but she was also laughing.

The petting zoo was changed around since we were there last and had a lot of new animals in it. Mommy went shopping at a store next to the zoo while daddy took the kids into the pasture area. We quickly found out that these animals were not tame little animals but instead were full grown aggressive adults. Cami got head butted by a sheep and that same sheep tossed Ian across the yard. It was like the petting zoo from hell. After being abused by the animals we went running out of the pasture completely shell shocked.

Last time we were there we stopped at an Amish restaurant/deli sort of place that Aura said made the best sandwich she had ever eaten. We stopped there again and it was just as good the 2nd time around. This time I took a picture of her sandwich.

It was a fun trip but a tiring trip. We were sort of worried that this trip would ruin our fond memories of the previous trip but instead we added a whole new set of memories to the mix.

Cami Waiting Patiently

Cami took her dog to school today. It's an electronic dog that barks and wiggles and wags and shimmies and does all sorts of things. The weather is beginning to turn cooler these days hence the pretty blue sweater she was wearing.

School Starts Up Again

School has started up again. Bummer. Ian started 2nd grade and Cami started 1st grade this year. She was very excited to be in all day school! She got a new backpack and all new school supplies. Here she is with her new teacher. Ian wasn't as excited about starting up school again. But, he's doing much better this year in regards to reading and math and just generally doing better with his homework, etc. That makes us very happy.

Even Super Heroes Like Ice Cream

We love the ice cream man! And he loves us everytime we pay his $2 per popsicle price. It's a great thing that the ice cream man came to our block every day because it has developed our children's supersonic hearing. They could hear that truck when it was miles away. And their muscles became highly developed as they ran as fast as they could into the house to grab money off of us.

This is Boring!

Ian played baseball this year. The coach was the dad of one of the kids in Ian's class. He was a great coach and really tried to teach the boys baseball. He was very encouraging to them and never yelled, unlike some of the coaches of the other teams.

His team did really well and almost won the championship. Ian was a very good batter and almost always had a hit whenever he was at bat. He even caught an inning or two and while he wasn't great at it we were very proud of him that he stuck to it even though he was hit in the head by a pitch.

We were also happy that he said he wanted to play again next year.

Illinois Railway Museum

Many years ago, back in the '50s and '60s, my father used to ride the Railway Post Office trains as his job when he first started to work for the Postal Service. Every year he attends a reunion of guys who also rode the trains, but this year they organized a special meeting at the Illinois Railway Museum.


The IRM has one of the original cars so they hitched it up to an engine and they ran it around the museum so people could see how they worked. Not only that the local Post Master came up with a commemorative cancelling stamp and they were running real mail through the cars. People could buy post cards at the gift shop, the car would pick it up and the letter would be cancelled on the car, and then put into a bag and dropped off again.


Here is a video of the mail car grabbing the mail bag off of the hook. The person grabbing the bag from the train is my dad.

Later in the day we got to ride inside the car and watched how everything worked. Here is a short video of that.

Cami Learning to Ride Her Bike

There are times when I wish I was a younger dad, but at the same time I'm very happy that I am not an older dad. The best part is I AM a dad.

One of the perks of being a parent is teaching your kids how to ride a bike. The video above shows my old fat self teaching Cami how to ride her bike. I'm very glad that I didn't have a "grabber" while running along with her.

Cami's Dance Recital and Ian's Baseball

This summer Cami had some dance classes and Ian went into baseball. They both had a great time, but each one struggled with the notion of practicing. Even though they both thought practicing was boring they both did really well once the actual stuff started. Cami remembered her dance moves and Ian managed to hit the ball.

In the video above Cami is dancing at her recital which she and her class had been practicing for weeks.

In this video Ian gets his first hit...but not only that it was his first ever at bat in baseball and he batted in a run! I was very relieved that he got a hit so soon and didn't fall into the "I suck at everything" rut. For some unknown reason Ian was given the largest uniform. His shirt was huge and he needed a large safety pin to keep his pants from falling off.

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!