wild eleven

 

For our anniversary this year, Mike and I did something extra special: We watched my little sister get married. Avalon and Craig chose September 20 as their wedding day, hoping to get a mild, sunny, beautiful day like the one we had in 2003. Well ... that would have been nice. What they got instead was wild weather and a wedding plan that changed from minute to minute.

The wedding was scheduled for 5 p.m., and we were in the car a little after 4. We were driving down a country road, when we happened to look over and see a whole herd of cows start LEAPING and running together in circles. The wind had picked up -- we could see the dirt in the barnyard swirling around -- and the cows were frantic to get to their shelter. Smart cows! About 5 minutes later, we got to the highway, and the sky just opened up. The rain was so heavy and there was so much lightning that all we could do was pull over and hope we didn't get hit by a falling tree or another vehicle. The boys were pretty freaked out by this time, but they managed to keep it together until the rain let up enough for us to continue.

We finally made it to my parents' road (still with time to spare before 5!) only to find whole trees and big branches down everywhere, including one right in front of the house. So instead of adding to the chaos at my parents' house, we hung a left and went to hang out at Bethany's house and await further instructions. It was pretty bad. In addition to the trees down everywhere, the tents for the reception were down, and the entire dessert/candy bar my mom had set up (with candy in glass jars) was destroyed before anyone could get it inside. Plus, you know, everything that was left standing was soaking wet.

But the show must go on. My parents' neighbor got out his big truck, and people pitched in to get the tree moved and the tents set back up, and then it was go time. My dad made this lovely little platform out in the woods, with benches he made himself using tree trunks cut in half. There were paper lanterns in the trees, and the path was lined with railroad stones scored by my brother-in-law. The ceremony was short and sweet, and before we knew it, Uncle Kent had introduced the new Mr. and Mrs. Joachim, and it was time for the reception. I kept trying to corral the boys for a family picture, but there was an inflatable giant slide/bouncy house thing (filled with water from the storm, naturally!), so by the time I got everyone together, they were all sweaty and wet. Oh, well. At least they were having fun -- and we had a truly interesting way to celebrate our anniversary!

life cycle of a butterfly, rendered in pasta

by Henry

potato creek

We're back from a badly planned quick weekend getaway to Potato Creek State Park. I say badly planned because we really didn't think through the logistics of getting everything we would need packed up and ready to go as soon as I got off work Friday, so although we got the basics (bedding and clothes and toiletries and clothes and enough food to last until the next morning), we were, let's say, not in a great state of mind by the time we had everything packed up, dropped Charlie off for a weekend with the Holidays, driven the whopping 20 minutes to get there, then spent another hour unloading and storing everything. But don't worry, friends, it got better from there. Mostly.

First, a digression. We are not campers. The last time I went camping, I think, was in college. I suspect it's much the same answer for Mike, or maybe later but it involved a Phish concert. Anyway. So that was part of the reason we were so unprepared. Not that we were camping, exactly, because we rented a cabin, but we still needed all the same stuff that you would need for a camping weekend (minus the tents). The Holidays, however, are much more outdoorsy types than we are, so while we were dropping off the dog, Mark tried to give us all sorts of stuff. (Have you met Mark? Then you're not surprised at this.) We ended up taking some long hot dog/marshmallow roasting sticks.

Second, another digression. When I was young, my grandparents would rent a couple of cabins at Potato Creek during the summer for a week or two, and whoever among their many children and not-so-many (at that point, anyway; now we are legion) grandchildren was available would spend a few days or longer riding bikes, going for walks to the general store to get Slush Puppies, and most of all, heading down to the beach to swim in Worster Lake. It was close enough that people could come out after work if they wanted, but far enough that it felt like a "real" vacation. I have fond memories of it all, though now that I'm looking at it from the (very) far end of 30, I realize anew what an amazing woman my Gram was to be able to put that all together, and I wanted to share some of that magic with the boys.

And now that we've reached the end of our digressions, I can tell you about the weekend. Because of our poor planning, by the time we got there and got unloaded, the general store was closed for the night, and with it, our hope of buying any wood with which to cook marshmallows. On the plus side, there was a central area with a playground, so the boys were pretty well occupied while we unpacked everything. Even better, there was a communal fire pit area ... and some other people had already built a fire! So we shamelessly angled our way in, made introductions, and wrangled an invitation to join them. We used our Holiday-provided sticks and roasted our marshmallows, and put together s'mores (because a certain Aunt Bethany told the boys that they HAD to have s'mores), only to have the boys discover that they didn't really like s'mores, and that eating one resulted in such a sticky mess that they then picked up all the dirt in Indiana, or so it seemed. Also that fires are smoky, and that's really not very fun. But hey, at least we tried.

It was well past dark when we finally got the boys settled down for the night, which involved enduring a full HOUR of Henry throwing the biggest screaming fit over something inconsequential (sleeping arrangements, or who got more cookies, or who played video games longer, or something like that). We were sure the neighbors would call the park rangers on us, but they didn't, and eventually everyone slept. 

Saturday was better. We got up early and set out for a hike that took us around part of the lake. It was cool but not cold, not too buggy, and there weren't many other people out and about. Perfect. We did some bird watching and identified some flowers, climbed some dirt hills, that sort of thing. When we got back, we decided to check out the nature center and were just in time for a ranger presentation, during which the boys each got to feed an animal (snakes and turtles). When it was Henry's turn, he grabbed the cricket (the food), but the cricket got away from him, so he immediately stomped on it, upsetting all the kids gathered around (not to mention the ranger!) and abruptly ending his turn, which of course resulted in another fit.

Next, we headed to another part of the lake to go paddle boating. Again, we really had no idea what we were doing, and it was a little scary with all five of us in one boat, but we made our way around some of the lake, then came back to the pier. Henry and I got out of the boat, and gave Liam and Max a turn to pedal with Mike, which they got a big kick out of.

We ended up driving to South Bend to get some lunch and supplies for dinner and the next day's breakfast, and once we got back we decided it was time for a bike ride. Mike and Liam were feeling ambitious, so they went on the mountain bike course (Liam's first true mountain biking experience; he loved it!) while Max, Henry, and I took a more leisurely ride along the regular biking trails.

You would think that with all this activity, we would have no problem getting them to go to sleep that night. But you would be wrong, all wrong. Henry again graced us with a full hour of high-volume screaming (I don't know, somebody stole his birthday or something), and then the other two, who were tired and cranky, got in on the act and tripled the misery, and by that time, we decided enough was enough. So instead of enjoying another hike or bike ride or visit to the lake Sunday morning, we decided to just pack it up and come back home. So there you have it: a lot of work for one pretty good day. Let's hope the next time goes better ... if we ever get the nerve to try it again.

henry at five

We always say that Henry follows in his brothers’ footsteps, only ... more. Bigger. More enthusiasm (for activities both good and ill advised). Bigger emotions. More questions. Unlimited energy. He is like the distilled essence of boy to us.

This year, Henry has “double schools.” Four days a week, he goes to preschool in the morning, and then he finishes out the day at daycare (on Fridays, he just has daycare). He is learning so much. The other day we were at the store, and out of nowhere, Henry said, “Mom, I think I can spell Max’s name.” And he very carefully sounded it out: “Mmmm ... M ... aah ... A ... ex ... X. M-A-X.” Then he followed the same process to try to spell Liam’s name and came up with L-E-M. I thought maybe the first one was a fluke; after all, it’s not exactly hard to remember how to spell M-A-X. But when he did Liam’s name, it was clear that even though he didn’t get the spelling exactly right, he definitely understands the fundamentals of sounding words out. He is starting to do that all the time with words he sees during his day, and it is thrilling. He’s also asking to read books more and more. I was a little worried because he never seemed all that interested in paying attention when I would read to them at bedtime, and because as much as Liam is a big reader, Max just isn’t, so I wondered which way Henry would go. Well, I don’t need to wonder anymore.

It seems like wherever we go, Henry knows somebody. Out to breakfast? There’s his friend from t-ball. Shopping for groceries? He sees three kids from daycare. He is so outgoing and social, which really stands out in our little family. He makes friends easily, and is free with his affection. All the little friends we see are very excited when they spot Henry, and run over for a hug or a high five or a fist bump. Speaking as a person who is prone to social hibernation, I really hope this is a trait he’ll keep as he grows up.

If Henry had his way, he would be grown up already, doing all the things his brothers can do, only bigger and better. If you ask him what he wants to do when he is grown up, the first thing he will tell you is that he wants to live in Washington, D.C., in a big white house (really, THE big white house). And we have no doubt that if that’s still what he wants later on, he’ll find a way to get it.

Happy birthday, Henry, our fearless, determined boy!  We can’t wait to visit you in your big white house.

pre-birthday festivities

This morning we took the boys to scenic Western Springs, Illinois, to see cousin Lucy's first soccer game (full disclosure: she is 3, as are her teammates, so "game" is a term I use very loosely), along with Johnny and Erin, Richie, Barb and Kevin, and Erin's parents. Erin very generously baked a cake and brought it to the park, so after the game was over, we took over a picnic table and sang "Happy Birthday" to Henry a couple days early, and he got to open his presents. After that we had some fun playing in the park with Barb and Kevin, and then we went off to the zoo with Erin and the kids. Amazingly, this is the first time this year we've made it to the zoo (which is pretty sad considering we renewed our membership in November). Henry was thrilled to be able to celebrate his birthday a little bit early, and excited to know that he gets to see both sides of his family for his special day. Such fun!

jukebox hero

I suspected this day would come, but it's here sooner than I thought: Max has outgrown his first guitar. He is still taking lessons every week, and seems fairly devoted to continuing, though, so we decided to invest in the next size up. And he is more than happy with the result! So now Max has a new guitar, and his first guitar has become Henry's first guitar. Thankfully for my pocketbook, they don't start taking kids for guitar lessons until they are 8, so until then, Henry will have to just strum along however he feels like it.

... and the hat trick

After a very long, hot tournament, the Diamondbacks have emerged as the champions of this year's tournament, and Liam has a third shiny trophy to add to his collection for the summer. I present to you the sweaty victors: