After a year’s hiatus last year, Susan’s Playgarden program is back in action. It is fun to have the energy back in the house, a return to a familiar routine, and Lucia loves having more friends around.
First Day of School
First day of school today!
Grades:
Andrew – 7
Mari – 5
Elliot – 4
Lu – Preschool (year 1)
Rose – Crawler
After a year’s hiatus, Bean Sprout Playgarden is back! Lu is excited to have some daily friends coming over.
Glow Wild
This evening we attended Glow Wild, a fun outdoor event sponsored by the county conservation office. The turn-out was massive, and way more than they were ready for. After some initial disappointment with the long lines, the evening ended with an awesome bonfire and dancing.
Meals from the Heartland
Every year Meals from the Heartland hosts an ‘Annual Hunger Fight’ – a massive operation where thousands of people volunteer for a couple of hours to produce millions of meals. Nate volunteers regularly and also finds a time for us all to participate. This is Andrew’s sixth year, and the others are just behind.
Andrew Playing the Cello
This week Andrew is starting a new instrument – the Cello. He is taking an orchestra class at the local junior high, which is just a short walk from our house. Already he is working on playing some songs.
Home Work
This weekend, and over the past couple of weeks, our work around the house has continued. We started with the bathrooms by installing a new toilet that we got from toiletable.com. Then Susan painted the front door and we cleaned the garage and the storage room. This weekend we tackled more projects, including using some of the kids’ watercolor paintings as wallpaper, painting part of the basement, and Elliot and I built an addition on to the playset. All of this work has come about because of several factors, including Rose being older, Susan’s program starting again, and school starting soon.
Fall Soccer Season
This week marks the beginning of the Fall soccer season. Elliot & Mari are playing U12 and Andrew is playing U14. We switched clubs this year, looking for a more consistent experience, better fields, and a soccer complex, so that our kids are not playing and practicing at 2 different locations.
So far, so good.
The garage
Ever wonder what our garage looks like by the end of the summer?
Pearl Jam in Chicago
Last winter Pearl Jam announced that they were going to play a couple shows at Wrigley at the end of their summer tour. Six months later the older kids and I were off to Chicago. We stayed one night, arriving at our hotel and then heading straight to Wrigley. After dinner at a near-by restaurant we enjoyed a self-guided tour of Wrigley and then the concert.
24On Tuesday, the next day, we headed downtown for just a few hours to play at Millennium Park, see the lake, and walk to Navy Pier. Then it was time to head home.
Evening Walk
With the nice weather and younger kids, we have been going on many evening walks this summer after dinner. It is a nice way to get outside. The older kids usually come, Lu walks and rides in the stroller, and Rose likes to ride in the stroller. It seems like we took some time off from this former habit, with our younger kids are again at the sweet-spot for this endeavor.
Iowa State Fair
We had our annual trip to the Iowa State Fair. We went after work (when it is half price) and made our usual rounds. This year was the first year we explored the Little Hands on the Farm area, where the kids can pretend to be a farmer, and they get a treat at the end. The older kids and Susan also rode the Crazy Mouse, which is a rollercoaster.
Susan’s 20th High School Reunion
This weekend Susan’s friends were in town for her 20th high school reunion. The Foley-Murphy’s (Andrea, Murph, Grace, & Jack) stayed with us, which was great. It was great to be able to spend so much time with them. Susan, Megan, Missy, and some other classmates have been planning the reunion for a few months – tracking down classmates, choosing the venues, and decorating.
The weekend consisted of a girls’ night at Megan’s, family time at Beaverdale Park on Saturday morning, Mass and a school tour on Saturday afternoon, and then a Saturday evening event at Noce. For the Saturday evening event Susan and I got a babysitter for the first time since Rose was born.
