Holiday Fun

Well, December has flown by!  It has been a whirlwind, here are our vacation highlights:

We headed to Chicago on Dec 18.  Actually Ethan's school break had not yet started.....so why an earth did we pull him out of school for a week?  Well, over a year ago, when Jason had to make his vacation requests, we looked at the calendar and saw that Christmas was on a Sunday.  So, as responsible parents we called the school board to ask when winter break would be.  They said they could not guarantee it, but historically when Christmas fell on a Sunday, break was the week before and after Christmas.  So Jason requested and received the week before Christmas off.  Then last June, the school calendar came out......lo and behold the vacation was the two weeks AFTER Christmas.  Jason couldn't switch, so we had to pull Ethan from school.  Oops.

Anyhow, we apologized to his teacher and headed to the Arctic...I mean Chicago.  The HIGH on the day we landed was -2.  Absolutely frigid.  Luckily, as the week progressed, it warmed up and by the time we left, it was consistently above freezing!

There was snow, which was fun for the kids.  Not so fun was the fact that BOTH kids managed to get sick in the one week we were there--Alaina with a fever and a cough--and Ethan with a fever and vomiting on Christmas morning. Awesome.

Other than that we had a nice time.  I got super lucky and won tickets in the Hamiton ticket lottery on Wednesday, and Jason and I had front row seats for the show for $10.  It was amazing....we are both really big fans of the music, so it was really fun to see it on stage.

Other highlights included lunch downtown at the Berghoff restaurant, chicago pizza, and of course a trip to milwaukee to see my grandma and extended family.  All four of my grandma's kids joined for dinner--a cool reunion:

Also did some ice skating--Alaina's first time in skates went ok, and Ethan is improving--and Ethan went sledding with the Kurinsky family.  Managed to squeeze in a dinner with my Illini friends as well!

We celebrated Christmas with my parents and brother's family.  Kids loved playing with their cousin, who is a lot more interactive than last year!

We flew back Christmas night so Jason could work the night of the 26th...And had a nice Christmas at home on the morning of the 26th--more about that in the next post!

Birthday Bashes

This past week we had fun celebrating two birthdays!

On Monday, Jason turned 39.  We had a nice birthday dinner with his favorite meal-- crab--the season is open this year after being closed last year due to el nino.

On Sunday, Eileen turned 70!  We threw a big birthday bash for her at our house on Saturday night--over 50 people attended.  Our house was a really nice venue--its the first big party that we have had since the remodel.  Jason put together a cool slideshow for his mom and the guests, which was really fun to watch.  Eileen has a great time!

December sure is busy for our family!!

Trimming the Tree

We had a fun time trimming the Christmas tree last weekend.  Since last Christmas, we bought the piano--so we had to relocate the tree this year.  It is now in our dining room window, which looks nice too!

Thanksgiving feast

Yesterday, we enjoyed a yummy thanksgiving dinner at Jason's parents house.  Gary and Eileen did an awesome job cooking.  I am lucky to be off for all four days, after having worked the last two weekends.

New to the party this year: Ethan's tabletop cards, a game he created at school.  Each card had a question to ask everyone around the table.  Some were simple...What is your favorite color?  And others more though-provoking...What famous person would you invite to your Thanksgiving dinner?   Ethan at first thought he would pick Abraham Lincoln (because "he was a great president, and I have a friend in my class named abe") but later changed his mind to Kevin Durant.
 Of course there was the requisite "What are you most thankful for" question as well--Ethan's response--"Trees.  because without trees none of us could be alive".)  So if that's not a northern California tree-hugger response, I don't know what is.  The game was cute, and Ethan was very proud.

We do have a lot of things to be thankful for this holiday.

Chicago...again!

Last weekend, I was in Chicago for a work conference.  I spent three nights downtown, enjoying the effects of global warming and a very mild November.  I even went on runs outside in shorts!

On Sunday, it was my mom's 72nd birthday, and it was pretty neat to be in town for it.  I had a nice dinner with her, my dad, Janice and Zachary (Jeff was out of town).  While in Chicago, I couldn't resist getting the kids some shirts for the Cubs' historic World Series victory...the curse is broken!  The kids love them, and have been wearing them over and over!

Top of Mt. Tam

Friday was Vetran's Day.  The kids were off school, but I was out of town on for work, and Jason had to work.  Rebeka spent the day with the kids.  She asked them what they wanted to do, and Ethan told her he wanted to go tot the top of Mt. Tam.  So she took them up (The hiked almost a mile to the very top!), and got these great pics in the process.   

Our family is very lucky to have such a great au pair!

Happy Halloween!

We have just completed a whirlwind of halloween festivities.  It all started last weekend, when Ethan participated in the "Boo-fest" soccer tournament.  The teams all dressed up--Ethan's team dressed up as pirates.  And although they did not win a game in the entire tournament, they did look pretty cute.

On sunday, the kids had fun carving their pumpkins.

 

Halloween began bright and sunny.  I joined Alaina for her halloween parade at preschool--her class made "Pete the Cat" costumes.  As per usual from Alaina, there were some tears with putting on her school costume.  But, by the parade, she was smiling.

This year, Ethan decided to dress up as Dracula.  His costume looked pretty good.  Alaina saved us some money this year and begged to go as a ninja turtle after she found Ethan's old costume in our dress-up bin.  I did my best to talk her out of it, but she would not budge, so a ninja turtle she was.

  


The weather changed by early evening, and a storm front rolled in.  We enjoyed some pre-trick-or-treating pizza with our neighbors, but by the time we headed out to trick or treat the rain had started.  It was pretty miserable, but the kids still managed to have fun and took home a lot of candy too, as fewer trick or treaters were out and people were telling the kids to take two or three candies each!

The following day, Ethan left us these little notes on our nightstands.  Pretty cute.

Warriors Game

This past summer, Ethan did a Warrior's basketball camp.  Included with the camp were two tickets to a game.  Friday was his day, and Jason took him.  He was so excited her hardly slept beforehand. Yes, they were really nosebleed seats, but no complaints, considering the price.   Even Jason had a good time.  And as a bonus the Warriors won, 106-97.  I think they might reclaim the championship this year!

Fall Pictures

This week, I had the chance to take the kids to a pumpkin patch and corn maze.  Got some cute fall pictures.  Fall is definitely in the air now, and we had our first fall rainstorm this weekend!

Illinois weekend

Each year, a group of my college friends get together for a reunion in the fall.  They tailgate, go to a football game, and reconnect.  Living in California, it is not always so easy for me to make the festivities, but this year the date worked out and I planned to join them, with a few extra days in Chicago to see my parents.

Then, about a week ago, my mom, who has been sick for a long time, really took a turn for the worse.  In a manner of days, she became bed -bound and was not eating.  I considered moving my flight up, but she stabilized, and I arrived as planned on Thursday afternoon.

My mom has lost a lot of weight since I last saw her in August, but actually seemed to be more comfortable in the bed than she had been in her wheelchair.  My dad, to his credit, has really earned a nursing degree in taking care of her--he can now do everything for her in bed, pretty much all by himself .  It is really quite impressive.  She looked so good (relatively speaking) that I decided to go to Champaign for one night and reunite with my friends.

My college friends and I had a lot of fun together.  My friend Becca brought her 8-week old baby girl, and it was such a treat to get to meet her!  The weather was a perfect fall day.   Unfortunately our team lost in overtime, but it was a good game.

I am really happy that timing worked out and that  I could spend time with my parents during this transition.  I will have two full days with them in Park Ridge before I have to head home.  I know that my mom would be absolutely amazed and proud of my dad if she could understand all that he is doing for her.  We sure are!

Water in the pool!

Well, it has been over a year since we broke ground on our backyard project.  Today was a big day....the pool was plastered and we are filling it with water.   The hot tub filled up fast, but he pool is supposed to take until tomorrow morning.  Although the plaster has to cure for a week and then the heat and solar needs to be installed, we at least have water!  Stay tuned for a picture of it all the way filled!

Tough Choices

This fall, Ethan has joined a club soccer team.  This means that he has soccer games pretty much every Saturday and Sunday, often a 30-45 minute car ride away.  I signed him up, mostly because he really wanted to play, and also because they have professional coaches who really "teach" the boys how to play, unlike the volunteer parents who "coach" the local league, mostly just by telling kids when to play and when to sit out.


Anyhow, is is admittedly a lot for a 7-year old, and Jason is constantly annoyed the the level of commitment expected.

Last weekend, we found out that there would be a tournament this weekend in Sebastopol, with at least two games on Saturday.  Well, Ethan's team won a game on Saturday, which meant he also advanced to games on Sunday.  The only problem: we had family plans on Sunday...the morning was "family fun day" at his school, in the afternoon we were to go swimming with some friends, and the Cortez family was coming for dinner.  We were all prepared to skip out on the games on Sunday until an email came from the coach reminding all of the players about their commitment to the team, and how he really needed everyone to come so they would have adequate subs for players to get a break (it has been super hot here).   Hmmmm.

So we told Ethan he had to forgo most of our family plans, join a carpool with another boy, and hit the field.

Was it the right thing to do?  I am torn.  After all, he is just 7, and we have limited family time as it is.  But, he did WANT to do this.  And his team was counting on him.  He was a bit sad about skipping out on the other plans, but perhaps next year, he will remember this when he has to decide between club soccer and our local soccer league.

Alaina Joins in on a Bike Ride

This afternoon, we had some downtime, and Ethan asked to go on a bike ride.  It sounded like a good idea, so we got ready to leave.  That's when Alaina announced that she wanted to ride her bike, not ride on the back of Daddy's.

No, the has been riding a tricycle for over a year, but only has recently transitioned to a hand-me-down two-wheeler with training wheels.  We weren't sure if she would really be ready, but wanted to encourage her enthusiasm, so we decided to go to on a short one, with mom and dad walking.

We were really impressed at how well Alaina did--she rode almost 2 miles--and it was a lot hotter outside than we realized.  By the end she was pretty spent--and we were pretty proud!

New School Year

Well, the past two weeks have marked the beginning of the new school year for both Ethan and Alaina.

Both kids were excited to have new backpacks and lunch boxes for school.  Ethan chose a Nike backpack AND lunch box--if he had his druthers everything now would be "Nike" or "Under Armor".  Alaina has a heart-patterned backpack and a Frozen lunchbox.

First, Ethan began 2nd grade.  His teacher has just moved here from Chicago, so we feel like old friends already!  So far, I think second grade is going pretty well.  Here is a pic from the first day:

Next, Alaina began her new preschool class, the "cow" room.  Before she started I asked if she was a little bit scared, ans she responded, "No, mom, I am a LOT scared."  But, she seemed to adjust well this week, and there have not been any tears.  Victory!

It is good to be back in the school routine!