Spring Break in Chicago

The kids and I have just spent a week in Chicago for Ethan's spring break.   Unfortunately, Jason could not get the week off, but he managed to have a quiet work week as a bachelor at home.

Meanwhile we kept busy!  Our first day in town we headed downtown, where the kids explored Maggie Daley park--a huge new playground off the lakefront.  They really enjoyed themselves--and my dad and I enjoyed some unseasonably warm weather.  We took my dad for a belated birthday lunch at Berghoff's.  Food was great, though the weather changed while we were dining and we had to brave the rain back to the train station.

Tuesday, we reunited with my college friend Meredith and her twin boys.  The kids got along great, although a trip to the playground left everyone covered in mud!

Wednesday my dad's cousin and her husband came down for a visit and we had lunch.  My dad's cousins have been a great source of support for him, they visit every month or two and bring lunch.   This time around only one cousin--Chris-- could make it, so she dragged her husband Marv.  I don't know if he liked being climbed all over by my kids, but my kids sure loved him!  We had a nice time catching up.

Another highlight was a drive up to Milwaukee to visit my Grandma and Aunt Judith.  Grandma is going to turn 94 on May 6!  She looks great!!

Also met up with the Kurinsky family on Saturday--another unseasonably warm day, perfect for a picnic in the park.  Our kids always play so well together.

Flew back on easter morning, and amazingly the Easter bunny had stopped by while we were gone.....lucky kids!

So, a very nice spring break. Glad we were able to make the trip!

Weekend Fun.

Well, spring is officially here and we have had a beautiful weekend....the first one in a while where we have all been healthy...some bad colds have hit us hard this month.

On Saturday morning we took the kids to an Easter Egg hunt.  I was able to get Alaina to wear a dress--and she sported a special one--a hand me down from her Mom.  Yes, its another dress that my parents had saved from my childhood, hand-sewn by my Grandma Harris.  It fits her perfectly now, and she looked adorable in it!  I cant believe that we have these clothes.   I wish my mom could see her, she would be so happy, I am sure.  My Grandma was a quite the talented seamstress.

The other major weekend event was that it has been finally warm enough to use the pool!  We turned on the solar heat late last week, and each day, the temperature has risen by 3-4 degrees--today it is at 76.  While that is still a bit cold for me, the kids have loved it.  We will get a lot of use out of it this summer, after two years of waiting.

A final weekend activity: beading.  Alaina has been very into beading recently--she picked it up at school, where some of the more mature kids are allowed to make necklaces and bracelets.  "Mom, did you know that Chase puts beads in his nose and so he is not allowed to do beads(!)"  was a recent quote when we were driving home from school.  Anyhow, she has convinced me that she won't put beads into her nose OR mouth and so I took her to the craft store for some beads today.  Check out the necklace that she strung:

I am pretty happy that she at least is wearing a necklace--which she has refused in the past!

A poem for the weekend

Ethan's second grade class has been studying a unit on poetry.  He came home this weekend with this poem:

Cute!

Sports Weekend

Well, We have been very busy this weekend with Ethan's sporting activities!  For some reason this year, winter sports have overlapped with spring sports.
And so, Ethan has had a very busy day.

It started with soccer in the morning.  Next up was the championship basketball game.  Ethan's team was in the finals.  He played really well, scoring 2 baskets award the end of the game--they only won by 1, so his were pretty crucial!  I was pretty proud.

Next to little league opening day.  Due to soccer, he missed the parade, but he did have team photos and his first game.  And the weather cooperated beautifully--high of 71 today!

He will sleep well tonight!

Rome and Southern Italy

We have just returned from an exiting vacation--Southern Italy!  Ethan has a mid-winter break, aka "ski week" in February.    As it turns out, I had been researching Italy, since Jason and I are planning  a trip there in September for our 10 year (!) anniversary.  I was feeling overwhelmed by all the places to see there in 2 weeks.  Then, we stumbled across some cheap tickets to Rome over Ethan's school break.  We thought: "Can the kids do Italy?  Will it be a trip full of meltdowns or a cool cultural experience??".   Not knowing what to expect, but very tempted by the price we booked the tickets.

Fast forward to today.  We have just returned, and the trip was fantastic!  Yes, we did have a few tough moments, like the time we had to leave the line at St. Peter's because of a complete and total Alaina temper tantrum.  But on the whole we had a really nice time.  Actually, I think the roughest part has been the return--jetlag going west is tough to overcome.

We spent five nights in Rome at an air bnb apartment, and three nights on the coast in Sorrento.  The fact that we could rent an apartment was really great--extra space for the kids, laundry, and a kitchen.

One thing that made the trip extra kid-friendly was the food.  first of all, it was excellent.  And what kid doesn't love pizza, pasta and/or gelato?

Rome had many cool historical sites.  We loved the colosseum, and the pantheon.  The Vatican was really amazing,  and we all made it 550 steps to the top of St. Peter's Basilica (on the next day).  We waled a ton--at least 6 miles a day, and I have to say, Alaina did a great job of keeping up.  She certainly could not have done the trip a year ago.

After Rome, we too a high speed train to Naples, and then a local train to Sorrento.  On the way we stopped at Pompeii, and learned more about ancient Roman civilization.  It was really quite an impressive place.  Roads, drainage, sidewalks, thermoses to keep food hot, a sophisticated rainwater collection system etc.

Sorrento is the gateway to the Amalfi Coast.  Being low season, there were less tourists, and of course the weather was not warm enough to enjoy the beach, but the sites were still beautiful.  We took a day trip along the coast.

The following day we took a boat to Capri.  Capri was an incredible island--huge cliffs that drop into the brilliant blue sea.  We took a chair lift to the top--wow!

So overall, a great trip.  I was sad to hear that Ethan ranked it only a "7/10" (last years trip to Mountain meadow was a 10/10).  But, I am proud of how the kids did.  I hope to inflict them with the "travel bug"!  And maybe someday Ethan will rank the trip a 10/10!

Of Rain and Rainbows

Well, it has been a REALLY rainy winter here.  Which is great, because we have had a pretty bad drought over the past few years.


Since Ethan's birthday, we have gotten 15.62 inches of rain in Marin!  That is a lot of water in 10 days!!  This past week, Ethan's school was closed two days due to flooding and power outages.

Needless to say the ground is saturated.  We are lucky that we have not had and flooding near our house, or trees fall on our property, but there have been many trees that have fallen down near us.

One thing that the rain has brought is rainbows.  I have never seen so many rainbows here as I have in the last two months.  The most beautiful one I caught while driving home--couldn't snap a pic, but it stretched across the sky behind the golden gate bridge.  Amazing.
Here are a few that I could snap:

Ethan is 8!

The birthday celebrations continued this week.  On Wednesday, Ethan turned 8.  I took the day off of work and got to volunteer in his classroom.  We hung out in the afternoon, while I cooked dinner.  His request-a bit more elaborate than in years past--homemade spaghetti and meatballs.  It was a pretty good meal.  Instead of cake this year, he requested ice cream sundaes.  Not just any old sundaes: oreo ice cream, with hot fudge, twix bars, whip cream, and sprinkles!  His big gift this year:  a telescope!

Then yesterday, we had his party.  It was a "parkour" party.  I had to look that up myself, but basically it is an obstacle course-type thing with lots of jumping and wall climbing.  It was perfect for 8 year old boys and they seemed to have a blast.

Meanwhile, I am astounded to have an 8 year old.  Time really flies.