Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Merry Christmas 2024!


As is our usual tradition - please enjoy our list of quotes for 2024!  While they may not be as cute and as plentiful as when they were small, they are still enjoyable!  Happiest of Holidays to you all!

May 2024 - Sam came home on the last day of 7th grade with gym uniform we hadn’t seen since November 2023. I gasped as he brought it out saying something like "I completely forgot you even had a gym uniform!" Needless to say, it went directly into the laundry.

June 2024 - While prepping for a lake weekend, we were making chicken salad and Isaac asked me if I cooked the chicken, I confirmed and he said “good because salmonella and the lake are not a good combination.”

June 2024 - While at the lake we enjoyed one of our favorite past times, playing scrabble. I expertly played the word "blowings.” This attempt was challenged and rejected. However, I insist it refers to the yard waste created when you mow the grass and then use a leaf blower to remove. Hence "blowings." There is an alternate meaning that refers to the gas one passes. I will die on this hill even if they all insist I'm crazy.

June 2024 - Usually the boys do their own laundry, but after a trip I was doing mixed laundry and asked Isaac about a tie dye school shirt. It was Sam's but and he adds “if you see a black one that’s mine.” Noah points out “you mean the one you are wearing?”

June 2024 - Isaac tells me if he ever goes to prison they will use his eyebrow prints to ID him versus fingerprints

July 2024 - Noah was testing Sam’s history skills and asked him what are the three branches of government. Sam confidently responded: “legislative, executive and judgmental.”

July 2024 - While on vacation in Canada we had had a long day of driving, hiking, 90 degree heat, and huge crowds of tourist. We finally started to head back to our condo but then decided to stop by a lake for a quick swim. Noah was done and fed up and sat on the shore of the lake just sweating, glaring and waiting. On our return to condo at 5pm Noah passed out asleep. He woke up barely to eat pizza without a word and went back to bed and slept till 9am the next morning. We laughed together about his 16 hours of sleep and he responded with "it was either sleep or be filled with rage at you all, I made a choice!" We now refer to this as “rage sleeping.”

Nov 2024 - I was playing hide and seek with Lauren (2 year old niece), I loudly said “is she here in the closet?” and she helpfully hollered “no I here in the bathroom!”

Dec 2024 - Mike and Noah are playing a new video game "Path of Exile 2", and Noah asked if Mike has done the level with the witch on the motorcycle, Mike was very confused and said he didn't think so? Then he got to the level with the witch on a broomstick.

Dec 2024 - Noah tells me “I think I might end up being the tankiest of us.” I assume he means body type, so I launch into an affirming speech about genetics and how all bodies are good, etc. He patiently waits looking at me and then he explains he was referring to his character in said video game.

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

November 2024

Our November has been nice!  We of course have the matching holiday jammies!  This year, featuring the cats' faces (and due to an editing error, Noah's face too).
Noah decided to try making some potato pancakes for German class thanksgiving.  Of course we were all thrilled when he started shredding at 7:30pm on a Sunday and making the house smell of fried potatoes and onions until 11pm that night.
The younger 2 had the whole week of Thanksgiving off of school, so we tried a new local breakfast spot.

Then then heavy work began.  We hosted 21 people, so that meant a lot of potatoes.  Thankfully I had this amazing prep crew!
Isaac also helped out with the macaroni and cheese.
We celebrated Anya's birthday!
And Lauren spent a little quiet time with Noah watching cat videos!
Then I enjoyed the Ladies Lunch, the day after!

Now we just await the arrival of a new baby and the holidays!

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

September/October 2024 fun

So we have settled into the 2024-2025 school year.  We did our annual trip to the Tri-State Rodeo back in September.  This year it was me, Noah, and Isaac.
They had the Budweiser Clydesdales!
Reunited again, feels so good!
We had great weather and great food, as usual!
School Photos!  Noah in his Junior Year at Conant High School.
Sam in his 8th grade year at Mead Junior High.
And Isaac rocking the last of the last elementary years in his 6th grade year at Nerge!
We had a Lauren weekend in preparation for baby Hewes #2.  She did a great job and we tried a new ice cream spot!
Sam's 8th grade band got to play at the half time show at Conant's football game, so fun (and cold)!

Sam enjoyed his 8th grade trip to Washington DC.  Here he is with his roomie, Ryan.
They walked 9 miles all over the capital!

Isaac had a local field trip to the nature center with his 6th grade class.
We had some unexpected renovations (which are ongoing) thanks to a broken drain pipe.
Noah did a trunk or treat with some D&D club friends.
Pumpkin time!

Isaac did a classic one while Sam did Jack Skellington.
Halloween 2024 - Moon Knight and a mission impossible style spy/thief.
My school did a book character theme and our team rocked the Hogwarts student look!
Recent outing with Cliff and Jamie, Isaac found us a turkish dessert place that specialized in fried dough and bubble waffles.  Sam did some damage!
So now we prepared for the holiday rush and all the fun that goes with hosting Thanksgiving!

Friday, September 6, 2024

Beginning of the school year 2024

We finished out the summer with a couple fun outings.  We made it to Pequod's Pizza for a lunch, it was awesome! 
I had a lovely dinner with Philie and Kelly!
Noah was the first to return to school for his first day of Junior Year!
The cats adjusted to days alone and daily forced reunions when people get home from school.
Isaac headed back for his first day of 6th grade - our last year with a Nerge Knight!
Sam enjoyed a day of golf before he got started!
And then he was off for his first day of 8th grade!
We had a fun visit with Lauren, she demanded that they all swing!
Sam's 8th grade band performed at Schaumburg's Septemberfest over the Labor Day weekend.  The weather was beautiful!
And we hosted a Rodriguez Family pickleball tournament.  It was fun watching the original 4 siblings play, and no one got hurt!
Stayed up to watch the Septemberfest fireworks from the front yard.
And Sam had a very successful return to archery! On to all the fun of fall!
Maybe a new tradition of early morning coffee with cats - we will see!

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Summer: Part Two!

So our trip to Canada was incredible!  We flew from Chicago to Calgary and then drove to Canmore, where our rental was.  We spent 5 days with our friends the Desai-Gruenhagens from California.  We were able to drive into Banff and take several scenic hikes!  Isaac was ready!
Sam celebrated his official 14th birthday while we were there!
The group was so fun and it's been great for all the teenagers to reconnect!  This year we had Meera's niece Elena join us too, she was so great!
My pictures are completely out of order, but we did one rainy trip on a bus to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake!
Sam joined the "higher hiker" club and went up to the top at Moraine Lake!

Lake Louise was beautiful too!

Many of of the local small lakes were also really beautiful.

We sampled many Canadian treats - but this one is Sam's own creation of a monster oreo.

We spotted some wildlife throughout our trip.
Awesome waterfall!
Lots of evening card games!
We found a local German place for dinner one night.

A great lake hike not far from our condo!

There was a wildfire north of us in Jasper that caused an evacuation and a lot of damage.  We were safe, thankfully, but you can certainly see how smoky the air was!
Gotta have Tim Horton's!
Evening puzzle action too!
We tried out some beaver tails - delish!
Downtown Canmore!
Just amazing views even walking to dinner!

We tried many Canada only chip varieties, including ketchup!
Isaac got his poutine fix!
These kids were so great and really enjoyed hanging out all together, it was an amazing trip.  We are already plotting summer 2025!
Now back at home we are trying to enjoy some last minute fun before all the business starts up.  We went to Raging Waves this week and Noah go his float on.
Sam and Isaac did a lot of slides, even some of the big big ones!
We also tried out a local boba place - excellent!  Sad that these impromptu outings will be ending soon, but we sure made the most of it!
So we stand ready for all the new challenges this 2024-2025 school year will bring our way!  Here we go!