The Piedmonts' Great Adventure

Another “new” home…Tampa, here we come!

2011-05-13T11:01:00.001-07:00

So these are pictures I took when we were buying the house; my furniture is different. We loved the porch (excuse me, lanai) so much that it just about sold the house for us. That and the great kitchen, perfect for the Christmas Cookie Bake Off and many, many family gatherings. We have already moved most of our stuff, but the kids and I are still in IL waiting to finish school. Then it will be time to rip the band-aid and make the final move. We all have such mixed feelings about our move. While we are very excited to be in Florida again with Meg at FSU and our family around the corner, we have grown our own “family” here in Illinois. Can’t win for losing sometimes, right?

Yes, Meg is GRADUATING!

2011-05-13T10:30:00.001-07:00

In just two short weeks, the child who should just be finishing up the year at Alumni Village Child Development Center in the Butterfly class will be donning a cap and gown and hitting that first major young adult milestone as a graduate of Oswego East High School. We are so very proud of our honor/Advanced Placement student! And while that red hair is no joke as an indicator of her personality, we are even more proud of the young lady she is becoming.

Watch out, Florida State! Another Piedmont is about to become an official Seminole!

Snowpocalypse 2011

2011-02-05T13:54:00.001-08:00

Well, we have so far survived the 3rd worst storm in Chicago’s history!! Our area got about 18-20 inches, which, as you can see, comes up to about EC’s waist! The snow piles are humongous and nearly impossible to see around. But, at least we were not trying to settle into our rental house during the middle of it all. Small favors!

Ellen Claire and Will had fun playing in it the next day. It had warmed up to a balmy 7 degrees by the time we went out in the afternoon. Beats the –10 air temp it had been that morning! We had 2 snow days—unheard of up here where our new superintendent is from Minnesota. We baked a small turkey breast, made a snow feast and ate our way through the snow!

Oh well! At least we will appreciate Florida’s winter next year. I imagine there will be no one in FL who appreciates it more than we will!

Next Stop…Tampa!

2011-01-19T08:12:00.001-08:00

Ok, so this isn’t Tampa (it’s actually the resort that “Couples Retreat” was filmed at in Bora Bora and is on my We MUST Go Here list for Jack!), but considering the weather outside my window right now, it could be to us.

This year, as y’all know, has been an interesting one for us. And, for now, it seems like we are finally making progress towards the next adventure in our family. Meg will be in Tallahassee and we will be in Tampa!

This is big for us, not just because it is Florida (ie sun, no snow, sun, beach, no snow, sun, pools, no snow…) but for the first time ever we will be close to family. We have longed for this for quite a while and are so excited!

Gramma may get tired of us, Grand Pop, too. But so be it! We’re heading “home”!

Now, to just make it to the rental town home this weekend…PRAY FOR US!

Fall Sports

2010-11-24T08:03:00.001-08:00

http://www.shortpics.com/Soccer/2010-U12-Prowlers/110610-Prowlers-vs-Challenger/14541832_XB3Q2#1080365729_d7MqB-A-LB

We had a busy fall! With two kids in soccer and one busy cheering, we spend a lot of time on different fields. I figured out one week that we had 3 practices for Will, 1 for Ellen Claire, 3 soccer games, 3 nights of practice for Meg and a Friday night football game. I don’t know how people do multiple sports!!! Lucky enough, though, we only had a couple of poor weather days. Unfortunately for Emily, she hit one of the coldest when she came to visit in October! I couldn’t get the picture of Will to upload, but you should be able to click on the link above to get to it. One of the dads on Will’s new soccer team is a professional photographer. Needless to say, I didn’t take many pictures as his were sooooo much better!

OK Piedmonts Came to Visit!

2010-11-14T13:57:00.001-08:00

What a treat! The Oklahoma Piedmonts (Mike, Amy, Ellie, Tripp and Brimley) came to stay with us last week on their return visit to Edmond, OK, from Rhode Island. We haven’t seen them since last year when Ellie was just 1 and Tripp was just a zygote! Amazing what can happen in a year. We spent our time at the park, watching for the school buses, cooking and eating together, and even with a quick trip to Barnes and Noble for a few minutes of quiet for me and Amy. Ellen Claire had fun being the big girl, but did enjoy having my full attention once the house was still once more. If you pointed to Will and asked, “Who’s that?” Ellie would say, “Connor!” No, that’s not Connor. Who is it? “Bryan!!” No, that’s not Bryan, who is it, Ellie? “That’s WILL!!!”

We know that the OK Piedmonts were here just for a moment on their way to their home, but we sure did enjoy having family around. Thank you for including us on your journey!

Thank you, Windows 7!

2010-11-14T13:47:00.001-08:00

Because of Windows 7, I can now easily update The Piedmonts’ Great Adventure!!! After much ribbing from my brother in law, Mike, for saying I would update soon…and then didn’t…I figured I would see if this “blog” option would work on my PC. And it does!!!

So I do promise to update with more pictures and the like very soon. Just know that while we are all “crazy-busy,” our lives are spinning at the pace of a top, we are ok. Tired, but ok!

And now to see if this will actually post…

A lot can happen in a year!

2010-08-02T06:04:00.001-07:00

Oh no! Where has the time gone?!? It's been an entire YEAR since I posted anything on the blog?!? What is up with that? Well, Facebook is what's up with that. It has been so much easier to post tons of pictures and updates on FB that I had abandoned the blog. No longer! During two family visits this summer, I was asked multiple times, "So, when are you going to update the blog?" Evidently, we have a following :) I am here to say that yes, the Piedmonts' Great Adventure will continue!

And here's what we have in store for you--I will get pictures and stories of summer up soon. We still have 3 more weeks before school starts, so hopefully we can get more summer in before then! Over the next few months, Meg will begin her SENIOR year in high school; Will will begin his first year in junior high; Ellen Claire will begin Kindergarten. Jack is moving to Orlando, FL. No worries, we are going, too--just not until next summer. I'm already neck deep into the Junior League presidency. Soccer started for Will last night and will for EC at the end of the month. Cheer starts for Meg tomorrow. And somewhere in there, I suppose we will sell a house, buy a house and make a major move. Don't you want to switch with me?!?

So hang in there with us! We will need you and your PRAYERS. It should be a Great Adventure!

Ellen Claire's First Dance Recital

2009-06-01T10:37:00.001-07:00

Ellen Claire had a year full of first experiences. Ballet class was one of them! For the baby of three, I have not been been too anxious to jump into another round of scheduled activities for her. But when I found the park district's program it was just right. And of course she would love it!

Their dance was Tinkerbelle's "Shine" song and it only lasted about 35 seconds. The harder part was keeping 11 3-5 year olds clean, relatively still with tutus fluffed backstage for about an hour. Lots of coloring went on!

Because I was a backstage helper (I've seen my fair share of recitals from the audience!) I did not take flowers for EC back with me. All the families were picking up their dancers and showering them with flowers. Ellen Claire was a bit quiet and a little sad--she asked if she was going to get flowers, too. So you can see how happy she was when Jack, Meg and Will met her outside with her first ever bouquet. I think it appropriate that her first flowers came from her daddy.

End of Year Picnic

2009-06-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

Ellen Claire went to her first year of preschool this year and it was a wonderful experience! She was fortunate to have the same teacher, Mrs. Jen, that she had in a Little Learners' class once a week last spring. We're hoping to have her again for the 4's class, too :) but we'll see. To celebrate the end of the year, the preschool had a picnic fun day at a local park for the families. We had a beautiful day and lots of fun blowing bubbles, painting faces, playing games and playing on the playground. I can't believe how fast our baby is growing up...and she's only 4 :)

Soccer Star

2009-06-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Will is loving his soccer. After finding his niche as a defensive player, Will has turned it on! His daddy's cheer is "Nothing gets by you!" His mama's cheer is "Be Agressive, B-E aggressive! B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E, woo!" After doing this for him at home, Will begged me to not do that at the field. All the dads can't stand it when I call him Baby. Turns out that doesn't bother Will at all, but the threat of cheering does. Needless to say, I haven't had to cheer once!

Worms?

2009-06-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

Last year it was ants. This year it is worms. Do we have an entomologist on our hands?

Ellen Claire loves digging for and relocating worms. She plays with them until they are "broken," puts them in a new home with new friends and then digs for more. Seriously.

Easter Day

2009-04-28T05:45:00.001-07:00

It was a glorious Easter Day! I don't know how to explain how much the word "resurrection" means to us. It not only encompasses the greatness of our faith, but also what we feel when Spring starts to arrive, right on Easter Day.

To add to the beauty of it all, Ellen Claire said to me, "I really look like God's Little Princess today!" If only we all could realize that that is how God sees us all the time, regardless of our clothes, the big bow or how we think we look.

My mother stitched every-single-stitch in EC's dress by hand. It was originally Mary Margaret's baptism gown. When we needed a flower girl dress for Emily's wedding, Mama took the skirt from the gown, added a new bodice and sleeves and wham! a stunning and original and very Southern flower girl dress was created. Of course, Meg was almost 6 when she wore this dress; Ellen Claire is 4.5. Meg was so tiny! My hope (i.e. strong hint added here) is that my mom will be inspired by seeing EC in the dress and start sewing such heirlooms again! And if not, then I've got one heck of a dress for my granddaughter one day :)

Easter Eggs

2009-04-28T05:40:00.000-07:00

Don't even try to tell these kids that we're not dying Easter Eggs this year! As you can see, it is quite the tradition in our family, with Meg even missing a prized date with the boyfriend to hang out and do eggs with the family. Now THAT'S saying something!

Cheer Awards

2009-04-28T05:39:00.001-07:00

Meg had a fun and challenging basketball season as Head Cheerleader. Her best friend made the squad for the first time (fun!) and then Meg had to "lead" nineteen 15-16 year old girls through practices, games and a state competition (not so much fun). For her efforts, though, her coach recognized her as the "Most Dedicated."

Stations of the Cross

2009-04-28T05:38:00.001-07:00

Meg and Sarah participated in the Stations of the Cross this year for Easter. It was quite a moving performance as all the stations are done by the teens, silently and in the "mime" costume. The stations are read by a narrator and the church is dark and so reverent. That is our sanctuary behind the girls.

Of course, then they had to get goofy! We didn't take Ellen Claire as we were afraid that SHE would be afraid! I am glad we didn't. The girls, after participating in this a most holy event, begged Karen (Sarah's mom) to let them go roll (tp) Scott the boyfriend's house. Needless to say, we both said no! Nothing against the rolling, we just don't like the idea of them having to drive furiously away to avoid being caught. If they can run, then that's another story :)

Redneck Spring Break Trip!

2009-04-28T05:32:00.001-07:00

Our spring break was unique, that's for sure! We were planning on heading to Mississippi for the week but Mama and Daddy's house was completely torn up with their remodelling. What's a family who is sick of the weather and craving Chick-Fil-A to do? Well, thanks to the internet, they find out where the closest restaurant is and plan a trip!

Meg needed the driving time so we chose Davenport, Iowa, for our destination! We recruited the Chestnuts and headed off for our Redneck Spring Break Trip 2009! I mean, who else but a bunch of rednecks would plan their trip around the Chick Fil A, spend the night to swim and eat their weight in ice cream before coming home?!?

We did manage to do other things in Davenport as well. We went to the Putnam Museum and discovered a Davenport favorite, Whitey's Ice Cream. We swam until pruney and then swam some more! The hot tub at the hotel literally foamed like a bubble bath which was so funny! Emily and Jillian had never eaten at a hibachi steak house, so it was a trip full of firsts!

We had so much fun, even Meg had to admit it. We did decide after visiting South Bend a few weeks ago, though, that we would take our next Redneck trip to the Notre Dame CFA. Meg liked the "scenery" better there than in Davenport ;)

Don't give up on me!!!

2009-02-23T06:44:00.001-08:00

Please don't give up on me! I promise that I will post good pictures and fascinating commentary soon. We haven't fallen off the face of the earth...just had a crazy 4 months. Between the usual holiday rush, working over the Christmas season at Tiffany & Co again, starting school back up and a new adventure as the President Elect-Elect of my Junior League (which meant some travel) AND a fantastic trip hope to MS for my grandmother's 90th birthday...I haven't been a good blogger. It didn't help to have the computer crash--hard drive complete go--in the middle of it all. So please don't give up on me! I promise to update soon. Right after I catch up on the laundry and make the photo calendars that I promised everyone for Christmas :)

November at the Arboretum

2008-11-07T05:51:00.001-08:00

This past week the weather has been crazy. A little over a week ago we had hail and snow. By the end of that week, which was Halloween, it was in the mid-70's. We trick or treated with NO COATS, NO HATS, NO GLOVES and it felt totally NORMAL! So this week, when the weather kept up its good run, I dedcided to play hookie and bug out from all responsibilities and take Ellen Claire to my favorite place up here, the Morton Arboretum.

We ditched bible study in the morning, cleaning, laundry, groceries, planning for this big taco night for the cheerleaders and even religious education class for Will in the afternoon! I don't know how to explain what a gift it was to have a week of 70's in November. The color was amazing this year and the warmth just made for a perfect, perfect day.

And I am so glad that we did it while we could. It's ok right now, but by this afternoon we should have rain, hail and snow again. We are just looking over our shoulder at winter. Carpe Diem!

Mistletoe Market!

2008-11-07T05:09:00.001-08:00

When Jack made me move to Chicago, I was not very, um, nice about it. I didn't even go house hunting with him, for goodness sake. As a peace offering, Jack agreed to let me go back to Atlanta for my Mistletoe Market. I think he thought that just one time would do it for me--WRONG! This year, I went back for the 3rd time. I only missed last year due to some crazy times with kids' schedules and birthdays. This year, I got to take my sweet dear friend Christine along for the fun!

We left EARLY Friday morning from Midway. If any of you have flown through there, you may have met our "friends" the Blues Brothers! The sweet lady at the House of Blues kiosk took our picture with the guys. We were in a goofy mood already :-) It's not often that I have flown without the kids and the stress and all the stuff that they need that comes with them. It's quite liberating, I have to say. We took our time, didn't stress about security and hopped on our plane, Egg McMuffins and hashbrowns in hand!

We shopped and shopped and, oh, shopped! We did get to go to the Bling Fling Gala, too. We ate and danced and tried Firefly's Sweet Tea Vodka that all my GA gals had been raving about. Yum.

Laurie Cates worked with me in 2004 on Market-very pregnant! It was the year to have a baby. Gigi is the same age as Ellen Claire. We joked that if you wanted to have a baby, just come be a part of Mistletoe. She was chairperson for this year's Market and did a fabulous job!

Carey Merritt and I were Chair and Co-Chair in 2003. I wasn't supposed to be co-chair that year, but the co-chair moved ironically up here to Naperville. I was next on the list and the rest is history, so to speak! We had never worked together but quickly found not only a great working balance but a friendship to boot. I treasure her!

Christine and I had fun! I enjoyed introducing her to my GA gals, like Natalie Rutledge (who is a Mississippi Girl) and Kelly Sheriff. All in all, we just had pure, simple fun! We ate like queens, and then paid for it the next week at the gym. Our best meal was our brunch at Ray's on the River. We stuffed ourselves--and that's an understatement. Shrimp, crepes, eggs, pasta, dessert--you name it they had it. And to top it all off, we got a window seat with a view of the river and all the fall wonder. We topped the day and trip off with a quick stop at the Coca-Cola Museum. Christine had been wanting to do something "Atlanta" and what is more "Atlanta" than Coke?!? She was a little wary at first, but we both really enjoyed it! We even found some new soft drinks to try when we travel overseas one day :)

Nana and Pop-Pop visit Chicago

2008-11-05T13:37:00.001-08:00

We had another WONDERFUL visit with Nana and Pop-Pop this past October. It went by too quickly, that's for sure. But while they were here we had the best weather for the best time! We were able to head into the city for a Saturday--and as you can see, we really couldn't have asked for better weather. We took the train and the trolley which makes for one cheap and easy way to travel to and around Chicago. I heard today that they are cutting the free trolleys due to budget issues--I think I'm going to have to write a letter on that one!

The main event of the day was the Architecture Boat Tour. It was so much fun! Our docent was just full of information on all the buildings along the Chicago River. She based everything (reasonably so) off the architecture information of the buildings--next time we're going to do one with more of the history. I also found my "grown up" townhome right on the river! When I asked Jack why we live in the suburbs, he said there's about 6 million dollar reasons why :)

We walked up Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile, when we finished our tour. It was PACKED as the Chicago Marathon was the next day. It was a great day to be a tourist in town! We wandered our way up Michigan to Rosebuds. We have one in Naperville, but I don't think that it could ever taste as good as the one downtown. I mean, after all, we were about to eat our fists we were so hungry and the atmosphere was really cool. The pasta was amazing and HUGE, so we had enough for dinner, too!

Meg got a lot out of the tour :)

The Wrigley Building

Waiting for the boat tour

On the trolley

The flowers were in full fall bloom

Outside Union Station on the Chicago River

Waiting for the train!

Homecoming Dance 2008

2008-10-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

Meg had another wonderful homecoming dance experience! After looking for 3.5 hours for THIS dress (the one I picked out within the first 30 minutes, I would like to add), she had a great time with bff Sarah Hossfeld and boyfriend Scott. Our good friends the Fondeurs were in town to finish packing their house for their final move to Florida. It was good timing as they hit EC's birthday and homecoming. Meg and Sarah had plenty of paparazzi again to send them off for their Cinderella fun. Meg wouldn't dance (according to Scott) but they had fun nonetheless!

Powder Puff Football Game

2008-10-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

It's Homecoming Week at Oswego East! I have to say that up here, Homecoming is nothing like it was for us long time ago. They don't wear dresses or even dress up for the court! They do, however, have class competitions with the Powder Puff football game being part of that.

Meg and Sarah were on the team! Meg was a safety and Sarah the punter. They did great, until the Freshmen started running at them with the ball :-) They had fun, though, even in the first really cold day since May. And, in the end, the Sophomores were victorious!

Happy Birthday, Ellen Claire!

2008-10-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th Birthday, Ellen Claire! We had a very simple day for EC. She had her family gifts in the early morning and then was able to celebrate at school with her new friends. I was the Mystery Reader in her class, which was a real surprise to EC. We read "The Monster at the End of this Book" starring Grover--only one of my top favorite kid books :-)

Ellen Claire loves her new bike basket, horn and helmet so much! She is "hell on wheels" on that thing! She NEEDED the helmet to protect her noggin, for goodness sake! Not since the days of Will Piedmont have I seen or experienced anything like Ellen Claire!! But when did she start turning into a real kid and not a toddler anymore? You should hear her sentences and her imaginative stories. She comes home and plays school, just like Meg used to do. She can even spell outloud her first name. She can write ECP, but we've got to get her off of saying her name is ECP :-) But to all of us, she'll always be ECP!

High School Football is back!

2008-10-02T06:22:00.001-07:00

You know that Fall has arrived when it's time to sit in the stands for a high school football game! We've had beautiful football weather and have had so much fun at the games. We've been here for 3 full years now, with this being our 4th fall. It is such a comfort for me to be able to sit in the stands of the local high school and KNOW PEOPLE!! I don't know how to explain it well enough, but just know that there is such warmth in having a place. We've moved so often, and each time we've gained amazing friendships. But it's good to have a place. Oh--and the football team is not doing so well :-) But the cheerleaders look GREAT!

First Days of School

2008-10-02T06:16:00.001-07:00

We had a big season of school starting this year. Meg wouldn't let me take her picture, but she headed off for her Sophomore year of high school (which happened with a great deal less anxiety than last year!). Will hopped on the bus, ready to be one of the big kids at school (and on the bus) for 4th grade and Ellen Claire wanted kids to "be her friend" when she went for her first day of real preschool. All is hitting a good stride now that we are into October. Schedules are set and carpools are running! Midterms are happening and circle time is singing! If we could just keep the heat...

Latest Edition of Ellen Claire's World

2008-10-02T05:40:00.000-07:00

I let Ellen Claire take pictures at the zoo/park. Aren't these just precious? Her shadow and her toes... I couldn't find the kid camera that I wanted for her birthday, but I think that it will most definitely be on her Christmas list. There are about 20 of these on my camera, but I thought that y'all might not like to see 20 pictures of the same bunch of begonias...but who knows, maybe we have the next award winning National Geographic photographer in my house right now?!?

Last Blast of Summer Fun

2008-10-02T05:32:00.001-07:00

After a couple of weeks at home this summer, after we had been travelling all the time, we got a little, um, stir crazy. So Christine and I took the kids to the zoo/park and had a blast! This is the same one we took Bryan to earlier this summer. It's close, small and a great getaway for an afternoon of a trip without being a "trip"! We ended the day at the Dairy Hut--Oswego's downtown, homegrown ice cream shop. We had such a good time and, except for the ice cream, it was totally free!!!

Abigail D. turns 10!

2008-08-26T05:24:00.000-07:00

Will, EC and I extended our stay for one extra day so that we could be a part of Abigail Dillon's 10th birthday dinner. Abie is on her knees with Emily on the right in the picture above. We have been so fortunate to have them part of our Michigan life! They now have their very own beautiful cabin and plan on spending their summers in MI for a very long time. They win the prize for longest trip as they hail from England. Will and Bryan called the girls Hermione for the first summer we met--that must have been about 4 years or so ago!

Michigan pretty much forces you to get back to the basics. When Will and Bryan spend time with the girls, they spend hours digging holes and playing hide and go seek. This night, they spent quite a while trying to get all 4 of them and Jake on the kayak at the same time. My favorite picture is the one take right after this, with 10 feet in the air!

Weather-wise, we've had better Michigan trips. We went a week earlier than usual, and it showed! This last day, a day that Jack, Meg and Sarah missed as they went home on time, was absolutely perfect. Next year, expect us back to our routine! Allison, Reese, Tony and Mike enjoy the early evening beach time above.

What does FRESH AIR do to a kid?

2008-08-26T05:19:00.000-07:00

Fresh air and a ban on the Wii! Now THIS means we had a good visit!

The Haunted House

2008-08-26T05:11:00.001-07:00

Legend has it that the old light keeper's house down the beach from us is haunted! It really would make sense once you saw it. It's everything that the campfire story should be--old, twisted story behind it, boards falling down, warning/trespassing signs all around...pretty cool. Mike and Amy were able to purchase a beautiful piece of property right next to the haunted house property last summer. So we headed off down the beach to explore and pick some blueberries!

Ellen Claire has found her future job!

2008-08-26T04:57:00.001-07:00

PAPARAZZI!!!!!!
And like most photographers in the scandalous buisness of catching people at their not so greatest moment, Ellen Claire has a real knack for being in your face when you least expect it!

GRAMMA REESE

CHACHA (AUNT) DEB

UNCLE TONY

COUSIN BRYAN

GRAND POP MIKE

TONY AND COUSIN JAKE

DAD JACK

DEB AND COUSIN ALLISON

MAMA ROSE

Clyde's Drive-In Hamburgers

2008-08-26T04:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I thought that I was finished updating the Michigan blog, but I found more pictures! I only got one picture at Clydes as my batteries went dead on my camera, but you'll get the idea! Clyde's is our place for burgers in the UP. It's right next to a golf course, which is why I think we know where it is! There is a friendly family rivalry between our side and the Rogozinski side. They like another drive in called West Pier. We tried it last year and are holding strong to our position that for a good greasy burger, Clyde's is the one!

That's Reese in the picture above. What I didn't get a picture of was how close you really are to the water and to the channel for frieghters coming in to the locks. There is also the Sugar Island ferry that runs right in front of Clyde's so there is much to watch while chowing down on a "Big C" or "Cluggets"!

A Fitting Way to End our Visit

2008-08-25T07:32:00.001-07:00

It was not easy to leave! We have lately been spending at least 2 weeks at the cabin, but this visit had to cut it short due to sports schedules. Not worth it! Will, Ellen Claire and I stayed an extra day to celebrate Abigail Dillion's 10th birthday with her. She and her sister Emily are our British friends who we see each summer. So in contrast to the very full car we had on the way up (all my 3 plus Bryan and Sarah...and a very SICK Bryan at that--had to STEAM CLEAN the car our first day there, if you get the picture :-)! ), it was just the 3 of us on our way back to Chicago.

And the rainbow followed us all the way down the interstate--going all the way over us at one point. It was such a beautiful sight!

Overnight to Mackinac Island!

2008-08-25T07:12:00.001-07:00

Jack and I had the rare chance to get away for an overnight visit to Mackinac (pronounced like Mack-a-naw) Island. It was an early anniversary trip and one that we would have never been able to take if Reese hadn't offered to man the fort back at the cabin with the 5 kids I had in my keeping! If you ever get the chance to go to the Island, you just have to take it. It is by far one of my favorite places. Check out http://www.mackinacisland.org/ to see all about it! There are no cars, only bikes and horses...lots of walking and amazing scenery. The Grand Hotel and Arch Rock are two places that we've never seen before this visit!

We rented our bikes and, for this visit, did more than just the 8 mile perimeter ride that we've done every time before. I say 'every time' but Jack took me the first summer I ever visited back in 1992 and then never wanted to go back! We talked him into going again when Mike wanted to show it to Amy 2 years ago. Emily and I went last year with the kids, but I've never spent the night. Anyway, we didn't visit the fort this time, opting instead to explore the interior of the island on our bikes. There are great trails, all marked, and the "heart" of the island all around. We even found the cemetary where the Piedmont ancestors, the Biddles, are buried.

The Biddles were the first settlers of Mackinac Island and the house still stands (and is a tour-stop). The name "Agatha" still is used in the family!

Our staywas so much fun!!! The place EMPTIES at night, except for the locals and the people well, staying overnight. It was such a nice pace---so much slower and calmer. Jack and I got to see the bridge all lit up at night, shared a drink with one of the local shop owners and wake up with the island! Thank you, Reese and Jack, for the great trip.

What a family!

2008-08-25T07:05:00.001-07:00

All the grands, except for our precious new baby girl, Elizabeth (Ellie) McLoughlin Piedmont! But at the time this was taken, she was still "baking" with her parents Mike and Amy! Little did we know that she would make her entrance on 08-08-08, about a week after this picture!

And after 16 years, our precious little family!

Walking to the Range Light

2008-08-25T06:56:00.001-07:00

Walking to the range light is something that we never miss on our cabin visits. The freighters use the range light to line up their ship into the channel, turning right in front of us. The sunset is amazing, and with a little luck (like in the picture above) we get a ship going by at JUST the right moment. Timing is everything, even with the sunset. The sun sets around 9:15pm in August and the weather can change in a moment. So you have to keep the kids up and hope the clouds don't roll in!

We love our walk to the range light! Meg and Sarah even carried on a tradition that Meg instituted last year with Mackenzie to take a picnic on the last day--making sure to take all the junk food they could find! Evidently, that is what makes the picnic!

Fun with Grand Pop

2008-08-25T06:49:00.000-07:00

Ellen Claire took great pride in helping Grand Pop brush and "scrape" Nelly. It was their daily job together. Will and Bryan were the Birch Point Open caddies again. Next year, at 11 years old (OH MY GOODNESS!) they may be ready to actually be competitors in it! I think that it's a big year, 25th or something like that for the BPO. And finally, when I had enough of them, Bryan, Will and EC got put in the dog cage!

Point Iroquois Lighthouse

2008-08-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

This lighthouse is only about 15-20 minutes away from the cabin and I had not visited it until this last trip! I guess that it's so commonplace to Jack that he just didn't think about showing it to me. We had to use up an hour of so or time before mass so we decided to show Sarah (and me!) the view from the top of the lighthouse. Meg, Bryan and Will have all been there before, too! The grounds are just beautiful and we completely enjoyed exploring them. The walkway in front of the lighthouse, down by the lake and into the woods is just perfect and a great summation of what the landscape is like at the cabin.

Fun in the EUP

2008-08-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

So what's an antsy group of kids supposed to do on an iffy-weather Saturday afternoon in the Eastern Upper Peninsula? I'll tell you! They go to the Superior Whitefish Festival! We stuck out like something of a sore thumb, but got into it by the time the kids found the mechanical bull. Yes, you read that correctly. They rode, got thrown off and all in all loved the bull. It was a definite first, for sure!

After the bull, we had to kill some time before mass started, so we bounced on the fun bounces, Will and Bryan got kicked off the big blow up slide for well, just being boys, and the girls checked out the local scene :-) Then we headed to Point Iriquois, which is another blog post!

Bryan Stays in Chicago

2008-08-12T16:35:00.001-07:00

While Emily had to go back to work in Florida, Bryan got to stay and play with us! We only had 3 full days to try to cram some stuff in and the weather didn't help much for the first 2. So we headed to the park/zoo/sunken gardens for one afternoon and to the pool for the next! We stayed for 3.5 hours at the pool...we thought we wore Bryan out as he fell asleep in the grass by the pool. But turns out, he was fighting off a 24 hour bug that wouldn't take effect until the middle of our 8 hour car drive to Michigan the next day...see the Michigan posts for more about that!!! :-) Let's just say that he's lucky his Cha-Cha Rose loves him so very, very much!!!

We so loved having B with us. He and Will are right about 5.5 months apart--far enough to be in different grades, but essentially the same age. Emily and I treasure the relationship those 2 have and are so glad that it's only grown stronger through the years.

Mimi and Bryan's Visit

2008-08-12T16:31:00.001-07:00

Bryan and Emily dropped in for a bit in mid-July for a good visit! Ellen Claire changed Em's name from "Emmy" to "Mimi." And while Em has tried to keep the duality going between the names, it has evolved only into Mimi! Ellen Claire looks more like her aunt than she does her mother...

And while the trip for Emily was quick (Thursday night-Sunday afternoon), we had so much fun! In the words of my dear friend Christine, Em is a "goddess"!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Daddy/ Pop-Pop!

2008-07-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

Three years ago on July 4th, before we made the move to Chicago, Meg was at Camp Riverview and Jack was driving up to start the BP-Chicago job. That left a very sad Rosemary in Atlanta with a 9 month old baby and an active 6 year old boy. So I called my mama, as any good daughter would need to do! And what does she say to me but that they are having steaks for my daddy's birthday that night. Everyone is coming over--you should come. So I took her up on it! I called Jack (miracle of cell phones) and asked if he would mind my being on the road while he was on the road. I called Riverview to let them know where I was...and I packed and we left! Mama didn't tell Daddy we were coming and it turned out to be the ONLY time we've ever been able to surprise him!

So now it feels like a bit of tradition to be home on Daddy's birthday--July 4th! It works out well with vacation time and I just love being there for it. This year I enticed Jack to come back to Mississippi to pick us up and drive us back to IL with the Northwood golf tournament. He and Lee ended up winning the consolation flight and were given $200 each in Pro Shop dollars! It was 4 days of golf with 2 rounds on Sunday. He and Lee also played on Wednesday when Jack got back in town, so it was something like 6 rounds in 5 days. Too much golf! (but would they say there was such a thing as too much golf?!?!)

We ended with fireworks which Lee and the kids head off to get each year. This time we had Meg with us as she chose not to go to camp for the first time in 5 or 6 years. She had fun shooting the fireworks, too!

Visit with Grandma-ma

2008-07-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

We had several good visits with Grandma-ma while we were home. (Meg, in her fledgling Yankee accent, couldn't say Grandmama as a little kid. So it turned into Grand-ma-ma, which is quite fitting anyway!) She likes to go out on her front porch late every afternoon and usually for a walk down her long driveway. It's a great place to visit with her, especially when the kids would go, too. They were able to run and play and have fun pretending, and Grandmama enjoyed watching them do it all. She tells the best stories these days. At 89 1/2 years old, she's got some memories to share. I used to get concerned about her calling Meg me and that she couldn't remember things from yesterday and then spend my whole time trying to get her to remember. But now, I figure that her memories are precious and there is only so much more time to hear them. So I don't fight it anymore; I just enjoy it.

These are just some pictures from the front porch. I thought that I had taken more pictures of the house. Turns out, I didn't take a single one! Ellen Claire and Will played hide and go seek. This is EC "hiding" in the middle of the yard! To be in her mind...

Oh how I love this yard! There are plants that my Great Grandmother planted 59 years ago when the house was built. And the gardenias...only my favorite! One of my "icks" about leaving Tallahassee is that I left behind my gardenia plant started from a cutting from Grandmama's. One day when I get back to God's Land where the weather is better and the tea sweeter, I'm making a ton of rootings! I paid $35 for a little gardenia plant this summer, just to have Jack kill it while I was gone! The leaves are all brown, but the stalks are still green, so I'm hopeful. I'm even trying to convince him to build me a little greenhouse lean-to to try to overwinter it :)

My New Best Friend Ava

2008-07-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

One of the best parts about going home is not only being back with family, but back with my 3 best friends from high school. Since we had Meg so much earlier than my other friends had their first babies, we're finally able to have our children be friends with Ellen Claire's age group. Ava Temple is the same age as ECP and they were fast friends. Her mama Amy is the "newest" friend to our 4 person group...and she came to school with us in 5th grade. That makes us all friends for a minimum of 25 years. Crazy! There is such comfort in that friendship that has been around through just about everything. We've had babies, lost parents, had cancer scares, looked for spouses, still looking for spouses (!), grown, changed and stayed the same...

But really this post is about our babies! Ava and Ellen Claire had tons of fun at the swimming pool! Thank you, Amy, for speonding the time with us!

Sweet Girls

2008-07-10T11:38:00.001-07:00

No great story to go with this one! Just our girls all dressed up for church--had to snap it while I could!

Fun at Clarko State Park

2008-07-10T11:22:00.001-07:00

One of the best things that we did while we were home was on the suggestion of my sister in law Cassie. For a 25 minute drive, a cooler full of food and a $3 admission fee, we had a great day at Clarko State Park! For all of my Mississippi people, you may remember Clarko as the place for our church day trips, swimming in the muddy lake, picnics and bug bites. They now have this water play area and great playgrounds to go with all that.

We played and played in the water fountains until we were just plum tuckered out. Will added to the spice of the day with 2 wasp stings obtained while trying to be a sweet cousin and play hide and go seek under the small playground. Wasp didn't like that Will was in his hiding place! But all in all, we had a fantastic day. If you're close to there, I highly recommend it--especially for those with toddlers as they have fun, too.

Gracie's 2nd Birthday!

2008-07-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

Since we live so stinkin' far away from all the family that we love and hold so dear, family birthday parties are just, well, not happening for us. Nana and Pop-Pop have made it for EC's first few, but we have never been to a Rogers's kids' party, and really maybe only one for the Piedmont side. Breaks my heart! But not this year! We made it for Grace's 2nd birthday party!!! Walter and Cassie had all of us over for cake and ice cream and some good cake-on-face-of-birthday-girl fun. Evidently, Grace did not do so well last year as she was a bit sick. But she made up for it this time!

We love you, Gracie! Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Ft. Lauderdale with the Fondeurs!

2008-07-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

When Jack said that he had to go to Florida for work, I was not anything less than jealous. And when he said that it was the week before the kids and I were heading to Mississippi for our summer stay, well, I was not anything less than a little steamed! But he made it all better by telling me that the family could go, too! We would have to pay our own way, but at least we could go too! We could not have wished for a better time--a little more sunshine toward the end, but not a better time.

You see, after the marathon drive to Mississippi, two nights in Meridian, one early morning drive to Jackson, one pretty long flight to Ft. Lauderdale with a stop in Orlando, we arrived at the best beach hotel ever. We stayed at the Lago Mar--and I'm on a mission to get to go back again! It was beautiful and the people were Chic-Fil-A nice! The hotel had a private beach, so even with a full hotel, there were so few people around. The pool was amazing and the place so comfortable.

Add to that the fact that we got to spend two full days with our precious friends from Georgia who moved to Oswego across the street from us but who moved to Boca Raton this spring...I'm tired to just write it...and we could not have been happier. Victoria and Oscar came and swam with us, rode the waves with us and just made the trip completely for us. Ellen Claire and I cried when we put them in the car the last day. We can't wait for them to sell their house up here so that we can see them again, but then on the other hand that means that they've sold the house and won't be coming back up here again!

Did I say that we just had the best time ever?!? And of course with a trip that good there has to be an evening of the travel score, right? The original plan was for all of us to head to the airport then for Jack to head back to Chicago while the kids and I headed back to Jackson, MS. Our plane was delayed getting into Ft. Lauderdale which put us missing our Orlando connection. After 30+minutes with the ticket agent, he rerouted us through Tampa. No big deal--we even said we'd wave at Gramma (Reese) on the way over. So we walked off to security. Long story short, the flight went to Tampa alright--AND THEN TO CHICAGO!!! When I went back to ask the man about it, he said, "I didn't tell you that? Oh, sorry." And when I expressed some frustration considering I live in Chicago, his response was, "Then why are you going to Mississippi?" BECAUSE MY CAR AND MY FAMILY ARE THERE AND I WANT TO!!!! So, we flew to Chicago with Jack, then back to Jackson and then drove over to Meridian, getting home somewhere close to midnight--and exhausted. But man was the trip worth it! Just listen to the squeals of delight below!

3rd Annual Redneck Pool Party!!

2008-07-08T13:47:00.001-07:00

The 3rd Annual Redneck Pool Party was so much fun! We had to hold it a little later than the typical Memorial Day weekend due to a soccer tournament that Will and other friends were in. The weather was a bit iffy--we headed inside a couple of times, but nothing but a few big drops fell. We upgraded the party this year with Ellen Claire's bounce and tiki torches! It was windy enough to keep the bugs of regardless, but we did like having the tiki torches anyway.

The real fun happened as darkness approached...

As this is the bucket that started it all!!!! Major water wars ensued; nary a soul was dry!

All in all, after the good food, great company and even some snap firecrackers for the kiddos, it was another good Redneck Pool Party! See you next year!

We FINALLY have some Spring!

2008-06-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

We had to wait almost 4 weeks later than normal to have these beauties bloom, but boy was it worth the wait! With only 3 Peony bushes, I have cut and given away HUNDREDS of blooms! Well, maybe not hundreds, but a whole bunch! Put it like this, every night I go out and cut a bucket full of blooms, only to wake up the next morning with more unfurling! I did that for an entire week. My friends even got to enjoy the bounty as I ran out of bowls, vases, cups...

Brookfield Zoo Visit

2008-06-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

We spent a beautiful day with our friends the Carmodys at the zoo yesterday. We have been just craving sun and heat--and we got it yesterday! The girls were more interested in the park at the zoo. We talked them into seeing a few animals, but then it became all about eating their picnic lunch and playing in the park! Amy and I said that next time we'll save the gas and time and just meet at the local park with our lunches! The girls would be just as happy!

Ellen Claire was all about seeing the frogs. Amy gave her the challenge of finding the Madagascar Red Tomato Frog--and we found it! She also was trying to find her prince charming...

They crashed out asleep on the way home, even after sloshing down Icees in special zoo cups. It must have been a great day!

To Bee or Not to Bee!

2008-06-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

To Bee or Not to Bee was the question of the night! The third grade put on a great performance with our sweet friend Emily being the lead character! She had to discover what kind of bee she wanted to be. Will was a spelling bee...there were knitting bees, honey bees and all sorts of bees to explore. We had a great time and were very proud of all the kids!

We found our tile that we made at the end of Will's first grade year to mark the opening of his school. We are finally finishing up school this week and we'll have a fourth grader and a sophomore!!! What in the world?!?! Pretty soon she'll be trying to figure out what kind of Bee to be as well :)

Walk for Autism Now

2008-05-19T06:24:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful time at the Walk Now for Autism 5K walk yesterday! The weather was good--sunny some of the time, windy ALL of the time, cold--(well, we've decided that Chicago will never warm up. We're just going to blow through spring and summer and head right back to freezing cold. Thank goodness for Mississippi and Florida!) But the weather was completely secondary to the event that we were privileged to participate in!

Will has raised $415 to date, well over his $250 goal! Thank you so much to those who helped him out. We really saw this as an opportunity for Will to get involved in a way that he could make an impact with a major community event. One of Will's friends, schoolmates and fellow Cub Scout has autism. If you asked Will what he's learned from being a part of this, I'm not sure he could put it into words just yet. What we wanted him to see was that even a 9 year old 3rd grader from Oswego, IL, could make an impact. We wanted him to develop some of his leadership "seeds" that he has rooted in him already. We wanted him to care about someone, about a group of people, other than himself--to put himself in another's shoes. We'll see if that all sinks in one day :)

Will put together a flier for his classmates so that they could donate to his walk, too. He had $65 donated from his class! Some went online to do it while others sent it in to the classroom. We put it all under "Mrs. Devine's 3rd Grade Class." We've already talked about getting the whole school involved next year! When we organized the "Change for Change" drive right after Katrina, our school donated over $1800 for the Key Chapter of Red Cross, which includes my home county of Lauderdale, MS. This school has a big heart and these kids are just amazing!

Oh--and you should know that we got to be ON the FIELD at SOLDIER FIELD!!! Will and I faked a little football, a little Rex Grossman pass, a little "juke" from Will. Check out the video as we were pretty awe-struck in such a Country Mouse way!! Go Bears!

Check out Will's Autism Now page at: http://www.walknowforautism.org/c.kpILKTOCJqG/b.3616691/siteapps/personalpage/ShowPage.aspx?c=kpILKTOCJqG&b=3616691&sid=cjIPL2OILdJRI9MTLwH

Ellen Claire's World

2008-05-19T06:02:00.001-07:00

Ellen Claire has learned MANY things from her big sister Meg. One of the pressing skills right now happens to be budding photographer. This can come in handy when we're in the grocery store doing our "marathon shopping" as I TRY to only go once every 2 weeks. (I hate grocery shopping that much, btw.) The funny thing is going through all the pictures in my camera as there are SEVERAL ones of ECP around the house, household items, rooms, random people at soccer practice...she gets the camera when I don't even know it. Nothing like seeing how messy your house is from a 3 year old's level! Those fingerprints on the walls... Oh--and if you don't have a teenage girl in your life these days, sticking out the tounge for pictures is the thing. Don't know why; we happen to think it makes these girls look...well, that's another soap box rant! And well, ECP has picked it up, hence the tounge out in her pictures. Great.

Will is a Webelo :-)

2008-05-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

So sorry the first picture is blurry, but it's the best I've got! Don't know what was happening with the shakiness that day. Will worked very hard over the past year to earn two Boy Scout ranks. He earned his Wolf, Bear and has now progressed to his Webelos rank. Webelo stands for "We Be Loyal Scouts," just in case you ever wanted to know! He has a good line of Scouts in front of him, with at least his uncle Walter and Pop-Pop being Eagle Scouts. That is no easy accomplishment. Eagle Scout Rank is the only thing that you can still put on your resume as an adult from your high school days! We're hoping for Will to keep this up as he has learned so much this year, and it's only going to get better. He already has his Whittling Chip/Card and the Fishing Derby is coming up in June...great boy things. He's making a list to work on in June with his Pop-Pop (get ready, Daddy!)

My Soapbox :-)

2008-04-25T06:42:00.001-07:00

Many of you know that I have now "crossed over" to becoming a Catholic. :-) Well, I affectionally call myself a Batholic (Baptist-Catholic) as there are just somethings that a Southern Baptist girl can't give up--like wanting to just sing to the rafters or praying "outside the box" or just every now and then, wanting to just say, "AMEN!" Sweet, conservative Jack has tolerated me well over 16 years! But I have had more fun in the last year becoming a true part of a church again. If you "knew me when" I was a child/teenager, you know how HUGE a part of my life my church was. I didn't know how much I missed it until I had it back!

There are many things that I have come to just truely adore in my Batholic faith. The fact that so many of our traditions and ways of doing things are really Jewish is amazing (and something that I really feel I'll spend some study time on in the future). The fact that I literally get to come before the altar every week on my knees is at once humbling and freeing. To hear a congregation praying the same Lord's Prayer outloud everyweek is awesome, especially if I take the time to really listen and pray it, not just say it!

But there is one area that I think that the Catholic church is just now coming to the game on, and that's the personal study side of faith. I am all for men being the head of their families and churches, believing that God puts people in authority over us all the time. But as women, I think we're the soul of our families...the neck, to put it in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" terms. And I think it's time that Catholic women started getting a little personal with their God.

One of my Bible study group leaders/friend/mentor sent me this website (http://www.breakpoint.org/) from a Catholic man who became an Evangelical. His whole point of breakpoint.org is to begin to take away the disunity of the faiths, celebrating what we DO share in common! I've said for over a year now that if you talk, really talk, to people in leadership roles in the churches, we are not all that different from each other. The below is from an article about women needing to become a bit more familiar with theology. I send it to you to be able to confirm in yourself or in a woman in your life that her studying God's Word is not only GOOD but VITAL! And that's my soap box for the year :-)

James writes:
Knowing God is a woman’s highest calling and her most pressing need. What we know of Him, whether it is a little or a lot, is all we have to hang on to when the storm hits and we are being pulled into the downward spiral of worthlessness, despair, and defeat. It is also what energizes and guides us as we tackle the task before us—as mothers, daughters, wives, and friends.
It is what upholds a woman when a marriage engagement comes crashing down around her. It is what teaches her humility when she receives an unexpected promotion. It is what sustains her when she receives a grim medical diagnosis. It is what points her to gratitude when she watches her child succeed. It is what meets her in her deepest ache and her greatest hour. And it is what tells her who she is, in Him.
*************************
1 Peter 2:9
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD'S OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Isaiah 43:1
But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!

Spring Break in Mississippi!

2008-04-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

We had such a good trip home to Mississippi over Spring Break! It was just what our cold bodies needed. We were able to spend Easter with my family for the first time since Jack and I got married, I do believe. It was such a warm feeling to be back in my home church, in our home pew, with all my home people around me. Ain't nuthin' like it. I don't have pictures of all of us in front of the beautiful cross filled with flowers as my camera decided it didn't have enough juice! But trust me, it is a great picture!

We spent the rest of the week just having fun. Uncle Lee got a turkey, so we have our first Indian Princess headdress for Ellen Claire as Princess Mini-haha (spelling suspect!), as you can see above. She also would wait for Pop Pop to get home and say,"Would you like to push me on the swings?" or "Pop-Pop, should you push me on the swings?" How could he say no to that?!?!? He also helped Turner and ECP start some seeds that will be in full growth when we return in June. They let Pop-Pop do all the work and then had the fun of spreading the seeds!

Speaking of doing all the work, Meg and Will spent some good time in the yard picking up pinecones for pay :-) Daddy convinced them last year to pick them all up before he mowed the yard. So this time they came to him first! They didn't negotiate a fee (perhaps a poor idea considering they were dealing with a lawyer) up front but assumed he would pay last year's rate. He did, but this time "charged" a bucket fee, a working tax, you get the picture! A lesson in big government as well, I do believe :-)

Meg's favorite activity of the week was learning to drive the golf cart. It's all about the driving these days. She just took and passed her permit test, so in one month she can be behind the wheel practicing. I'm letting Pop-Pop and Jack handle this one. You can hear Will squeel when Meg takes off in the golf video below. The other video is of Ellen Claire and Turner sitting in the "summer"! Poor ECP, that's the only time she gets sun!

It was so very hard to leave. I keep begging (and that is not far from the truth) Jack to let me go back home for good! At least get me closer than a 13 hour drive or a $1000 plane trip. If we've learned anything from being in IL these past 3 years it's that family--ALL of it--is so important. We're tired of our visit being a big deal, something special and rare. We're ready for Nana and Pop-Pop to tell us that they're sick of having us around and to go to our own house! Maybe one day.

Aquarium Trip

2008-04-18T06:47:00.000-07:00

It was the first decent day we've had in an eternity! Veronica and I have been trying to get the girls to the Shedd Aquarium since January. Every time we would schedule it, Chicago would be hit with ice/snow/do not get on the roads weather. But it came down to one week before their move, so it was now or never!

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. We went on a school day so the aquarium was relatively empty! The girls were able to walk around without our wishing we had a leash (and for those of you who have heard of ECPs escapades, you know what I mean!) and able to spend as long as they wanted at each exhibit. We saw divers feeding the reef fish and a great dolphin show. Ellen Claire was our tour guide as she loved the map (we still have it). And since we didn't have the big kids speeding off to the next exhibit, we were able to do whatever the girls wanted! The dolphins and penguins were the favorites.

Afterwards, the weather was so nice that we spent time strolling around the Museum Campus and Soldier Field. The picture above was taken from the aquarium plaza. I can't wait to get one with everything in bloom!

We Miss Victoria!!! (and Oscar, Veronica, Christian, too!)

2008-04-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

What's a girl to do when her bestest friend in the whole world moves, and you don't even realize that's what is happening? Well, you have a mom who just cries for you, that's what! Our dear friends the Fondeurs moved back home to Boca Raton this past month. Y'all have seen pictures of all of our kids together for the past year. We consider ourselves VERY lucky and blessed to have these friends that we lived near in Georgia up here in Chicago with us again. We just now miss them so much! Ellen Claire asks every night if Victoria can come play tomorrow. Then she gets very mad at Victoria for NOT coming :-) and creates major "fights" that they've had. Last night at dinner ECP came up with her Best Part/Worst Part with Victoria at the center of both!

So, Fondeurs, we miss you! See you this summer!!

Fun videos

2008-02-25T10:42:00.000-08:00

Cold Water!

Fitz gives the boys a run for their money!

Ellen Claire "trains" Nelly!

Better than Illinois, for sure

2008-02-25T10:24:00.000-08:00

Here are just some pictures of why Florida is better than Illinois in February...

Sunshine and water heading into Tampa Bay...

Food tastes better with life-long friends...

Frenchy's Rockaway Grill, eating outside on the beach...

All you can eat sushi (one in mouth, one in hand) at Sunday Brunch..

You actually get to WEAR your sunglasses...

You can wear shorts...

You get to go to the pool, even if you have to "swim" in the hottub...

Poker with the big guys where you win with a straight flush...

....FAMILY!!!!

Grand-Pop's 60th Birthday Party

2008-02-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

Our real reason for visiting family was a great excuse to get everyone together. We came from Illinois, Mike and Amy came from Oklahoma, Andy came from Reno and Emily, who lives in Clearwater, even hurried home from a business trip to Tallahassee to surprise my father in law for his birthday. He knew that we were coming but no one else. Mike and Amy came in late on Thursday night/Friday morning. Andy was home after we all got back from Bryan's flag football game. It was just the beginning, but to me, the most important part! Everyone was there. We had a great family BBQ that evening. We got beans from Sonny's BBQ (only the best ever!) and Amy brought me back the biggest cup of sweet tea!! I had to rescue it from Jack and Meg. Get your own! Mike II put together the coolest video of pictures from his dad's life. We all sent in different ones, with the one's from Grand Pop's younger days being our favorites. Check out the video on their blog (the link is on the list to the left). It was a great party, with fun gag gifts. The toilet seat was a regift from Reese. Believe it or not, that was her Christmas gift. Not kidding. Did I mention that I worked at Tiffany's this Christmas?!?!? :)

Our "Other" Family

2008-02-25T09:28:00.001-08:00

Our other family is the Jewetts from Oviedo (outside of Orlando), Florida! We met Michelle and Aubrey in Alumni Village, our married student housing in Tallahassee during our Florida State days. Mackenzie went to Michigan with us last summer, so you may remember her from those pictures on the blog. Jack actually met Michelle and Mackenzie first. I was so anxious about being out of the norm--and who would want to be friends with a nineteen year old mom?!? Well, who but Michelle, age 21, with Mackenzie! Jack jokes that he makes all the best friends for me. He broke the first mold with Michelle, though! Through several moves, several children and just life in general, the Jewetts are just a part of us. When she was little, Hannah (now age 12) didn't know how to classify us. She knew we weren't part of her immediate family, but knew we were closer than just friends. So she named us the cousins! Precious. Our monkeys in the tree are Hannah (12), Trent(8), Will (9), Isabelle (5), Ellen Claire(13), Mackenzie(15) and Meg (15).

They all got to skip school and met us in Lakeland for the afternoon of Valentine's Day. We played for HOURS and wanted DAYS more. It's been almost 3 years since I've actually put eyes on Michelle as we haven't been able to swing a visit since we moved to Chicago. Now that our babies aren't babies any more we're hoping to get a grown up trip in soon. Where to, Michelle?!? And I swear we look the same as we did when we met about 15 years ago!

Beach Time!

2008-02-25T08:16:00.000-08:00

What a great break from the powdery snow of Illinois and a great treat to be on the powdery sand of the Gulf! We had a great afternoon at Clearwater Beach the Friday of our stay. We were a little chilly, but who cares?!? We were in swim suits!!! ECP collected shells, Meg tried to get some sun and Will spent his time throwing the football with cousin Bryan. That all was fine and good until we had major excitement on the beach! A boat came in to the swimmers only section of the beach with a hurt jet skiier. Bryan was fascinated with the injury--a huge gash to the guy's leg. With all the fire and rescue, life guards, police and ambulances, we had a front row seat to some serious excitement. In the paper the next day, we found out that there were 2 guys on the jet skiis. The injured man was from Montana and had stopped suddenly, causing the other guy to run up over him. Crazy! After all this excitement, we headed to one of our favorite places, discovered several years ago by Andy, Jack's brother. Frenchy's is the restaurant and it's right on the beach. At sunset, they applaud the setting sun over the sea. Beautiful and so much fun. We don't order shrimp or grouper up here, so we ate our fill of it there!

Why did we ever leave Florida?!?

2008-02-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

If you think I'm kidding, I'm not! What ever got into us to leave Florida?!? We took a long weekend to visit the Piedmonts for my father in law's early birthday celebration this past Presidents' Day weekend. I have a ton of pictures, great stories to share and some fun videos to post...but for now this will have to suffice! We got in at 1:30am Central time which was 2:30am to our adjusted time clocks...late no matter which way you describe it.

This picture is from the restaurant Island View (I think that's the name!) where we had brunch on Sunday. Meg ate SO MUCH, so you know it was good :-) From left to right, Amy Glass Piedmont, Mike Piedmont II, me, Jack, Mike Piedmont, Reese Piedmont, Emily Piedmont Vesey and Andy Piedmont. The whole grown up crew!

PS--it's 9 degrees right now in Oswego. NINE STINKIN" DEGREES!

SNOOOOOW DAAAAAY!

2008-02-01T07:53:00.000-08:00

Well, it's happened 2 years in a row now! An honest to goodness, school's out, snow day! We woke up to 12 inches (measured in my neighbor's front yard!) of pure, white snow! It was such a mess that our street just got plowed a few minutes ago, which means that the busses had no chance of getting everyone to school today. Hence, we got a 5:45am call from the school district saying school is cancelled! So here are some pictures of what REAL snow looks like (that's for all my Southerners who thought they had it tough with 1/4 inch a couple of weeks ago :-)!!! My dear friend Christine, born and proud Mid-Western gal that she is, actually made it outside to take pictures. I got the video, a couple of ECP and Will and then promptly returned to the house to view through the window! I'm not too tough, either :-)

OEHS JV is going to STATE!!!

2008-01-30T05:13:00.000-08:00

Wooo-Hoooo! Meg's JV cheer squad is heading to the state competition!!! They were accepted on an at-large bid as their score was only .25 points away from qualification. They are so excited as this is the first Oswego team EVER to make it to the state competition!! She heads down to Springfield on February 9th and competes on the 10th. One of their teammates has already dislocated her shoulder and pulled 2 of her arm muscles trying a back handspring this week. So they're redoing the routine, but at least are going to State!

Here are some videos of her squad, taken a little bit on the sly at their conference competition. Since it wasn't a qualifying competition, they were more lax about the videotaping rules. But you can at least get the idea of what they do. Enjoy!

Will's Pinewood Derby

2008-01-28T07:16:00.000-08:00

It may be hard to believe based on the number of posts that we do have more children than Ellen Claire! Here's good proof! Will and Jack headed out to Will's first ever Pinewood Derby last Saturday. After many false starts from the officials, Will's race FINALLY took place...and he placed 3rd! He and Jack were quite proud of themselves. They are already planning how to make the car faster for next year. With his 3rd place, Will was able to advance to the Cross-Town finals, but in a situation that many of us can appreciate, his tires just fell off. :-) No matter, he was so excited and had a great first Derby experience.

Warm Day in January

2008-01-28T07:08:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken on January 7th--just look at the temperature! Since then we've been down to -16 degrees, air temp, not wind chill. We're getting up to 50 today! However that is short-lived as we will start the day out tomorrow at 48 and will "plummet" to 2 degrees by nightfall. Great. Hallalujah that we are heading to Florida soon! Did I mention that it was going to be 2 by Wednesday morning?!?!? And btw, all the 20+ inches of snow we've had so far will be all melted only to have more layers by Thursday. Did I mention that it was going to be 2?!?!?!?

But for these pictures, we at least had one day. Ellen Claire is playing with our best friend from Georgia but who now lives across the street, Victoria. They were SOOOO muddy, but it was worth it!

Ellen Claire as a Stressed Out Mama!

2008-01-28T06:23:00.000-08:00

Ellen Claire got a kitchen from Santa this Christmas and how she does love it! For the first week we let her keep it in our family room where she cooked for us constantly. I came home from work this day and found the 4 of them acting out our daily activites. Just to clarify, I did not burn the turkey! But the phone, cooking and constantness is pretty accurate :) In another video that occurs after this one (but I won't put up), Will asks where is his turkey and Ellen Claire tells him he can't have one...he has to have pasta!! HAHAHA! Please pay no attention to the condition of my house. I swear it did get cleaned up once everyone went back to school/work!

Enjoy!

Christmas Fun

2008-01-28T06:11:00.000-08:00

So maybe this is a month late, but here are the few highlights from Christmas that we have. I was exhausted/lazy/whatever about taking pictures this year. I worked ALOT the week before and after Christmas at Tiffany & Co. I didn't have to work Christmas Eve, but did go the days after Christmas. And can I tell you that people are not that nice the day after Christmas! We had lines that literally circled and wove through the store---with 95% of them returns, which take so much longer than just purchases! And who gets deliveries of stock on Christmas?!? uhhh--NO ONE!!! So what can an ambassador do but smile and say, "Y'all have a good day!" Of course, none of that has to do with the below pictures of Ellen Claire's new "fancy" outfit nor of our new favorite game, Guitar Hero III! Thank you, Uncle Lee , for the second guitar as we now can ALL rock together!!

Ellen Claire and Spanish

2008-01-28T05:29:00.000-08:00

Ellen Claire (thanks to Dora the Explorer) has moments where she will only do things in Spanish! She has started her Little Learners class on Thursdays. It's a precursor to preschool for the kids like ECP who missed the September 1st deadline last year but are old enough to benefit from a class setting. Trust me, as much as my brother Lee needed to be on sports teams as a preschooler, that is how much ECP needs to be somewhere where someone else can teach her. She is a sponge! My only "concern" is that she has these forementioned moments where she will only count or do her colors in Spanish! Her teacher is going to say No Espanol, pour favor!

Christmas Cookies!

2007-12-20T07:05:00.001-08:00

We had a rare normal evening this week with everyone home--no work, no church, no basketball games...a blessed quiet sit down with everyone for dinner and early to bed night! So we decided to go ahead and start on our Christmas cookies! Meg and Jack request chocolate chip; Will, sugar cookies with sprinkles. My favorite is the Ranger cookie, but those are yet to be baked. Ellen Claire's favorite...well, ECP likes them all. Really all EC wanted was the beaters after each batch! We only recently in the last 5 years or so started making huge batches of baked goods for Christmas. It's one of those things Jack's mom Reese always did and he always wanted me to do--shock! And really, for all my fussin' over the years about it, we all really enjoy it. Besides, it's a bone fide tradition now!

I wish we could share all the goodies with you! Much love and good eating this holiday season to all!

Meg's First Cheer Competition

2007-12-20T06:46:00.000-08:00

Oswego East JV Cheerleaders did an amazing job at their first cheer competition last week! We were up awfully early to get to the competition, but it was worth it! Our girls placed third out of seven teams. They were "beat" by 2 teams with phenomenal routines--things that we didn't see until college in MY day--and these girls were all Freshmen and Sophomores in high school. The 2 winning routines were extremely difficult, but they had many mistakes. Our girls were solid--not a single deduction--but their routine did not have as much tumbling as the others. Oh well! They'll compete again in January and are hoping to qualify for the state competition in February. OH! I forgot to mention that the hair is fake :-) Meg and I had a huge 'discussion' on the hair and how ridiculous it looked...and then we got to the competition and EVERY other squad had the same fake curly ponytail thing going on! So much for what I know :-) Go Wolves!

The Season's First Snow

2007-12-05T06:08:00.000-08:00

Well the time has come.

The time is here.

WINTER has hit

The kids gave a cheer!

It looks like Christmas

Everything is so white--

Our own special version

of a very silent night.

The peace that happens

on the night of the first snow,

Makes it almost worth it

The next day when your car won't go!

Enjoy these pictures, all of you who won't see

Nary a flake and think of the Pieds!

We'll be heading your way at the sign of the first defrost

For March is when we feel our minds all lost!

It snowed all night and into this morning. The kids were SO hopeful for a snow day! Will even slept in his pj's inside out--the guarantee for a snow day. Sorry the video is sideways---I didn't know that it wouldn't rotate once on computer :-) We think we got around 4 inches with more to come later this week. At least it's not too cold nor too windy. That would make it miserable! Right now it's just pretty and fun! Except for Jack who was out shoveling at 6:30 this morning. That snow blower investment is looking better and better...!

Another Birthday

2007-12-04T05:51:00.000-08:00

So another year has come and gone and I am officially in my mid-thirties. Since I never seem to be in the pictures, Jack took this one of us yesterday on my birthday. They were so sweet and even managed to NOT fight that much! Jack and I had a great lunch together and we all made it home at a decent hour to have dinner together. It was a special day! Of course, Meg reminded me that now I was halfway to 68. Thanks, Meg. (see her birthday post for a reason!)

Our tree is FINALLY up!

2007-12-04T05:42:00.001-08:00

Here in Oswego, we do things a bit earlier than we ever did when it comes to decorating. It just gets so cold so quickly that we have to get outside lights up in November. And with the outside lights comes out ALL the other stuff. After Christmas last year, we purchased our first artifical tree. I went kicking and screaming, but really it's the only safe thing to do. Our live trees just never lasted the whole time. Plus, I am a bit picky about my lights and this had it all done! Saved a lot of pouting by the other 4, I assure you!

Ellen Claire got the honors this year for the first ornament AND for the angel! This is the first Christmas that she's really been able to participate in and understand--well, to some degree. We wish ALL of you a wonderful, peaceful Christmas time!

Our "baby" is 15!!!!

2007-12-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

So it has finally happened. We have a "real" teenager! If the hitting the teens didn't do it and the starting high school didn't do it and the cheerleading didn't do it...then the cell phone did. We have been putting this off for a long time but, alas, she has finally reached the point where we just don't have her with us all the time (sometimes that is a good thing, believe me). So as a complete surprise, we put Meg's phone in her new Vera Bradley cell phone holder. It took a second or two for her to realize what is was. You can see the moment it hit in the pictures. So much fun!

Of course, we only set her up for 500 messages, thinking that would be plenty. WRONG. She hit 100 in the first 24 hours of having the phone! And you have to understand that we gave her the phone at 6:30 AT NIGHT---so she had to go to sleep at some point and then went to school for the next 9 hours where they are not allowed to use their phones. WHEN DID SHE TEXT THAT MANY TIMES?!?! So, despite her father's ultimatum that we would just take her phone away at 500 messages, her smart mother upped our plan to unlimited messaging. Just because she didn't text didn't mean everyone else would stop, too!

She had a great birthday and had the sweet request of Taco Dip for her dinner. Why--I don't know. But when we told her she was halfway to 30, we put her in her place! She had been saying that WE were getting old!

What an incredible journey Jack and I have been on with Mary Margaret in the last 15 years.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2007-12-04T05:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! We had a quiet but good day here in Oswego. Jack and Will fried our turkey this year and it was delicious! It was really cold...you can't tell that by the NO COATS my "men" decided to wear outside. We had a hard time heating up the oil and keeping it hot for the whole time. Works the same with a grill, by the way. We can't grill for the life of us in the late fall through early spring. For all of you who live in better climates, you know how pitiful that is!!

I have to admit that I was a bit of a pain in the morning. It's hard for all of us (ahem--me) to be so far away from family! We are not heading south for any of the holidays--too far to drive for such a short time, sooo expensive to fly and, shock of all shocks, I have a job at Tiffany & Co for the season. Of course, all the Piedmonts were together, sans us...and the same for the Rogers side. But I had to put on my mommy hat and realize that THIS is my kids' family and the one they care the most about being with...just as all I wanted was to be with my parents. So we set the Turkey Table (named such by ECP) with the real china, silver and crystal and had our very own real Thanksgiving. They ate so much we really didn't have leftovers!!!!

My Georgia Peach

2007-12-03T16:04:00.000-08:00

So maybe Ellen Claire will have a better winter this year?!? So far, it's not looking so good. When I told her the other day that she could go outside once we took her pajamas off and put all her stuff on, this is what she did. Is she a literal child or what?!? We keep all of our extras in a basket by the door. That way they all go off and in the same spot when the kiddos hit the door. Shoes are in a crate on the other side, over the heater vent. That way they dry off and are warm to the tootsies when we put them on. I never thought in a million years that I would have to develop cold weather strategies to keep my house from turning into one big puddle with ALL THIS STUFF swimming in it! And PS, as I post this on Dec 4th, we are expecting 3-6 inches of snow by tomorrow. I'll be sure to take pictures of our first real snow. The kids LOVE it...not so much for the rest of us!

Jack's first 10K

2007-11-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

We are so proud of Jack! He finished his first 10K (well, the first one since he was like 19 and didn't even have to think about training for it...he just did it) last Saturday. He beat his goal of finishing in an hour. Our very close friend Patrick ran with him. Patrick (who recently ran a half marathon) finished before Jack but I didn't get a picture of his time as there was a VERY sick teenage girl who pretty much collapsed and started vomiting right in front of us while we were waiting for our runners. She was ok in the end and was the only "casualty" that we saw. Will found it all fascinating.

You can see how Will, Ellen Claire and I support Jack in his running (with Starbucks, of course!) Steamed vanilla milk warms a kid's body good on a frosty morning. Jack hates that they are already accustomed to Starbucks, courtesy of their mother. Can I help it if everything they have is SOOOOO good?!?!? I told my mama that I can now move home to MS as they are expecting to get a Starbucks in my home town :-)

So now I've got to find J another race to keep him motivated through the winter up here! I'm thinking that there has to be one in February in Aruba, right?!?!?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

2007-11-01T08:20:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween from Oswego! We had the best weather yet to trick or treat last night. It was sunny and crisp---and then the sun went down and it was down right freezing. BUT the last 2 years that we have been here for Halloween have been awful--rain the first and frigid the last. The result was record numbers of children out and about--it was so much fun!

Ellen Claire was a green M&M. Will was some kind of creepy skeleton. We went out with our neighbors thinking that EC would make it up and down our street. Wrong. She made it completely around the circle and only came home because her pumpkin was too heavy to hold! She was loving trick or treating and was too cute about it. She would run back up to say thank you if she had forgotten, completely amazing the candy givers. Our group did a hearty "TRICK or TREAT!!!" at each door, prompting many a stunned, happy look from our neighbors. Guess many kids these days just stick out their pillowcases for the candy!

All in all, we had a blast--definitely our favorite Halloween up here yet. If it was only warm enough to do like we did in GA and MD---get pizza, lawn chairs and have mini parties in everyone's driveway! We'd all sit out and hand out the candy from the chairs--great way to visit for sure!

Meg's Confirmation

2007-11-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

Meg's Holy Confirmation was this weekend. It was such a special time--the service was great, Meg looked adorable and Gramma Reese was able to attend as her sponsor. It was a 2 hour mass that, amazingly enough, went by really quickly. Poor Will was sick, so he got permission to sleep through most of it, which made it go by even faster for him. He felt good enough though to be able to table hop during the reception, looking for the best cookies!

Meg has worked on her confirmation program for 2 years. Not only did she attend classes, but she had to do 30 hours of community service--from wrapping gifts at Barnes and Noble for the Junior League to making rosaries for the parish, she had to earn this rite of passage. And as a result, the Holy Spirit has been confirmed in her, bringing all its gifts to her. She is one sealed forever!

Gramma's Here!

2007-10-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

Gramma Reese came to visit us this weekend for Meg's Confirmation! We have so enjoyed her visit--one that is too short as she is going home tomorrow afternoon. In great Gramma fashion, she even made us meatballs (with Will's help!) for our freezer. NOTHING could be better than that. Will wrote the recipe down in my cookbook so that we will finally be able to make them on our own. We had to hear the story again of how Grandpop ate Will's mini-meatball a few years ago. Scarred the kid for life, I'm afraid! We wish that Grandpop could have come to visit, too. Thankfully, we got to spend good time with him before Will's first communion.

Thank you, Gramma, for coming to visit! We absolutely love having family here. We miss y'all so much! So please, come visit when you can!!! PLEASE!! :-) Am I begging?!?!? YES!

Will's 3rd Grade Field Trip

2007-10-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

The Third Graders at our school headed out to the Pioneer Farm last week. Thanks to a kind neighbor who kept Ellen Claire, I was able to go as a chaperone. I completely enjoyed spending the time with Will. As the sandwiched kid between 2 high-demand sisters, Will doesn't get much one on one attention. So Jack and I both really enjoy anytime that we can get with him by ourselves.The kids made candles, got a lesson on furs and local animals, then searched for herbs and plants that the 1857 pioneers would have used for food and medicine. They also learned that pioneer children would have been responsible for making all the candles for an entire year and that it would have been wasteful to have candles the size and widths that we have today. They all thought that would be a great chore to have. But of course, they only had to make one candle!

All in all, it was a fun way to spend a very cold fall day. Beats the classroom!

Will's 9th Birthday Party!

2007-10-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

Will's 9th birthday has been a blast! It started this week on Tuesday the 16th with a new bike, a new football, a new Gameboy DS game and new clothes. Will was Star Student this week in his class which comes with priveledges such as filling the estimation jar (with 277 candy corn, thank you very much) and getting to have lunch with his teacher.

We had a spend the night party last night to top off the week! It's Will's first sleepover to host ever and he's been fit to be tied. We had 7 boys over for the local rivalry football game between Oswego East Wolves and the Oswego Panthers. Meg and the cheerleaders went up into their stunts and sang "Happy Birthday" to Will in between quarters. It was so cute! Will's friends were QUITE impressed that the cheerleaders were singing to him. Too bad he's not in high school!

However, it was COLD, WINDY and DRIZZLY. The boys were more interested in playing tackle this, that and the other during the game, so we cut our losses and went home to play the Wii and watch Return of the Jedi. I called lights out and quiet at 12:30; Jack heard them as late as 2:10am and Will says he and a few others made it to 3am.

They were out playing flag football by 8:15 this morning (and that was 45 minutes after they TRIED to go out). And considering they had been up since 5:30am, that was mid-day for them! We had a big breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon, a few more Wii games and football--and now my house is destroyed but quiet! It was a great time with great boys, who, even if they were rough and tumble, were easier than girls :-)

Now Meg's off to cheer camp, we have a laser tag birthday party at noon and a soccer game at 5! No rest for the weary today...but there is one happy birthday boy as a result and that makes it worth it.

Meg's First Homecoming

2007-10-08T05:40:00.001-07:00

Homecoming was quite an experience for ALL of us this weekend! The Oswego East Wolves lost their football game, but the dance was what Meg was all excited for anyway. Meg and her BFF Sarah spent many a minute planning, shopping and just laughing over it all. They all met at our house for pictures--and their parents (see the paparazzi picture), too. Meg's date Kevin, Sarah's date Reed and their friend Jimmy were such good sports to get all dressed up and with flowers, too! Kevin was so kind and brought me flowers for letting Meg go to the dance with him. I thanked him but said he really needed to be thanking Jack as he is not too keen on his baby growing up, having a boyfriend and going to dances! He keeps thinking it's going to be great to have her in college, but he's fooling only himself :-)

All in all, the kids had a great time--it was hot, the girls had sore feet and the most fun they had was afterwards at Chili's...the typical teen experience!

Jack's First Race

2007-10-07T15:58:00.001-07:00

Jack ran his first 5K this weekend and started our big Homecoming day off right! His goal was to finish the 3+ miles in under 30 minutes...and look at his time! We were so very proud of him and got to cheer him along the route. It was a good surprise to him to see us around the 1.5 mile mark. Will even ran out to give him "fives." He learned a few good race lessons--he let the pack dictate his pace and that was too fast for what he needed for the homestretch, it shouldn't be 90 degrees in October for all these runs and that just because there are pretty girls in front of you, you shouldn't kill yourself to keep up with them! I second that last one :-) His next race will be the 10K Hobbler Gobbler in November.

ELLEN CLAIRE IS 3!!!!!!

2007-10-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

Today is ECP's 3rd birthday! We had her non-party birthday party that turned into a party on Sunday morning. Her best friend Victoria was there, along with her friends Emily, Jillian, Lauren, Oscar and of course Will and Meg. Her honored guests were Nana and Pop Pop as they have made each of her big days--from being born in Atlanta to all 3 celebrations in Chicago. We also welcomed Mr. Matt, a great friend of our family who we've "adopted"! The theme was...Dora the Explorer :-) Fun was had by all, but most especially Ellen Claire--who got tired of her big brother's help and pretty much told him to back off. She "read" her own card---"It's my birthday, it's my birthday it's MYYYYYY Birthday!" Isn't that what every card should say?!? She's completely enjoyed her birthday weekend. Where did three years go? Oh--and it got HOT on us, so we had to change party dresses. It was in the mid-80's, if you can believe it!

Pop Pop and Nana visit Chicago!

2007-10-01T11:57:00.001-07:00

Nana and Pop Pop spent the past few days with us (and the days really were too few!) to celebrate ECP's birthday. I think that my daddy has had more Dora than he knew was out there, but he made such sweet memories for Ellen Claire. We try to do something different each visit so this time we went to the Arboretum with Ellen Claire and to see Wicked with Meg. Will had a soccer game and Meg a football game so Mama and Daddy got to see him play and her cheer. It was a busy weekend, but SUCH a good time. We miss them already--and they are just now landing in Atlanta! If you haven't ever tracked a flight in progress, it's pretty cool. Go to usa.com and click on the travel option and then the flight tracker. It shows you right where a flight is in the air! Looks like they're circling Atlanta...shock!

First Day of Fall

2007-09-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Ellen Claire and I spent a good portion of our morning yesterday on the playground, running around outside and even putting her "bounce" in the backyard for everyone to jump on as it was the most unbelievably gorgeous day we've had in a very long time. Right now the temp is 72, sunny and no humidity. All windows are open and there is the nicest breeze. Days like these make it ok to live in Chicago! Of course, tomorrow it's supposed to be 63 and raining (which sounds like the BEST day to stay in, watch movies and read--sometimes it's good to be a stay at home mama!) and it'll be back in the 80's by mid next week. And in January I'll be posting about the negative wind chill factor...but for right now, it's ALL worth it!

Will is SOOO HAPPY!

2007-09-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

Soccer has finally started! Will is in (almost) 9 year old boy heaven! His team is the Oswego Panthers. And while they got their little rear ends completely beat up in their first 2 games due to some crazy league placement, they have a great attitude and are having fun. For those of you who really know Will, you will like knowing that he is COMPLETELY WORN OUT after soccer games! WOOO-HOOO! He is number 16 for his birthday and because he didn't want to take his Uncle Lee's soccer number 17. He usually picks 17 for Lee but has decided it's time to be his own man :-) I suppose! Will is playing with a soccer club for the first time, which means we travel. Not too far, thank goodness! And above all else, Will Piedmont is one happy (and tired!) boy.

Banana Pants!

2007-09-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

I'm going to see if this will work...Ellen Claire is a Dora fanatic. In order to get the turkeys to laugh and get off the path, Dora has to say, "Banana Pants!" Here is Ellen Claire's version:

First Day of Third Grade

2007-09-05T08:52:00.001-07:00

Will headed off for third grade last Wednesday! Meg wouldn't let me take a picture of her, go figure. Will had his first "fashion" moment as he absolutely did not want to wear his Polo shirt with a collar because NO ONE else would be wearing one. Please see picture with his 2 friends...and their collared shirts. Oh well! Ellen Claire and Victoria are looking forward to being on the bus in a couple of years. In the meantime, EC and I are enjoying our QUIET mornings...well, as quiet as EC can be :-)

OH MY GOODNESS!

2007-09-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

So what REALLY happens when a headstrong, baby of the family who can get away with anything and who has been working really hard on her scissor skills because her over-worrying mother doesn't want her to go to preschool in a year and have her teachers gasp at her lack of fine motor skills has an afternoon with a daddy who is enjoying football while big brother is playing with friends and her mother is off to the movies with her big sister?!?!?!?!? A HAIR DISASTER is what happens. What is it with my girls and cutting their bangs?!? Meg will still try and deny that she cut her hair as short as EC's above, and she was in 5th grade! Like the scissors became alive and just decided to hack her hair for her?!? And by the way, there is no fixing it or hiding it. We've tried. Today we parted her hair on a different side and it doesn't look AS drastic. What can we do but laugh at this point? Sampson she is not :-)

Who needs Rogain?

2007-09-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

Ellen Claire heard somewhere(I have a strong suspicion that it was Dora, our Nickelodeon "sage" and new obsession who imparted that tidbit) that brushing your hair helps it to grow. So how funny is it that she then spent her time trying to help Jack grow some too?!?

2007-08-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

It was BP's Summer Fun family outing yesterday at Six Flags Great America (hence the matching t-shirts)! Everyone had a blast--Ellen Claire was quite taken with Wiggles World where she got to see a show and even drive a Big Red Car. Will is the official dare devil of the family with only a measly height restriction keeping him off some of the most amazing roller coasters. Meg was right there with him, but wouldn't ride the scariest ones, not even with her mother! Jack, by the way, is pretty much a big chicken :-) I'll send out pictures this week.

2007-08-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

My parsley has been invaded!!! After a bit of internet research, the kids and I have discovered that these amazing caterpillars are Black Swallowtail butterflies waiting to happen! We are so excited and hope to get to see our backyard full of the beautiful butterflies they are to become. At current can see count, we have 13 in my parsley. Well worth the loss of parsley, I do believe!

Morton Arboretum

2007-08-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

We had a fun time at the Arboretum as a late summer, finally had a sunny day trip! It was very busy so we all tired out more quickly than I had hoped. A return visit in September is already planned. Our friends, Sarah and Christopher Hossfeld, went along for the fun. The garden that we spent the most time in was the Children's Garden. It had everything from a secret stream to play in to being able to climb up into the 30 foot trees (which is where Will is in the picture above). As we have very few old trees in the suburbs (we all used to be a corn field!), this is sure to become one of our favorite places to visit.