Loving Life

I'm in love with Annie's smile and her soft kisses. I love Peter's enthusiasm and when he laughs from his belly. I love Erik's memory of life and the twinkle in his eye when he's excited. I love Kurt's love for people and his gentle spirit, and that he still reaches for my hand sometimes when we walk together.

Seaplane Rating

Popper and I got our seaplane ratings while vacationing in Grand Haven for the week. Mark Schmitt, an MD80 captain at American gave us the training in his Super Cub on Lake Bella Vista near Rockford, MI.

Campout with Kurt & Bruno

We spent 2-nights at the Bonanza campground in the Wisconsin Dells, and a day at the Mt Olympus waterpark. They loved the roller-coasters and the big wave pool. On the way back we spent the day at Devil's Lake, and took the car ferry across the Wisconsin river.

Erik gets braces!

Erik got braces on his 9th birthday yesterday. He's very excited about it, and we are so proud of what a great kid he is. His braces are red-white-blue in celebration of the 4th July.

Kurt the super-thrasher

Kurt is notorious for thrashing around during his sleep. When I fall asleep reading to him I usually wake up with a knee or elbow in my back. He is also still our baby, and he likes to sneak into our bed when one of us is missing. Here's the scene when I tried getting into bed tonight.

PeterEriKurt Sluggers

Baseball season just ended, Kurt & Erik played on the same team together, and Peter played with a bunch of North Barrington kids.

Principal: No Walking to School

Earlier this month, the principal of our elementary school asked me to stop walking my kids to school because she thought it was unsafe. Here's the walking route, and here was my response.