Summer Overview - by Kurt Schnaubelt

I am finally done with North Barrington Elementary School. Over the summer I have had two baseball teams. My travel team was very good, it was called the Mustangs, we had all the best players that were in the house league. My other team, the Pirates, were undefeated until the playoffs, we took 3rd out of 9. I went to a church camp in Wisconsin without Bruno because he was in a baseball tournament with his Power Pipe team. It would have been better if he was there but anyway everything was fun. And I really liked my counselors Bret and Trevor because they are unique. I had also gone on vacation to Grand Haven in Michigan it was fun, but not one of the better times to remember because I had missed out on stuff. But I would’ve loved it if mom let me stay home and play in my baseball tournaments. Bruno has been gone a lot this summer. But when he is back we have a lot of fun. For flag football I am on the Miami Dolphins, I don't know many people on my team I wish they lt you send buddy requests. My coach wants us to practice the fundamentals and basics.

I went to downtown Chicago and I gave lunches to the homeless, it made me feel really good. I gave out 5 lunches. At camp I had been this kid’s friend for the week, no one liked him, because he didn’t like to share. Also gave Klaus a birthday present even though I didn’t have to. They got him a gift card for his X-Box One, he hasn’t done anything with it yet. I wasn't annoying to Ingrid when she took $5 from me. This is what happened: Ingrid, Bruno, Payton and I went to dairy queen. I had $10 and I bought something that was $5, she put the change in her pocket, and I didn’t say anything to her.

I am not excited or nervous about middle school. It is just a new place, and more people, it's not that big of a deal. It’s just a little different, because I have a different teacher every period. Also there is more kids.

Peter at LGYC

Peter was with the high school crowd at Lake Geneva Youth Camp this year. Here he is with his counselors Kurt and Roscoe.

Biltmore Caddies

Erik & Steven got there first real job this summer. Some good money, but they have to get up early and it's hard work. Very proud of them!

Chickens, again!

We are giving the chickens a go again with a new and improved coop/cage. So far it has proved to be raccoon proof.

Haircut

Kurt locked himself in the bathroom last night and decided to give himself a haircut. He later said he went in to look for hair gel, but got a different idea when he saw the clippers.

Fox River Cabin

We are buying this property, we close on it in about 3 weeks. Annie just sent an update to my parents, which sums it up pretty well. Here it is ...

After 15 years of thinking we would move back out west, down south, or even up north to Lake Geneva, I have finally accepted that we are staying in Illinois at least until the kids graduate from High School. As I've always said, I love this neighborhood and our community and our home has adapted well from 0-3 children over the years. Jeff has been looking at riverfront properties online for awhile now. He found a great one over New Years break, but before we could even look at it, it was under contract. This one, he spotted when he was on a layover in NRT. I asked Diane if she had time to show it and I saw it the next day. The lot and the garage alone are worth the $. The house is not in great shape, although the photos don't look too bad. It will need to be gutted, but because of it's size (715 sqft), it won't take much $. Diane has an architect friend who is going to draw up some plans that could include a second story since we know we already have to replace the roof. It's a 1.5 mile bike ride to Silver Lake which is quite a cute little town. There are a couple of diners (that have fish frys), a Dairy Queen, Italian Restaurant and the Packer Inn. There is also a bike trail system that brings you to the park where Kadi's kids play soccer. There is also a bar/restaurant 1/4 mile north of the house. I think it may only be open on weekends right now. The land across the river is a flood plain, so it will never be built on and has amazing sunsets. It has a deck overlooking the river which Diane said would not be allowed to be built today, but as long as we maintain it, we can keep it. The neighborhood isn't fabulous, but it's not too bad. The immediate neighbor to the south has kids and a nice, well kept, updated home. The house to the north is a tiny abandoned cottage. We hope you'll like it, and we welcome your kayaks, fishing poles and bikes. Our intentions are for it to be a place for family to gather and enjoy the river.

Kurt / Compassion

Kurt was bored the other day, so on his own initiative he created a flyer for his friend's sister, Bridget Kennicott, who has Batten Disease. He knocked on doors around the neighborhood and collected a total of $80. There was no formal fundraiser going on, he did this all on his own.