Ciao

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

I will be taking a little break this week, and expect to have some good stories to tell when I get back. Ciao!

Dinner

We ate dinner at The Depot American Diner tonight. The boys ate chicken noodle soup and strawberry Crush sodas. Actually, H ate his bowl of soup, and most of C's too. Brian and I had Reuben sandwiches. That place is so good. It will be featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network on August 3rd, so be sure to check it out.

Bathing Hippos

Come on! You cannot even tell me this candle is not cute. Adorable, even. Available at Anthropologie.

Birthday Party for M

After being away for many weekends, we finally had a Sunday at home. And it felt great. Brian spent the day in the yard. I did laundry. And the only place we had to be today was M Frig's 4th birthday party. And that wasn't a bad thing at all.

Racine Triathlon

Last year, Brian and our friend Chris did the Spirit of Racine Triathlon. And while caught up in the excitement, Penny and I said we'd do it this year. Well, Penny had a baby. So I decided to do the Pewaukee Triathlon last week, since it's one my sister does every year, instead. Well, something came over me, and on Tuesday this week, I signed up for it. Brian did the Blue Wave Sprint. I did the Women's Only. The 59 degree Lake Michigan water sure was a great wake up call! The swim was twice as long as last week (1/2 mile), and the bike was 4 miles shorter (20K). I came in at 1:31 -- 9th out of 20 in my age group. The 40 and over age group!!!! Yup. Doing this race was my 40th birthday goal, and it also happens to be one where they round up the age. I didn't even make the 35-39 cut. Kind of depressing, but overall, a great day. By the way, Brian came in 2nd in his age group, and even got an award. Awesome job. And while we were racing, the boys had fun playing in the sand with Grandma. It was a fun day.

Pablove

When our friend Jeff's son Pablo got cancer, instead of sitting in the sidelines, he and his family started the Pablove Foundation. It benefits the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and cancer research at the hospital. They are part of the "It's About You" Live Strong campaign -- the film just went live yesterday. It's powerful stuff. Please take a look.

Tweet!

Isn't this a beautiful bird feeder? Oh my gosh, and the red cardinals that have been frolicking around on our fence would look great nibbling from it. If it weren't for the squirrels. Or the fact that we don't have a tree to hang it in .... (photo courtesy of Joe Papendick)

Playing Around

Field Trip

Our department at work (the little melting pot of people above, minus one who was taking the photo) finally got around the celebrating the holidays yesterday. As in Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/New Years. Seriously. But it was worth the wait. We headed to a late afternoon showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, with a stop at the famous Billy Goat Tavern. After living in Chicago for 15 years, this was my first visit to this institution. Guess what I had -- a double cheeseburger ("it's the best"). It was a good day. (Thanks to Kari for the photo -- I forgot to bring a camera.)

Relaxing with the Boys

More Weekend Scenes

The weekend wasn't only about triathlons. (Although, it seemed like it. Did I mention I was a nervous wreck?). H had fun feeding the fish at the old fish hatchery with Papa. And we had two sun-filled days at the beach. Glorious.

Pewaukee Triathlon

Today, I finished something I never thought I would, or could, do. A triathlon. Together with Brian and my sister, I did Pewaukee Triathlon. 1/4 mile swim. 16 mile bike. 3.1 mile run. And, it was great. Most people freak out over the swim part. I actually thought that was really fun. The water was warm, and the distance was short. I took my time and still plowed over people. Good times. The part I was freaking out? The bike. I've never rode close to 16 miles ... ever. (I recently got an awesome new bike though, so I better start.) Anyhow, the course was very hilly, but beautiful. Certainly better than the city streets we deal with here. The ride went fairly well -- although, there is plenty of room for improvement. I was so glad to finish that part. I was warned of the transition between bike and run, but I really had no idea. I tried to run my bike into transition, and thought I was going to just fall over. My legs were like jello. So I walked my bike back, and took my sweet time in transition, then headed off for the run. This is the part I was most confident in, and I ended up having the slowest 3 mile run of my life. I could barely move my legs they were so tight, and walked most of the first mile -- totally bummed me out. But then I got going, and it was ok. I finished. And oh my gosh, it feels so great.

Fishing

Here's a photo of Brian and H fishing during our recent trip -- taken through binoculars.

My mom came and got the boys today. H was waiting at the window for her and jumped when the phone rang asking if it was her. As soon as she walked in, he asked if they leave. C ran right out to the car too. The boys couldn't wait to go. My parents also took the dog -- even he didn't hesitate to jump in the car and head for Wisconsin. It's quiet around here tonight. Nice.

Spying on H

Animals

Animals from our recent trip to the Wildwood Wildlife Park.

Up North - Day 10

The day has come. We had to come home. What a great vacation. It was so nice to get to hang out together ... at one of Brian's favorite places. He has so many great memories at this home, and was thrilled to get to show H & C. They loved it too.

Up North - Day 9 (Happy 4th)

Happy 4th of July! It was another lovely day on Little Spider Lake, filled with paddle boating, swimming, and even a boat parade. Brian had taken the boys out to the middle of the lake when the parade started (we had no idea). Next thing you know, he was engulfed by a pontoon party. He was in heaven, as you can well imagine. Storm got brave and jumped off the pier (after me). It was so fun seeing him this week. He'll be so bummed out with our micro-yard when we go home. The afternoon was spent watching the parade in downtown Minocqua. It think the whole town turned up for it. Then we hit the Thirsty Whale before heading out to watch the Min-Aqua Bats again. We could only find seats on the rocks. It was a fun show. We wanted to stay for fireworks, but at 9:15, it was still dusk and we knew it would be a long time before they would start. So we headed back to toad hunt and do some sparklers instead. It was a great day.

Up North - Day 8

We were supposed to go home today. But the offer was on the table saying that we could stay the weekend, and we woke up to an absolutely beautiful day. We just couldn't leave. So we are here for a couple more nights, and couldn't be happier. We've had such a great time, but really, it wouldn't be the same without a day in the water. The boys spent most of the time cruising around in the paddle boat. Storm swam for the first time, and even took a boat trip to the middle of the lake. There is an area that is only inches deep. It was a fun place to hang out, but I think it freaked him out a bit to be stranded in the middle of a big lake. H & C drove the boat. An eagle decided to rest in the tree right next door to us. We played horse shoes. Ate at Blink Bonnie (our third attempt getting in -- the line is usually so long). Had our first bonfire. It was a good day.

Up North - Day 7

The weather people lied to us. It's still pretty cold. But at least it's in the mid-60s ... without rain. Today we decided to visit the Wildwood Wildlife Park. I had a cute little goat that kept climbing in my lap. The boys liked feeding the bears "bear soda" and feeding the deer. There didn't seem to be as many deer roaming the grounds as in the past, but it's still very cool. After that, we headed over Otto's Beer and Brat Garden. And pretended it was really warm.

Up North - Day 6

The weather almost hit 60 degrees and the big news of the day is that we actually got C on the boat for a little bit. H can sit on the water with Brian for hours waiting for fish to bite. After 30 minutes, C was cold, hungry and wanted to go home. When we were out on the water, we saw blue herons, loons, and two bald eagles, which was very cool. After being home the entire day, we decided to go out for dinner at the Four Seasons Supper Club. Fish fry - yum. Tomorrow is supposed to reach the 70s (actually the next week is supposed to be nice). We'll see!