Oktoberfest

Every Friday and Saturday during the month of September, the boy's soccer club hosts Oktoberfest. It's always such a great time, and I'm pretty sure we'll be visiting more than once. Tonight, we met Ali and the kids for dinner, then ended up running into a bunch of friends and staying a little later than expected. The kids had blast running around with their friends and playing soccer on the turf while the U40 team (that some of our friends play on) played on the field next to them. Such a fun night.

Miniature Plant

When Jen & Samir visited us a few weeks ago, they brought us a little plant that their daughter assembled. It is planted in a shell Jennifer found on a beach in Michigan. The rock it sits on was found by them this summer. And I was told that it would even flower. I have to admit, I didn't believe it. Sure enough! This morning I found a miniature pink flower. It's absolutely adorable. I love it.

(Update: Jen let me know that my facts were a little wrong. Shell was found at Thatcher Woods in River Forest, Illinois. The plants are from her own vertical garden, and the rock was from the beach at Union Pier, Michigan.)

Inspiration Files :: House on the Baltic Sea

It's been awhile, and because we are back in school-homework-soccer mode -- meaning I don't have much to say -- I thought an inspiration file was in order. I'm still feeling the last bits of summer lingering, which may be why I'm drawn to this Danish home on the Baltic Sea. Simple, pure and raw. What a great summer home. (by Algreen Arkitekter via Desire to Inspire)

Fourteen

Guess what! Today is our 14th anniversary. That means, Brian and I been together for nearly 20 years. Crazy stuff. It's amazing how fast time files. I am just so glad we have both decided to put up with each other for all of these years because I really can't imagine a better person to share this journey with. (Photo of us taken when we were really young -- mid-90s, perhaps?).

Awards

Over the summer, the boys were lucky enough to go out to my parent's house once a week and play golf. They had a blast, and really improved a great deal. Tonight was the summer tennis and golf awards dinner. We met up with my entire family -- we sure had some big winners. My sister and niece each won an award in tennis. My mom and H won golf awards (H came in 2nd place in the 6-hole short category). And my mom won Aces & Aces, which is a combination tennis and golf award. All night long I got to hear about what a great athlete she is. I know people! She's a hall of famer, after all. Anyhow, the kids had a great time playing this summer. The pros were really good with with them -- especially Joe, who made it fun every week. H was super proud of his accomplishment. It was a fun night, for sure.

Birthday

So, yesterday was my birthday. I decided to start the day by running for the first time in weeks and bra shopping. Nothing like saying "hello 44!" than that. Actually, the run was pretty good. It was the other part that is never ok. But whatever. The rest of the day was pretty mellow. At night, my boys surprised me by taking me out to dinner at Wolf Peach. I think the other people dining were pretty impressed. We had Zucchini Fritters, Summer Vegetable Pizza, Ricotta Cavatelli, Seared Sea Scallops, Charred Octopus and Roasted Sweetbreads. It was absolutely perfect.

Fall Break

School may have just started two days ago, but already H&C had a day off today for Fall Break (which coincides with Rosh Hashanah). We decided visit my mom for one last hurrah. Our day started at the skate park. H&C are still too nervous to try their boards there, but had a blast zooming around on their scooters. There was one other guy there the entire time we were. He was really good, and quite amazing to watch. I love that stuff. Afterwards, we went to the club. I really wanted to go swimming, but it was too cold for me. It sure didn't stop the boys though. Of course, they also had a blast fishing. Such a fun day.

First Day of School

Yesterday when we got home from our trip -- the last summer hurrah -- I felt a bit strange. On one hand, I felt an overwhelming sense of contentment, happiness and pride. On the other hand, I was so sad. You see, this is going down as one of the best summers ever and I was just bummed to see it come to and end. Even though my kids make me absolutely crazy at times, I really missed them as they headed off to their first day of school today. It's all going by way too fast. This morning, H started 6th grade, and C 3rd. That's crazy. When the end of the school day finally came and we were reunited, both couldn't stop talking about what great days they had. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a great year for them.

Epic Camping Weekend - Day 4

Epic Camping Weekend ended with another epic day. I'm just so ticked I didn't get a photo of our final family -- the Frigs! Oh well. After packing up the sites (no small feat by the way), we stopped by Cave of the Mounds. I've never been before, and I've got to say, it was really incredible. Millions of years old, it was accidentally discovered when a limestone quarry worker blasted a section of the cave and uncovered it. Can you imagine? It was pretty awesome. After our tour, it was time to part ways. We came home happy and exhausted. I'm so happy we got to see our friends, and frankly, we miss them already.

Epic Camping Weekend - Day 3

We woke up, met up with the the group for breakfast burritos (yum!) and then part of the gang went fishing and swimming while the rest of us cleaned up, and relaxed a bit. Later on in the afternoon, we caravanned through the stunning countryside to New Glarus to visit the brewery and the quant little town itself. There is an amazing meat market and bakery we just had to visit. Beer, landjäger, bienenstich kuchen. Perfect! After we came back to the sites, we all went over to the lake again for a little more swimming, then met up again to cook up dinner. This time, it was sausagepolooza. Buffalo chicken sausage. Italian sausage. Apple gouda chicken sausage. Chevapi. Delicious!

Epic Camping Weekend - Days 1 & 2

It's been a few years since we've last gone camping. I can't believe it's taken us that long to go again! We had such a great time last time at Governor Dodge State Park that we decided we should go there again. It was just as awesome. The weather was perfect. And this time, we went with five families -- seventeen people total. It was a blast. We drove up Friday night and met my parents at the hunt club to shoot some clays and have dinner, and made it our cute campsite right before it turned dark. Everyone else was driving in from Chicago, with the majority arriving on Friday night. Once the tents were set up, we couldn't wait to enjoy some time catching up. The next day, we went hiking to Stephens' Falls while waiting for the last family to arrive. It's just such a beautiful area and the kids had a blast splashing around in the streams. Once Melissa and Emma arrived, we ate, then headed to the beach where we spent a huge amount of time swimming and floating around. It was awesome. Dinner that night was at our campsite, starting with kitschy appetizers including the traditional Chicken in a Biskit with cheese from a can. Too funny. We had made tin foil packets and got a pinata to celebrate C's birthday. Everyone else surprised all of us by throwing him a little party. I think he was in heaven. We all had a great day.