One more funny

We were doing some trivia questions with Conor and one question was about civil rights and Martin Luther King Jr's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Adam was trying to describe the speech to Conor, so in his best impression voice, he says boomingly..."I have a dream...that one day my children..."(and as he paused to think of the next few words) Conor filled in the blank..."will be white?" Oh boy!

More of Julie and Tyler's visit

The next morning, we were able to spend some time outside with Julie and Tyler, enjoying some of our last warm days of the season. Conor got his pads on to rollerblade or ride his bike.

Riley blew some bubbles.

They played with sidewalk chalk. While Tyler wrote profanities like "Go Cubs Go" and "Da Bears", Conor and Riley came right along behind him trying to cross out those giant dirty words :)

Adam had spent the weekend out of town (see the next post)...so this is what my bed looked like in the morning. Not much room for me, is there?

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We had some visitors in September, the first of our friends from Illinois to come see our new house. We had to take them to see the #1 tourist attraction in the Twin Cities...the Mall of America...a place Conor has been asking to go back to as well. 

We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.

We visited Nickelodeon Universe indoor amusement park.

We checked out Legoland, with the huge structures made of legos and the kids play area.

We didn't stay long, since we got there in the middle of some crazy scrapbooking expo, and we were all ready for a nap. At least we got some exercise.

Funny things

Adam was dozing off in the living room one day when the kids decided it was time to wrestle and they were getting a little rough. I said, "Be careful, guys, you can't jump on daddy like that." When they asked why, I answered something about how you have to be careful around his private parts and that it hurts boys when they get hit or bumped or jumped on right on the private parts. After a few contemplative seconds, Conor suddenly punched himself in the groin and confidently stated, "It doesn't hurt that bad!"

Conor: Did you buy that car at Terris Sea?
Me: Huh?
Conor: Did you buy that car at Terris Sea?
Me: What do you mean?
Conor: Right there on the back of our car, where it says that...does that mean you bought the car at Terris Sea?
Me: No, bud, that is what kind of car we have. It says "Taurus S E"

Riley's Interpretation...............Correct Word
Alligator...................................Gatorade
Bedhand...................................Headband
Seaweed..................................Kiwi
Cubbers...................................Covers
Sha-poo...................................Shampoo
Macaroni Pizza........................Pepperoni Pizza
Chempchur.............................Temperature (also meaning thermometer)
Pewter....................................Computer
Bar-ba-syew..........................Barbeque
Donald...................................Tunnel
Hole-jew-me..........................Hold you me (meaning "hold me")

Dad: Conor, did you know that I used to jump out of airplanes when I was in the army?
Conor: Without even a jet-pack, or anything?

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Conor had a backpack so Riley wanted one too!

First Day of School

Conor's last night of sleep before his very first day of school ever.

First Day of Kindergarten

Riley wanted in on the picture too

Bye Mom!!

Conor's signature on the first day of kindergarten

And on the second day of school, which was Mass Day so Conor had to wear his uniform pants.

Labor Day Weekend

We made a trip to Chicago over Labor Day weekend to visit old friends and because NIU (Adam's alma mater) was playing against the University of Iowa at Soldier Field, and we couldn't pass up that opportunity, especially with our Hawkeye-Fan friends!

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The kids did great in the car--reading, watching movies, coloring, and listening to music. We love technology on road trips!

 We spent the weekend at "Hotel Weller" and Kip and Janice watched the kids while Adam and I went to the football game. They had a great time in the pool and the weather was awesome. Conor had no fear on the diving board.

 We went swimming at the Torio's too, and Riley wanted to jump off the edge over and over and over!

Checking out "Baby Kate", soooo excited to finally get to meet her.

 Best buddies reunited

 Best friends at the football game

 Way outnumbered in our red shirts with the Chicago skyline in the background after a tough loss in the last few minutes; still managed to get a smile out of Adam

End of Summer

All good things must come to an end, as they say. Our summertime has come to an end, with a big change this year as Conor prepared to enter school for the first time. Here are some of the ways we enjoyed the last few weeks of summer...

Preparing magic potions and gels with Conor's birthday present, a Magic Wizard set.

Getting a free back-to-school haircut, complete with blue hair gel

Reading to ourselves, and to each other

Helping with the grocery shopping on a Saturday morning

Madison...After the Race

After the race, we headed back to the Hartman's home for some great outdoor fun and some yummy food. We had spent the night before the race at their house but couldn't stay another night because we had guests coming to our house the next day.

We played baseball in their backyard...

...played in the dirt...

...watched part of a movie...

...and just hung out making good old childhood memories for our kids!

(Riley-almost 2 1/2, Lilianna-almost 1, Conor-5, Kip-4 1/2)

Madison

In August, we visited Madison, Wisconsin for a weekend to reunite with some friends. Adam and his friend Kip ran a half marathon together. The kids tried out the famous chairs on campus.

After Conor and I totally wiped out running to see the finish line--scraping up our knees and elbows and me ripping and dirtying my white t-shirt--we calmly made it in just enough time to stake out a spot to see the dads run past, cheering them on. 

Adam in green and Kip in red.

Then Conor and Kip Jr ran a kids race, a quarter of a mile long, crossing the same finish line their dads did. Here is Conor contemplating the start of his race...worrying about running too fast because he doesn't want to wipe out again. (Don't worry, buddy, mommy's not here holding your hand to take you down with her!)

And he's off....run Conor run!!

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