On The Courts

Anna's and Alexander's first tennis lessons this morning were a big hit (ha ha)! Seriously, it was so much fun. I spent the whole time taking still photos and video and didn't pay much attention to how well they did. But it seemed like they did great. It was so cute to see such little children out there playing tennis. This was Alexander's first time taking any type of an instruction class, and he did so well following direction. He and Anna both got in some hits. I can't wait until we go back on Wednesday. They'll have three 50-minute lessons a week for two weeks. The student-teacher ratio was great! Four kids to three teachers. In case you can't tell, Alexander is in the red shirt and blue hat; Anna is the only girl, in a white shirt and pink hat.

First The Warm Up




Then The Practice Hit



Then Hitting Over The Net




Finally, Picking Up The Balls



The End

Happy Birthday, Shreve!

I've been a picture-taking mama since we've been back, but I haven't found the time to post anything. It finally stopped raining enough and heat up enough (though barely) for me to break out the little kiddie pool for the children. We went swimming both in the morning and the afternoon on at least two days this week. The other days the kids swam in the afternoon and played out front in the morning. They don't watch much TV at all in the summer, and that's how I like it. I also like this style of summer life because the children take better naps for me due to their being worn out from running around playing. I don't like it because of all the sticky sunscreen that's necessary. But you gotta let the kids enjoy the great outdoors.

Anyway, I finally had to stop taking pics of swimming because they all start to look the same after a while. I'll post some of them later.

I wanted to go ahead and get Shreve's birthday photos up before too much more time passes. He turned 4 while we were on vacation and we promised him a big party once we got home. Here are the photos, and a little video.

He's the best!

Tomorrow the kids start tennis lessons, so I'll definitely have a lot to post this week.

Opening Gifts

Anna and Alexander open gifts from the Grecos. A new Barbie for Anna and a Speed Racer car for Alexander. Thanks again for the gifts! The children received a number of unexpected gifts and such nice cards for their baptism. Thank you to everyone, also including Aunt Maureen and family, the Rectors, Mrs. Shaw and to the Gards for the books and coloring books. And while I'm thanking people, we also want to say thank you very much to the Rhines for having us over for a lovely dinner Sunday evening after the baptism. And to Mark and Debbie for having us over at your beautiful home in Detroit. I hope I haven't missed anyone!

Zoo Crew

We spent one of our Detroit days at the zoo. We rented a double stroller, which was pretty much a must-have considering all the walking and high temperatures (not to mention my stuffed-to-the-gills bag and our video camera). It's the second zoo for the children. Last year we went to the zoo in New Orleans. The kids loved it! Among the animals we saw were bald eagles, rhinocerous, giraffes, black bear, gorillas, polar bears, penguins, monkeys, lions.

Going Swimming

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the kids made great strides in learning how to swim during this trip. Both learned how to tread water on their own while wearing their arm floaties. Alexander loved jumping off the side of the pool, which was kind of scary for me. I was so worried he wouldn't jump out far enough or somehow would throw his head back and hit the concrete side.

In these photos, you'll see my dad, Aunt Maureen, Rachel and maybe Megan. I think the kids went swimming four nights on our initial stay in Chesterton. Somehow, I got away without having to put on a swimsuit any of those nights!

Beach Babies

It wasn't the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic, but the kids got to experience a real beach and enter a gigantic body of water that produces white caps and rip tides just like the ocean. So Lake Michigan will do just fine. The kids could have played in the sand all day, despite having only a couple of plastic cups and some spoons we brought from the inn with which to play.

The family photo was taken by Quyen the second time we went to the beach during our last weekend in town. Thanks for sending the picture! We got to meet up with Quyen and Joe and their two adorable little boys, Dylan, who is about Anna's age, and Matty, who is less than a year old. I left my camera in the car and regret that I didn't get photos of the kids together.

Millennium Park Visit

Here are photos from downtown Chicago's new Millennium Park, which has been completed since we left five years ago. Among the park's more interesting features are a gigantic silver bean reflective thing and this water fountain thingy, from which water pours out of a tower with changing pictures. It's hard to explain.

Chi-Town Family

Here are some family photos that dad took of us in downtown Chicago. We walked the kids a lot, so they were pooped by the time we boarded the Shore Shore back into Chesterton.