political sidebar.

WTF. Please if you're sick of all the political sludge oozing around, just raise your hand right now at your computer.

Thank you... I feel your pain.


This was the headline posted today on Yahoo! News:

"Bono: World has a stake in upcoming US election"

I find this disturbing on many levels.
1. Rockstars who speak at humanitarian award dinners hosted by Starbucks have all the answers.
2. Bono is a proven philanthroper, but not a US citizen. He's from Ireland. So, he should just shut-up and keep giving his money to Africa, because they really need it.
3. Sadly, I read the news from a source that's named after a cowboy expletive, and care enough to comment.
4. And apparently, the US controls the world... ergo, as a US citizen, my vote can send mankind into a downward spiral. Or not.

No pressure.

fall walk

here we are out on a little walk enjoying the fall colors.

apple pickin'

Just picking some good Michigan apples. The kids loved it and I think they ate more apples that day than ever before.
Maybe we'll do it again this weekend...

Grand Haven Beach

Maddie strolling the beach at Grand Haven... on a Girl Scout outing with Mom.

new photos to stare at...

Maddie turns 10.


pics from our 12th-anniversary/winery weekend.



Henry and Meg at the park.

send 'em off!

Henry's 1st day of Assumption Preschool


Maddie's 1st day of 4th grade.

The big 1.

Meg turned 1 while we were on vacation up north in Leelanau. She got to spend her first birthday touring Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, opening presents, and walking her new baby-doll around in her new doll-stroller. Little Margaret is quite the big girl now with her teeny purse, bow in her hair and pink walking shoes.

She did top-off her day with a nice, big piece of Birthday cake, most of which did go in her mouth. She knows the good stuff is not to be wasted.... that's my girl.

another mermaid in the family.

meg LOVES the water... and had a lot of fun with Maddie and Henry at the beach yesterday.

just call him Hank.

So, T-ball has begun.

Granted, this is a class for 3-5 year olds, but Henry is taking it very seriously. He's excited to finally be on a "team". Have a real coach who's a cool, college guy and not just a lady like his mom. He's learning how to throw a baseball, field & catch with his glove and run the bases and bat while wearing a helmet.

And he's lovin' every minute of it.

You never know, maybe someday he'll earn the name "Hank", the name of all great ball players. But he can just be our Henry too, and that's just fine by me.

some summer pics

after her school's Field Day...

Kids in the sprinkler...


Maddie at camp...


S.S. Badger - Big Ship. More Fun.

June. Where did it go?

Yeah, I don't know where June went, but it flew by pretty flippin' fast.
Here's the short list:
- Maddie finished 3rd grade.
- we made the trans-Lake Michigan passage via the S.S. Badger from Ludington, MI to Manitowoc, WI (http://www.ssbadger.com/newhome.aspx) Big ship, more fun.
- Cousin Dan tied the knot with his squeeze Stacey
- Gran turned 60.
- Maddie was deposited in South Bend for Notre Dame girls Basketball Camp
- We bought a new '08 Dodge Caravan (my dream of further mini-van ownership has been fulfilled)
- Maddie experienced a 3-day overnight bible camp. Ned Flanders was the camp director there.
- Meg started day care in the Wobbler's room (since my workload picked up tremendously)
- Saw the Whitecaps play after an hour rain delay. Kids had fun though.
- Greg logged 90+ miles on his bike (go G!)
- I officially became a Girl Scout leader for Maddie's 4th grade troop
- more stuff happened... but I can't type forever here.

July? a blur thus far.

Tour de Leelanau

Greg and I always wondered why everyone goes "up North"... and now we know. Our Memorial Day weekend was driven by curiosity, more specifically a European-style bike road race, The Tour de Leelanau.

Being the cycling enthusiast, Greg always wanted to see a real road race, and I thought it was just a good idea for everybody to get out of town. So we got ourselves a hotel room at Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City for two nights and took a mini-vacation. (we surprised the kids when we got there) Of course, the kids loved Great Wolf (their camp-style bunk bed room with their own TV and the water park just down the hall) and we all had fun driving around Leelanau county watching the bike race at various points, cheering them along. We also got a taste of the countryside mixed with the maritime feel of the Lake Michigan shore.

In fact, we liked the area so much, we booked a cabin for a week in August on Lake Leelanau. Score!

We also discovered that Henry could spend all day on the beach throwing rocks into Lake Michigan, and Madeleine doesn't like to watch bike races in the rain. Meg is easy, she likes everything. Most especially the little fountains at the water park, where she would crawl up to and get drenched head to toe. Another mermaid in the family, like her sister who also could spend all day in the water. (The best thing about the water park is that it made all the kids dog-tired. They were passed-out by 8pm.)

Tour de Leelanau... a pretty great way to begin the summer.