8 New Posts Including This One

Playing catch-up is long over due on many accounts but it is fair and necessary. There are several posts today - hopefully you won't be reading as long as I have been messing around putting them together - with Ashley's assistance.

The beginning of Spring Break

Spring Break is off to a lazy start. It snowed Friday while Drew & I did some work & we all had that great garlic, tomato, pepperoni pizza at Bobby's. Saturday Ashley danced and we all hung out. Yesterday was Easter. Drew is working today, Alex is playing X-Box, I have spent entirely too much time updating this blog. Ashley painted her nails. Wow, so much to do and so nothing done!

I need to make an attack on laundry, cleaning, figuring out a plan for this week (since our plans of bike riding and being outside has been altered by the snow - but the week's not over) and trying to come up with a plan for if we are coming or going, when and where. It's tough to have so many life altering opportunities and decisions all so up in the air.

Later in the week we are hoping Drew will be caught up with work so we can finally visit Kyle, Sarah & Logan, and Northwestern Softball will have their first home games Friday, Saturday & Sunday. There is no dancing or no softball (other than being a fan).

We'll check in at the end of the week to post our excitement.

The Little Girls on Easter

The Easter Bunny is completely confused at our house. Can you believe Ashley & Alex dyed eggs and the Easter Bunny didn't even show up!

I think he is confused by the snowstorm and because of all the Greek talk in our house. The teacher I work with is truly Greek. She is great and we have learned much from her. The Greek Easter isn't for another couple weeks.

Brunch at the Yacht Club thanks to Grandma & Grandpa was fantastic. It was great to be together with everyone. Here are pictures of the littlest bunnies on their first Easter.


It looks like Cora is closer to being able to hold her own bottle. Then mom & dad can eat again with both of their hands.

Logan is completely comfy being held in her daddy's arms.

Fine Arts Night

Softball practice and Fine Arts Night at school made for yet another crazy night.

There were so many students participating from kindergarten - 5th grade that there were actually 2 sessions. We were not allowed to be at school until 20 minutes before show time. This allowed Ashley to go to softball practice for an hour then straight to school where Ashley & Alex both sang in the 4th/5th grade Chorus then Ashley played in the Orchestra with the Dance Club.
We have video but I don't yet know how to get it off the camera and onto the computer. You will have to take my word for it that the kids were great, singing songs about Earth Day, the environment and going green.

St Patrick's Day at James Tavern

Now that our kids are older, we are able to switch situations with Kyle & Sarah. Remember Kyle's post a while ago about how different St Patrick's Day would be?

Drew & I had an exciting St Patrick's Day at Drew's partner's place in Lake Bluff. It was great green fun. There was even a kilt wearing, bagpipe playing guy who spontaneously came up from Chicago to stop in and play at "places" one stop at a time. We weren't out late so the kids were happy too.

There are pictures but I haven't received any by email so I can't share them, sorry.

On a side note, Bobby has created an amazing fresh garlic, fresh tomato and pepperoni pizza! James Tavern has completely become Cheers of the North Shore. There is even a regular mail carrier that is a "regular".

The Sold Out Show

I can't believe it. I used to be such a good dance mom. Remember all the grief I have taken for "having to be the first in line to buy tickets"? Well this is the first and the worst. I not only was not first in line but I had to work at the show to be able to see the show because it sold out before I got tickets!

It was a beautiful show that you all will be required to sit and enjoy on dvd when it arrives.

The costumes are pretty and so grown up. The piece is a story about dance class where the girls were deliberately not ready, not paying attention, absorbed in themselves and what they were doing... It was beautiful yet amusing at the same time. In the picture below the other girls are dancing as they should be while Ashley is so into herself dancing and enjoying performing that she doesn't realize the other girls are gone. It was a great "solo" piece.

This short video clip doesn't do justice. It was from dress rehearsal. Shelley was having a rough day and wasn't happy with a lot of things.

Note to all... the June recital performances are Friday, June 13 & Saturday, June 14th. The shows are both the same, you can pick either night. Curtain time is 6:30pm at Libertyville High School. Ashley's will be performing her first piece under the direction of the amazing Mark Yonally. How long have we been waiting for this? Knowing Mark, it will be great!

If you really love Ashley and feel bad about missing Dancescapes, as of right now, Ashley will also be in a softball tournament that weekend in Racine Friday thru Sunday. We don't have any game times yet but please feel free to spend the weekend with us as a fan and as an audience member.

The tournament is a National Qualifier, one of the largest in the Midwest and the largest in Wisconsin!

Cool Like Dad

We weren't sure if Alex would have a band concert or not. The original date was cancelled because of snow. This was a crazy night. It was two days after the kids returned from Texas and Alex played in the band concert then we went to the Scouts Blue & Gold dinner. It was a last minute decision but it worked out because when we got to the dinner, everyone else was still eatting.

Alex is not great about practicing at home and complains a lot about "lugging" the baritone to and from school but he does enjoy playing just like his dad. No wait, Alex learned to read notes a few years ago when he was playing the viola. It also might be more fun knowing that his friend Olivia plays percussion right behind him.

Kids Trip to the South Border

Grandma called to invite the kids to travel with her to visit Big Grandpa & Grandma in Texas. They were thrilled. They returned to lots of work in school so they haven't had a chance to share their visit. 3rd quarter of school is over, ISATs (Illinois Standards Achievement Tests) are over and it is Springr Break so they can finally share their story.

Thank you Big Grandpa, Big Grandma & Grandma!

1,472 miles separate Chicago and Pharr, Texas - approximately 23 hours driving time.

Pharr, Texas is a community with bi-cultural diversity, beauty, and history. Pharr is strategically located in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, only minutes from the Mexico border.

According to the internet, "the City of Pharr is a well known location for all types of tourists. Pharr enjoys receiving people from our own United States (Winter Texans), people from our nation to the South, people from our nation to the North, and even world-wide travelers. " This is where Big Grandpa & Grandma fit in. They have spent the winter months in Texas for the last few years. After visiting, we see that they like it there and why they like it.

Leaving Chicago's cold weather was not difficult, the weather in Texas was warm and sunny. Here we are at O'hare.

Our plane getting loaded up.
We flew from Chicago to Dallas then from Dallas to McAllen, Texas
These cacti are real, not plastic. This is a "garden of cacti" in someone's "yard". This is a tree of Texas lemons. They are as big as a cantalope and make the greatest lemonade!
This is a cemetary, Ashley thought it was a party but soon realized those are tombstones with colorful flowers everywhere.These are pictures of the Los Ebanos Ferry. This is a man pulled ferry "boat" that goes from Texas to Mexico over the Rio Grande River. Alex said it only takes a few minutes to get across. The ferry looks really small and it is kind of scary to believe but three cars and many people are able to cross at one time! Five men pulled ropes that were connected to each side of the riverbank, making the ferry cross. To get the ferry started, the men had to rock the boat then start pulling. It cost 50 cents to go from Texas to Mexico. Fifty five cents to go from Mexico to the US.

The Los Ebanos Ferry is the last remaining hand-drawn ferry in the U.S. that connects the U.S. with Diaz Ordaz, Mexico.

We crossed the river then went right back to Texas for lunch. Here we had a giant cheeseburger with lots of vedgies that after it was cut with a machete, we all split.

After the yummy cheeseburger lunch, we went to the Museum of South Texas History Museum. The museum is all about South Texas history and heritage. We "walked through time,” learned about the history how the area had physically changed, ancient cultures, Spanish exploration, Mexican War, Rio Grande Steamboats, Cattle Kingdom, etc. Alex liked Camp Cookie's story about pioneers and "stuff". We both had awesome smoothies there. Here are some pictures of the sights.

This guy was in dress showing what the Mexican Army looked like. They still dress like this.

This is the day we went on the Dolphin Watch at South Padre Island. We didn't see any dolphins at first but they threw out a net and caught squid and fish. Near the end of the trip, we saw a lot of dolphins. Ashley's camera batteries quit so we are lucky Grandma took pictures too. Thanks Grandma!

This is the bridge we took to get to South Padre Island and to Dirty Al's for lunch. This is where the Rio Grand River meets the Gulf of Mexico. Our trip was on the Gulf of Mexico. We don't have pictures but we also got to swim in the Gulf of Mexico. It was fun, the waves were really big but the salt water was cold.

The guide on the boat showed us the squid and fish that were caught in the nets. All that were in the net were picked up to show the other species in the area then put back into the water after the tour.

Ashley's self portrait in the sun.

Ashley, Alex & Big Grandpa

These are the dolphins that swam along our boat.

We went to Mexico to shop for a little while. It took a long time to get into Mexico because there was a long line to go through customs. We crossed the Rio Grande again on a bridge this time. When we got into Mexico, Mexican Army men were by the gates. There were police officers on the Texas side.

There were poor people everywhere. There were people selling jewelry, purses and other souvineers. When we were walking on the sidewalk, there were people sitting with tin cans trying to collect money. In the street there were two little boys singing and playing the accordian for money as well.

The markets were neat. They were like malls but outside.

I don't know what this was but it was pretty so I took a picture of it.

This is our border picture with Big Grandma on the Mexican side of the border.

These are lemons we picked from a tree in Big Grandma & Grandpa's, neighbor's yard. We made yummy lemonade from them.

This is the pool in Big Grandma & Grandpa's neighborhood that we swam in every day except for the day we left. The water was warm and we got to swim at 9pm, it was awesome!

Thank you, Big Grandpa, Big Grandma & Grandma for inviting us to Texas. It was awesome to see you and to be in warm sunny weather while it was snowy at home. On the trip it was cool to see how close Pharr is to Mexico and the "Border Patrol" that is talked about so much on television. We can see that you like it down there because gas is cheaper and it is so warm and sunny.

We returned to projects being due, tests to take, more tests to take, a band concert, Logan's arrival, a dance recital and more.

We will be glad to see you again when you come back up north so you can see our cute new cousins.

A Young Authors Story for school

Chasing Shadows
By Alex Lambert

My name is Maddox Cubbie Bleu. I was born june 28, 2003 in Reedsburg Wisconsin. Reedsburg is near Madison. I am the youngest of 5. I was born when the Cubs had a good season and Greg Maddox was a star pitcher that is where the Maddox and Cubbie parts come from. Bleu is a name from my mother’s side of family. Friends and family call me Maddie. I spend my days laying on a leather couch and sleep with an electric blanket at night. I never attend school but I have had some home school.
When my master goes hunting, my job is to flush pheasants, ducks, geese, and quail. This is my hobby because I am a pure bred field hunting dog. I have gone hunting with my big sister Daisy about say nine times in the past four years of my life. My most prized value is when my master throws a ball or plays flush with a pheasant wing in the back yard. In case you could not tell I walk on 4 legs, I am a llewellin setter with a thin fluffy coat that is white with black spots and a few brown accent spots. I am a very popular breed in the united kingdom. I chase bugs, birds, shadows, and varmints like raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, weasels, fox, and coyotes. At night I sleep on a deer skinned rug by the fire.
My hunting buddies are duce, hunter, bella, and well you know my sister daisy. My newest friend is Buckley. When I go hunting I am not really sure what I am supposed to be doing so I hang right with daisy. She is older but my master says she is a good girl so I try to do what she does. She likes laying and rolling in mud puddles but I don’t so I just sit near by until she is done. Even though daisy gets all dirty and smelly our master tells us we did good and buys us a hamburger with no pickles.
I like hunting in the field but my favorite hunting is in the back yard where I always find my best friends, Shadows. Shadows don’t like to play when it is not sunny out so I ask to go back in the house. When Shadows are out they trick me and sometimes lead me right into the garage door or into the fence. That is not very funny but I never get hurt but sometimes I get dizzy from going around in circles just to see that Shadows was following me so everytime I turned around, it turned around.
My master laughs at me like I am playing with an imaginary friend but I don’t care. Only you know who your real friends are. Real friends don’t laugh at you or take your food, they laugh with you and share their food. Today is not a sunny day so Shadows will not be out. I will lay on the back of the couch until I see the sun come out because I know it will be like Shadows get let outside to play just like me.


Alex wrote this story for school. I thought it was pretty cool and worth sharing. His personification of the "Shadows" made me very proud. He doesn't have the patience to proof read his work but the content is good.

Where did the little ones go?

I told you they just disappear when you're not looking!!!

A visit with our new niece Logan

Logan is beautiful!

We went to visit Sarah, Kyle & Logan just a little bit ago. Logan, just a couple short hours old - Sarah & Kyle many hours tired. They all look terrific but could all use a good nap. When we were there the nurse gave Logan a bath. We got to see for ourselves that there are 10 itty bitty toes and 10 itty bitty fingers. The nurses told Sarah & Kyle that newborn and 0-3 month size clothes will not be needed, she will skip ahead to the next size - hats included but perfect for a tiara.

Kyle & Sarah are naturals. Sarah spent a lot of time poking at her belly when Logan was inside and now Kyle has the pleasure of poking at her from the outside. So if her nose is flat the next time we see them, it will make sense. As we were getting ready to end our visit, Kyle had Logan not only asleep but snoring. It was very cute. They will be great parents. We look forward to visiting them again soon.

Welcome Logan Elizabeth!

Grandma called right around noon with the stats that Logan is 9pounds, 21 inches. We're waiting anxiously for Ashley to get out of the shower so we can go visit.

Congratulations Sarah & Kyle!

Please fasten your seatbelts, the weather today will be beautiful for Princess Logan's arrival on Stork Airlines. Specific touchdown time is not yet known, they are still in the holding pattern awaiting runway assignment. It appears that the arrival could be in Highland Park sometime today. Please check your text messages and favorite blog sites for specific times and gate information. The captain and co-pilot are pleased to see the airport in site.

Expect traffic delays after the arrival due to the paparazzi. This morning would be a great time to double check the battery levels in your cameras.

Thanks again for flying. Fly safe and enjoy your day.

A couple other famous arrivals on this date... Ron Howard, Harry Caray.
Famous arrivals for tomorrow... Jon Bon Jovi, Dr Seuss.