At Peace

Peace camp is our Unitarian Universalist church’s equivalent of vacation bible school—and riper for mockery. Olivia and her UU buddies found harmony and serenity over the course of the three-day program through meditation, group projects, story times, and of course—yoga. The daily lessons from camp were carried over to the self-directed afternoon sessions in the backyard, where Olivia’s not-as-peaceful brother barked orders at her from the patio.

Seize the Light of Day

Our Backyardigans were out in the backyard again, where they paused (posed?) long enough for the camera phone to digitalize their indelible image.

Wild and Woolly

We visited the Saint Louis Zoo today, where the air was abuzz with excitement and as hot and thick as a wool sock. We managed the heat better than some of the more hirsute animals, and Reed helped pick up our sun-drenched spirits when he spontaneously shook his tail feathers.

Twist of Foot from chris k on Vimeo.

Park and Beans

A mere hour from our home, there exists a park—named one of the seven wonders of our state by the tourism bureau—that we’d not ambled around in until today. Beni had a work function in the nearby city, and so the kids and I hopped over to the grounds after we dropped their mom off at her conference. Through its numerous gardens of the vegetative and sculpture varieties we raced, partly because I have a short attention span and young kids, but also because of my desire to keep us out in front of an advancing gray sky.



Because the kids made it through morning with high levels of cooperation and polite appreciation of parks that don’t feature playground equipment, I treated them to a beans-and-rice lunch from Chipotle—a no-brainer, I must add, for any state’s seven-wonder list—which we enjoyed at a picnic table at a park that featured several playground sets.

Hold Near and Dear

The kids hijacked my phone to take these close-ups of their beauteous faces.

Squeaky Wheel

Our vociferous son—whose cry rivals that of a fire truck’s siren—gravitated toward the fire-station portion of a local park. His love of fire trucks, diggers, dinosaurs, and sports screams boy (at least the stereotypical version), but his penchant for playing dress-up and with dolls demonstrates what?

It’s that young kids—no matter their sex—find it fun to play with costumes and dolls, just as many boys—and girls—find fire trucks, diggers, dinosaurs, and sports enthralling.

Fellow parents of youngsters, we might want to keep that in mind. And know that we’ll have plenty of opportunities to hover over our kids’ activities and choices when they get to high school and college.

Terpsichorean* (aka Because I'm Running out of Dance/Recital Titles)

*It’s a great word and relevant to these videos. And I encourage you to casually drop it in a conversation.

Olivia was again lucky to have a cadre of supporters—a dance crew, if you will, that included the A-Team of Adrian, A.J., and Aunt Liz—there to cheer her every step of the way.

Doll on a Music Box from chris k on Vimeo.

One Jump Ahead from chris k on Vimeo.

Wrap Session

Reed found the post-bath snuggle in G’s arms much more to his liking than the bath itself.

Only Time Will Hotel

Olivia’s birthday extravaganza entered its second week. We have to put an end to having as many birthday parties as years she’s turning. That practice is like milk that’s been left out—it’ll quickly lead to spoilage. And there’s no way we can swing the appearance fee for a rapper or athlete as we build toward her super sweet—and super-sized—16 celebrations.

On this day, Olivia gathered her cadre of classmates and compatriots for un cumpleaños muy feliz. We got a room at the local Marriott so that the kids could jump on the beds, eat pizza and cake while watching Nickelodeon, and swim in the hotel pool.

Hept- Hept- Hooray

We took to the Windy City to celebrate Olivia’s seventh birthday. We made like tourists and hit up many of Chicago’s popular attractions: an improv show, Wrigley Field, Lincoln Park Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, a deep-dish pizza joint, Navy Pier, the lakefront, Millennium Park, Michigan Avenue, and a blues club. (Okay, truth be told, we only got to the first two items on the list, but we did consider the others at various times.)

The ladies—G had flown in from Rhode Island, and Aunt Liz played host to us all—turned to the newest Chicago institution—Groupon—for some inspiration as to how to spend the afternoon, and eventually decided on a mani/pedi combo (adequately discounted, of course) at a nearby spa. Reed and I passed the time noshing on Asian pastries and sipping bubble teas back at Liz’s apartment, and we later joined up with the pampered foursome for a round of birthday ice cream.

Nice Guys and Girls Do Finish First

First grade has come and gone for our firstborn. It’s that time to trade in the adventures of learning for the adventures of catching fireflies, swimming, and staying up later. The year went by in a blur, but Olivia—and we, her parents—will always remember her extraordinary teacher and fun-loving classmates.

Wait/Watch-ers

Beni, the diligent person that she is, decided she needed to put in some work hours on the day of our ninth anniversary. I didn’t carp too much because (a) I may have needed some extra time to “finalize” the gift/s, and (b) the kids and I had an excuse to visit both the bubble tea and candy shops. After running our errands, we set up camp in the garage so that we could regale their mother with sweet treats and other surprises.

And then we waited. And waited some more. And watched for our car. And watched for other familiar cars as a way to pass the time. Finally, after what felt like a nine-year delay, Beni rolled up to the celebratory and sarcastic cheers of her loving family.