Welcome Micah!

I was SO excited to get a text from my brother at 2:36 this morning, saying he and Julia were on their way to the hospital!  Micah Andrew Hunter was born at 9:16 a.m. today.  He weighs 8lbs 4oz, and is 20 inches long.

I cannot wait to get my hands on this little guy!

Congratulations Caleb, Julia, and big sister Lydia!

Happy Birthday Mom

On a bitter-cold evening, a walk through snow-covered fields to another era

A chance to dine at an upper-middle class home, circa 1870

with food prepared entirely on a wood-burning stove

A tasty menu

parlor games

lots of laughter

all to honor the matriarch of our family

Happy surprise 70th birthday party, Mom.  We love you so much!

The Gift Goes Up

My dad likes to take risks.  Whether it's straining way over a guard rail and dipping his upper body into the top of a volcano to get a great picture of the innards of said volcano that was bubbling, or teaching his second daughter how to sky dive, he loves risk and a good challenge.

This year for Christmas, we gave Dad something we knew he'd like, we just weren't sure where he'd put it.  Mom & Dad's house is beautifully put together.  The piece of art we gave Dad doesn't really go with the rest of the house, but we had no doubt he'd find a place for it.

The logical place for the gift made sense, but it was in a difficult place:  a section of wall above the staircase just off the dining room.  Dad spent a chunk of his day today hanging his Christmas present.  From the looks of the pictures Mom sent, it looks like Dad's not lightened up on the risk taking much, even at his age:

Congrats, Dad, on a great job hanging a great picture in a great place!

Labor Day at Sandy Creek Acres

Sandy Creek Acres is what my parents named their "estate" when they built it several years ago.  It's sort of a family joke - there's no Sandy Creek anywhere nearby (it's actually closest to the Wapsi River).  It just sort of fits with the schtick that also marks the "scenic photo op" sign that's posted on the lane.  And while it's true their house sits on 75 acres, most of that is actually tillable land that's rented out to another farmer.  Don't get me wrong - I love my parents' house.  It's just that, if the name Sandy Creek Acres brings to mind a well-manicured estate complete with silver and servants, that's just not the case.

At any rate, we went back to farm country this weekend to celebrate two of my niece's birthdays.  I haven't been together with all my siblings and their families since Christmas last year, so it was really special to hang with them all.  One of my favorite things about my extended family is the way the cousins, aunts and uncles all seamlessly hang together.  I think Cousins Camp has a lot to do with it!

Cousins Camp Last Day - an American Girl

My dad has been the proud owner of a 1966 Ford Mustang convertible for quite some time.  As in, back in the 1980s when I still lived at home, he owned it.  I was never allowed to drive it.  My brothers not only got to drive it, they each had their own sets of keys.  The fact that my dad has let my daughter drive this fabulous classic car does not make me jealous; rather, makes my heart sing.  Here are my favorite shots of an American girl with a classic American car:

Cousins Camp Day 3

Baird and I drove Erin out to Sandy Creek Acres so she could hang with her cousins for the last night of Cousins Camp.  Ella was so excited to see Erin she hardly knew what to do!

Cousins Camp Day 2

Day 2 fun...Kelsey and Erin are both so sad they are missing it.

Cousins Camp Day 1

Cousins Camp 2012 has begun, but it looks a little different this year.  That's because Kelsey and Erin are not able to attend all of Camp.  This is the first year since my mom started hosting Cousins Camp back in 2000 that not everyone will be together.  We tried as hard as we could, but the girls' summer schedules just wouldn't work this year.  So, today I drove Kelsey and Drew out to Sandy Creek Acres.  I did the requisite drop and dash and then hung out with Ann for the afternoon and evening.  Early this evening I headed back out to pick up Kelsey, and we headed back home after 8:00.  I spent 11 hours in the car today.

Kelsey made the return trip with me because she leaves for Japan early Friday morning, and she still needs to pack.  Erin stayed behind because she has training week for YVC, and she absolutely cannot miss it.  We'll head back out to Iowa Friday afternoon once she's done with her training.

So, our Friday calendar looks like this:

5:30am:  I leave for work
6:20am:  Baird and Kelsey leave for the airport as Kelsey starts making her way to Japan
9:00am:  Erin leaves for her last day of training at the zoo
2:30pm:  I get off work
3:15pm:  Baird and I pick up Erin at the zoo and head out to Iowa
8:45pm-ish:  We drop Erin off at Cousins Camp so she can hang with her cousins on the last night
9:30pm-ish:  Baird and I enjoy a night to ourselves at the Best Western in Independence

phew!  It's days like Friday that are the reason I call this the 5 Ring Circus.

Mother's Day

My three children:

Kelsey, who has a super-sensitive heart for the poor and downtrodden of this world

Erin, who is my driven, hard-working middle child

Drew, whose exuberance for life is unmatched

The three of you make my whole life a celebration, not just Mother's Day.  I am blessed beyond words to have you in my life.  I thank God for the privilege of being your mom.

Lunch in Galena

Almost every time we drive thru Galena and pass the sign for the state historic site of President Grant's home, I think we should stop there sometime.  This afternoon the girls and I took a road trip out to Galena to have lunch with my parents.  We werea bit ahead of schedule, so I thought we'd finally take a moment to stop and take a peek at Grant's home.  We didn't have time to take a full tour of the inside of the house, but I learned some fascinating facts about the Grants while we were walking around:

*Grant married a woman (Julia Boggs Dent) whose family owned slaves, and it made his parents so mad they did not attend his wedding

*When Grant returned to Galena as a war hero in 1865, the house was presented to him as a gift from wealthy, prominent citizens as part of the town's celebration.

*Grant's wife was the first president's wife to be known as "the First Lady."

After stretching our legs on the Grant's grounds, we hopped back into the car to finish the drive to the restaurant.

We enjoyed a quick lunch with my parents - we truly don't get to see them often enough.  As we parted ways, Dad and I remarked to each other that we should get together for lunch in Galena more often, and I agreed.

While road tripping it with my girls to have lunch with my parents made this a great day, the parting gift my mom gave me was worth more than gold:  19 pounds of the world's best sausage.  My stash had run out, and Mom found a way to replace it.  There honestly is nothing better than sausage made the old-fashioned way from my home-town butcher.  He doesn't make it very often anymore, but Mom talked him into making a batch just for our family.

Priceless!

Cousins Camp - Day 3

Cousins Camp, third day highlights:

Fontana Nature Center...

...Swimming...

...quiet time...

...Diet Coke and Mentos (yeah, it really did go higher than the house!)...

...a new card game called Maui, Maui that started in the house...

...and finished outside by the fire pit.

I love the memories that are made at Cousins Camp!

Cousins Camp - Day 2

Highlights from the second day of Cousins Camp:

Puppies...

...milking cows and feeding calves at Hansen's Farm...

...badminton with racquets acquired in yesterday's treasure hunt.

Cousins Camp - Day 1

Today I took the kids out to Iowa for the 12th annual Cousins Camp.  Kelsey had to attend her art foundations class before we could leave (she can only miss two days, and she'll use those up tomorrow and Friday), so we didn't arrive until close to supper time.  The rest of the cousins killed time waiting for my crew to get there.

Almost as soon as they were out of the car, Kelsey, Erin and Drew were off on the traditional first activity of Cousins Camp:  the Treasure Hunt.  I waved good-bye as I pulled out of Mom & Dad's driveway, and I saw huge smiles on everyone's faces.

Cousins Camp 2011 is off to a good start!

Today was Father's Day, and The 5 Ring Circus celebrated with a low-key family day.  After church this morning, Baird spent some time with each of the kids individually.  He had decided that instead of having the kids give him gifts, he wanted to give them something special.  He had written each one a very personal letter, where he told them how much he loved them and how special they were to him.  He sat with each of the kids privately while they read the letter he had written them.  Erin said her letter was her Best Thing for the day, and Drew and Kelsey said they really liked theirs too.

Late afternoon, we headed into the City to dine al fresco as a family at Pizzeria Due.  It's the place Baird and I ate at the day after we were married, before we left for our honeymoon in Barbados.  We'd also taken Brad and Caleb there after we treated them to a Bulls game back in the day when Michael Jordan played (Caleb, who's now over 30 and has a family of his own, was about Drew's age at the time).  We decided it was time we share this Chicago institution with the kids, and a kind patron at the next table offered to take a photo of all of us:

After stuffing ourselves with pizza, we headed over to the lakefront for a post-dinner stroll.  We walked the lakefront south to Buckingham Fountain, and then took a cab back to the car since it was starting to get late.  It was a beautiful, wonderful, peaceful family day.  Baird christened it the best Father's Day he's ever had!