Happy Birthday, Dad

Today my thoughts have been with my marvelous father, whom I adore. I was delinquent in getting a card to his home on time, but I hope he knows how much I love him and my kids love him. I've always held him on a pedestal, and he still does not let me down. He taught me to be proud of who I was and stand tall. This he said literally and seriously. My father has great taste and even bought me a pair of high-heeled shoes in high school so that I would be even taller! He taught me to work hard and always do my best. This he did by example and also by hiring me as an employee in his office from the time I was about 10 years old. I was always jealous of the time my brothers got with my dad through scouts. On my 18th birthday, I finally got my turn. My dad allowed me to tag along with him to a meeting in San Francisco and took me to Phantom of the Opera. This was such a big deal, I even missed a day and a half of school! :) My dad also taught me how to drive a stick shift on a dirt hill in the middle of nowhere. He had great patience that day. My dad showed me his unconditional love when he expressed concern over some of my bad boyfriends or told me that Steve was such a good man, I needed to marry him. My dad is a pillar of faith. I still rely on it every once in a while when I'm weak. I have grown to love my dad even more as I get older and as I watch his relationships grow with my children. He is an exceptional grandpa! Carter has always wanted to be his "buddy" and used to try to match his outfits every day. Emma wouldn't leave his side at Disneyland and would choose him over Steve. Lizzie starts yelling "Grandma, Papa" every time she sees the laptop on the kitchen table thinking she'll get to skype with them. What a blessing!

Well, Happy Birthday, Dad! I look forward to wishing you many more birthdays to come! I hope I keep my youth as long as you!

Love,

Kori

First Day of School

Not only did August 20th, 2009 mark the first day of school for Braxton, but the first day as a student of Crone Middle School. He now leaves at 7:33 a.m. on a bus. This is a huge adjustment from 8:45!
Yes, I was the ONLY dorky mother who walked with her child to the bus stop. Noticing that I was not the same age as ANY other human within 1/4 of a mile, I stopped trying to catch up to my speedwalking son and watched from one houselength away. By the time the bus came, the rest of my children had caught up to me to see this big moment for their big brother. Poor guy! At least the rest of the kids know he has a cheering section, right?!

Evan and Carter will continue to get called each other's names by all the teachers at Kendall Elementary and are walking buddies. They have Mrs. Vasquez and Mrs. Breese (4th and 2nd grades) and came home very positive with their comments about their day. I have high hopes for this year.

I can't believe how big they're getting!

Because of the rain, all classes lined up in the gym or lunchroom. It made it a different and weird morning.

Carter is always apprehensive about his teachers and never looks forward to school. Evan, on the other hand, is always excited to get to know his teachers and the kids in his class. He's got some great friends with him this year.

Both boys the night before had been in tears about their summer ending, which broke my heart. I guess I've spoiled them. I'm thrilled they are looking back on it as a wonderful summer, but it made me worry about sending my "babies" out into the world again. I admit I was a complete mess Thursday. I had numerous things planned to take my mind off of my worrying over them, but making chocolate chip cookies won out again as it was the only way to make sure my boys came home to some home-cooked love from their mom. I do miss them while they are at school, but sometimes between 1:00 and 2:00 in the afternoon, I love the quiet.:)

Then to our great surprise and pleasure...my brother Wade and his family stopped by on their way back home from Washington D.C.!!! They brought some pizza as an offering and we had a great time playing, talking, eating, and laughing. It was a typical Alleman reunion. It was just WAY too short! We are so glad they came to our home and look forward to seeing them again. We love you guys!

Harry Potter Exhibit

What do you do on the last day of summer vacation? Well, we had a few things left on our "bucket list" and one was the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. I tried to schedule a time with Steve because I knew he'd love to go, but work wouldn't allow it. So, I took all 5 by myself. They were really good. We now have a family membership for the year, so I'll try not to take too many pictures EVERY time we go. I did manage to get a few fun ones on August 19th, however. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed inside the exhibit, so that will remain engraven in our memories (which can be accessed via pensive according to Dumbledore). They did have the flying car on display on the lower level of the museum. So fun! Our favorite parts were the mandrakes that you can pull out of the pots and hear scream, the quidditch hoops you can throw your own quaffle balls through, and Hagrid's chair you can sit in. Evan was one of the 3 that was sorted by the sorting hat (GRYFFINDOR!), which was fun. Plus, all of the guides in the exhibit spoke with English accents. Evan began responding to their questions in his own English accent--too funny! I guess, when in Rome...

Evan loves to see how he can shock his mother when the whole world can see!
The kids have no idea what this exhibit is teaching, it's just something they can climb on.

These 2 chicks in the hatchery would come every time Emma would tap on the glass. They were so cute!

Lizzie is in the Petroleum room!

I wish I knew the technology of this, but if you stand still long enough, the butterflies on the screen will land on your shadow. Emma couldn't do it. SHOCKER!

Lizzie became quite possessive of her cool electric car of the future!

Carter's Eight and Great!

I can hardly believe my "baby" Carter is 8 years old. He is such a funny, smart, and energetic boy. Life would be boring without him in our home, although he has claimed it's been boring more than once this summer even with him IN the home. :) For his birthday, he got a Hyper Dash game, a few books, 2 video games, and a week-long High School Musical theater camp. Grandpa and Grandma Alleman were very generous in sponsoring his camp. Each day, he got to go to singing, acting, games, and theatrical combat classes. They had special days like Hat Day, Superhero Day, Team Day, and Water Day. The last day was the big performance and he landed a solo. We had a lot of fun watching our dramatic child ham it up on stage and have a good time.

This is one of Carter's many talents: funky eye tricks.

Unfortunately, the following video was taken on my little camera from the very back of the room, but Carter is the 2nd solo on the Right side. We think you're pretty awesome, Carter! And you definitely can dance!

Centennial Beach

This summer has had the funniest weather. It seemed to be in the 70s forever! We were grateful we had joined a swimming team with an indoor pool. I was the party pooper in not letting them swim in the afternoons at a "fun" pool because this old body doesn't like cold water when it's below 80 degrees and there's a slight breeze. We bought a pool pass to Centennial Beach in Naperville the first day it hit over 80, went on vacation, then had scout camp, etc., etc., etc. The last 2 weeks we were trying to get our fill whenever we could. The boys passed the "deep water test" so they could play in the deep end with the older kids and go off of the diving boards. Another positive is that the sand is terrific, and there are no sand bees! We had so much fun coming up with different things to build as well as different ways to bury ourselves.

Evan is here working on his flip.

Braxton wants to enter safely without injury this time.

Lizzie, the most lovey

Evan, the strongest

Braxton, the mummy

Emma, the butterfly

Carter, the coolest

This looks worse than it is.

Does anyone else remember believing that we could dig ourselves to China?

Mermaids (notice the fins in the sand)

Sheer cuteness! This smile gets me everytime!

Evan's always thinking up a plan.

My favorite picture of Lizzie! She loves the power of the water, unless it's up her nose.

Phillips Park & Zoo

I got to take the girls to Phillips Park & Zoo, just the 3 of us, while the boys were roller-blading at the skating rink. We had so much fun walking through the beautiful gardens, smelling flowers, strolling through the zoo (teeny-takes about 20 minutes to see everything slowly), and swinging at the park.


Sweet sisters. The last two weeks have been so fun watching these two girls play together. They're make-believing and dressing up, playing tag, playing with Barbies, Polly Pockets, and even my old Strawberry Shortcake dolls that my mother found. Lizzie is Emma's little shadow everywhere she goes. Emma likes the big sister role most of the time. She's begun "reading" stories to Lizzie, comforting her at night, singing songs to her in the car while holding her hand, and helping her say prayers at her bedside. I love watching their friendship and love grow for each other.

This picture of Lizzie swinging is one of my favorites. She could swing for an hour if I let her. I actually get worn out fulfilling all of the "underdog" requests. I love to see her smile as she swings high, though. I've read it's good for brain development, so I'll keep pushing as long as she wants.
Emma has finally figured out how to pump, but it sure is easier to get a push once in a while.:)

Say what?!

Lincoln Park Zoo

This summer, the kids and I made a "bucket list" of things we wanted to do before school starts. They unanimously voted on Lincoln Park zoo. We went last summer with some friends and had a marvelous time; however, Steve wasn't with us and the kids wanted to show it to their dad. A few Saturdays ago, we had a void in the schedule and the weather was supposed to cooperate for a few hours, so we headed over to Chicago. It did rain on us, but we survived and managed to take shelter in a few enclosed exhibits. Evan was extremely disappointed in the Birds of Prey exhibit (1 hawk and 1 vulture), but the monkeys, apes, meerkats, lions, and bats made up for them.

This is a tunnel for a close-up of the brown bear. He was more subdued this visit, but the kids still love anything they can climb on or in.

Aren't they darling?

This is for the wolf exhibit. We saw no wolves, but heard plenty of howling from my little animals.:)

These lions are gorgeous! They were enjoying the rain outside.

I love outings with my kids!

Carter's favorite animals at the zoo: meerkats. They stare you down and tilt their head to the side like a dog when you talk to them. They are absolutely adorable!

Below is one of the 8 gorillas in this exhibit. This was amazing! One young gorilla got a coconut and figured out how to hit it to get some of the milk out. He'd pour it in his hand and then lap it up in his mouth. Two others would hide behind these stalks and try to take it from him. After getting a small piece chipped off, he left the rest for the others to enjoy. We had so much fun observing this family. It reminded me a bit of my own. ;)

The white-lipped deer had an impressive rack.

Afterwards, we wanted to try another Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives restaurant and even drove to 2 of them. Due to the nature of the locations and decorated people inside, we didn't feel it wise to take our 5 precious little ones out of the van. We found a gyros eatery and let our kids try a gyro while they ate hot dogs and hamburgers. It's so fun to introduce them to new foods because we're always surprised at their reactions. Hopefully, next time Evan won't sing "Mary had a little lamb" and make Emma teary.