So long, L!

From left, B, I and L at the Irving playground

We knew for about a year this day was coming. Still, it didn't make it any easier. The moving truck was sitting outside of B's friend L's house today. They're moving to Ohio where his dad found a job over a year ago. This past school year he's been working there while the family stayed here. Coming home from the store, B saw L's mom taking a walk (a break from packing, no doubt) and decided to go talk to her. He ended up finding L and another friend, I, playing wall ball at the schoolyard. They spent about three hours playing one last time.

Coincidentally, E was on Facebook chatting with L's brother, M (her eighth-grade dance date) while he sat at the schoolyard with his iPad. L promises to come back to visit. I hope he does.

Lillies

Andy's lillies are finally in bloom!

S'mores

While Andy was gone tonight visiting his dad, B decided we needed to have a fire. With only one real log in the fireplace, B searched the neighborhood for sticks. Pretty soon, I was outside, wadding up newspaper to try to get the fire going. Eventually it caught. Andy got home in time to enjoy it with us. The kids made s'mores and we stayed out as long as we could before the mosquitoes started biting us.

'That was fun'

B's friend, L, who lives a block away is packing up, preparing to move to Ohio this week. When L was over the other day, he asked B if he wanted to come to his going away party. B said sure, but L never gave a time or date. This afternoon, L called and told B the party was now, come over ... and bring your Yu-Gi-Oh cards (of course). B was there from 3 to 8 p.m. or so. First thing he said when he walked in the door was, "That was fun!" The family promises to come back to Chicago often and L has already stayed he wants to sleep over here when they do. I hope the boys will be able to stay in connect. They've had a great time together these last couple of years.

A boy and his DS

Andy took B to GameStop today to buy his belated birthday present - a Nintendo 3-D DS. In lieu of all presents and a party, we gave B some money for his birthday. He used that money, money from Grandma and Aunt Cindy, $40 he had saved up in the "Bank of Mom," and traded in a DS Lite and his DSi for the new 3-D DS. After all of that, he still owes us $30 for it. That's not bad considering he gets his allowance at the end of next week. GameStop was having a special promotion when you turned in a game system, they would give you an additional $25 off the price, so he ended up with a pretty good deal. He's taken really good care of all the game systems he's ever had and it's the one toy he's hardly ever without. I think he first got a GameBoy when he was 7, maybe, and he still has it.

Exciting day for L

This morning, L accompanied me to the Economy Shop to help clean out the women's casuals room where I volunteer. We took all the clothes off the hangers and placed them in big black garbage bags to be donated. While I was helping another volunteer clear out the room, L was going from room to room with a box. By the time we were ready to leave, she had collected a box full of "treasures" that otherwise would have been donated elsewhere. Among the funniest thing she found was this pair of tanning booth glasses.

Still buzzing from the morning's excitement, L decided to head over to her friends' E and B's house. Imagine my surprise when the doorbell rung a few minutes later and there was L, holding a leash with a big black dog on it. She found the dog roaming the neighborhood by her friends' house. They happened to have a leash lying around, so L borrowed it, approached the dog, leashed it and brought it home, apparently after walking it around the neighborhood a bit.

The girls brought over two sandwich bags full of dog food for it, which it ate immediately. We also gave it some water. We kept it in our back yard and called animal control to come pick it up. The woman on the phone asked me what kind of dog it was. "I don't know," I said. "I'm not a dog person. It's big and black, and pretty friendly." The dog had two collars, but no tags. She was an old dog and well behaved. When the girls sat down in the lawn chairs, the dog went and sat right next to them. L loves dogs and I told her she was lucky it was a friendly dog. She knows better than to approach strange dogs.

Before animal control came, a police officer stopped by. The dog started barking once she saw his uniform. "I guess she doesn't like police officers," I said. I can't recall his exact response, but it was something to the effect of "who does?" Animal control came and took away the dog soon after. L put a plastic lei (one she got that morning from the Economy Shop) on the dog to remember her and cried as the man put it in his van. What an afternoon.

Happy birthday, B!

Today is B's 12th birthday. He had me take this picture of him at 8:57 a.m. - exactly the time he entered this world 12 years ago. For his birthday dinner, B decided the family should go to Chili's.

He's planning on pooling all his birthday money and buying a Nintendo DS 3-D after trading in his DSi.

B's not a fan of cakes, so we made him a pan of birthday brownies.

Braces delayed

B was ready. He was excited. Then he was disappointed. Then elated. What a day of emotions for him.

B went to the orthodontist this afternoon, thinking he was going to get his braces put on. Instead, the orthodontist decided he first needs an extender to widen the roof of his mouth. He first task was to take out the appliance B has had on the roof of his mouth for years. Then they fitted him with new bands for his molars and took another impression (this time B chose cotton candy flavor) to make a custom-fit extender. He goes back in July to have the extender put in and to have a chipped tooth pulled. The doc wanted to pull the chip today, but B said no. However, he promised to be ready next time.

After his mouth widens (in a month or so) he'll have some braces put on, then eventually more, etc. It's going to be quite a process for B.

On the ride home, B commented how weird it was to have a "naked" mouth with no appliance. He was surprised to feel the sensation on the roof of his mouth when he drank some apple juice. Here he is enjoying his first "naked" mouth meal - a hotdog.

Happy Father's Day

Every year I try to get a picture of Andy with the kids on Father's Day. This time, it was a bit too bright for them to open their eyes.

Playoff game

Today was L's first softball playoff game. They lost to a team they've beaten twice so that was hard on the girls. They play again on Tuesday. L had a good hit and got a double; she eventually got a run. Her second at-bat got her onto first base. E took the picture of L catching. L likes playing catcher (I think she likes wearing the equipment).

This is a sweet picture of L and Andy - and just before Father's Day:

Braces

The "before" picture:


L got her braces today - top only. It's Phase One of braces for her, making room for a tooth on the top. Phase Two will tackle both the bottom and top. L was pretty brave. I sat in the room with her. Even with E going to the orthodontist for two-plus years, I'd never sat in the back with her. It was a lot different from when I had braces put on. They have five exam stations in the room, with the doctor and hygienists going from patient to patient. L was nervous, but she did a great job.

The "after" picture:

As her welcome gifts, L got a backpack filled with wax, a travel toothbrush, fluoride rinse, flossers, and a whole lot of information about all the candy she can no longer eat. They even gave me a shopping bag.

Golf camp

E started the high school golf camp on Monday. Every day, she shows up at the local driving range and practices golf with other kids in grades 5-12 for an hour. The camp is run by the high school golf coaches and it goes for two weeks. We're hoping it's a good way for E to meet some other high school freshmen and give her a little leg up on the golf tryouts in August. She's hoping for a spot on the girls' freshman team. They've been earning candy bars if their balls hit the target. I think she's already earned three!

Big day

Today was a big day for E. We went over to the high school to get her summer school ID. Afterward, we stopped at the bank so she could open her very first checking acount. The banker explained all about using the debit card, what to do if she loses it, etc. She created a PIN number and is able to look up her account balances and activity online. She should have the debit card in a few days. She deposited all of her graduation money and money from her dog-walking job. In the afternoon she had her first lesson in a two-week golf camp run by the high school.

Party time

Tonight was E's eighth-grade graduation party. Aunt Allison came with Matt and Clare; Julie and her family were here; Len and his family; E's friend A was here; and, of course, Grandma Barbara. They ate through an assortment of eight footlong Mr. Sub sandwiches,chips, baked beans, broccoli salad, pasta salad, Asian coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, watermelon, a veggie tray and four 2-liters of soda. It was a fun night. Here's a picture of the dining room table before most of the food was put out. We had cap-and-gown confetti on the tablecloth and a few Class of 2011 balloons.

B helps E's friend, A, master a game on her iPod. That's my arm on the right. That's the only pic I'm in. Nice going, Andy.

Some of the cousins - David, E and Matt.

B and Grandma Barbara

Len and E and cousin Clare in the kitchen.

Welcomed rest

I felt like I was cooking all day for E's graduation party tomorrow so when Andy came home from work we decided to head to the local Mexican restaurant for dinner. We brought along B's friend, L, who was over.

The last day

Today was the last day, actually only one hour, of school for B and L. Since E graduated last night, she didn't have to go in at all today. Good thing since she woke up sick several times during the night and has been laying around all day. After school, three of B's friends, L, I and N, came over to play for a while. I kicked them out when I said when had to run errands for E's upcoming party.

Graduation night

Tonight was the night. E walked across the auditorium stage at Oak Park-River Forest High School and graduated with the Julian Middle School Class of 2011. Congrats, E!

Day in Our Village

All three kids went to Day in Our Village today. At nearby Rehm Park, the park district sets up a variety of carnival games and bouncy houses. E and B went over together and quickly spent $20. L went by herself (a big step for her) and stayed for hours. She finally came back with her friend, J, in tow. They played here for an hour, then headed back to J's house to play volleyball. Here she's wearing a hat she bought at the festival.

Pitching debut

L was chosen as the pitcher at her softball game's first inning today. It was the first time she's pitched. In the inning, she managed to throw two strikes. That's pretty average for these girls who are just trying to get the pitching form down.

It was a hot game, about 90 degrees outside. L kept pouring water over her head to keep cook and her coach brought a bag of ice that the girls were able to rub on themselves and chew. An added surprise, L was named Player of the Game today. Oh, yeah, and her team won!

Here she is being silly with her teammates before the game.

Party time!

L and a classmate, A, share a July 25 birthday. With school winding down, A's mom and I decided to treat the class to ice cream sundaes. I brought the bowls, spoons, chocolate sauce, spoons and whipped cream. She brought the ice cream, caramel sauce and sprinkles.

It was a hot day and the kids enjoyed the diversion and the whipped cream!

L also received her birthday book signed by the principal.

B's art

B is usually the first one running from a room at the mention of an art or craft project. I think the perfectionist in him makes it hard to him to complete a project to his satisfaction. Because he doesn't do many art projects, I'm always pleased when he brings one home and wants to show it off. His latest is this clay African mask he made in art class. We decided to hang it up on the back porch.

Cruisin'

There's not a lot of learning going on in school this week. Today, B went on a cruise with his entire sixth-grade class on Lake Michigan. They had lunch on the boat. B had chicken fingers, chips and cookies. Here they're posing before getting on the boat: B, his friend I, E and, of course, L. After school, I and L came home with B to play Yu-Gi-Oh cards. They also brought in N and I. My living room floor was covered with cards and boys.

E's eighth-grade class trip to Great America was today. She surprised us by showing up a little after 8 p.m. Apparently, she was going to walk home with her friend, M, but one of his friend's mom offered them a ride and they took it. She was sunburned though her future-pediatrician friend, A, made her apply sunscreen during the day (and I sprayed her down before she left). She was most excited to have won this cute stuffed dog on her first try of popping balloons. She only spent $3 on the game. Much better than usual.