Back to School!

CPS is back in full swing this week! Both kids are off to a great start. Lainey was a little disappointed she didn't get Ms. Daresh, but seems to like Ms. Sweeney, who is new to our school this year. Nick's only complaint is "the girls are mean and don't talk to the boys." But, he loves drinking chocolate milk at lunch. I've asked that he only get it every other day, but he says, "I'll try, but it's just soooooo good, Mom." Fair enough Nick. And, really, if reaping the benefit of the kids getting the school lunch means they drink chocolate milk every day, I can deal with that compromise. Best news of the week is both kids still get to see their summer camp besties, who go to different schools but are attending  the Y after school program.

For extracurriculars, Nick is taking karate at the Y on Wednesdays. He had his first class and thought it was "awesome." Another boy from his kindergarten class is in it with him--I hope they don't start practicing on the playground! Lainey was supposed to take tennis, but again, the class was canceled, because she was the only one to sign up. She'll start ballet tomorrow (a new endeavor!) and is going to sign up for a basketball league that starts in October. We'll probably add in swimming at some point this fall, too. Gymnastics got the boot this year, but may be back in the mix if ballet doesn't pan out.

Here's to a happy and successful school year!

Tennessee!

Laurel Falls

We hit the Smoky Mountains last week for our summer family vacation, and it was amazing! We stayed in Pigeon Forge, which is super touristy, but our cabin was about 15 minutes outside of the main area and very quiet and secluded. When we arrived Monday evening we were greeted by a black bear crossing our path! Very cool!

Mark and I went back-and-forth on how to structure the trip. Should we do the national park first? Or take the kids to the tourist trap fun or a water park first? In the end, the weather forecast decided for us and we did the park the first day on Tuesday. We weren't sure how the kids would take to hiking, but they LOVED it! Our main hike was to Laurel Falls, which took us about 2.5 hours round trip. Nick can be kind of wimpy about walking long distances, but not here. He was a champ! Both kids loved all the little spots to stop and climb and the "short cuts" off the paved path. They also had fun wading in the water by our picnic spot. We did the drive around Cade's Cove and got another black bear spotting as well as some wild turkeys. The full drive around is lengthy and the kids ended up nodding off, so Mark and I decided to push ahead and drive up to Clingman's Dome. The drive gave the kids another 40 minutes of sleep to refresh them for the climb to the top. Breathtaking! Afterward, we treated the kids to pizza and arcade time, where Lainey won her first of TWO Beanie Boos at the claw machine.

On Wednesday, we had an afternoon reservation to do a family float rafting trip on the lower Pigeon River, so we spent the morning on "amusement" activities including the Alpine Coaster and mini golf. We finished golf, just as the rain started for our drive out to the rafting outpost. It POURED when we got there, but luck was on our side and the sun came out just as we hit the water. The raft ride was pretty fun with some very small rapids to add a little excitement. Lainey did an awesome job paddling--I was impressed! That evening, we hit "The Island," which is an open air mall with a carnival in the middle. Bonus surprise was a free Everclear concert. Ha! The kids rode all the rides, did a trampoline with a harness and bungee cords, and Nick did a "tykes" low ropes course, while Lainey tried the high ropes course. Ultimately, she got freaked out after two obstacles. Mark bought a ticket and went up to try to help her through, but she was too far gone with panic. She made her way back down and the first thing she said to me was, "I'm so embarrassed." I gave her a big hug and assured her that she wasn't the first kid to get scared and wouldn't be the last. I also relayed the time I did a ropes course at the age of 12 and totally flipped my lid. Her spirits rebounded on the giant Ferris Wheel, before hitting another arcade, where Lainey won her SECOND Beanie Boo (and any blight the ropes course had put on her mood vanished). We came soooooo close to winning one for Nick--we had that monkey in the claw at least eight times--but it fell out every time. Womp, womp. But, Lainey let him have the majority of the tickets they won on other games, so he got a squishy monster thingamajig and was happy.

We ended up not getting home until 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, so we took it easy Thursday morning with a big breakfast at the cabin, before heading back to the park. We started out on a hike to the Grotto Falls, but had to turn back when it started pouring rain. We really didn't mind the rain and were going to push on, but this trail wasn't paved and was steeper than the Laurel Falls trail, so Mark was worried about it being super slippery coming back down. Although we didn't make it to the falls, the rain did stop, and we were able to explore a few other stop offs. Before calling it a day, we appeased the kids with go carts, bumper cars, and bumper boats. So fun! We spent the evening at the cabin enjoying the hot tub and playing Sorry! on the deck while the sun set. A perfect way to end our time in Tennessee.

While we said farewell to the Smoky Mountains on Friday, our trip was not over! We were off to Kentucky for a final adventure at Mammoth Cave, which was a hit for us all, but possibly not as big of a hit as the fried chicken restaurant Mark found for dinner that night. It's called The Eagle, and I highly recommend it if you're ever in Louisville.

Saturday was the ride back to Chicago and the real world for us. While I wouldn't call this vacation relaxing, it was definitely restorative. Because we were so active and having so much fun, I was able to keep my brain turned off from all the day-to-day stress and to-do lists that usually run through my head. And since the kids proved to be such powerhouses on this trip, it has me excited thinking of all the possibilities for vacations to come. Truly, I haven't had so much fun in ages, and we built some really amazing memories.

Trail-side climb

One happy dad!

Alpine Coaster

Nick and his paddlers

The rain couldn't dampen our spirits!

Vroom!!

Farewell to our cabin

Caving

Shortless Summer

Pants v. Shorts

We’ve had a pretty hot summer. More 90-degree days than not and so much humidity! Who wouldn’t want to wear a pair of shorts and let the breeze blow across their legs? I’ll tell you who—Nick. Nick REFUSES to wear shorts. It is a battle every day—a battle that I raised the white flag on about three days in and ordered several pairs of thin summer pants. But for some reason, wearing pants in the summer is the hill to die on for Mark and he intends to win this war (although he’s lost nearly every battle and it running out of time).

Oh Nick, what’s the deal?!

Is it because we’ve teased you about your skinny legs?

Is it because you hate to put on sunblock?

Is it because you slowly want to drive your father mad?

Nick has claimed #2 as the root cause, but I secretly think it’s #3. Alas, we may never know…but, one thing’s for sure, those legs aren’t catching a suntan this year.

#pdx

 

Mark and I escaped for three days to celebrate our 10th anniversary in Portland, Oregon.

 

So, 10 years of marriage is pretty great. But, Portland...ah Portland...Portland is fantastic! Loved. It. ALLLLL of it! The neighborhoods, the people, the FOOD! Sooooo much great food! We're pretty spoiled in Chicago with a stellar food scene, so I often find myself disappointed with restaurants when we travel. But, Portland delighted my mouth and stomach--from the simple fried egg sandwiches at the Fried Egg, I'm in Love food truck to the 10-course gourmet magic at Roe, it was all spectacular. Not one bad bite! (Quick run down of restaurants/food trucks...Fried Egg I'm in Love, Olympia Provisions, Lardo, Tasty N Sons, Roe, Screen Door, Por Que Non?, Salt & Straw, and Han Oak--check them out online and drool!!!)

 

Let's talk people for a minute...Portland people are the nicest people I've ever encountered.  Everywhere we went we met super nice, friendly people. And not in a fake way either. I loved all our encounters (except maybe the Uber driver who almost hit a woman pushing a stroller. But even as horrible a driver as she was, she was totally friendly! She felt really bad about almost hitting that baby.) I loved the "free to be me" vibe where people can let their freak flags fly and no one bats an eye. People go on about the homeless situation in Portland, and yeah, there's a lot of it, but I didn't find it grossly more noticeable than Chicago, and we only had one person ask us for change--and did so in a pretty unobtrusive way. When I worked downtown,I could get violently screamed at three to four times on my walk from Union Station to my office.
 

Eating and drinking composed about 85% of our time, but we did hit up the Japanese Garden and made it out of the city to the Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls, stopping at a few hiking trails along our route. The forests are gorgeous...so lush and green! They felt enchanted--I kept expecting fairies and gnomes to cross our paths.
 

When we weren't taking in nature or stuffing our faces, we just roamed the neighborhoods, checking out the houses and small shopping districts. And when we weren't doing that we RELAXED and did NOTHING at our hotel. It was amazing, wonderful, sorely needed time to ourselves.
 

Three days went way too fast, but we enjoyed every minute. Happy 10th to us! Portland, I hope to see you again!

Mark + Kylie + PDX 4eva!!!

 

Lucky #7!

Our girl is seven now! SEVEN! Seven and stubborn, strong, sassy, smart, sporty and seriously, seriously sensational! (Sensational, but don't forget stubborn. There's a reason why I listed that first.)

We kicked off the "Week of Lainey" last weekend with a visit from Grandpa, Sharon, and Chris. We finally got some gorgeous weather after all the rain and extreme heat. It was perfect! We kept it low key with presents and ice cream cake at home on Saturday and a trip to the Botanic Garden on Sunday. For her actual birthday on Wednesday, we granted her request for dinner at Chili's, followed by presents at home. She raked in the game Life, new books, a hula hoop, and a new sleeping bag. The sleeping bag is significant--after her Girl Scout sleepover a few weeks back she shunned her Cinderella sleeping bag and said she needed a new one "with a pattern and NOT a stupid princess." See, I told you--she's departing the "little girl" space and rushing straight into "girlhood." *Sigh*

But, the BIG birthday deal happened today, when we took Lainey and three of her friends to a horse stable for a pony trail ride. Not just a walk in a circle on a spoke-and-wheel job, but a REAL pony ride through a forest preserve. And Lainey got a BIG pony--almost the size of a horse. It was SOOO hot, but her smile made it SOOO worth it! Afterward, we went to Pequod's for her favorite pizza and then back to the house to decorate cupcakes. It was a pretty awesome day!

Laineybug, you take my breath away some days. I know we clash--like really CLASH--but, I am so proud of you and cannot wait to see what amazing things you'll do. I love you to the moon and back and back again. Keep the fire (even if you have to practice against me); you'll need it someday!

Happy Birthday to our girl!

School's Out!

Another school year in the books! Lainey had a fantastic first grade year—with PERFECT ATTENDANCE! She had such pride on her face when she accepted that certificate at the end of the year celebration. She was the only one in her class to get one! I don’t think I ever had perfect attendance. But, with a school as fun as Wildwood, who wouldn’t want to go? In addition to the first grade celebration, the whole school rang out the year with its annual Fun Day! Obstacle courses, water slide, face painting, and tons of junk food. A kid’s dream!

While Lainey was living up the last few days as a 1^st grader, Nick was starting his first days at the YMCA camp. I was a nervous wreck dropping him off Monday morning. I don’t know why I was so emotional about it. Maybe because he’s less mature than Lainey was at 5, maybe just because he’s my baby, but I was anxious all day long. For absolutely no reason. He LOVED it! When I picked him up he was playing basketball with another boy his age. When I asked Nick to tell me his friend’s name, he said, “Everybody’s my friend, Mom.” And my heart exploded right out of my chest.

Summer is off and running…we’re going to do our best to keep up!

First day vs last day!

Wonder Women!

Going crazy under the fire hose!

The Graduate - Nick's Turn

Nick had his Pre-K graduation last night and it delivered all the feels! The teachers did a wonderful job putting the program together and the kids ratcheted up the adorableness to new levels. Nick won the "Super Scientist" award and was very proud. I posted the videos of the program below. They are longish, but you MUST checkout the remake of "Summer Nights" from Grease (in Part II at the 5:41 mark).

This was our fourth graduation program at Care-A-Lot, but the most emotional because it was also our last. Next week will be Nick's final one with the Care-A-Lot crew before moving on to YMCA camp for the summer and Wildwood next year. There are no words to give proper justice to the women at this center. They are pure love and dedication, and I cannot be happier with our experience there. We will miss all the teachers and friends!

But, while we hope Nick can keep in touch with his old friends, we're ready to give him some new experiences! Get ready Kindergarten...Nick is coming for you!

With his teacher Sarah

 

With Sheri the Director (she's always had a soft spot for Nick)

The whole family!

Olivia! Best friend (and possibly future wife!)

Celebratory ice cream!