Kayaking

I am so behind in blogging. Oh well, we can do only

what we can do. This past weekend we finally made

it back up to the lake. It was a rare treat

that we all drove together....we always take 2 cars.

Callahan was shooting the Sears Christmas catalog

Thur and Friday. Friday morning we all loaded into

the loaded van and headed downtown. Tim works in

the financial district so he hopped a cab to the studio,

caught a glimpse of Cal in action and away we went.

Dog n Suds

We did our usual stop at "Dog n Sons" as Karrick

calls it, on the way up.

They were having a Classic car show

that everyone thought was cool

except TJ

"this is gay"

I have a teenager...

Tim and Cal disappeared for a couple hours

and came back with these kayaks

OMG, so much fun

Boys will be boys

Going up to the lake is so relaxing.

This weekend was the

Perseid meteor shower

it was just beautiful to watch

needless to say Tim and Cal were in their glory

this is seriously what it looked like

My sweet little boy

While sitting down by the water, Karrick asked me for

a dollar to buy a fish at the marina. I only had a 5 dollar bill

With wide eyes he asks "how many fish can I buy with this?"

This many!

Turns out Karrick wanted to buy these fish so he could release them

back into the lake to find their mommies.

I would have killed to have followed him to the marina

and listen, but going alone is such a rite of passage

that he will remember forever.

What a sweet sweet little boy, empathy

can not be taught.

Childhood: the freedom to fly down a hill

the bogeyman

For the last month or so, Karrick has

been sleeping on our recliner up in our bedroom.

Karrick said he was afraid to sleep in his own room

When I questioned him he replied:

"Callahan teached me about the bogeyman"

Crap! of course he did...total cal

For the last month we have explained over and over

that Cal is tricking you blah blah...

Karrick wasn't buying it...the bogeyman is real,

because apparently Cal's word is Gospel

After he would fall asleep we would put him in his bed

only to have him wake up a short time later

and climb back on the recliner

While at the library I stumbled across the this book

hoping to prove the bogeyman doesn't exist

As I read page after scary page Karrick was

wide eyed, he didn't know whether to laugh

or cry

After this page he kept repeating

"TJ he's doesn't get ya, the bogeyman doesn't get ya"

I can't wait for the last page that

will read:

"there is no bogeyman, it's just

something snotty older brothers do the scare little boys"

I turn the final page all the while fantasizing about a good nights

sleep with no teeth grinding

and this is what greets me

Seriously, seriously!?, this is the end

Come on!

So the good news is, Karrick no longer sleeps on our recliner

the bad news, He sleep in our bed!

all the while

kicking, thrashing and grinding his teeth

Really!? Seriously!? Come on guys

"it's me the bogeyman under your bed" ?

Now what the Hell am I suppose to do?

How about a disclaimer on the cover that reads:

WILL NOT INVALIDATE THE LEGITIMACY OF THE BOGEYMAN

I googled the book and this is what they said:

"In this accurate appraisal of nighttime fear, a bona fide Bogeyman describes his terror tactics. The disembodied Bogeyman, represented as two icy-blue hands with spiky scarlet fingernails, traps a boy at bedtime."

Didn't think to put that on the book jacket?

All good things must come to an end

This weekend the Thunder played it's final tournament.
It was held in Lynwood Il. Holy Smokes
was it hot! The boys were there all day Sat and Sun.
We took 3rd and had some tough competition.
The end is always bitter sweet, but we all are ready for a break
I will surely miss our Thunder family. See you all
next year.

Karrick and his girlfriend Riley
After Saturday's games we all went to dinner

The team at Dominick's in
Villa Park...one of
our sponsors

Hot Hot Hot!
Did I mention how hot it was?

After Dominick's all the boys piled
into Missy's van to take a late night dip in
her pool
How much dust settled on the bottom?
Look at the boys baseball tans
black arms white shoulders
and chests

In between games there is only
enough time to drink a coke and eat a snicker bar.
They drink Gatorade during games
Anything more would make them throw up on
the field

Thanks all you coaches for your
time and dedication to our boys

Our final record for 38 games was
30 wins, 8 losses

A perfect end to a perfect day

After the Zoo we headed back to Downtown

Lombard for a lunch of

Turkey sandwiches and pizza

at Brix

After lunch we headed across the street to

"Sweet Street" an old fashioned

candy store with all the classics from my childhood.

They even carry the candy cigarettes

I'm embarrassed to say we spent $28 on candy

Just the cutest store ever

A perfect end to a perfect day. It was a treat

to spend the day with my 2 little guys

A beautiful day with Cal and Karrick

I am only working 3 days a week until Labor Day. I need a

break and want to enjoy what is left of summer.

Today Callahan had a fitting downtown for the

Sears Christmas Wishbook he will be shooting

next week. We decided to make a day of it.

Me, Cal and Karrick headed to Lincoln Park Zoo.

The weather was perfect!

Cal is great to go places with because he really "gets into it"

He reads every bit of info that is provided about every

animal/exhibit then elaborates with all the facts

that are filed in his head. He is pretty much a

walking encyclopedia

lightening in the weather booth

So cute, the brothers checking out the croc

long long monkey arms

creepy but cool beehive

Just love his expression

my new toy

After farting around with crap phones I bit the bullet

and bought the new "myTouch 3G" from t-Mobile

fun fun fun fun fun

Karrick in pictures

We are in the middle of the Midwest National tournament

held in Lisle;

the boys are doing well 2-1 with 4 games remaining.

Karrick has been dragged around since birth to

baseball games, so he just makes his own fun

He loves to run the bases even if it is the wrong way

always careful not to step on the freshly painted foul lines

maybe there is a track star in our future

Midwest Nationals Day 1

The Thunder is participating in the

Midwest Nationals this week/weekend

in Lisle. Tonight the team was invited

to walk in the opening ceremonies at the

Flyer's game. Everyone had a blast

and I can only imagine the feelings running through

the boys as they walked the field. This is the boys

first elite tournament and they are excited.

In addition to multiple games there are many

activities scheduled for the boys.

Thunder plays their first game tomorrow at 9am

at Benedictine College

(which means practice at 7 am)

The parade to the field

Karrick had the time of his life...didn't know

minor league ball fields have parks

and jumping jacks