A long long wonderful week

Callahan spent the week at IMSA taking a Science class.

Science Explorers, Jr. During this year's Science Explorers, Jr., your inquiring young scientist will explore unusual science careers, dig through past civilizations and examine fossilized remains, investigate natural disasters, work to solve environmental issues, and play with color in chemistry, biology and physics. There's a different topic for every day! This hands-on program is developed and taught by IMSA high school students with the help of IMSA staff. This year's Jr. topics are Natural Disasters and Weather, Oddball Scientist Jobs, Archeology and Paleontology, Color, and The Environment.

He went mon-fri 8:30 am to 3 pm. Highlights for Callahan

were disecting a cow eye and making explosives.

This is the 1 week out of each year that the

light of passion glows in Cal's eyes.

He went last year and talk about it until this years class started.

He can't wait to go there for high school. you live there in

dorms 10-12 grades. Freshman year is spent at your own high school

The last hour of the last day parents are allowed in. Such an

amazing school. The brightest in the country attend imsa

to quote Cal

" I am finally with kids like me, they are as smart

or even smarter than me"

Cal on the big screen (in green shirt)

Callahan cutting the fat off of the cows eye

(look on plate)

I got a play by play of the operation

He remembers every little detail.

(again Cal displayed on big screen)

check out the research room.. yeah

it's only a high school

It was so worth 5 days of getting up at 5:30am

driving 2o miles to Aurora, then 50+ miles to Skokie

for 4 hrs of work, just to turn around and

drive back to Aurora to pick up Cal

by 3pm. then back to Lombard.

Damn near 150 miles a day

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GO THUNDER!

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Thursday night the Thunder played their first game

of the season in North Aurora.

The North Aurora tournament is 4 days long

The boys were on fire, hitting was insane.

We ended up slaughtering the N Aurora

team 15-3. We play 3 games on Saturday and

up to 3 games on Sunday, depending on how we play

Saturday.

These kids are amazing and have equally great coaches

that spend a lot of time teaching these kids

They work hard and practice 2 hrs 3x a week

and 1 hour prior to every game

My TJ pitching

"good game walk"

Coach Ross gives the boys 1 can of pop after each game...yeah, I said pop

The boys just love it and so do I!

It is such a treat after a long hot ballgame

brings back memories of when I was a kid...you got pop

after a sporting event. I'm so done with the healthy snack for

sports and schools. That needs to be done at home

Don't get me started...

30 years ago there was no such thing as Plus clothing or a 4x

what a 20x, 30 years from now?

Just say no people!

and enjoy a Coca cola after 3 hours of baseball

After TJ's tournament we stayed at the Aurora Holiday Inn

(across the street from IMSA)

How precious is Karrick sleeping with his"best buddy"?

Goodbye White Sox

Last night TJ pitched his final inning as a White Sox
We lost in the playoffs which completes our in-house
season.
Next year TJ moves up to the Senior Division
and a whole new draft begins.
We had a great 3 years as a White Sox with great coaches,
players and parents. All will be missed, but TJ looks forward
to the competition the senior
division will bring.

No time to rest as Travel season is in full bloom.
We open our season Thursday night at 8pm in
North Aurora, followed by a triple header Saturday
Long day of ball as each game lasts 2 1/2 + hrs
They may play Sunday depending on Thur-Sat
performances
TJ lives for Travel season as the level of play
and competition is fierce.

Do I dare begin to think that in 1 year
TJ will be playing High School Ball?
Wasn't he just a cute little towheaded 2 year old?

Fathers Day

We went back up to Whitewater WI this weekend. My father in law joined us
and for Fathers Day we had a nice dinner at The Duck Inn

Welcome to The Duck Inn, a historic Supper Club located on the corner of County A and Hwy 89 in the township of Richmond, city of Delavan, WI. The name, The Duck Inn, originated first during the prohibition era when the Duck Inn was a speak easy. Therefore, patrons were to secretly "duck in" for a drink where the bartender would tell a patron to be quiet and "speak easy".

After prohibition ended, Wisconsin Liquor licenses were issued mostly outside the city limits, with the contingency that the establishment must serve food. To make use of the liquor license, establishments started to specialize in dinners, thus "supper clubs" were born.

In 1994, The Duck Inn was purchased by Jeff Karbash with the goal to restore The Duck Inn to a traditional supper club. The Karbash Family created an inviting atmosphere with casual fine dining in an elegant country setting. This is done with a historical duck theme, festive holiday decorations, friendly accommodating staff, and fine food & cocktails.

The rest of the weekend was fabulous, so relaxing. Boating,
swimming, sunning, reading and eating.

My weeks are so jammed
packed with running around that 2 days at the lake is all I need
to recharge my batteries

Vortex

Our house is in the middle of a renovation. Our living room

is in the kitchen, the laundry room is in the family room.

It's pure chaos.

Today the living room, stairwell, 2nd floor

hallway walls and ceilings were being painted. We were

asked to leave the home so we headed to Paradise Bay

our new $9 million pool.

It is just gorgeous, I can't even describe how

beautiful it is. Not only is it great, it is so freakin clean

(as it should be being brand spankin new)

Some highlights are:

2 zero depth pools with built in animal slides

Palm trees that spray water

floating alligator rope walks

The big toilet bowl

high dives, low dives

drop slides, curly slides

8 lane lap pool with built in bleachers

every type of spraying tube and canon

The12 foot diving well has stairs crossing the width of the pool

that go down 4 or 5 feet.

By far my favorite attraction was the Vortex pool

it is circular pool that is only 40 inches deep and

15 foot in diameter.

The water shoots out sideways to create a whirlpool.

Remember as a child running in circles to create

a vortex, than lying down while your body

floats around the edge of the pool?

This does it for you

It's incredible!

Karrick and I spent the majority of the day just

being spun around in circles

round pool by second umbrella from the right

Whitewater Wisconsin

This weekend we decided to skip TJ's Sunday make-up

game and head up North to the lake.

Bay side campground is owned by Tim's best friends family. It is a large

plot of land on the lake and sits next to Park side Marina.

Their are 17 independently owned trailers and boat slips.

Tim's family has owned one of the

trailers and boat slips for 30 years

Whitewater Lake is tucked in the Kettle Moraine State Park

and the scenery is breath taking. You are buried so deep in the forest

that it is hard to believe we

are only 2 hrs away

The dam that separates the lake from the creek was loaded

with 100's of foot long trout trying to swim

up and over to get into

the lake

TJ and Tim get the boat dock ready

and now it is officially Summer

The boat is a classic and I feel like I'm in a 1960's

OO7 movie

The first weekend of each summer for Tim is usually

spent fixing the boat.

This year she started right up

Never to young

to learn a little poker

All-Star game

American League

Tonight TJ represented the White Sox for the American league

all-star game and we beat the National league 19-12

The game was a full 9 innings, 3 hrs long. There was electricity

in the air and the stands were packed

All the kids are great ball players so I was really looking forward

to a fun relaxing game with TJ possibly playing in the

outfield with no pressure.

or so I thought

I almost passed out when I found out he was pitching...in the all-star game?

Really? Seriously!

The stress a mother feels anytime her child pitches is off the charts.

Wasn't sure I would be able to breath, but TJ did well and

walked off the field with a smile. The remainder of the game he played

shortstop and 3rd base...with some amazing plays!

TJ just missed a home run...ball hit fence, but didn't go over

My baby pitching as I hyperventilated in the stands

TJ confessed to being really nervous, but it didn't show

TJ and friends after the game

There was a 50/50 raffle and I won! All of Lombard heard

me scream when my number was called.

I walked away with $54, which I

proudly split with TJ. I couldn't of been happier had

it been a thousand bucks

Thank Cindi M. It was fate that you picked my ticket!

Tim took Cal and Karrick to Wis today. TJ and I

will join them after his travel game tomorrow at 8am

No Ducks Left Behind...

My kids grammar school has an enclosed open-air courtyard. It is a landscaped area used by the teachers and students for quiet reading and learning. It is accessed only

through the school. For years ducks have made nests on the roof to lay their eggs. This has become a learning experience for the kids as they await the arrival of the ducklings.

Once the ducklings hatch our Principle announces the arrival over the PA system.

Students and teachers quietly view the ducklings through the windows

that surround the courtyard

Once they are born, they need to be escorted 3 blocks away to the pond at Park View School.

If they are not escorted out with in 2 days, mama will peck on the school

door to remind the teachers that it is time to get moving.

The ducklings are escorted down the school hallways and out the front door

to their new home

Just Like My Big Brother...TJ

Karrick decided it is time for him to play ball.

We dug out one of the many uniforms

we have accumulated over the last 8 years. 

At the ball field

Karrick walked up to coach Mike 

"Do you need me to play?"

"We might" Coach answered

There is nothing in this world that can surpass the 

cuteness of Karrick sitting next to TJ in the dug out

during last nights game.

It was a show stopper and I had

NO CAMERA!

These 2 share such a special bond

A Poem

For Language Arts TJ had to write a series of poems 

14 to be exact

The one that popped out for me was the Simile

               WAR

War is the fight over right and wrong

It sounds like guns

It tastes like blood

It smells like burning

It looks like terror

War feels like the wrong answer

tj mcginty            

       

and he can cook...

TJ made me homemade blueberry pancakes this morning.

What a wonderful treat from a fine young man

Not everyone was as appreciative 

karrick    "they don't look like McDonald's pancakes...whaaa"

Mom    "They're not suppose to look like McDonald's pancakes"

 Karrick     "Then maybe you should of got me McDonald's pancakes!...Grrrrr"

Karrick    "I'm not going to eat them!"

Good Morning

Good Morning Lombard

It's Friday,  It's sunny.

 I sip coffee on the porch with my neighborhood paper

In today's world it's the simple things; in this case

it's a new pool...5 to be exact

Opening day is tomorrow with a ceremony and "all jump"

Everyone surrounds the pools and we all jump in together

Whoops...

Our big beautiful fridge and dishwasher arrived!
It just happens to be a little (3 inches) to big for the space.
God forbid we return it and get something that actually fits.

Instead, we are going to adjust the kitchen to fit the refrigerator
When our man, Dominic replaces the counters and back splash
Wednesday, we will have him install new cabinets (3 inches smaller)

Until then, our new big and beautiful refrigerator sits in the middle in the floor

It's so nice to look at

Crap, when the kitchen is complete I may even be inclined to cook

Kitchen renovation begins

I am focusing on the fun part of my day tomorrow, not my

impending neurosurgery at 10 am.

So,

 next Wednesday we are having our kitchen renovated.

We are getting a new stone back splash, new granite counters

and a new granite peninsula (table)

New paint and trim (living room too)

We are getting a brand new laundry room,  and master bath

repaired (water damage due to roof leak)

Tomorrow our new appliances are being delivered and I can't wait to

see them through my drug induced haze

This is our new refrigerator

SWEET!

Dishwasher

Niiiiiice!

Not sure which oven yet. We went to a store in Melrose park

picked all appliances out, ready to pay and found out that the sales tax was 15%

No F-ing way!

We walked out and went to Frye's in our hometown

in good old DuPage county where an 8% sales tax all of the sudden seems

cheap. They didn't have either stove there so we are on a hunt

We did get a new dryer to be delivered tomorrow

I like the first stove better, but it is not cheap

so we will see...

I purposely avoided my impending doom

OK, I'm getting 5 nerves cut in my Cervical Spine...OUCH!