CJ in Kindergarten

q9 CJ Kindergarten

and

q11 Kindergarten Week 1

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(The first album is finding out who his teacher was and the second album is Week one.)

Big milestones always bring the realization of how fast life moves with these kids and how happy we are to be blessed with them. First laugh, first word, first step...they just keep coming faster than you can do each one the justice of documenting and appreciating. We now find ourselves with a kindergartner. Half day kindergarten is not offered here so Jen and the girls have had a pretty tough time adjusting to his absence. Week one is in the books as of this writing and he comes back noticeably older and more independent with each day. We are dazzled by his excitement for learning and bewildered by his ease in transition to new experiences. Echoing the message of "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" that we read to our little cubs on the eve of his first day. KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

Bumpa and BB visit

q6 Bumpa and BB Arrival

It was the morning after our Cousin sleepover. Bumpa and BB arrived in Gurnee early Sunday morning and our exuberant kids met them at the door. We were dumbfounded that Bumpa was minus more than the cumulative weight of all three kids. They both looked FANTASTIC!! I think I had better pay a little attention to my own diet before they start bringing me old pants. We are all so proud of him and BB for this accomplishment. We acknowledged the poor timing for Mom's significant weight loss as compared to Dad's ratio. What an absolute life change. Way to go you two!!

q7 Independence Grove and Bills

One huge but welcome adjustment was the approach to food. Yummy snacks, appetizers and food generally took the forefront when we were with my side but Mom and Dad split everything they ate and most times had leftovers. Still, we took them to a few of our favorite places which included good eats. We started at the Avalon which boasts and impressive Greek-based menu, super kid-friendly staff and unbelievably fast service for such a made to order menu. We went back to the house for some fun, rest and conversation before heading our for the evening. We were so excited to share Independence Grove with another set of visitors. It is such an impressive place and the weather made for a beautiful walk for us and ride for the big two. We finished the evening with another excursion to our new favorite pizza place, Bill's. I had to work the next day so it was goodbye for me but the kids and Jen would get to see them in the morning. I was reminded again of Dad's triumph when I was able to fit my arms around him hugging goodbye.

q8 Bye to Bumpa and BB

The next morning Bumpa and BB stopped in for some parting giggles with the grand kids. They went to the park where Bumpa and BB joined them on the swings. We all had a great time and are looking forward to the next adventure together. We love to have visitors as our upcoming arrival of Elena Lauren will likely keep us a bit homebound for a while. Thanks again to Bumpa and BB for a lovely visit.

COUSIN NIGHT!!!!!

The days are getting shorter, Kindergarten and preschool are on the horizon, we are enforcing a regular bedtime to get in the groove and picking out school clothes and supplies. In short, Summer is almost over. We asked the kids if there was anything fun they had not had a chance to do this summer. "SLEEPOVER!!" was the emphatic answer. We let them take control of the invitations, activities, guest list and gift bags. The result was a 7 kid sugar-fest and sleepover (A.K.A. Sugar-Crash). The somewhat short notice left us minus a few cousins due to previous plans but given its resounding success we certainly plan to do it again. The youngsters began to arrive around 3 on Saturday with toys, treats and sleeping bags. We started with the sprinkler and some T-Ball.

q2 Cousins Arrival and T-Ball

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We then distributed canisters of Silly String for the next phase. In the hands of our partiers the nozzle was like a video game gas pedal inasmuch that they pressed it down and didn't let go until game over. The largest ball of silly-string after clean up garnered the reward of 1st Water-Balloon pick in the next game. Mabel took the prize and an especially large water-balloon. It started as a simple toss back and forth between partners but when the first balloon popped it was every one for themselves.

q3 Silly String and Water Balloons

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We moved onto treats and cupcake making to induce a few sugar buzzes. Quite a creative group we had here. Cookies, cupcakes, Puppy Chow and "decorations" that failed to make it to their intended cupcake served as appetizers for the Hot Dogs on the grill, baked beans and chips. Each family left with their cupcake creations to bring home and share with Mom and Dad the next morning.

q4 Treats and Cupcake Making

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"Summer, summer, summer, summer...."

For anyone not "in the know" this is the first scene in High School Musical 2, a new favorite in the Lallo house. After some outside antics with glow sticks and fireflies the crew came inside and used the aforementioned chant as their request for evening entertainment. Great group participation in the musical numbers and dances. This movie is geared toward a younger crowd than is implied by the title and is surprisingly entertaining even for the adults. Anything is better than Barney but even Jen and I find ourselves singing from these soundtracks. A few especially fidgety and giggly little girls fought sleep a bit longer than the rest of the crew but eventually all were peacefully sleeping. A heartfelt thank you to Chris, Mabel, Ellie, Stosh and all of their parents for their part in a wonderfully memorable "End of Summer" sleepover.

q5 Fun at Night and Sleepover

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Hangin' with the Scroggins

p10 Hanging with the Scroggins

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"Cousins Night" was approaching, but not fast enough for our 3 participants. They were more than excited to have Chris and Mabel hanging out for a few hours. Some fun dress up and adorable cuddling and naps.

Trip back and Bill's Pub

p9 Trip back and Bills Pub

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The Lallo tribe headed home somewhat early to give ourselves as much Sunday together as possible before we were back on our weekly routine. One of the couples we were fortunate enough to spend some time with at the wedding was Jen's friend Jen Daly and her boyfriend Eric. Eric had grown up near our new home and recommended a pizza place not far from us. We have tried a few recommendations and been pleased with all of them taste-wise but this place was FANTASTIC!! Great pizza, family friendly and a bunch of entertainment for the kids. I defy anyone to not have fun at a place that lets you throw peanuts shells on the floor. Not that the simple act of littering is fun in and of itself but it lends to an attitude of calm that makes a dinner out more than just a meal. We were still on our way home and our two dogs had to hang out in the car (it was a cool night and we left the windows down, no worries) while we ate. When we exited Bill's Pub, we saw that the rear slider on the van had failed to close and had been left wide open on a pretty busy street. The possible scenarios piled on with every step toward the van but found our faithful pups greeting us from their seats with just as much confusion over their apparent freedom as we had fear of it. Such good behavior earned them the majority of our leftover pizza and a new policy to verify that door actually CLOSES next time.

John and Amber's wedding

One of my last single friends tied the knot last weekend. He and his bride brought together a ton of fun people from across the country for a spectacular event. Friday started with a round of golf at Moss Ridge where I was lucky enough to share a cart with my buddy Brian. He has been in LA for a few years now and is working on "Heroes", one of my favorite shows. It was great to catch up and make each other laugh a bit. I miss that dude. That evening brought us to the church to rehearse the next day's affair.

p4 John and Amber Rehearsal

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Following the rehearsal, we traveled to the McLaughlin residence for an exuberant shindig. We were joined by some sensational friends and the couple of honor gave personalized gifts to the wedding party. Amber explained that John had put a ton of time and thought into his gifts of custom made beer mugs relating personally to each recipient. Mine was a picture of an epic night in Chicago when John lived on Armitage and several of us joined in an enthusiastic lip sync of Fred Bear. It also made reference to the nick name "Hic-Hop" that John had given me years earlier when I was a fan of both country and rap music (eh, still am, aren't I mysterious?). We had a really fun table and Jen caught a few pictures of laughter brought on by Brians tendency to say REALLY loud what most people are thinking, a British pronunciation of "ad-VER-tisment" and (I am told) my gay laugh. Hey, it seemed funny then.

p5 John and Amber Dinner

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Of course, a beautiful ceremony. It went off without a hitch and produced Mr. and Mrs. John McLaughlin, man and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Lallo looked pretty dern good too I must say.

p6 John and Amber Ceremony

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The festivities culminated with an opportunity to celebrate the new couple and the beginning of their adventure together. Brian had a slam dunk of a Best Man toast (while minding his bookmark - wink, wink Brain) and we were once again blessed with a spectacular table to party with. The reception eventually gave way to dancing and we felt this milestone was worthy of the famed (or infamous) Kid and Play kick step. John's wedding-ready state of health seemed to survive the tomfoolery a tad better than mine. I have concluded that I need to stop dancing at weddings or get in a shape other than pear-shaped unless I plan to mar someones special day with a dancefloor collapse.

Congratulations Jamber (check out the pics to get that reference) and thank you for including me in your special day! We hope you are having a wonderful honeymoon.

p7 John and Amber Reception

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Swimming and Baking

p3 Swimming and Baking

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We had a wedding weekend in Muskegon for my friend John and his now wife Amber and were going to be away from the kids for the majority of the time. Jens sets the bar pretty high for frequency of activity and inclusion in the kids everyday life so Bumpa and Aime had plenty of stuff planned for all. The little crazies took a lot of pride in helping with the desert, enjoyed swimming and lounging around the pool and Bumpa introduced CJ to his first bike jump.

Punks are Insane!!

p2 Punks are Insane

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Having kids so close together sometimes results in overlap of toy/space/time desires, tiny tiffs and a TON of noise. It also makes way for teamwork, imagination and some of the funniest moments of our life within the simplest of activities. I hope they, along with Jen and I, will always be each others favorite toys.

Aime visit

p1Aime visit

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Bumpa had some fun barbershop events planned so Aime was free to choose her entertainment for the weekend and to our delight she chose us!! She hopped on the Muskegon to Milwaukee Lake Express Ferry and drove about 30 minutes south to join us for the weekend. She is certainly no stranger to spoiling. She joined Jen and the kids for a Friday Kids Concert at Viking Park, bought treats, taught them SlapJack, and played at the park. Saturday was another visit to Independence Grove where we rented Surrey bikes for all of us and rode a magnificent 3-4 miles around the lake and grounds. Jen and her Mom topped off the evening for a much needed and way too infrequent break for Jen from Mommy duty. They drove into Chicago for a nice dinner at Bistro 110 and saw Wicked which will be leaving Chicago in January. Thanks for an extraordinary weekend Mom/Aime!!