HuzarFamily

More Pics from June and Missouri Trip

2011-12-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

Pictures from June: Missouri

2011-12-27T19:30:00.000-08:00

June was a happy mon

th as Zion finished 6th grade (the longest academic year EVER) and the weather turned warm and sunny. The highlight of our month was a trip to Grandma Pam's house with a stop for camping at Blue Springs Ranch along the way. We stayed overnight in an adorable, comfortable cabin as the forecast was for rain...we went fishing and creek hiking in our favorite Meramac tributary, had a campfire complete with s'mores and songs, and caught dozens of baby toads and fireflies before staying overnight in our snug little abode. The rafting trip the next morning was cancelled as, true to the forecast, it poured buckets of rain. We visited the horses and fed them marshmallows before the storm hit, then packed it up and headed to Grandma's house. Building a redneck pool in the backyard was our big project for the week...imperfect, but refreshing. We loved seeing Betsy's family and watching Zoey play softball, and then having the whole Mullings family over for brownies.

Science Fair

2011-07-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

Zion worked hard on his science fair project, an exploration of temperature and physics. He won an award for the most creative project in 6th grade!

Zen was on hand to help at the presentation.

Mexico Lindo y Querido...

2011-07-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

I picked up this jersey for Zen in Mexico right before my surgery--it's a favorite of his!

Beloved Brian

2011-07-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Call him cousin, call him uncle....whatever you call him, he is loved by our boys!

Family Gathering

2011-07-08T08:40:00.001-07:00

Decorating Eggs

2011-07-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

We decorated eggs a few times the week before Easter. We were joined one day by my student, Sergei. We went through dozens of eggs, but made yummy egg salad with them soon afterwards.

The Easter Bunny!

2011-07-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

Zen met the Easter bunny. Our child is not too greedy--when he found out that the Easter bunny brings candy and toys, he asked for "wots and wots of tings--every ting!" He was pretty satisfied with the small amount of candy and the underwear that he got, though.

ReptileFest 2011

2011-07-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

Zion joined the rest of the Chicago Herpetology Club and showed his animals at the annual festival. He reconnected with a kindrid python owner that we met last year. We helped educate the hundreds of people that passed through that day. I especially enjoyed being down on the floor, watching the wonder on the faces of the kids as they touched and handled Eragon the snake and Annabeth the leopard gecko. Percy, the gecko who died a few months ago, was greatly missed, but we did NOT come home with any new reptiles!

Shedd Aquarium

2011-07-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

We took a quick spring break trip to the Shedd and enjoyed the penguins.

Iowa

2011-04-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

We got to spend the night with the Welsh family after our trip to Fun City. It was so nice to catch up with Vince and Tracy and see how Alex, Tori and Hudson are growing up. We went out for Maid Rites (it's an Iowa thing--you wouldn't understand!) and homemade PIE!!! (you just can't find pie in Chicago. We're more of a cake town). The kids enjoyed playing with each other.

A Few More from Fun City

2011-04-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

More Fun City highlights: Zion won a THOUSAND tickets playing a spin-the-wheel game. We were relieved that he didn't cash them in for one of those giant stuffed animals (the kind that takes up a whole passenger seat in the car). He opted instead for a bag full of junk which kept him happy and entertained for the rest of the weekend. The Feeney girls took great care of Zen,

as usual. We ate a pizza so large that it fed 3 entire families and still had pieces left over. Sam almost lost his life on the climbing wall when he came down upside down in the harness. Fun City, we love you!!

Fun City!!!

2011-04-18T06:20:00.000-07:00

We met our Missouri cousins at Fun City for a quick reunion. Fun city is a hotel complex in Burlington, Iowa--it's kind of like a water park/Chuckie Cheese/carnival/Casino, all rolled into one. We had a great time swimming, going down the water slides, and rock climbing. Later on in the evening the kids, fueled by junk food and giant lollipops, spent an obscene amount of money on laser tag and games. The fun continued back at our adjoining hotel rooms, where the kids partied and the adults caught up. We were treated to a fantastic surprise the next morning when Brent, Melissa, David and Luke showed up to spend the day with us. It's always a blast when the cousins get together! Enjoy the pictures!

The Boys in the 'Hood

2011-04-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

Hot Tea

2011-04-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

Zen loves playing "hot tea" in the basement.

We Got Our Pictures Back

2011-04-05T17:56:00.000-07:00

For Zen's Memory Book

2011-03-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

Our computer crashed last month and we just got the new one fully up and running, therefore blog time has been somewhat limited (frustrating not to be able to post pictures). However, I have been meaning to post some sweet and cute "Zen-isms" for awhile now, so here they are.

Zen, at age 3, is alternately sweet and fierce, antagonizing his brother one minute and protecting him the next. He loves to "rattle" (wrestle) with Zion in the living room. They take off their shirts and put all the pillows from the couches down. Zion is much gentler on Zen, who will sometimes pull some real down-and-dirty wrestling moves on his brother!

Zen has learned all his colors and is starting to get really excited about the alphabet--he points out the letters that he knows all the time, wherever we go. All these familiar letters are associated with names of his friends and loved ones, so his conversations go something like this:
"hey! hey mommy! There's Brian's letter! See Brian's letter?" or, "MOM! I see my letter! Mine and Zion's!". He also is going through a stage where he thinks that if someone's letter is prominently featured on something, it "belongs" to that person. For awhile, he insisted that his boots belonged to Daddy because they had an "S" on them. He made a "J" for Jake and Jedi out of marbles the other day that he was very proud of, and Q sightings are always followed by, "baby Quinn!".

Zen has adjusted to the time change waaaaaay sooner than we wanted him to. He'll join us in bed sometime after 6:00 to "tuddle" and demand juice. He still has a lot of trouble with his hard c and k sounds, so everything is replaced by "T" or "D". He refers to Aunt Susie as "aunt tootie", which is also what he uses for "cookie." I sometimes think of her in my mind now as "Aunt Cookie," (which is cute because Auntie Susie is so sweet!).

Zen loves his Dr. Seuss alphabet cards and has had them for awhile now. When they were brand new, he decided one nap time to take a bite out of the corners of his favorites. This afternoon while we were playing with them, he laid out the ones he had munched on and commented, "I bite these. When I baby. I soooo bad. I not do that again." Zen has no problem judging others or telling them what to do (hmmm, I wonder which brother he got that from?). He'll tell someone "You bad!" especially if they are doing something he doesn't like. Zion is often on the receiving end of this statement. He also tells us all the time that something is a "bad idea." Such as putting him to bed before he's ready--"that bad idea."

Zen is VERY huggy and kissy right now. He loves his teacher, Ms. Goly, and will run to hug and kiss her as soon as he comes in the door in the morning. She says that he is very gentle with the babies in the daycare and also very protective of them.

Some of Zen's latest passions include playing "hot tea" (hockey) in the basement and going to the park to play with neighborhood friends. He is getting to be a good, big boy and we are enjoying him more and more every day of his life.

More Blizzard Pics

2011-02-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we had so much snow 2 weeks ago, and now we have nothing but muddy piles. At least we had gear for the weather, when it came.

Yes, that is Zion standing on top of a 6 foot drift in our back yard.

2011-02-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

The Great Snowstorm of 2011

2011-02-09T19:58:00.000-08:00

And great it was...Mom and I got into O'Hare the night before it hit, and hit it did! Thunder, lightning, hail, 60 MPH winds, and 2 feet of snow in 24 hours. Our house shook like it was going to blow down, and I did NOT like the look of the tree out front (the one that would have landed on our bedrooms had it chosen to fall!). Luckily, although the lights were flickering, we were all warm and toasty here together. Mom had the foresite to buy $300 worth of random groceries, so despite the fact that we couldn't dig our cars out of the garage for 4 whole days, we ate well and needed nothing. School and work were cancelled for everyone for several days. We spent our time watching bad TV, playing with playdough, trying to stay warm, napping, and using our new GLEE karaoke Wii game. Sam practiced his guitar (he's getting better and better...he can now play Kum Ba Ya!) and contemplated how he was going to move the 4 foot snowdrift which had accumulated right behind our garage. (lots of help from a kind neighbor, Grandma, and Zion). The snow is still here, and more snow has fallen. We park our cars on the street, now :-)

Dad's in Charge

2011-02-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

Dad was in charge for 9 days while I was out of town. I got daily posts detailing donuts for breakfast and popcorn for dinner and movie fiestas and late bedtimes. I missed my boys (all of them) terribly, but Zion wrote me a sweet letter every night and Sam scanned it and sent it in his nightly emails. Sam also made sure to take pictures, included here.

Uncle Michael

2011-01-18T17:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Uncle Michael and sweet baby Q. Michael managed to make himself scarce for many of the pictures this year, but his presence was large. He played countless games of Halo, spent hours making play dough creations with the little boys, cuddled with Jedi, and entertained Quinn. He also bravely tackled Zion's early morning bout with the stomach flu without even summoning help! We know Michael will make a great daddy someday, but for now, we are so lucky that we have him as our uncle.

Christmas Bounty

2011-01-18T17:07:00.000-08:00

Presents, presents everywhere...just like when we were kids. And the new stocking tradition is very cool, although NEXT year Aunty Critter gets to fill the stockings. Santa Beccar gave Zen a lollipop as big as his head--now he wants one anytime he sees one in a store (NO!). Hmmmm, I notice that Jake didn't get one of those :-)

Cuzzins'

2011-01-17T10:07:00.000-08:00

It was so fun to see the cousins get together over Christmas! Zen and Jake enjoyed some very fun bath time, swimming at the local indoor pool, hikes and adventures with their mommies, and having a blast on the Ozark trail of Christmas lights. Zen taught Jake the finer points of wrestling, and some of Jake's vocabulary must have rubbed off on Zen because he has been talking up a storm since our return! Zion was there to engage or ignore the younger ones at his whim; it was fun to see both of my boys try to get Quinn to laugh and smile.

How much do we love Grandma Pam????

2011-01-08T19:41:00.001-08:00

Mom, you always make the holidays special, filling your house with toys and joys for the little ones, making us all comfortable in your home, and baking our favorite treats. Even though you don't see your grandkids every day, they are going to grow up with indelible memories of your love and affection. I feel blessed to be one of the few people I know who looks forward to going home for the holidays...you are an amazing woman, an incredible mom, and a role model to all of us. We love you so much!

The Oldest Generation

2011-01-08T19:27:00.000-08:00

It is always so special to have another Christmas blessed with the presence of Great-Grandma and Jasper. They have really slowed down as Jasper approaches 95 and grandma not far behind, but they love watching the little ones and enjoying meals, visits to mom's house and grandma's daily game of bingo. Jedi fulfilled her duties as therapy dog with a few visits to the assisted living facility, delighting Jasper and a few other residents.

Kampai!

2010-12-29T09:21:00.001-08:00

The kids loved Kampai, a very rare treat thanks to a gift certificate. Zion hadn't been there in so long that he had almost forgotten what it was like, and it was Zen's first experience with Japanese teppanyaki. We ate like pigs. Zen finished almost a whole bowl of white rice (which took him 45 minutes using chopsticks) and then polished off an entire dish of rainbow sherbert. The rest of us dined on sashimi, steak and shrimp-yummy!

Shaving

2010-12-10T12:36:00.000-08:00

The boys got some money for their birthdays, and we had to make a trip to Target (of course) because Zion's was burning a hole in his pocket. On the way to look at the Halo action figures, we passed this display of kids' shaving sets, complete with fake razor, shaving cream, and mirror. The Toy Story one was too cute--we couldn't resist. Zion modeled the "shaving the face" part, but Zen preferred to shave his legs like mommy. Zen (like Zion at age 3) gets very offended by prickly legs. Enjoy the pic and video (warning--there is a naked 3 year old in this video).

Zen's Birthday Celebration

2010-12-03T05:51:00.001-08:00

Since Zion already had a "friends" birthday party, we decided that Zen should have one as well. It was a simple affair--we invited some neighbors and some of Zion's friends and their parents; Elijah brought his two younger brothers, Levi and Noah, who Zen has previously enjoyed. We brewed up some spiced cider and made some cupcakes; We had 8 little boys tearing around the house, playing ball and balloon and guns and making LOTS of noise. It was exactly what Zen wanted--he had a blast!

Happy Birthday, Zen and Zion!

2010-11-30T18:14:00.000-08:00

We dragged the birthday celebrations out for at least a week this year, beginning with a fiesta for some of Zion's school friends with the theme "The Mission", a large-scale, scavenger hunt that took us around Evanston. The kids deciphered clues, performed tasks, and received gifts at all 9 stops, eventually ending up at a pizza place downtown. We had fantastic chaperone/helpers in the form of Ben Wickstrom (who was fantastic at keeping up with the quick-running 6th graders and keeping them away from traffic) and Rebecca Erikson, who helped me bring up the rear and who bonded quite nicely with the only girl Zion invited to the party (they're just friends). Rebecca also made an amazing cake--a 2 tiered delight with a "Halo" theme that awed all of us.
Zen kept reminding us "my birthday, too!" and he, of course, had a blast playing with all of Zion's big friends, who all wanted to push him in the stroller on our trek downtown. Enjoy the pictures!

Zen-isms

2010-11-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

I would be a poor mommy if I didn't record some of the cute things Zen has come up with lately now that he is talking. Here are some samples:

Zen: "DAD! You come here RIGHT NOW!" Me: "Zen! You cannot talk to mommy and daddy like that!" Zen: "No, only Dad."

I think that one of the most accurate words to describe Zen is "fierce". He is very protective of all of us. If someone is picking on someone else, he will distract them, yell at them, command them to stop, or even pummel them. When Sam is picking on Zion, Zen will come into the room with a glare that could melt paint off the wall and command, "No! No hurt my brudder!"

Earlier today: "Zen, you need to help pick these legos up off the floor."
"Me tant."
"Why can't you help?
"toffin' (hack, hack)"

already using physical ailments to get out of work :-)

More Zen-isms: Teetumpin' (see something)
"ditamin" (get something)
"dootumpin" (do something)

"mutt" (milk)
"doot" (juice)

"bootchub" (book club...this one shocked us the first time we
heard it, as it sounds similar to a sexual act)

"Zen, what are you doing?" "Anyting!" (which is actually translated into, "nothing")

It is very fun to hear what he says, especially since he believes that repeating the same thing over and over again will get him what he wants eventually. How many times have I had to endure hearing "want doot! want doot!...." repeated 100 times in a row??? I love it!

Zion's Visit to Northwestern University

2010-11-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

Zion's big brother, Ryan (from the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program) is a Ph.D student studying spinal cord regeneration at Northwestern. He invited Zion to their new, multi-million dollar biochemical engineering lab for a tour. Of course, scientist mommy wanted to tag along. Wow, what a fascinating place! Zion got to see and handle scientific tools and equipment. Ryan does surgeries on rats for some of his experiments, and it was amazing to see his tiny surgical kit and his sub-zero freezer full of tiny rat brains and spinal cords. We were able to see how cell samples were freeze dried, stained, sliced and stored and we got to look at them under a powerful electron microscope. The most interesting part of our tour was a visit to the animal lab, where we scrubbed and gowned up so that we wouldn't pass on any germs to the special, immune suppressed rats and mice. We also got to peek in at some of the other animals, including cats, chinchillas and monkeys. It was a little hard to see, but I kept reminding myself (and Zion) what these animals are sacrificing to make the world better for humans. (I will remember to say a little prayer of thanksgiving for the lab animals of the world, who are helping to keep us healthy) It was a very cool experience, and Zion asked some great questions. I was proud of him, my scientist boy. Ryan has been a great role model, and I am glad that Zion had the opportunity to see his important work.

Washington School Fall Festival 2010

2010-11-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

Our family really took advantage of many of the fun (and sometimes free) events that Evanston offered for Halloween. On Friday night, I took Zen to the Fairy Tale Trail, a non-scary event for the preschool set. He was adorable in his costume and had fun playing in all of the different themed rooms on the "trail". Sam and I hitched up Zen and the dog on Saturday morning and hit our neighborhood farmer's market for a free pumpkin, books, crafts and a treat bag. We made a brief stop to get Zion from his play rehearsal and headed over to the Washington School Fall Festival, where the boys (Zen, Zion and Kyle) played games, did crafts, and won prizes. Zen had a successful pony ride this year (captured on film!)and Zion won a very food-color laden cake at the cake walk on his first try. We were wiped out after that, although we could have easily continued the fun with a trick or treat and fair offered by the local upscale senior center and topped it off with free ice skating in costume at the Evanston Ice Arena. Maybe next year we'll have more stamina???

Dream Halloween

2010-10-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

9 years ago when Rebecca was in town for a fall weekend, Zion's daycare gave us free tickets to a Halloween party. We noticed that the price of the tickets was $100 each, so we decided it was worth checking out. We dressed Zion up in his Winnie the Pooh costume and made our way to the Windy City Field House. Little did we know that the tickets we had acquired were the entrance to the Dream Halloween Gala, a posh and elaborate event put on by the Children Affected by Aids Foundation. We stared in wonder as we walked into a beautiful grotto full of amazingly designed jack-o-lanterns, fantastic decorations, and costumed characters that looked like they had just walked off of a movie set. Jamie Lee Curtis was there; there were dancers and bands and trick or treating stations that were handing out treats that were more like Christmas presents than Halloween treats--Barbie dolls and race cars and lego sets--we ended up with a carload of abundance. There were tables piled with food and drinks donated by some of Chicago's favorite restaurants, and a raffle giving away a Lexus SUV to a lucky winner (we dared to hope). The whole evening was so cool and so unexpected. I remember walking out of the party with a dazed happiness that felt a little like a trip to Disney World.

I spent the next 9 years trying to cop some more of those free tickets, and this year...score! The gala did not disappoint. We had to make 4 trips to our car to carry out our bounty. Zion and Zen were so excited to go home and play with their newly acquired toys that we didn't even wait to enjoy the Trinity Irish Dancers or the hip hop group that performed. When we came home, it was like Christmas morning. Of course a large portion of this went into the basement to be donated to holiday charity and shared with cousins in the future. It was fun to share the experience with Zen, who has been dragging around a giant, remote-controlled motorcycle with him all this week, courtesy of the party.

Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-30T19:17:00.001-07:00

I was so proud of Sam for undertaking this task this year! I had to go to a leadership team meeting after work--when I came home, there was a nice jack-o-lantern and pumpkin seeds fresh from the oven. We used the pumpkin the next night for our annual "haunted bath", a tradition that started with Zion at age 2 and has continued until this day. You fill the tub with water and some orange food coloring, light up all the halloween candles and the jack-o-lantern, garnish with some halloween bath toys, decorations, spooky music, orange shaving cream if desired...turn off the lights, and splash away! Zion still loves his haunted bath at age 11. Maybe he'll do it with his own kids someday.

Pony Ride!

2010-10-30T18:52:00.001-07:00

If you were reading the blog a year ago, you probably remember how Zen was so terrified of the ponies at the fall festival that he crawled up my arm, shoulder and neck trying to get away from them (this happened AFTER we had already paid $5....no refunds!). He did much better this year. Made his mommy proud!

P.S. our pony's name was Lightning!

Zion's Costume

2010-10-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

I was so proud of myself for picking this up at the Salvation Army for less than $10. Of course, Zion has already customized it with all kinds of plastic guns, a gas mask, a helmet, etc, etc.

Didier Farms

2010-10-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Faye and Kyle asked us if we would like to go to Didier Farms with them on Zion's day off of school. They've been going there since Kyle was a baby. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and not (like our other Fall activities) insanely crowded. The boys all got wristbands so they could do each activity as many times as they wanted. Zen just loves Kyle, and Kyle is happy to engage Zen with his playful nature. He patiently rode all the baby rides with Zen and accompanied him through the corn maze. We all enjoyed the hay ride and the tiny petting zoo. By the end of the trip, we were exhausted but happy.

Zen Shows his Musical Side

2010-10-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

Zen was somehow enticed to get on the table to sing and dance AND let himself be filmed. (Yes, we let our children sit and stand on our dining room table. Often. I figure it can't hurt--this is the table that I grew up eating on, so it's over 40 years old, crafted by the Amish in northeast Missouri. Naked dancing, painting projects, homework...this table does it all!). Enjoy Zen's dance!

Halloween Cupcakes

2010-10-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

Decorated by Zen, Zion and Elijah. Amazing how much Zen loves to help out in the kitchen--he will happily sit on the counter and watch us cook, participating in any way he can. He has really enjoyed our recent cupcake events, especially the sprinkles and food coloring. I think these cupcakes lasted about 2 days at our house.

Tail Gate

2010-10-25T15:05:00.001-07:00

We were introduced to the joys of Northwestern tailgating through an invitation from Elijah's mom, a Northwestern graduate. The stadium is walkable from our house; it was a beautiful day, and I learned that there are always free activities for the kids 2 hours before kick-off. We painted up in Wildcat purple and went on down. It was a blast! Fun people watching, great food, and we even got some pictures with one of the dance squads (which Zen didn't look too happy about, but Elijah and Zion were DEFINITELY into it!). Zion played football with Elijah's bigger brothers. It is amazing to see how tough our littlest boy is. Everyone always remarks on his coordination and his enthusiasm for all things sports-related. Do we have a little jock on our hands? I wouldn't mind going to some NWU games in the future--as a parent! :-)

Trip to Goebbert's Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

I thought I would be really smart and plan a trip for Zen and cousin Madison to the much-crowded and sought after Goebbert's Farm in Barrington. I have a love-hate relationship with Goebberts, I think. It has so many fun things--corn maze, straw maze, hay ride...you can buy all kinds of farm products, ride a pony or, if you are more adventurous, a camel. There are things to climb and play on, acres of pumpkins of all kinds, and a Halloween store. There is a haunted house (not for anyone under the age of 5, as we found out with Zion years ago). There is a pumpkin-eating dinosaur and a track for pig races which take place regularly throughout the day. The best reason for me to go to Goebbert's, however, is its absolutely amazing, un-toppable petting zoo. It features 4 tents of exotic animals, including baby zebras, giraffes, antelopes and rare goats and deer of all sorts. It's clean and thrilling and (for a price) you can feed just about any one of the animals by hand. I, personally, could spend all day there.

What's not to like about Goebberts? The prices, for one thing. Everything is expensive, and on the weekends, they jack things up even more for the poor working suckers that can't get a weekday off. The second thing is the crowds--oh, the crowds! On sunny Sundays in October, the line to turn into the parking lot can literally be a mile long. Want a pony ride? Be prepared to wait for 40 minutes to buy your tickets and another 40 minutes to ride the little beasts. Hungry? You'd better hope you brought food of your own, not like that inexperienced mom waiting for her hot dogs for 30 minutes with 2 toddlers screaming their heads off. All of this is enough to turn an ideal family jaunt into the 5th circle of hell after a very short time. I know this--I've been coming to this place for years!

This year, however, I was smart. I decided to take the kids on a Monday. Zion was supposed to be in school, but he accompanied us at the last minute due to a headache. I packed some snacks and, as usual, some horse treats (we don't pay a dollar a cup for animal feed at the petting zoo--no way!). I packed some water and a camera to capture the fun and photogenic moments we were sure to have as we romped, crowd-free, through the entire farm. The one thing I didn't take into account was...Columbus Day!!! Evanston is one of those enlightened places that DOESN'T celebrate Columbus Day, so you just kind of forget about it when you live here...until you approach the parking lot of Goebbert's Farm and see about 2,000 cars in the parking lot!!!!

Well, a promise is a promise. We modified our agenda, skipped the pony rides, and just tackled the petting zoo area. Our high point (literally) was up on the giraffe platform, when we discovered that the giraffes really preferred horse cookies to the $3 carrots that everyone else was shoving in their faces. They ate cookie after cookie out of our hands with their big, soft, gentle mouths as dozens of people pressed against us, trying to tempt them away.

Here are some pictures; we didn't get as many as I thought we would.

Oh.....Yeah.....!!!!!

2010-10-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

Zen loves this toy microphone. He will mostly sing when he thinks no one else is paying attention, but lately he has been more tolerant of an audience. Oh, yeah!

Grandma Pam Visits!

2010-10-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

Grandma joined us for a week at the end of September/early October. It was fun to have good weather for a few days so she could join us at our favorite spot. Little hard to get good pics, since neither Zen nor Grandma are really into having their picture taken these days, but I managed to get a few good shots in.

Sprinkles

2010-10-23T19:03:00.001-07:00

We got this giant shaker of sprinkles free with a grocery coupon. Not really sure WHY we needed a giant shaker of sprinkles, but it was FREE, so...As you can tell, Zen just loves it. We sometimes have scrambled eggs with sprinkles, or scrambled eggs dyed blue or green. Sam wasn't in on this until recently, when Zen requested "boo eggs". Sam made two very lovely "boo eggs" and Zen ate every scrap, although they ended up looking more like green play-dough. Go, Notre Dame!

August, 2010

2010-10-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, we went without any photographic record of a whole month in our lives. August was a lovely time, with days spent enjoying beautiful weather at the beach, walks, family bike rides, interacting with neighbors and playing in our park. It also included a trip for Kristin to see Mom, Bec, Jess, Michael, Jake and our newest family member: beautiful baby Quinn. School loomed; Zion started 6th grade at the enormous Haven Middle School, a huge transition for us all. Zen began to use complete sentences when the mood struck him. These treasures usually popped up when he was bossing the dog around (no jedi no eat my food!) and when he was telling on his brother (nion 'ave my toy! give it, nion!). The whole family delighted in translating "Zen-speak", with its unusual pronunciations and elimination of at least half of the consonant sounds in the English language.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat

2010-10-18T18:33:00.000-07:00

Zion did a week of musical theatre camp in July with his friend, Kyle. They performed a condensed version of "Joseph"; quite good for only 40 hours of rehearsal! Zion even sang and danced (in public...he's an enthusiastic shower singer and impromptu dancer at home, off camera)

Festivus!

2010-08-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

Festivus was amazing, as usual. We missed the rest of the Kutzner family, but it was so nice to see the Myers side. Zion and Abi were joined at the hip as usual, and Whitey was such a good little mommy to Zen. All of the kids are growing up so quickly!
Maize had a fresh batch of beautiful puppies--very hard not to take one home, especially since she had some chocolates this time around.

Farewell to Lincolnwood School

2010-07-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Flowers in the school yard; A beloved teacher.

Zion, 5th Grade Graduation party

2010-07-08T20:51:00.001-07:00

Here is Zion on his last day of 5th grade, crazy hair and all.

Zion, 5th

2010-07-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

Finally some new pictures (not rocks or gross heads)

2010-07-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

Rocks

2010-05-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

We seem to have misplaced our camera temporarily, so I am out of cute pictures of the kids for now. Here is a picture of Zion's latest science project. He got a rock tumbler for Christmas 2 years ago, but it is a messy process and we couldn't do it when we lived in the high rise. Now that we have a great front porch, we were have a place to store rocks that we had collected on the beach and begin the 4 week process. Here's a picture of the results--very cool. Some of the rocks came with the kit (the fancy ones), the others came from Lake Michigan. Zion has already begun to make jewelry for family and friends. If you're reading this, maybe you'll get a package! :-)

Sheep's Head

2010-04-30T11:51:00.001-07:00

So it's no secret that I have a higher tolerance than most for the gruesome...at least when it comes to dead things, handling poop, large insects, reptiles, etc. I have been shopping at a local "international market" lately in order to cut down on food costs. It's a decent little grocery store, good produce, and some very strange things for sale. Every time I'm in the meat section, I have to stand and stare in horrified fascination at the array of animal parts that they sell for human consumption--chicken feet, ox tails, pig snouts, etc. But this specimen is by far the most outrageous that I've come across. Why, might you ask, did I come home from the grocery store with a whole head of a sheep on a meat tray? I don't even know. Zion was at camp, so I thought I would welcome him home with a practical joke. I said that we were welcoming him home with his favorite meal--that he was going to be so excited! When I brought this thing out, the joke backfired, as he began retching and gagging, eyes watering, begging me to take it away. The head now lives in our freezer, waiting for another unsuspecting victim. Why? Why? I don't know. Probably for the same reason I stop and pick up interesting road kill. I just want to take it back to my lair and study it. People eat some really crazy shit. Can anyone tell me which culture has sheep's head on its menu????

Video: Zen Painting

2010-04-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

Anyone need a volunteer painter?

Handy Zeni

2010-04-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

Zen helped Daddy with some household projects this week. Our kid is an enthusiastic painter!

Zion and his Snake are Friends Again

2010-04-25T06:59:00.001-07:00

And The Hawks Keep Winning...

2010-04-25T06:43:00.001-07:00

It has been an exciting week at our house as the Hawks keep winning--Sam has decided that the games are even better when he invites other true fans over to watch. Our place has been a very festive place on game days. Whistles and shouts rock the house, and everyone is wearing red, black and white. Zen has taken to sleeping in his jersey. Hope this winning streak lasts and lasts!

Go HAWKS!

2010-04-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

I hope I don't jinx the Hawks as I am putting this up on the blog before the game is actually over. They are winning 2-0 as I post this. Sam wanted to make sure we all had our Hawks gear on. This week is supposed to be "turn off the TV week" at Zion's school. He was supposed to turn in a contract signed by his parents and him stating that no one would watch TV this week. Sam said, "AS IF!!!! It's the hockey playoffs!" So that was the end of that. Guess we're not quite the granola Evanston family yet :-)

Pictures of Reptile Fest

2010-04-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

Zion at his display: Reptile Fest 2010

2010-04-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

Zion and I became members of the North Shore Reptile Club earlier this year. We had been going to the Chicago Herpetological Society's Reptile Fest almost every year since Zion was 2 years old. He was always super-fascinated with the hundreds of animals he got to see, pet and hold. When the president of our club emailed us and asked if we would help fill in some empty tables at the big expo, Zion was so excited! It was a long day; about a thousand people came through. We spent the majority of the time on the floor, letting little kids interact with our animals. If Zion doesn't make it in the movie business, I think he's found another calling. He was great at teaching people about his pets. (And you all know that I have secretly wished I were Steve, the crocodile hunter).

Zen is rockin' the 3D glasses

2010-04-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

Zen Decorating Eggs

2010-04-08T18:18:00.001-07:00

I was impressed that Sam took the initiative for this project while I was at a job interview. They did very well! Sam did learn that it would be best next time to have Zen wear a shirt he didn't care about--or none at all. Enjoy!

The Easter Bunny Brought Some Pretty Wierd Stuff This Year

2010-04-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, the Easter Bunny brought the newly potty-trained Zen some Diego underwear in a giant Easter egg. Zen was so excited that he insisted on putting it on, right then and there, on top of his pajama bottoms. I wonder if this picture will be one of those that he won't want his high school girlfriends to see...

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

This was the first Easter in years that it was actually nice enough to go outside for pictures.

Zion's Spring Break

2010-04-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

Zion tried out a few hairstyles before settling a bet with Sam which required him to get a mohawk.

Zion's Big Scene

2010-03-20T19:07:00.001-07:00

Well, part of it, anyway. Zion is the Red Knight in this play; he has a British accent a la Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Sword fighting with light sabers? It was a perfect role for him.

Looking Glass Land

2010-03-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

So much fun to see Zion doing something he loves...and he had a lot of support! Between the 2 shows, he had 11 friends/fans come out to see him. The play was cute; I think Zion's got the bug. Enjoy the pictures!

Esther and Isaiah

2010-03-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

John and Wendy make beautiful children! Here are some pics of "Zay" and Esther at Zion's play.

Zen's Favorite Things

2010-03-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of boy energy going on in this house lately. Zen has decided that in addition to balls being his favorite toys, guns ("nuns", as he calls them) are also high on his list. Zion has plenty of "nuns" to choose from, mostly Star Wars themed. Zen will pop out of various places in the house and threaten to "doot" anyone who goes by. I can't decide whether to laugh or cry about this. Zion didn't have anything even resembling a gun until he was well past 7. Now our 2 year old even wants to sleep with his guns. Here's a short clip.

What We Do When We're Bored Around Here

2010-03-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Zion has been really into making films with his phone, especially now that he can do them in place of a written vocabulary assignment for school. He's done some very creative and funny things; This week, he decided to use his lizards to introduce the vocabulary, and he coaxed me into sewing tiny costumes for them.

Sam grumbled, "you'll sew costumes for reptiles, but you won't iron my shirts?"

I couldn't really think of a good excuse for this except to say, "yes, but making reptile costumes is fun, and ironing isn't."

Anyway, here are some pictures of some efforts. Maybe I should start taking orders...have a little business on the side.

2010-02-28T07:19:00.000-08:00

Katie, Nathan and Bea taught Zen the fine art of the "coat flip." He is very proud of himself!

Trip to Iowa

2010-02-14T17:59:00.000-08:00

We spent the long Valentine's weekend with Vince, Tracy, Alex, Tori, and new addition, Hudson. As always, we were made to feel very welcome in their beautiful home. We enjoyed seeing the kids reconnect; Alex and Zion entertained each other with backyard snowboarding, movies, and video games while Tori presented choices to Zen, such as, "Do you want to play princesses now?" (to which he always responded enthusiastically, happy that someone was paying attention to him!)

Tracy and Kristin got to take the older kids out to a Maid-Rite stand for food that was absolutely dripping with culinary delight. We also stopped by the Mexican grocery store in town to buy hojas, the corn husks with which we made a big ol' batch of tamales later that night (also dripping with culinary delight).

Hudson is such a cutie, and such a happy little boy. I very much missed our Jakers as I carried him around, fed him and played with him. It's so nice to have both family and friends that FEEL like family. Here are some pictures.

Winter Pictures

2010-02-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

It's been hard to be motivated to post to the blog lately. Zen is in a stage of life where he doesn't really want to have his picture taken; We haven't been anywhere or done anything noteworthy of late. Here are some good ones we took recently, however.

December: Uncle Michael's Package

2009-12-25T21:07:00.000-08:00

Uncle Michael sent an impressive birthday package all the way from Oregon. The boys were very excited! What a good uncle!

Huzar Holiday Party, 12-14

2009-12-25T20:55:00.000-08:00

We invited our Sojourner family for a night of merry-making, tamales, chili and conversation. We weren't sure how we might get 30 or more people into our house comfortably, but it all worked out, as it always does. Here are some pictures!

Grandma at Zion's Play

2009-12-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

Pulling Out the Christmas Stuff

2009-12-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

We did some clowning around with the Santa hats, etc. Jedi even got into the act. Now if only Zen didn't run away everytime he suspects we're trying to get a shot of him, we'd have a more balanced family chronicle!!

Zen and the Brownies

2009-12-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

Tired of waiting for the singing of happy birthday, Zen got a chair and slid over to take matters into his own hands while everyone else was distracted.

Zion= Drama.

2009-12-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

Yes,our Zion is often dramatic, so he finally decided to channel all that drama into some activities this fall. He played the Duke of Earl in the Evanston Children's Theatre Production, "Twinderella", a comedy about Cinderella's long lost brother, in November. He was also cast as the prophet Isaiah during a church service recently. Here are some clips.

Welcome, Annabeth and Percy Jackson!

2009-11-18T08:29:00.000-08:00

Our new little family members were welcomed home at the end of a scavenger hunt. Here were the clues:

1. Across the street where you like to play, look under the tallest structure and be on your way (clue was at the top of the slide)

2. Ulai and Olu live very near; the second clue is located here (at the neighbor's house)

3. the best place in the 'hood to make your hair look good (the barber shop)

4. this new joint has the name of "Bop", it's right next to the barber shop. you can get Korean food with rice, or even a hamburger, very nice! (the Korean-American restaurant down the block)

5. The corner store's got stuff to buy: milk and pop and pumpkin pie. The guy in front has your next clue; he's also got some candy for you! (the convenience store)

6. You've been all over the neighborhood--now come on back to where you first stood. (back to the house)

7. The scariest place in the house is where Zion's gift lurks--go down if you dare, but don't get hurt. (basement)

8. We're your new pets from the middle east. we're very peaceful little beasts. (on the gecko tank, next to the washer and dryer).Zion was absolutely ecstatic! I wish I had gotten some footage of his reaction, but the whole process of discovery was very frenzied as 8 5th graders tore through the house! Annabeth and Percy Jackson are leopard geckos, named after the characters in a series of books that Zion just finished.

Pow Wow

2009-11-15T17:40:00.001-08:00

We have these wonderful neighbors, Gilo and Mia Kwesi Logan, who are always doing really cool things with their two kids, Ulai and Olu. Zion has been lucky enough to join them several times since we've moved onto the block. They took the kids to a Native American Pow Wow in Chicago a few weeks ago. Zion had a blast--he came back with all kinds of news and stories. Here's a picture.

Zion's 11th Birthday Party

2009-11-10T10:10:00.001-08:00

So I decided that Zion hadn't had a birthday party for a few years, and I wanted to help him connect with some kids from his new school. I wanted to keep it cheap and simple (unlike some of the galas we've had in the past, with 50 people, ponies, reptiles, etc). I finally decided that we'd just have a simple celebration here at the house for a few friends, with pizza and video games. Surely a small group of 5th grade boys could entertain themselves, right? Zion was enthusiastic about the idea. His list grew and grew, so I helped him pare it down to a few kids from class, a kid from his new play, and some neighborhood friends--about 9 kids in all. I also thought it would be nice to invite the parents to stay and hang out, so Sam and I made a huge batch of his special chili and stocked the fridge with good beer. We planned to order pizza for the kids, and I made the "cake" myself. The morning of the party, Sam surveyed the back room of the house where the kids were going to be hanging out and commented, "that's kind of a small space for a bunch of 5th grade boys to be for 4 hours. Did you plan any games or activities for them?" Hmmmm...I started to get nervous at this point. I HADN'T planned any activities--aren't 5th graders too cool for activities? I didn't really know--I've never taught 5th grade, so my experience was limited. And this 6:00-10:00 thing...that WAS a rather long time. I guess I was drawing from past parties, where families came when they could, and left when their kids got tired. Maybe I was thinking that 4 hours was a hell of a lot shorter than a slumber party, which is a big event for the pre-teen crowd. I got a burst of inspiration from Sam's anniversary present to me a few years ago, where he led me on a scavenger hunt around the house before presenting me with a series of small gifts and a Wii fit game system. "I'll make a scavenger hunt for them around the neighborhood, and it will lead to Zion's present!" I was very pleased with my Aha! moment. I set to work on a series of verses that would lead the kids to clues around the area and finally back to our house. (see latest post) Zion had a blast at his party, as did the rest of the rambunctious crowd. Live and learn--4 hours WAS a long time; thank God for the scavenger hunt, the beautiful weather, the park across the street, and the two moms who stayed to help (Thanks, Faye and Mia!) The partygoers finally filed out of the house at 10:00 as stated on the invitation, trailing a wake of cupcake crumbs and pizza crusts. Thankfully, our house is still in one piece and no one had to go to the hospital. Glad we had one last party for Zion--but that's it! I retire!

More Halloween

2009-11-08T17:08:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2009

2009-11-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Iowa to visit Vince and Tracy didn't happen--we were disappointed, but we did have a good time taking Zen, Zion and Ben trick or treating in Schaumburg. We hooked up with aunt susie, Kim and Madison along the way. The little ones held up quite well. We ended up doing almost all of Denise and Joel's neighborhood before heading back to their house for some family bonding. Zen wore the only Halloween costume of Zion's that I ever kept. He loved being Winnie the Pooh!

Fun Leaves Video

2009-11-04T19:28:00.000-08:00

Zion did more entertaining than raking. He was jealous because I got to use the leaf blower :-)

Leaves

2009-11-04T19:19:00.000-08:00

I love the trees of Evanston--mature trees are everywhere, spreading leafy canopies down tree-lined streets. Evanston's trees are rich with nuts and seeds and pods of all kinds for us to play with--Kentucky coffee pods, cottonwoods that provide spiky balls for us to roll down the slides at the park, buckeyes for us to stomp open and expose the rich, smooth seeds inside...We finally created time to actually rake the leaves that were covering our yard for weeks. It was a family project. Here are some pictures.

Zen

2009-11-04T19:14:00.000-08:00

Only 3 weeks from his 2nd birthday, Zen's favorite (and most intelligible) word is
"no-no-no!" He adores running and jumping, playing with balls and marbles, visits to the park, and hanging out 4 days a week with friends Nathan and Beatrice. Zen's schedule is packed with activities--weekly speech therapy, gym class, music class, regular play group, speech therapy playgroup, Sunday school...He's actually the busiest member of the family!

Zen, Madison, Grandma and Papa

2009-10-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

A classic game, enjoyed by many generations.

Celebrating Family Birthdays

2009-10-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Grandma Betty and Kelsey shared a birthday party recently in Schaumburg. Zen and Zion had fun playing with cousins--here are some pics and a video.

Not Like His Mommy...

2009-10-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

Here is Zen on his first pony ride a few weeks ago, during which he screamed like he was being boiled in oil. I did manage to pry him off of me and snap one picture, but he continued his howling and attempts to climb up my arm and onto my shoulder (anywhere but in the saddle!) until I took him off the animal, thus ending his trauma.

During a trip to the Evanston Ecology Center recently, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to let almost all of the animals out of their cages to handle and play with them. It would have been a fine educational experience for Zen and his friend Bea, but for one problem--Zen was NOT impressed by mommy's animal handling skills. He was dismayed when the turtle stretched its snake-like head out towards him. The Madagascar hissing cockroaches made him scuttle into a corner, and forget about touching the gecko or the bearded dragon! He almost warmed up to the hermit crab until asked if he would like to hold it. His response was a violent shake of his head and a quick retreat!

Horrified by horses, terrified of turtles, scared of snakes, and aghast at arachnids...that's our Zen, who I am pretty sure will NOT follow in Zion's footsteps as a budding naturalist!

Snake Bite

2009-10-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

Here is Zion's first official scar as a budding herpetologist. He learned a valuable lesson about getting between a snake and its food--and about not petting his snake when it's getting ready to eat!

Mom emerged as the hero after donning leather gloves and prying the 3 and a half foot python's jaws off Zion's hand, where it was trying to digest the meat between his thumb and pointer finger.

Zion recovered quickly and had a cool scar to show off at school, although I got an interesting phonecall from the school nurse the next day. Waiting for a call from DCFS any day now...

Zen's Haircut

2009-09-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

This is old news, but I'm still posting the pictures. Zen finally got his curls cut off due to the fact that he was developing little rats' nests every time he lay down and had a lack of tolerance for having them combed out. We were a little haircut shy after his ugly haircut at Great Clips right before Christmas last year, so we decided it was worth the splurge to take him to Kid Snips. There, he was treated like a little prince, as they sat him down in a mini taxi cab and trimmed and styled his little locks. We resisted the temptation to buy any of the many cute toys that surrounded us while we were there. Zen came out looking more like a big boy and less like a baby (sniff, sniff). Here's a picture:

Lincolnwood School: Zion's First Day

2009-09-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

Zion's New School

2009-09-09T12:00:00.001-07:00

Here he is on his first day...a little nervous, understandably. His school is gorgeous! He's taking the bus for the first time in his life (boy, has that made MY life easier!). Mrs. Purnell is his teacher--a lover of books and science, hopefully they will be kindred spirits. He's only got one year here at Lincolnwood before he goes to the junior high down the street. Hope it will be a good one!

Zen's Visit to the ER

2009-09-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

What kind of terrible parents take pictures in the ER???? Ones that are tired, relieved that their child looks much better than he did an hour before when he arrived, and desperate for entertainment.

Zen developed a fever of 104.1 last week, in the middle of the night, of course. We thought he also had a febrile seizure, so he was taken to the hospital and subjected to various indignaties, including IV fluids, blood draws, and chest Xrays. Luckily, it was just a virus and he was much improved after fluids and ibuprofin. Here he is in his sad little state.

Captions for Photos Below

2009-09-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

Photos by Zion except for #1):

At dog beach, artsy portraits of self and mom, with Dustin, favorite staff members at Point, neighborhood love interest, friends from the 'hood, best friend, Ben.

Zion's Creative Side

2009-09-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

The phone Zion got for his birthday last year has been an important creative tool as well as a safety device. Not only does it enable him to go all over Evanston on his bike, visit friends, and stay home alone occasionally during tedious errands, he has also been using it to take and edit photos, play music, and make videos. Here are some of his latest efforts.

Zen and Great Grandma

2009-08-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

Trip to Missouri, August

2009-08-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

Zion's friend, Ben, came to stay with us this month. We decided to bring him along on our summer visit to my mom's house in southern Missouri. Sam was working, but he let me have the nice car (AKA the orange one with the built in DVDs, satellite radio, and GPS) so I could cart all 3 boys and Jedi down with us.

We had a short but fun trip. We enjoyed a break from a punishing storm outside of St. Louis on the way down. When the rain broke, we headed to our favorite campground for some fishing and stretching. A 10 hour trip turned into 14 hours, but we finally pulled into Ozark a little past 10:00. The boys spent the rest of the week hot tubbing, playing with neighbors Bradley and McKenna, using grandma's slip & slide (a very worthy purchase from Goodwill), and running wild and free in the country. Grandma treated everyone to a night out at Incredible Pizza. Ben and Zion enjoyed the go carts and bumper cars while Bradley and McKenna racked up the points for tickets and prizes. Zen was happy just to mooch rides off of anyone he could on the train and the merry go round.

It was awesome to be able to spend time with mom as well as Grandma and Jasper.
Mom's garden looks amazing, and her house is a peaceful respite, as usual.

The campground was such a popular choice that we spent several more hours there on the way back up north, swimming, fishing, and catching tadpoles, crayfish, frogs and minnows. This put us home at almost midnight, but it was well worth the stop. Enjoy the pictures!