Posts tagged gretchen

By the end of the day, the heat started getting to all of the Lieving family.  Cold drinks, shade, and no movement were trumped by hot sun, high humidity and the constant roar of race cars.  Still, it was a great day and I hope to go back.

By the end of the day, the heat started getting to all of the Lieving family.  Cold drinks, shade, and no movement were trumped by hot sun, high humidity and the constant roar of race cars.  Still, it was a great day and I hope to go back.

We went to my parents and spent a nice weekend with my sister-in-law and her kids.  We spent the afternoons on the boat, adults talking and kids swimming.  It’s one of the first times I didn’t get in the water.  Gretchen did, though.

We went to my parents and spent a nice weekend with my sister-in-law and her kids.  We spent the afternoons on the boat, adults talking and kids swimming.  It’s one of the first times I didn’t get in the water.  Gretchen did, though.

Easter was coming, Grandma and Grandpa came to town, and it was time to decorate eggs.  I am always surprised how much fun it is for the kids and me.   This year, we tried layers with crayons and rubbing the eggs with newspaper.  We were rewarded with multi-color striped eggs and a fine speckling where newsprint rubbed off on the eggs. 

Easter was coming, Grandma and Grandpa came to town, and it was time to decorate eggs.  I am always surprised how much fun it is for the kids and me.  

This year, we tried layers with crayons and rubbing the eggs with newspaper.  We were rewarded with multi-color striped eggs and a fine speckling where newsprint rubbed off on the eggs. 

We all went to see Rango last night.  The writing was uneven - parts of the movie were boring. At the same time, the artwork was amazing. There has never been an animated movie like this. Instead of trying to make things cute, the artists went in the other direction - making all the characters as ugly (and sometimes scary) as possible. I recommend Rango, but not for the easily frightened little ones.

We all went to see Rango last night.  The writing was uneven - parts of the movie were boring. At the same time, the artwork was amazing. There has never been an animated movie like this. Instead of trying to make things cute, the artists went in the other direction - making all the characters as ugly (and sometimes scary) as possible. I recommend Rango, but not for the easily frightened little ones.

Gretchen ran the science fair for the elementary schools this year.  Over 140 kids participated, and more people showed up to view the exhibits.  This was the biggest and best science fair I have attended since Lars started school 2006.  She did a great job and worked really hard for weeks to get everything working right.  (Gretchen had a great partner helping her too.)   We are really proud of her and grateful for everything she does for our family.

Gretchen ran the science fair for the elementary schools this year.  Over 140 kids participated, and more people showed up to view the exhibits.  This was the biggest and best science fair I have attended since Lars started school 2006.  She did a great job and worked really hard for weeks to get everything working right.  (Gretchen had a great partner helping her too.)  

We are really proud of her and grateful for everything she does for our family.

A while back we made the decision to fly on Saturday, January 1st.  The roads were empty, the airports quiet.  I don’t remember a more leisurely or smooth travel day with shorter lines.  That gave us time to relax at the airport before our first flight home.  Lars got the Guinness Book of World Records for Christmas.  He loves paging through the book and sharing sports records with everyone. It was hard leaving on Saturday instead of Sunday, but nice to relax on the way.

A while back we made the decision to fly on Saturday, January 1st.  The roads were empty, the airports quiet.  I don’t remember a more leisurely or smooth travel day with shorter lines.  That gave us time to relax at the airport before our first flight home.  Lars got the Guinness Book of World Records for Christmas.  He loves paging through the book and sharing sports records with everyone.

It was hard leaving on Saturday instead of Sunday, but nice to relax on the way.

Want to feel old? Play some football on a warm fall afternoon. Gretchen arranged a picnic down the street with Lars’ friend Jack and his family. After talking a while, Jack and Lars wanted to play a pickup game of football. The teams were drawn up and it was the boys and agains the girls. I doubt I have felt more out of shape than that day as we (Lars, Jack and I) tried to execute our simple plays, running up and down the mini-field. Gretchen, Theresa and Paige put up a terrific fight. It was a lot of fun. We all laughed at dropped balls, and also made some amazing plays and moves (for us). The game end tied, but everyone left the park a little happier that day.

Want to feel old? Play some football on a warm fall afternoon.

Gretchen arranged a picnic down the street with Lars’ friend Jack and his family. After talking a while, Jack and Lars wanted to play a pickup game of football. The teams were drawn up and it was the boys and agains the girls.

I doubt I have felt more out of shape than that day as we (Lars, Jack and I) tried to execute our simple plays, running up and down the mini-field. Gretchen, Theresa and Paige put up a terrific fight.

It was a lot of fun. We all laughed at dropped balls, and also made some amazing plays and moves (for us). The game end tied, but everyone left the park a little happier that day.

Gretchen and I attended the Adler ‘After Dark’ event last night. We attended an excellent mini-lecture on astronomy given by resident doctor, sampled wine and enjoyed the amazing views of the city, and saw a little bit of the museum. This room has a scale size replica of our solar system. The bar-line stretched from the sun to Saturn. But if you walked 20 more feet to the other bar…no line. There’s some interesting psychology at work here.

Gretchen and I attended the Adler ‘After Dark’ event last night. We attended an excellent mini-lecture on astronomy given by resident doctor, sampled wine and enjoyed the amazing views of the city, and saw a little bit of the museum.

This room has a scale size replica of our solar system. The bar-line stretched from the sun to Saturn. But if you walked 20 more feet to the other bar…no line. There’s some interesting psychology at work here.

Postcards from Date Night (Chicago)

What do the following have in common?   A beautiful woman, perfect weather, a long summer walk down Michigan Avenue to Washington Square Park, outdoor tapas at sunset and too much sangria, a nighttime stroll through Millenium Park’s Lurie Garden, and an episode of HBO’s the Wire? Those are all things that I enjoyed on a perfect date with my wife.  They come too far and few between these days, but this night almost made it worth the wait.  

What do the following have in common?  

A beautiful woman, perfect weather, a long summer walk down Michigan Avenue to Washington Square Park, outdoor tapas at sunset and too much sangria, a nighttime stroll through Millenium Park’s Lurie Garden, and an episode of HBO’s the Wire?

Those are all things that I enjoyed on a perfect date with my wife.  They come too far and few between these days, but this night almost made it worth the wait.