The Riley Family

That's what the thermometer reads.  Lovely way to start the day.  No wonder the dogs weren't staying out long!

It's crazy busy in downtown Naperville today but I found a great spot (for free!) at the charging station aka the juice bar. 

We have been waiting for this first tooth to fall out, and finally last night Will wiggled it out :).  The big kid tooth that will replace it is already halfway in, but further back because it didn't have any other room.  Hopefully it will sort itself forward as it has more room.  I'll try to get a pic of our current snaggletooth.

Here are videos of three of the songs we have in our Christmas lights display.     They look a little better in real life, but this gives you an idea :).  We have about 8 songs all together, including Mariah, U2, Harry Connick, and some others. We are taking requests for next year.

Here are some pictures of the snow from the past week.  Unfortunately it mostly melted yesterday (down to the yucky, patchy, brown snow and the plowed piles now) but we are due for more tomorrow.  Last Saturday we skipped soccer to play outside and go sledding :). There are also some pictures of Tom's holiday party on Wednesday.

Tom's class had a holiday sing a long yesterday. Lots of fun Christmas songs with props and actions too. He did a great job singing and dancing. 

Kate's chorus club had a concert last week. It was in to hear them sing :)

This is a fun stop-motion video from our Christmas decorating yesterday.  I love to watch the tree settle :).

Paul's festive lights made the Naperville light list :)

Kate joined the Ukulele club this quarter, and they had their concert this week .  She had a lot of fun!

We didn't have the camera out enough, but here are some pictures from Thanksgiving.

Paul has spent a ton of time putting up his twinkle lights. We have a small following in the neighborhood. Hoping to make the Naperville lights map next Sunday!

This is from before break. Here is Tom at music class in school. They do lots of singing, moving around, instruments and games. 

Congrats, Paul, on winning the race!!

We missed the sign up, but have a few friends running this race today.  Here's the live coverage of the first Naperville marathon (and half).

This is the question that my husband asked me the other day.  My husband. I was in the middle of painting the ceiling in the boys' bathroom.  He was standing at our front door after he had rung the doorbell. It was a rather odd question for  my husband to ask, considering he knows my Mandarin consists of hello and thank you. Turns out our neighbor's inlaws locked themselves out.  And the weather was miserable - 33 and flurries - not a great day to be stuck outside for too long. We invited them in, offered them drinks/food, then tried to figure out what to do with them!  We called our neighbors and work to let them know, and had even called everyone we know who speaks Mandarin to make sure we had the right idea that they were locked out. They spent about two hours here, and I entertained them by showing them all the pictures from our year abroad.  I used google translate to type in all the city names :).  No way I could understand a thing they w...

Tom and I have been filling the day with lots and lots of raking.  He demanded I didn't rake without him yesterday when he was at school.  The wind was crazy yesterday, so no raking at all, and now the yard is covered again!  We put most of the front leaves to the curb for the big street vacuums ( thank you, Naperville ), and the back yard leaves all head to our garden.

The kids have gotten swept up in this Rainbow loom craze .  They enjoy making bracelets and learning new patterns.  Jack has taught me to make the beginner ones.  And K and J sometimes even make them together. The biggest downside is when every once in awhile, someone's craft bin gets knocked over... the whole family spent 30 minutes this weekend re-sorting Jack's... something tells me it wasn't an accident, but Will isn't admitting much except that he was mad at Jack.  The adults have refused to participate in the next clean up unless it is clearly an accident :).

On Saturday, Uncle Matt and Aunt Sue had the most fabulous wedding.  Every detail was perfect!

Here are all the pictures from Tom's party, and the parade at Patterson, as well as trick or treating :).

Here's K at the piano concert last week.  We got this video from a friend... we were too far back for a good one of J, but he had a great concert.

Our sweet Olive is home from living with our house sitter. She is showing her age but hopefully will adjust to being back with us. 

The kids finished the fall soccer season yesterday.  Here's K's team pic from after the game.

I have only had a few times of battling allergies, and usually it is pretty common - hay fever, fresh cut grass kind of things.  This summer after our nearly bug/dust/pollen free year away, I have had many days were I have been literally sneezing my head off.  Luckily Benadryl type stuff worked, and now that it is literally freezing out ,I think I'll be ok till spring :).

Since we had gotten Nutley, and solidified by great walking at the beach, I had been taking the dogs on a walk every morning before the rest of the family woke up.  Turns out I am really just a fair weather walker.  Now that it is cold (and dark) in the morning, it just isn't as appealing.  Crazy N could use the exercise though (mix in something besides chewing on her brother or our shoes), so I should find a good time in the afternoons.

Or, more specifically, repatriating.  After only 1 year away, we probably aren't full triangles and stars, but we have some pointy bits. --> http://naomihattaway.com/2013/09/i-am-a-triangle-and-other-thoughts-on-repatriation/ Reading this, then glancing through a travel mag has me missing my dear friends in the UK :(.

And Jack :)

We moved all the old prints to the basement and put up a new gallery of last year's travels. 

Kate and I went mountain biking today over in Knock Knolls park. We stuck to the wider trails our first time out. It was a perfect fall day and we had a great time. We will ride again soon!

We have had amazing weather all summer and fall. But today it was cold this am -45 when the doggies and I went for a short walk. 

Well, maybe they aren't anymore shiny before, but Paul basically has new eyes.  Two weeks ago he had LASIK, so for the first time in 30 odd years, he hasn't had to wear his glasses or contacts to see.  The recovery has been pretty quick, although he is still very careful with his eye - read Anjie gets to mow the lawn.  His eye drops are down to as needed from a high of every half hour, so that is more manageable too.  It's pretty cool, but I think I'll pass.  Jack tried to get me to watch a video of the procedure, which I think was a mistake.  I was screaming for him to pause it :). I'll stick with my glasses and contacts for now.

Yummy lunch to celebrate at Meson Sebika. 

For some reason we hadn't been playing since we've been home, but W still his Connect 4 skills.

And not just any marshmallows - lucky charms marshmallows.

Happy Anniversary to my husband - congrats to us on 15 years :).

I have got to get rid of this basketball hoop!

Kate and Paul just left to go check out a travel soccer team for Kate.  Not even sure that she could get on the team, or if she really wants to.  Soccer is way more competitive than when we were little.  K is one of the best girls on her rec team, but it is just a rec team.  Many girls have moved to travel last year, or even the year before.  Something like this would be 3 hours of practice a week (2 days, 1 1/2 hours) plus travel time and then games/ tournaments on the weekends.  K likes her Wheatland team too.  We will see how today's practice goes.

Tom had picture day at school yesterday.  He says he smiled.  We can't wait to see the pics.

Can you guess who is who for Halloween?

That is my chair cushion!  

We had taken a ton of short videos with Paul's phone over the past year.  We will be posting them to vimeo.   Here are the first ones.

Kate, Tom and I biked through Springbrook prairie today! It was a fun ride up ton lunch with the rest of the family on 75.

This morning Tom announced that he wasn't going to cry at school and sure enough he didn't! Drop off was a dream. We are super proud of our T.

So I think this is the 4th week or so of school, but I believe it is the first time they are actually going 5 days in a row!  (ok, maybe back that last week in August they attended the whole week). Weather permitting, of course.  It has been holidays and hot weather - and a little bit of school thrown in.  I think it will be a long week.

Finally, the wait is over!  Not that hot lunch is really that huge of a deal, but Will has been waiting patiently since school started. Today, he can select hot lunch instead of bringing from home.  Mini pancakes it is!

Nutley had her last puppy shots this week!  No more running to the vet every few weeks, thank goodness!  Supposedly doubling the puppy weight at 16 weeks is a good predictor for adult weight, and given that, our little Nutley should be around 50 lbs.  This is a bit smaller than Scout, but generally the same size.  

Well today is like another holiday with no school due to the heat!   But here are pictures from the first few days of school.

It is supposed to be 97 tomorrow. A bit hot for no AC and trying to learn.

Tom had his pre school meet and greet on Wednesday and his first full day today. He enjoyed meeting Mrs Dowler. Today wasn't stellar; we could hear him crying down the hall. Supposedly it didn't last long, and he was in a great mood at pick up!

We just had our fence moved and now we have whole new section of back yard! We never used the area on the right side of the house when it was front yard but now we do since it's part of the back. And the new cedar smells great too.

It was great to see Kate's friend Olivia this weekend. And of course the rest of her family too. They just moved from London back to Detroit.

We all headed to grocery store yesterday and the kids actually say together in the cart :).

Kate started 4th, Jack 2nd and Will kindergarten this week! The weather was pouring buckets on Thursday, so here are pics from Friday which was W's first full day.

Will had his first full day of kindergarten yesterday! It seemed to go well until he got stung by a bee in the gym waiting for the bus! He's fine, and its a rather entertaining story :).

Here are the pictures from our trip in Maine this summer!

It's the last day of our shortened summer break.  School starts tomorrow!!

It was so great to see Kate on Saturday after 10 days at Wavus.

It had rained all day Friday so was great to have one more beach walk Saturday morning before our long day of driving.

End of JW Second Session 2013 Today the Wavus family says goodbye to its youngest members as JW families come to pick up their daughters.  It's been a wonderful 10 days, and we can't wait to have you all back again next summer! We'll miss you!!!

Super Hero Day!!! Yesterday was Superhero Day here at Wavus! Due to the cold, rainy weather the girls met us in Jewell at 8:30 where we delivered the morning message and proceeded with breakfast.  After breakfast the girls headed back to their cabins to get ready for morning activities.  Once they returned to Jewell for gathering circle they sang campfire songs together until it was time for morning activities.  Today’s morning activities included: Wavus Waves, twister, pottery, Art, kayaking, yoga, woodshop, tennis and ropes where the girls did the HS swing.  After morning activities the girls went to gswim where many girls read and made friendship bracelets around the fire, while a few brave souls decided to swim despite the rain.  Next we had lunch and rest hour.  Once the girls were well rested they eagerly headed out to afternoon activities! This afternoon they had the choice to participate in caterpillar races, cape making, skits, origami, shena...

Wavapalooza!!! Yesterday’s theme was ‘Wavapalooza’, based off the popular three-day music festival in Chicago.  We started the day by raising the flag with the girls dressed as boys to represent the music genre R&B/Hip Hop.  The message of the morning was to take every opportunity given at Wavus, whether it is achieving that qualification in archery or talking to that girl you have never met before, with passion and enthusiasm.  In the morning, girls engaged in activities such as sailing, field sports, arts & crafts, and woodwork.  After G Swim, they had worked up quite the appetite and were ready for the bountiful spread of chicken nuggets and fries at lunch.  Being allowed to sign up first for afternoon activities was the reward for the girls who dressed up appropriately for the ‘country’ lunch.  Afternoon activities challenged the girls yet they had to save some of their energy in order to work together to plan a choreographed dance...

British Invasion Day!!! Yesterday was British Invasion day; we woke up to a beautiful sunny summer day! We all went to raise the flag and then went to breakfast, after that we went and cleaned cabins and did the duties for the day. After that we all went down to the field and played a game called giants wizards elves which is a big game of rock paper scissors until it was time for morning activities to begin. The morning activities consisted of Ropes, Art, Pottery, sailing, farming which they were gardening, and riflery. In the afternoon all the kids chose between paddle boarding, swimming across the channel, kayaking, open arts and crafts, mystery van where they ended up bridge jumping, volleyball, mystery war canoe in which they went to one of the islands on the Damariscotta Lake, HS swing and the aqua zip. All the girls had so much fun in their different activities. It was hot all day so the girls had a great time especially in the water activities. In the evening it was time to pla...

Departures! Respect and Responsibility are out for a day on the Snowgoose! Courage and Kindness leave camp for a day on Hog Island! Cherokee is out for their 5 day hiking trip in the White Mountains! Have fun, ladies!!!

Book Day!!! Yesterday was Book Day and the campers were encouraged to dress as their favorite book character for the day. Despite the rain in the morning, the girls made the most of every activity and kept their spirits up for when the sun finally camp out for lunch. There were a great variety of afternoon activities, including Mad Libs, Hunger Games Boot Camp, Paddle boarding, Quidditch, Ropes, Island Swim, and Watercolors on the Causeway. Following a delicious chop suey dinner, the girls prepared for their evening activity: The Hunger Games! The cabins tested their skills, acting as tributes from their districts, at five different stations consisting of shelter building, archery, chubby bunny, camouflage, and swimming. Little did they know there were some obstacles in their way as well! The girls showed great teamwork and excelled in proving their wilderness tripping abilities throughout the hour. Though each cabin fought hard for the title of “Victor,” Responsibility impressed...

Departures! Responsibility and Respect leave camp for a fun day on Hog Island! Have a safe trip, girls!!! Harry Potter Day!!! Yesterday’s theme was Harry Potter. Many of the girls got an early start to their day due to the Junior Wavus girls sleep over on the soccer field last night. However, this early start didn’t slow anyone down while the smell of wild doughnuts came wafting out of the great hall. The day continued with cabin clean-ups in order to prepare for cabin inspections later on in the day. At chapel many girls shared quotes from books that they have been reading this summer. One girl even used her free time to write what Wavus meant to her, and decided to share what she wrote. Nancy ended chapel with a quote from Albus Dumbledore speaking about the choice between doing what is easy and doing what is right. Skits for the afternoon activity were moved from being after lunch to after chapel on Sunday. This allowed the girls who are going to Kieve to visit ...

Fairy Day!!! Yesterday was wonderfully, whimsical, Fairy Day! With the rainy start, we got to sleep in a little before breakfast. After some yummy breakfast sandwiches, while the weather was holding, each brave Junior Wavus cabin took a turn completing their swim test and then came to Jewell for some fun games and the big group picture. The full session campers had morning activities like pottery, ropes and archery and then we all gathered for a fantastic lunch of pizza! The girls had many fairy themed afternoon activities like fairy wand making, crown making, fairy house making, reading fairy tales by the fire and even making their own fairies out of clay. We also took advantage of what the rain had brought us and had many girls puddle jumping! After a dinner of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, corn and gravy we all put our comfy clothes on and cozied up in the Jewell to watch a Disney movie, Brave! It was such a nice way to finish off the rainy day!

First Day of JW Second Session 2013! Today is the first day of the JW Second Session!!! Young campers and their parents are arriving from all over to be at Wavus!  Our staff couldn't be more excited to have the campers here for some camp fun! Welcome to Wavus!!!

Of course a drive to Wavus would not be complete without at least a short stop at LL Bean :)

We drove Kate to Wavus yesterday. She seemed a little nervous but didn't even need us to stay for lunch.

Four kids, two dogs, two drivers and 17 hours later we were at Moody Beach. Here are my fav two quotes from the drive. Will: "What country are we in now?" Clearly too many European trips. Jack: "Are you eating Chapstick? It smells like Chapstick." At the smell of Redbull.