Nathan Lee.  Love almost every soulful song of his.  Best one: El Diabolo Y El Angel -- it's a song where he reveals that he is "rainbows and razorblades" and every other contradiction.  I think he's Christian, because I've heard a few songs that seem to indicate it, but I can't find proof.  His music is not dark, but satisfyingly reflective of the realness of life and humanity, and all the mistakes and wonders that come with it.  Give him a listen.
 
 
Does anyone else feel like they should go ahead and just co-habitate with their senators?  I mean, seriously.  Apparently I should be talking to them every hour.  I currently have about 7 emails in my inbox from the last few days telling me that in some way or another our country is going to Hell in a handbasket and I should start screaming really loudly so that doesn’t happen.

It's not like I don't take it seriously, or that I don't want to do it.  It's just frustrating when you have a mere few hours to CHANGE THE WORLD, and yet you have to get kids to tennis, stop fights, make lunch, etc.  Perhaps I should just get a direct line, " Hey Bill, it's me again.  So I'm thinking you'd better not vote for that one or I'm going to have to start a smear campaign in this hometown of yours."  Yeah, I daydream about scare tactics and big influence.  How else is a housewife supposed to keep herself motivated to keep calling when it doesn't seem to do a thing! 

I guess getting a good president in can really save you a lot of crap, eh?  Go Ron Paul for 2012!

 
You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is not an event - it is a habit."

Aristotle
384-322 BC, Greek Philosopher and Scientist
 
You can find the stories he talks about here and here.
 

This place was amazing!

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Family photo in front of Really Fast Car.


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She did it!


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So did the Shrunken Head Girl.


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Flying on a jet plane.


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Sitting in a jet engine!


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Running the submarine.


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Clowning around.


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This is so Elena -- helping Owen.


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LEGOS!
 

We met up with friends one of the days in Chicago, but unfortunately didn't manage to get a photo with all of us.  If you notice an extra kid in some of the photos, you're not imagining it!

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Illicit photo in a race car.


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Matt's new passion -- racing go-carts.  He won!

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Speed Racer & kids.


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Rainforest Cafe.


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Noelle and Jordan


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REAL FISH!
 

The Lincoln Park Zoo was beautiful and FREE!  (I hate it that modern culture makes me see 'Linkin Park' in my head ... grrr!)

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Family photo taken with our "ancestors" in the background - the zebras!


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Blue Lagoon.


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Reindeer!


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Me and my 'twins'


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Little kids.


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Buncha' monkeys.


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Taken by one of the little kids.


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Hatchlings
 

Our 4 days in Chicago were exhausting and fun, the highlight being the beach for me, of course.  It was surprisingly aqua-colored and clean, and for a moment I could pretend I was back in Hilton Head.  Is that wrong, fantasizing about one vacation when you are on another?

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Braving the cold water together.

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Braving the deep, cold water together.


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Cutie patootie.


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Points if you can find the "that's so Matt" part of this photo.

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OK, I'm very sorry for the eyeball scars on this one, but I just had to document it because it was just so unbelievable.  This was the one bad thing about the beach -- families that lack etiquette.  She is -- you guessed it -- cleaning and clipping his toenails on the beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Quick, grab the barf bag!  Ugh!
 

When I added up everything involved in what I thought was going to be another $20 outfit, I found that it was a $30 outfit.  Boo.

I'll include a small photo of it for your viewing pleasure, but it's sort of irrelevant now!  It's a much cuter outfit in person anyway.  :-(

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  • Well, now that the rain has finally excused itself, I am like a kid at Christmas looking forward to the pool and sun, sun, sun.  No sun = depressed spirits around here, so I’m definitely not the only one.
 

  • We are going to Chicago at the end of the week, and everyone is so excited about it.  Long weekend away, a new city … what’s not to love?  Please let me know if you’re a Chicago expert, and tell us what we MUST see while we are there.
 

  • I’ve got another recession challenge coming your way.  Matt and I had a night out at Dee Felice’s Café the other night, and since I was getting dressed up I was sure to put together another $20 outfit.  Otherwise, who knows when I would get around to it.
 

  • Julia made a delicious Coconut cake this weekend, complete with a complicated icing.  It involved cream of tartar and egg whites … need I say more?  It actually didn’t turn out so well at first, so Matt jumped in and helped her make her mistake into a totally different kind of frosting.  The results were wonderful, and she is quite proud of herself. (And so was Matt, who is quite the cook when he does it.)  Ahhh … I love having older kids in the house!
 

  • Last night was THE fireworks party of our subdivision.  Apparently this happens annually.  Lots of money, lots of grown up little boys getting their kicks (including my hubby), and lots of new faces.  We met a few nice people who are our neighbors, some who were not (relatives of the party-throwers), and everyone dutifully gave their unoriginal but still amusing reaction to the fact that we have SEVEN KIDS!!!!  (Raise your eyebrows, drop your jaw, and step back … there, now you’ve got it down.)
 

  • My new bookshelves are still not up.  I may tackle them today, and then I’ll put up some photos.  Organized office = peace of mind.
 

  • Catch ya’ later!