"scary" monster

Singing Socks

Sam's sock puppets can really sing the alphabet song. He's working on some marionettes for the next performance, perhaps something along the lines of "La Vie Boheme" with life-size puppets.

Story Time with Sam

So we asked Sam to read "Where the Wild Things Are" for his baby sister. Not bad for a 2 1/2 year old...next time we're asking him to read from "A Brief History of Time."

Ahem...an announcement

Allow me to introduce everyone to Sam's little sister. He's a little disappointed that she can't play yet, but other than that they're getting along just fine.

Born To Run

Don't worry, folks: he's sticking to sidewalks for now.

Summer so far...

March is over, but...

Tonga makes waves, headlines

Once in a (very) great while, our former island home makes the news. Since these moments don't come often, I feel compelled to share. This underwater volcano is located only 6 miles from the coast of Tonga's main island. It's pretty unbelievable video footage, really...this might be the first time since we returned that Tonga is making Chicago seem boring and uneventful.

It's March already?

We haven't posted here for a while, so here's the brief synopsis: Sam keeps getting older, the weather is slowly getting warmer and the basement is gradually becoming less damp. That's Chicago in February and March. Spring is supposedly only a few weeks away, but our entire family remains skeptical. Looking back, though, things haven't been all that bad. Here are some memories from this spring of 2009...

Chicago Today

It just keeps snowing today, so we decided to do something about it - namely, construct a sled from an old exersaucer and some twine. Neighborhood kids filled our nearby park and took turns sliding down the big hill. It was a sight to see...until Sam got snow in his boots, that is. Wintertime in the Midwest: it just doesn't get any better than this.