Monday, June 23, 2008
Rainbow
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Cona Visit

The three of us flew to Cona for the weekend--nothing formal planned, just to hang out with Grandpa Jason. We swam in the pool, kayaked down the Yellow Breeches, had dinner with the McCorkles and Peter & Pam visited. The most memorable part of the weekend were the meals on the screened porch. I had SO many family dinners there as a kid and in the summers, with no A/C, we practically lived out there. I was glad that Rebecca, at 10, got to have several nice meals there with Grandpa Jason. Even though we've all aged, the sights, smells and woodsy environment there hasn't changed for the 35 years we've enjoyed Cona. A few pictures of the weekend.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
$6,500 Raised

Some neighbors and I hosted a wine tasting fund raiser to benefit the Irving Park Community Food Pantry. It was a huge success, raising over $6,500 for the homeless and underprivileged in our community. It was their single most successful fund raiser ever and it created new awareness of the efforts of the organization in the neighborhood. Wine, food, venue and invitations were all donated. Photos.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Gert to Dataw
I brought Great Grandma Gert to see Grandpa Jason in Dataw. She had never been to the new house. We travelled together and had a great time. Spring was in bloom and the weather was beautiful. Jason has been setting crab traps at a neighbors dock. We caught a bunch is an awefullys smelly trap--steamed and ate them in a meat garnish. Yum.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Spring Concert
Rebecca performed in her first-ever band concert, blowing on her trumpet in a three-song set that opened the NPES Spring concert. She matriculates to 5th grade band and then Advanced band. As her smiles show, she had a great time.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Rebecca Turns 10!

Rebecca ushered in turning ten or "double digits" as she likes to call it. Of course it was celebrated with friends--no better way for her. So, cakes, parties, sleepovers were all part of the festivities. There was a little gift giving but nothing too excessive either requested or given, except for a cell phone. She would have given ANYTHING for a cell but a little too early and unnecessary. She just keeps asking and asking.... Photos of the celebration.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Rebecca to NYC
There's something magical about introducing my daughter to an old friend and watching them interact and, almost simultaneously, introducing my daughter to a city that I love, showing her many of its features. Again watching her interact, respond and enjoy it too is an amazing personal experience. Shots and a few more shots.Sunday, March 16, 2008
Warehouse Rules

NPES took over the Portage Park Theater for their annual school play. Warehouse Rules, written by school mom Wendy Andrews and scored by dad Chris Cameron, was a great production. Rebecca delivered an unprecedented 7 lines with 2 costume changes and some dance routines thrown in. Photos.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Ruben and Lily In The Snow

Nothing like a little snow to bring two dogs together for some fun. Cousins Lily and Ruben played in Aunt Ash's back yard after a few inches of fresh powder had recently nestled down. Photos.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Dance, Dance, Dance
Monday, February 11, 2008
Last Day of Solitude

We were blessed with another great weather day. Reports from home were zero degrees. Here it was mostly sunny and in the 30s. The mountain was again not very crowded and no lift lines. We covered lots of runs with everyone making the most of our final day. The kids showed little fatigue as we followed them down the moutain. Rebecca regained her snow boarding confidence and tackled one of the steepest black diamond on the mountain. We skied Honeycomb Canyon again, a wonderful run that starts at the summit and goes along the back side of the mountain. The trail runs 3.5 miles--a real treat. The kids showed great improvement over our vacation. Here are some cool action shots.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Honeycomb Canyon

A gorgeous day--Sunny, 30s. Much of the mountain was groomed overnight making everything an easy ski. Black diamonds--no problem said the kids. Jack was back on skis leaving Rebecca the sole snowboarder. A few tumbles she took made me happy she was wearing a good helmet--thanks Ash. We covered lots of the mountain today including 2 trips through Honeycomb Canyon. The Canyon is on the back side of the mountain. Some areas of it are large and bowl-like. Others, a narrow tree-lined path. It was sun-fill and fast. Photos.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Big Day

Today was a Big Day. Jack rode a snow board for the first time and Rebecca mastered turning on her toes. Gregory used poles! We skied from lift open to close and finished the day in the hot tub. Photos.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Solitude Skiing
Today was a spectacular day. The weather and ski conditions were perfect. It snowed another 6-8 inches of fluffy powder over night. The sky was virtually cloudless and temps in the 20s. Ash navigated us across the mountain down mostly blue trails and the occasional black. Solitude Resort is beautiful with lots a terrain variety, beautiful views and no lift lines (!). The powder was as light as air, soft and gentle.Jackson, we struggled to keep up with. Rebecca quickly adjusted to the powder (vs. midwest packed man-made) and Gregory is getting better and better. Pictures. Trail Map.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Solitude--Day 1 Hot Tub

Arriving at Solitude the conditions we're pretty harsh and the lifts were only open for another 2 hours so we decided just to hit the hot tub. Super cold outside and super hot hot tub. It was painful getting in and getting out. Photos.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Impomptu Party
Friday, January 11, 2008
Snowboarding and Skiing

Rebecca decided she needed to master snowboarding. So she declined her ski rental at Pine Mountain and instead got boots and a board. After two lessons and days of practice she worked her way down the steepest slope on the hill. We're very proud of her. Pictures.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Halloween 2008
We had a crazy fun time celebrating Halloween. For the 6th year running (at least) the dads and our kids collected out front: Kids in full costume, dads toting wine and beer and The Cous' dragging the beverage cart. Laura and Dave joined us this year as well as Kevin's sister Beth and her young daughters from Spain. It started off with all kids descending on the same house together. Then they quickly it spread out like a marathon race with the more aggressive kids at the front. We dads worked a zone defense armed with cell phones to make sure no child was left behind or lost--this would have been difficult to explain to the wives upon returning from the hunt. The wives, by the way, all stayed back at their respective homes handing out candy. Paper bags or plastic pumpkins are no longer good enough. Pillow cases are the "bag" of choice now among discerning trick-or-treaters. It won't tear, it holds more and it's easy to sling over your shoulder when it starts to weigh up to 5lb. (I'm not kidding). It's amazing how much candy can be amassed in such a short time. Tired and hungry we all returned to our house at 8pm for homemade split pea soup and delivered pizza--wives now all there. There was a mass frenzy of candy trading as the 8 seat square dining room table. Adults enjoyed wine, beer and, of course, one another's company. Now what to do with all this candy......! A few pictures.Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Back yard complete
The back yard is finally complete (mostly)! It's been three years of construction site or just plain dirt. Lily, in fact, doesn't know what to make of it--she keeps finding mulch to lay in. Sharon, of course, designed it (with a landscape architect) and did a truly amazing job. Images (link to pdf file). Remember this!? >
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Cleveland Visit
We visited the cousins in Cleveland. Rebecca brought along her trumpet and performed for the boys and some neighbors as they sat in the awesome tree house that Uncle Mike built. Jack
and Greg had soccer on Saturday so we hung out at the field and on Saturday. Sunday we were treated an Indians game where the clinched the divisional title against the A's.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Architectural Boat Tour
We took an architectural tour of Chicago by boat along the Chicago River with Grandmommy and Grandpa Jason. A beautiful day in our beautiful city.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Camping
Rebecca and I with several schoolmates and their dads celebrated the last week of school with an outing to Sheboygan, WI. We camped for three days in the beautiful Kohler Andrae park. There, we pitched out tents, went bike riding, and played at the beach--it's right on the Lake Michigan. No camping trip would be complete with smores and endless playing with sticks, fire, sticks on fire, knives, etc. The kids ran all over camp in bare feet and ate dinner with only marginally clean hands--all stuff they would NEVER be able to get away with with mom around. ;-) Here are some photos of the great, long weekend.Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Published

In case you missed it, WBEZ (Chicago's public radio station) featured on their home page one of my favorite photos of recent memory. It was shot at the end of a memorable day at the Field Museum.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Rebecca Celebrates her 9th Birthday with Friends

Rebecca had a nice birthday party at home with 15 friends--mostly from school. It was a Chocolate Theme complete with a chocolate "fountain", chocolate goodies, chocolate cake. Yum. The weather was great so most of the party was outside--good for running around on the sugar and caffeine buzz. Nana was here for the party, making it extra special. Rebecca also had her annual school play this weekend and Lily turned 2 years old (people years).
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Grand Cayman Snorkeling

What's Grand Cayman without snorkeling? The Cayman Islands have some of the best snorkeling and diving in the world. It's very accessible and the fish and coral reefs are truly spectacular. The 80F water temperature allows you to do it for hours. We all brought our own snorkel gear and drove to several sites. Fish pictures to follow soon. What a great family vacation and a memorable way to kick off Grandpa Jason's retirement. Photos.
Birthdays and Celebration

We celebrated Grandpa Jason's retirement with a 1970 Grahams Vintage Port--the year he began practicing. It was fabulous. January is also Jason's, Gregory's and Mike's birthdays so we celebrated those too, with more cake and a little dancing. Photos.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Lounging Around

A few days on Grand Cayman, we just lounged around by the pool and lagoon in our backyard. The kids played endlessly in the pool, sand and ocean. The adults read, played games and napped. Photos.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Stingray City

We sailed out to the famous Stingray City where very docile stingrays swim right up to waders on the sandbar and eat fresh squid from their hands. It was a fun trip but the kids got a little scared. Photos.
Grand Cayman Holiday

We're spending the week in Grand Cayman, celebrating Grandpa Jason's retirement. We've got a house near Rum Point on the north fork of the island. It's right on the beach with a pool--very nice. Kids are endlessly playing in the pool, ocean and sand. I feel a little indulgent having just spent the week skiing but the rest away from home in the warmth is great. Pictures (25 of them so be sure to click the right arrow).
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Pine Mountain Report
As Rebecca and I were the first of the Old Irving Park crowd to arrive at Pine Mountain, we thought we'd post a little ski report. It was in the teens overnight and they've been making snow steadily--there's just a little natural snow. Right now there's no meaningful snowfall projected for the next week or so. But it is good conditions for both snow making and skiing--cold at night and in the upper 20s/low 30s by mid-day. Right now just the Hematite chair is running. The triple, Panorama, should be open later today (some technical problem). Just the west half of the mountain is open see map--about 1/4 of the the actual trails. There's a mix of trails open from easy to hard including, yes John Patrick, Hermatite. More runs should be open soon.The Famers Restaurant menu has seen some upgrades, along with the usual kid fare and bar food. There's even some decent wine. And everything is still reasonably priced. Lift tickets, in fact were only $25/adult (usual $36) because of the limited runs open.
Overall it's great up here. The air is fresh and clean and it's not crowded at all. See you on the slopes or in the hot tub. A few pictures taken mostly by Rebecca.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Joe And Julie's Christmas Eve

We enjoyed Christmas Eve with the extended Weinrich family, hosted by Joe and Julie. Lots of kids and gifts. Pictures.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Pre Christmas Gifts and Skating

We opened up gifts with Grandpa George before heading to KC. There, Rebecca couldn't get enough ice skating in! Photos.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Hawks Game December 2006
We had the pleasure of attending the Chicago Black Hawks hockey game as guests of the Cohn's (and the University of Chicago). We had fabulous seats--just 6 rows off the ice, behind the Hawks bench. Dinner before the game was at the Billy Goat Tavern, made famous by Dan Akroid and John Belushi in the 70s: "Cheeborger, Cheeborger, Cheeborger!" Although now they do serve fries--and good ones--and even wine. We walked from the restaurant to the game.Game Photos
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Deck The House
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Holiday Concert
Sunday, December 03, 2006
First Snow 2006
We've had our first real snow of the season--a nice 6 inches. Thankfully it arrived when neither Sharon nor I were travelling. Lily is of course loving it, as is Rebecca who has converted the mound of dirt remaining in the backyard from the construction into a ski slope. Gone are the days when just sitting on a sled is fun. Now she has to stand on the on it like a snowboard. For a child who has always found it challenging to just play alone and self-entertain, she really likes playing in the snow even in the 15F cold. A few winter shots. And movies--one, two, three.Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Thanksgiving at Cona
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Chloe's party
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Tortola

Yes, I know it's been awhile. Well, it's been a busy summer full of fun and selfishly I've been trying to enjoy the house a little bit now that it's done. We went sailing in June with the parents and Turtles. Had a GREAT time. Here are the best shots--sorry, couldn't keep it under 100 images but hopefully with the new image viewer you'll find it easy to flip through them. (Requires Flash 8).
Monday, July 03, 2006
New Kitchen
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Braids Down
So Rebecca took here hair out of the braids from the BVI sailing trip. Doesn't she look exotic? I keep looking at her and seeing Aunt Ash.Photos
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Ball Game
It was a gorgeous day and Rebecca played well. Two for three at the plate and one or two outs in the field. A few more photos.Thursday, May 25, 2006
Goofing
Softball Season Begins
Softball season is in full swing. Two games a week through early July. Rebecca's greatly improved from last year (with little actual softball practicing). She's stronger and has more coordinated--must be all the cartwheels! After three games and 10 at-bats she's only struck out once. The rest are singles and one double. Batting 900--not bad. A few runs too including one you see at right against Hunter's team. Now if Rebecca's team could only win one. Well, maybe soon. Photos.Saturday, April 08, 2006
And More Birthday
OK, enough celebrating! ;-) I think this is the 4th set of candles this little girl has blown out. But Grandmommy REALLY topped the charts with this awesome, beach-themed cake--perfect for Dataw. Rebecca asked for a blue cake and this was mom's execution of it--fabulous and yummy too. Photos.More Birthday Celebrating
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Rebecca's Eigth Birthday Party

Rebecca celebrated her birthday with some school and neighborhood friends. Many of the 18 girls invited were out of town for Spring Break so it was a nice managable party of 8 (whew). Lots of activities in the new kitchen. And leave it to Rebecca to throw the first party in the new house! Pictures.
Monday, March 27, 2006
41!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Kitchen Progress
The kitchen is looking fabulous. It's so nice having one to eat/cook in! If we don't eat carry-out pizza and Chinese for awhile, I'll be very happy. Drinking morning coffee in front of the warm fireplace, while reading the NYT as the sun shines through the east picture windows. I feel like I'm on vacation (but it's Wednesday). Hood, handles and furnishings remain. A few photos.Sunday, March 12, 2006
Lake Geneva

Yes, I know it's been awhile since I've posted. It's the dead of winter, where nobody goes outside, not alot going on and for us the house progress continues to muddle along. We're into month 12! The various trades have been doing a good job with few exceptions and with us closely managing them. I'm at the point where another weekend sleeping in the basement would set me over the edge. We had planned on carpeting the top floor before this weekend but that got moved to Monday so Sharon smarthly and swiftly planned a weekend away. We drove 90 minutes north to Lake Geneva and stayed at the nice resort there. Rebecca's friend Hunter joined us. Weather on Saturday was a spectacular 65F. I didn't think about the house once!!! It was really nice to get away. Photos.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Master Bath


Sharon is doing an awesome job designing our master bath. The shower tile is in and it looks stunning.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Hawks Game
Derek Moore treated us to a Hawks game in the executive suite (nice!). It was Rebecca's first hockey game so I had to explain to her that not everyone gets all this luxurious space, free food and a private, clean bathroom. Our teams lost but we had a great time. Photos.Friday, January 06, 2006
Kitchen Floor
The much-anticipated, long-awaited kitchen floor of Sharon's is in and it's beautiful. It covers 800sf of kitchen, greatroom and pantry. The terra cotta is 3/4' thick reclaimed roof tiles from French Provincial homes. In total it weighs 4 tons and Sharon hand placed each tile. Yes, she and the tile guy have become good buds and he now has a lifetime of stories to tell his drinking buddies..."did I ever tell you about this crazy woman I layed a kitchen floor for? Well....". Next is sealing, then grouting and then 2 more coats of sealant. And none will be done without Sharon's close supervision of her biggest investment ever in stone. The fun continue and, yes, we're getting close to being done. A few photos.Monday, January 02, 2006
Ski Vacation
Describing our ski vacation as awesome would be an understatement. Unbelievable, really--as in what just happened?. We drove 5 hours north to Iron Mountain, Michigan (U.P.) with our good friends Jennifer and Kevin and their kids. To begin with, our condo was right on the slopes and just steps from the from the lodge. The Pine Mountain was reopened this year under new ownership of some other friends. None of our kids had ever skied, so it was a whole new experience for them. They all had lessons for the first few days where together they quickly advanced from the Bunny Slope to bigger and better things. The mountain was relatively small but nicely manageable. I wasn't sure how my back was going to hold up after not having skied for 13 years and having back surgery 7 years ago. I was mentally prepared to read in the lodge most of the 7-day vacation. But to my pleasant surprise it was strong enough. It's amazing how having not skied for so long I could pick it right back up. The weather was great--not too cold and it snowed two of the nights, making for some great powder skiing. We stayed on property the entire week, moving from the condo to the slopes to the pool/hot tub to the lodge for all meals. That made it easy and the prices for everything was U.P. reasonable. Watching our kids advance was amazing. I think they even dreamt about skiing as they seemed to be even better the next morning. From green circle to blue square to black diamond, they covered the whole mountain and from time to time even went down the slopes on their own. They loved going on the lifts on their own and even the helpful lift operators commented how they were excelling. Rebecca loved hitting the jumps and left the mountain with a few face-plant scratches. Meaghan and John Patrick had fun keeping up with their friends on the slopes. And they all would just go straight down the hill with us parents yelling behind them "turn!". Later in the week Sharon arrived along with a few more friends, which made for some fun, festive evenings including New Years eve. There's lots more to be said about the unbelievable week. But for now, here are the photos and movies:Rebecca Skiiing
Rebecca Jumps and Falls
Rebecca Jumps and nails it--a perfect 10
Meaghan Skiing
John Patrick Skiing the Black Diamond
Kevin and Jennifer Skiing
Sharon and Rebecca on the lift
Sunday, December 25, 2005
American Girl
Rebecca, in her new dress from Grandmommy, off to American Girl Doll Store for lunch and a show. Here are pictures of the visit plus a few from Christmas Day.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
House Progressing
House construction progress continues to plod along. The front porch is now mostly complete except for the front stairs which will probablyt go in in the spring when it's warm enough to pour concrete. We're really happy with the overall front of the house. Remaining interior work is all the trim, tile, flooring and cabinets. I took a few interior pictures but generally then don't show much--it's hard to capture the look and feel. Photos.Sunday, December 18, 2005
Weinrich Christmas

We made our annual Christmas trip to KC. Lots of active kids now (8, and I think we are all finished). Ice skating and stage productions were the big highlights. Plus Jack Stacks ribs (yum), KT Fryers chicken and lots for leftovers. The gifts were particularly thoughtful and generous this year. Photos of all the cousins.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Lily And Snow
Lily LOVES the snow. Lots of places to dig and bounce through. The cold doesn't seem to bother her at all. The only thing better than the snow is playing with her buddy Watson in it! So much fun. Within no time she gets herself covered in snow. It matts in her hair into little snow balls that she tries to eat it off when back inside. The only remedy is a towel in front of the new fireplace where she lays down and the snow slowly melts off (along with an occasional doggie-shake). The photos.Sunday, December 11, 2005
Sweet Christmas
Saturday, December 10, 2005
House For Lily
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
3833 Demolition
As part of our little house project, we removed the back half of Grandpa George's house. It was an addition constructed about 30 years ago that wasn't really being used and most importantly, it was obstructing Sharon's view of the backyard from her new kitchen. So, off with it! The process was actually quite cool. The carpenters literally cut the addition from the rest of the house using Skil saws and then the back hoe just carefully pulled it all down. Pitcures.Friday, December 02, 2005
Cona Thanksgiving 2005

Thanksgiving was spent at Cona as usual. We had a great time. Drank lots of wine (the list). The kids, now a year older, were able to play outside on their own. Forget the park, playground, Chocolate World, museum, etc. They has 100+ acres to explore in. Much of the time was spend climbing up stone walls and across fallen trees. It scared us parents a bit as one little slip and they fall 8 feet. But everyone survived and the kids really had a blast. The Meal was had a day late this year to accommodate Mike's schedule. It actually worked out better not having the Big Meal immediately after our travel day. It allowed us to settle in a bit and just relax. I think we should do it that way next year too.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Halloween 2005

Well, halloween is here. Great for pictures, school plays and other stuff. Rebecca had a school recital this morning. Here she is in her devil costume (video copyright BB Productions--kinda). Short Video 1. Short Video 2.
And here's a few photos from Mike & Kathy's party.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Construction Climbing
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Spas
Saturday, October 22, 2005
House Progress

Most of the house construction work has been on the inside lately--plumbing, electrical, heating, etc. The old kitchen is now gone and with it went the tv cabinet (all of which Sharon, I and Grandpa George had so carefully and lovingly build 6 years ago). So, often, you have to give in order to get. So now we have a big open room full of studs, joists and plywood. Progress has seemingly been creeping, but the tradesmen have all done excellent, careful work and we are VERY MUCH pleased with the results. With any luck this will all be sheetrocked in in a few weeks. Maybe done by Christmas? Who knows. For now we get by with hardly a kitchen and our neighbors have been gracious hosts for many dinners. Many people have asked how we've survived through all this mess. I tell them , 'Patience and Wine'. Pictures.
To The Top

Well, after months and months of trying, Rebecca finally made it to the top of the 18' rock climbing wall at Hidden Peak--we are so proud of her! The sequence.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Museum Day
Our photos.

Monday, October 03, 2005
Race Day

On Sunday, Rebecca, Marley, Grandpa George and I went to the Joliette for the NHRA races. My company sponsored a car and we got first-class treatment. It was fun and LOUD! Photos.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Dance
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Cona Visit

We're at Cona this weekend, exploring the woods, rivers and wine cellars of south central PA. Lily came with us and is having a BLAST running free. Photos.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Faulx Visit

We spent the weekend visting the Cleveland crowd. Everyone had a great, relaxing time. Walks, backyard play, naps, rat trapping.... photos








