Lewis Family

National Championship weekend

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

As you may have heard, Team Lewis visited New Orleans the weekend of the college football national championship game. It was a lot of fun enjoying the NOLA for the 2nd time in the span of a year, this time with some family members. And the trip was capped off with a resounding win by Bama!

Before Monday’s game our time was oriented around sight-seeing, food & drink. We did Brennan’s, Stanley’s, Pat O’Brien’s, Oyster Bar, Café du Monde (x3 or 4), and more.
Here are some of the highlights pre-game…

There were many trips to Café du Mond for beignets & café au lait.

Scott approves

This is supposed to be a shot of Nick Saban doing a radio show on Saturday night – sorry for the graininess.

Fog over the Mississippi during a run with my bro

The view on the next morning.

Saban and the boys leave the team bus and into their hotel

Yeah, that’s Trent.

Photo op with Greg McElroy, QB for the 2009 championship team

Gene Stallings, coach of the ‘92 national championship team

Cheese!

2012-01-23T09:53:00.001-06:00

The baby shows off his photogenic skills...

Courtesy of KK

Ed. experiencing technical difficulties - it's also available on KK's google+ page.

Cali time

2012-01-09T06:00:00.001-06:00

I headed out to California in early December for a business trip sans family. It was productive but there was not much downtime. There’s not much to tell about the trip but I got to spend Friday in Hollywood and then Manhattan Beach. I grabbed a couple pics and here they are...

Driving down the 101

Grauman’s Chinese Theatre

And the fun with friends on Friday night – these are tempranillo vintages from ‘73, ‘76, ‘78, ‘85, ‘90 & ‘91. This was accompanied by some delicious paella – thanks Gary & Terry!

A Saturday morning run along the beach

Roll Tide!

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

There's a big game tonight that you should be watching.

LSU vs. Alabama for the BCS National Championship!

Here's a little encouragement & humor to get you hyped up.

Disclaimer: some inappropriate language for the young 'uns.

Roll Tide!

Rolling with the baby

2012-01-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

Little Man was the lucky recipient of two push cars as Christmas presents this year, a Cars car from Lita, and a Cozy Coupe from Nana & Pop. Little man has really enjoyed getting into push cars at friends’ houses so we thought it’d be good to get him one. As you can see from the videos below both boys are really enjoying the new toys so far.

Blue steel

The videos:

#2

And from Xmas morning…

Video #2

One year ago...Jan 2011

2012-01-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

Another year has gone by and now it's time to break some New Year's resolutions.
What are your goals and how quickly were they broken?

Here are some of our resolutions from the last year: the boys did quite well.

Learn to walk better - done.

Read books - done.

Improve our dexterity & physical fitness - done.

Happy New Year!

One year ago...Jan 11

Two years ago...Jan 10

Three years ago… Jan 09
Four years ago…Jan 08
Five years ago... Jan 07

Giggles from the baby

2011-12-30T19:03:00.001-06:00

To make amends for our lack of posting this month – laughs from the baby.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Happy Holidays! [Websites that amuse me...Xmas edition]

2011-12-29T11:01:00.000-06:00

As we approach the end of the year, everyone starts to do their ‘best of’ and ‘top 10’ lists for theyear. I've compiled a couple of them plus some other holiday-related items.
So grab some eggnog, a cozy fire, and enjoy this assortment of articles to while away the relaxing hours of your life.
Merry Christmas!

Goodnight iPad - a sarcastic retelling of the classic bedtime book
Related article - kids obsessed by iPads
Some bad performances of the Hallelujah Chorus
6 to 8 Black Men - funny story from David Sedaris, may not be kid-appropriate
How much does downloading a book increase the weight of a Kindle?
Google’s Zeitgeist 2011 - the most popular searches of the year
I think I've changed my mind - this is what I want for Christmas - nerf.
How marketing brought about the Christmas holiday as we now know it.
Photos:
Word War II in photos - by the Atlantic, a fascinating 20 part retrospective
Faces of fear - a belated Halloween related article
Photos from cherynobyl
No limits - some gorgeous scenery
Reuters best photos of the year
45 most powerful images of the year - buzzfeed
50 best nature photos from the Boston Globe’s The Big Picture - the kids will like #25
The Year in Pictures: Part I - also from The Big Picture
Video:
A 1930s tour of Chicago
Tim Hawkins talks Worship Styles & Family sundays
Mahna-mahnam - gloriously Muppets
B&B Official Holiday song - definitely worth at least a short listen

One year ago...Dec 10

2011-12-22T09:54:00.000-06:00

So what did we do last December?

The baby cackled, began to crawl, and practiced some belly-drumming.

Ann got engaged!

We wrote a Christmas letter, blog-style.

We learned about the Elf on the Shelf, Twizz is his name.

We remembered the boys' first trip to Disney.

And the men watched some Cardinal basketball

Two years ago...Dec 09

Three years ago…Dec 08

Four years ago…Dec 07

Five years ago…Dec 06

Christmas Letter 2011

2011-12-19T22:33:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the 2011 Team Lewis Christmas letter!

A more detailed post is in progress. Check back soon!

Love,
Team Lewis

Ending radio silence–a streetcar named Lightning

2011-12-12T22:05:00.001-06:00

It’s been awhile, my apologies. Life is very busy and trips to Virginia, Indiana, and LA haven’t helped things.

Here’s a couple of videos to appease the masses (aka the moms). If I had more time I’d splice these into one video but for ease and quickness here are two short videos.

The setting is that Lita bought the boys some Xmas toys and KK was her helper elf. Little man is big into pushing things around and so he now has a Cars push toy. Both boys are really enjoying it and here are some moments of childish delight.

Enjoy.

#2

Happy Turkey Day!

2011-11-24T12:36:00.001-06:00

We've done our Turkey Trot and eaten a delicious breakfast. Now it's naps and football, with maybe the muppets movie sprinkled in. Then we'll dig into the turkey and various accoutrements.

This is a bit clique but we have many things to be thankful for this season. Here is a stream-of-conscious list for our wonderful readers.

loving family
supportive friends
a warm & comfy home
the cuteness of two sleeping boys
Radiolab - great for long car rides
a job
good wine
freedom
running
naps
college football
Roll Tide!
Go Hokies!
Chik-fil-a
gravy
mashed potatoes
dessert
coffee

Anything I'm missing?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hanging out on the farm (2)

2011-11-14T05:00:00.000-06:00

Here are more highlights from our farm visits in September. Team Lewis grabbed a cousin and we were off to grab some apple cider donuts. Again, more pics are available at Picasa.

posing on the tractor

bouncing around

playing in the corn pit

Hanging out on the farm

2011-11-07T05:00:00.000-06:00

The family got a couple chances to explore our agricultural heritage back in September. We spent some time early in the month at Huber’s for country cooking and farm-like fun. Towards the end of the month we made our 3rd(?) annual pilgrimage to Kuiper’s for apple cider donuts & more pseudo-farm events.
I’ll limit this one to Huber’s and swing back around for some Kuiper’s highlights.
More pics are posted @ Picasa.

1st (?) pony ride

we found the perfect pumpkin!

One year ago…Nov 10

2011-11-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

The baby laughs – always adorable – and smiles

Espana trip recaps – relive the trip at Picasa

One year ago…Nov 10
Two years ago…Nov 09
Three years ago…Nov 08
Four years ago…Nov 07
Five years ago…Nov 06

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T21:30:00.000-05:00

Soccer goal project (Part 2)

2011-10-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here are the two boys playing soccer and enjoying the new soccer goal together.
Little Man dribbles

The boys run in circles

Firehouse Visit

2011-10-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

Stud boy & Andrea spent a recent beautiful fall afternoon checking out an open house at a local firehouse. Thanks to a friend they were able to get some extra attention and an up-close look at the equipment. Andrea grabbed some good pics of stud boy for your viewing pleasure.
Hanging out with Fireman Chip

Sparky the Firehouse Dog (or something like that)

Checking out the firehouse

The rescue helicopter approaches

onboard the chopper

learning some fireman skills

Websites that amuse me...[Fall edition]

2011-10-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Some random articles that I thought I'd pass along to all y'all.

College football is back in action and sports are on my mind

Interesting Atlantic article about the NCAA - The Shame of College Sports

The economics of football bowl games

Roll Tide!

A blind marching band playing at football games for deaf kids

An excerpt from a tell-all book about Walter Payton - not crazy about the content that I've seen

A review of the ESPN documentary about Bartman.

We just saw it the other night, pretty interesting. As someone who was there, the atmosphere really did get ugly pretty quickly. Poor guy.

The end of bullfighting in Catalonia

You think you can play tennis?

Media

Mindy Kaling (of “The Office”) on Chick Flicks

Stallone sings - gloriously awful

Tom Haverford’s names for food - HT Ann

CinematoGIFs article - references this site - hard to explain but it’s animated shots from various movies, many are quite mesmerizing. I included one at the bottom.

How Music Works - bits from a BBC documentary

Random

Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? some interesting points but I don’t like the conclusions

Celebrating the ‘80’s

Bad Lip Reading - Rick Perry - HT ‘Moose’

3 Requests for Worship Pastors and ‘Expressive Worship’

from Napoleon Dynamite

from Amelie

Soccer goal project

2011-10-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of weekends ago stud boy and I spent an afternoon doing a project. Now this was not our typical stud boy & daddy “project”. We typically head over to the Home Depot monthly to do their free kids project, which you’ve seen evidence of in the past. It’s usually pre-cut and just needs glue, nails and some hammering.
This time the two of us headed to Home Depot for supplies to build a soccer goal. The inspiration was that he left the last couple of soccer games complaining about not scoring a goal.
So, we’ll practice.
I found some instructions for a PVC pipe goal thru a couple sites that all led back to (or lifted) from www.thisoldhouse.com. We grabbed supplies and then back home to do manly stuff.

We measured twice and cut up our PVC. Here is stud boy flexing his newly-acquired sawing muscles.

And then some sandpapering to smooth out those rough edges.

Looks good.

Fitting the pieces together with a serious work face

Showing off the completed job.

Enjoying the fruits of our labor

Peek-a-boo

2011-10-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

The little man and I play a game

One year ago…Oct 10

2011-10-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Halloween! and more

Cute baby

Down on the farm with some cute cousins

One year ago…Oct 10

Two years ago…Oct 09

Three years ago…Oct 08

Four years ago…Oct 07

Five years ago…Oct 06

School Days

2011-09-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

Our stud boy is growing up so fast! He started preschool this month and is loving it.
Here are some pics of the handsomeness.

The Kittiwake

2011-09-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here’s a couple of things that I found while researching the ex-USS Kittiwake and thought I’d pass ‘em along.

The official site for the wreck

The stats or here

The wikipedia page

The HuffPo article – includes a video of the sinking (I know the majority of our readers just love the HuffPo)

Some of the dive shops’ details:

Cayman Dive Shuttle – who we used
Some random dive shop
Scuba Diving Magazine coverage
A video of the sinking
More pics can be found here.

Cayman Dive Shuttle has some good shots. You’ll find ones with Andrea & I on Facebook.

A little more “vacay”

2011-09-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

This is a continuation of our summer vacation report. See part one here.

Week two of the Cayman trip featured even more rest and relaxation. This post finds us alone for a few days after KK & Grandpa Jim headed north. There was pool time, beach time, sunsets and naps. Now that I think about it, the most exciting thing we did was go to Foster’s (the local grocery store chain) one night. We were surprised to find that it was a popular hangout place on a Wednesday night.
Nana & Pop arrived on Friday night and Andrea & I were particularly glad to have some help with the morning shift. Thanks Pop! Nana usually likes to get up at 6 or 7AM and make breakfast for the family. But this trip was very different and Pop got up with the boys. If you know anything about Nana, then you know the last couple of sentences were a complete fabrication.

Sunday was probably the highlight of the trip for the adults. Four of us grabbed some lunch at Morgan’s Harbour (minus Nana & Mason) and then Andrea & I jumped on a boat to go scuba diving. First we headed out to Eagle Ray Pass to do a wall dive. There were a bunch of eagle rays and a typically spectacular tour of the corral. We did the dive with our Cayman neighbors, Esther & Julian, of Cayman Dive Shuttle. Then we took a scenic boat ride around to the West Bay. It was a great way to see the island from a different vantage point. A quick stop at a dock to pick up Stud boy & Pop, and then over to the ex-USS Kittiwake.
The Kittiwake was a US submarine rescue vessel that was built in the ‘40’s and was sunk in Cayman in January of this year. I think I’ll post more details about it later, but most importantly for me, this was my first wreck dive. Since it’s a new wreck everything was in great shape. It’s a relatively shallow dive, about 60’ to the bottom and we were able to spend a good amount of time down there.

Not much else to report beyond that, and we all enjoyed a nice, relaxing trip. Andrea & the kids got to stick around for another week but it was back to the office for me. There are some pics below and then more at Picasa in the August folder.

enjoying the fountain @ Camana Bay

Little man poses

2011-09-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Little man has gotten on a kick where he hands us these glasses from a doctor’s kit to put on him. Surprisingly he’ll wear them, at least until they start to fall off. Fortunately I was able to get him to hold still just long enough for a couple of pics.
Hope you enjoy.

A little ‘vacay’

2011-09-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Early in August Team Lewis headed south for some time in beautiful Grand Cayman. Fortunately the grandparents on both sides of the family were able to join us for part of the time, Lewis’ during the first half and Nana & Pop on the second half. This post will go over the first part of our trip.
The fun started when KK & Grandpa Jim met us in Charlotte during a layover and then off to experience Cayman for their first time. We got in on a Tuesday afternoon and started with some Caymanian cuisine at Lone Star. For the uninitiated it’s actually more of a burger joint started by a Texan. The only thing Caymanian about our lunch was the Cay Brew beer. Afterwards there was pool time, settling in and the first of many gorgeous sunsets.
Andrea & I were really glad to have the parents around, especially when morning time came. They were nice enough to distract the kids for an hour (or two). They went out for breakfast a couple times, saw the sunrise and checked out the pool. KK worked on stud boy’s swimming skillz, and Grandpa Jim showed him the finer points of shore fishing.
So what else did we do? There was a drive out to the East End to see the blowholes and to check out Rum Point (pictures below). Part of the crew went to the Turtle Farm during little man’s naptime, and stud boy was even able to jump into a tank with some of the smaller turtles.
It was a fun week and we were glad to introduce the sights to the ‘rents. Unfortunately KK & Jim’s time went by quickly and they headed back to the states. I was hoping to work on the blog while we were vacationing but there wasn’t any internet connection at the condo. Going off the grid was a mixed blessing. We got a lot of reading done but it would’ve been nice to catch some emails and such. Anyways, there’s more on the second part of our trip to come, but here are some pics.

Special drinks at sunset

Stud boy @ the turtle farm

Checking out the blowhole

lounging at Rum Point

Fishing with grandpa

to Hell and back

walking around Georgetown

mugging for the camera during dinner at Macabuca’s

One year ago…[Sept 10]

2011-09-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

The baby progresses – sitting and bumbo time and eating solids (plus video).

One year ago – Sept 10

Two years ago – Sept 09

Three years ago – Sept 08

Four years ago – Sept 07

Five years ago – Sept 06

Monster truck mania

2011-08-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

As previously mentioned, stud boy and I went to a monster truck show at the county fair. It was a first for both of us and quite exciting. Here’s a little more from that fun day.
Much of it was as you’d expect - the trucks were big and loud, and cars were crushed. There wasn’t much material but they stretched it out into an hour show. The trucks did some racing and then were interjected by some motocross guys that did aerobatic jumps. Actually the motocross stuff became more exciting than the monster truck racing. The freestyle monster truck stuff at the end helped liven up the truck portion and then ‘Outback Thunda’ flipped his truck to finish the evening. Lots of noise, lots of horse power and some classy fun.

Here are some pics & videos of the show.

And here’s some video…

A visit to the county fair [Part 1]

2011-08-29T06:00:00.002-05:00

Ed. This post was supposed to appear on 8/1, but something didn't happen. My apologies, and more posts to come.

Saturday featured a fun trip to the county fair and some monster truck madness! (“Monster truck madness” must be said in a loud announcer voice)

The men of the family (plus Tori and minus the baby) headed over to the fair first for some healthy corn dogs. We all chowed down in the sweltering heat and then moseyed over to the rides. The kids enjoyed a few rides, followed by some dessert and then off to the show.
As you can imagine, the people watching was fascinating. Some stereotypes were confirmed and some were broken. Granted, everyone was suffering through 90 degree temperatures & high humidity. Wife beater shirts, unnecessary camo, trucker hats, jean shorts that didn’t fit, various tattoos, and even worse, country music. One of the more astonishing discoveries was that the ‘carnies’ (at least the ones that handled the kiddie rides) were better dressed than most of the fair goers. They were all adorned with maroon polos and khaki shorts. Slightly comforting as stud boy & I entered the spinning death trap.

Here are the kids enjoying the rides and more details on the MONSTER TRUCK SHOW to come.

Don’t be confused by her serious face. Both the kids had fun and when she got off the ride she said, “That was awesome!”

A visit to the county fair [Part 2]

2011-08-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

Okay, so here’s some video from our trip to the fair. Some monster trucks and motocross action. Many apologies for the grainy picture quality but it was video from our camera.
But it’s all very manly stuff.

And some motocross.

Yes, this next one contains a flip.

One year ago…Aug 10

2011-08-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to year 5 of the blog!
Thanks for joining us on this journey. Life’s getting busier and posting has been light lately but we’re still here trying to post a minimum of once a week.
You’re suggestions and input are always appreciated.
Have a good day!

Reciting Psalm 23

The many faces and cuteness of the baby

Just the guys

One year ago…Aug 10

Two years ago…Aug 09

Three years ago…Aug 08

Four years ago…Aug 07

Five years ago…Aug 06!

More walking

2011-07-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

The baby has been practicing and improving as a walker. He’s still faster at crawling, but hopefully he’ll get this whole thing figured out soon – our arms and backs are quite tired.

Websites that amuse me… [Summer’s sweltering heat edition]

2011-07-20T10:47:00.004-05:00

It's in the 90's this week and the heat index is consistently over 100. Today's supposed to be the hottest day with temperatures approaching 100 and the heat index shooting for 110. So it's a bit rough outside and I'm not looking forward to the electricity bill.
This particular list started earlier in the summer but has been languishing on the sidelines for awhile. There’s not an overall theme or continuity, and I apologize if any of these are rather dated.

Sports & Health

· The power of the placebo effect

· What is the single best exercise?

· Solo speed climb of a mountain face – crazy

· Manuel de los Santos – playing golf on one leg

· Squatting and weightlifting with only one arm and one leg

Music

· Our boys have some catching up to do – Kindergarten guitar group

· Library of congress now has an online player for their massive collection – National Jukebox

· A history of Christian rock

Parenthood/schooling

· Why there is blood on my carpet – pretty funny moment of parenthood

· The failure of American Schools – interesting article by Joel Klein who spent 8 years as the chancellor of New York City’s school system

Miscellaneous

· What Stephen Hawking doesn’t understand about heaven – an NT Wright editorial piece

· VW Torture course

· Angry Birds – the movie

· Dams that people made to protect their houses from the Mississippi River flooding

· Did you know that jellyfish have eyes?

o This article led me to look up the largest jellyfish types - Lion’s Mane Jelly fish

o And some details on the deadliest of jellyfish, the sea wasp – pantyhose is the trick,
according to the NYT article.

· Awesomepeoplehangingouttogether.com – actually some are awesome, some are just famous

Catching fireflies

2011-07-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

Stud boy recently caught his first fireflies. Andrea & I took him outside one evening, fought the mosquitoes and snagged a few lightning bugs. We had to work on his grabbing technique but no fireflies were harmed in the process. The fireflies spent the evening in a mason jar on stud boy’s night stand. He told us that he was going to keep his eyes open all night to watch them glow. Fortunately we wore him out at the park and he didn’t stay conscious for very long.
Here are a few pics of the action.

Stages of walking

2011-07-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

We have a stubborn one on our hands. Little man has the ability but not the desire to walk. As mentioned before, he does a great job with his push toy but hasn’t progressed much over the last two months. He’ll stand next to furniture and slide along a little bit but won’t venture away from a support. We’ve tried to walk with him but oftentimes we get the following response - see video.

But wait. About 10 minutes after this video, Little Man started to do this -

(Miles & I were in the middle of a game of Candy Land so that explains some of the background conversation).

This kid seems wants to do things on his own terms and at his own pace. At least he’s very dedicated and keeps trying. This video only captures a portion of his attempts; he probably did this for about 20 minutes. Hopefully he’s just as determined and persistent about learning other things in life.

Sweet tooth

2011-07-10T12:27:00.001-05:00

A small vignette from the wild and crazy life that we lead - the boys learn the joys of whip cream straight-up.

One year ago…July 10

2011-07-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Time in the swing for the baby

Tough life lessons

Vacationing

One year ago…July 10

Two years ago…July 09

Three years ago…July 08

Four years ago…July 07

Mastering the spoon

2011-06-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

The baby has begun the process of learning how to master the spoon (“there is no spoon”).

As a parent we’re happy for the little guy and want him to have a little more independence but we’re not crazy about the clean-up that’s involved. Food ends up everywhere – all over the tray, his clothes, onto his face and hair. Hopefully he’s a child genius and will figure everything out quickly.

Here are pics of little man working on some yogurt, and KK posted some more pics here.

Learning to walk

2011-06-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Little man is making more progress towards walking. He recently (end of May) figured out how to walk with a cart or walker and gets a big grin every time he does it. At first he went from 0 to fast b/c it was almost a controlled fall. Now his legs are starting to keep up, so he’s slowed down slightly. He’s figuring out how to turn and also to slow down before crashing into things.

Climbing the stairs

2011-06-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Little man is finally mastering the stairs, here he is crawling up and down the stairs at Nana & Pop’s house. He sure is proud of himself and enjoys his new found freedom.

Where have we been?–Running, Virginia, Wisconsin and Indiana

2011-06-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Much apologies for the light posting over the last few weeks but we’ve been extremely busy. Here’s a little bit of a mind-dump so that I pass along pertinent info and update our blog-friends (aka cyber-stalkers).

Andrea & I ran a half-marathon in early May and both set new PRs. Andrea tried out interval training for the first time and dropped 6 minutes off of her fastest time. I’m very proud of her hard work and the growth mindset that she displayed. Through 10 miles I was on pace to do the same PR reduction but couldn’t keep the gas pedal down. I was still able to knock 3 minutes off the PR which puts me a little under 1:50.

A & A got married! (can we be done with the Lewis & Clark jokes now?) We had a fun action-packed weekend hanging out in DC with family. The bride & groom looked lovely, everything went smoothly (from our vantage point) and we had a great time partying with friends & family. A big thanks to Nana & Pop for taking the boys so that Andrea & I could party late into the night at the reception and actually sleep-in the next morning.
There are some great pics up at the photographer’s (link) & photographer’s assistant’s (link) blogs. There are plenty more to be found on Facebook and the official wedding website. The happy couple honeymooned in Cayman and are now settling into their new home in Toronto. We look forward to seeing them at Uncle Alex’s wedding this month.

And if you missed it, Team Lewis celebrated 10 years in May.

On another weekend the Crowley kids (and families) surprised Nana & Pop with a stay at a lake house in Oostburg, WI. The grandparents seemed to be delightfully surprised and happy for some family time. The weather and temperature was a tad frigid for swimming in the lake, at least in the mind of the adults, but the kids got to varying degrees of wet. The men golfed Saturday morning and the women did tea/hot cocoa on Saturday afternoon. The day was capped off by s’mores and vino.

And our whirlwind of a May was capped off by a trip to Indiana to hang out with Charlie & Allison and their 3 daughters, plus Chris & Sara and their dog, Zooey. We swam in the pool, lounged in the hot tub and the sun, and partook in stimulating conversations. Andrea & I really enjoyed the time of reconnecting with our friends while the kids entertained themselves and wore each other out. Oh, and I dominated Charlie at some corn hole action:) (There was a discussion about the merits of trash-talking so I feel compelled to throw that in there). Unfortunately there aren’t any good pics b/c we were too busy hanging out. Monday’s post will feature a video moment with Little Man from that weekend, but here’s a cute pic of ‘little blue eyes’ working on a snack.

That wraps up our crazy May and we’re looking forward to a few weeks at the homestead. Fortunately for you, Little Man has been doing some new and exciting things. So we’re pre-loaded with blog posts for the next few weeks, and hopefully a couple of things will come together to keep the momentum going. On a side note, if anyone has recommendation or tips for video editing that would be much appreciated.
See you soon.

Rocking baby

2011-06-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

The baby shows off a favorite activity of his – rocking his chair at mealtime.

One year ago…June 10

2011-06-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hanging out with family and friends in Indiana

Fun boy stuff and here

The baby’s turn here and here

World cup coverage and here

One year ago…June 10

Two years ago…June 09

Three years ago…June 08

Four years ago…June 07

10 years?

2011-05-19T15:38:00.004-05:00

Holy cow.
10 years.

Today we're celebrating 10 years of wedded bliss.

My beautiful bride and I have now spent almost a third of our life as a married couple, and that percentage is only going to increase with time. Poor Andrea, I don't think she quite realized what she was getting into. But it's probably better that way.

A lot of things have happened over this last decade...

Ten years ago we were living in Bloomington with just enough hand-me-down and gifted furniture to accommodate a 1 bedroom apartment. We were full time grad students and spent a lot of weekends in New Albany golfing or hanging out with Nana & Pop. I was working a couple of jobs plus earning some cash playing the bass, and Andrea was working a bunch as well. All of those jobs plus some familial assistance helped get us through those years (big thanks to the parents). We still had time to go the movies a lot and play some ultimate frisbee. The big splurge item in our budget was our $30/month coffee allowance. Of course mochas were still under $3 back then. Life was tough, yet simple and good. It was a great start to our marriage.

Then we moved back to Chicago, spent some time in Jeff & Al's basement (thanks!), found 'real' jobs, an apartment and (eventually) a house.

Life has become more complicated over time. Especially since the Lord blessed us with 2 wonderful boys. Fortunately they are never cranky, upset, whiny or ill-tempered. It's pretty miraculous.

Over the years we have done a lot of fun things together. We enjoyed memorable trips to Uganda, Spain, Italy, Cayman and various parts of the US. We ran a marathon and some half-marathons. We vacationed with family and hung out with friends. We drank lots of wine. We saw Alabama win the national championship. And we did all of these things together.

Last weekend my sister got married and there was an 'anniversary dance'. Seeing my grandparents up there as one of the last couples at 50+ years of marriage I was envious. Maybe that's not the best word to use, but I want us to be one of the couples dancing at our grand childrens' weddings some day (no rush). I hope that we're both alive, and that we're physically able to be out there dancing together.

Thank you, Andrea, for a great 10 years. We've definitely tested various parts of our vows - richer or poorer, sickness & health - and survived. The seven year itch was a non-issue and one decade is complete. Lord willing, we'll have a few more decades to get to know each other even better.

I look forward to it.

Love,
ML

Chocolate covered pretzels are delicious

2011-05-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

The baby discovers the joys of chocolate covered pretzels. Definitely a big hit.

Happy (belated) Mother’s Day

2011-05-09T22:09:00.001-05:00

We’re a tad late but a belated thank you to our moms, especially to Mommy.

From Sunday brunch

The grateful boys

The Easter Story

2011-05-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

Stud boy explains his drawing and thus the Easter Story.
The hilarity starts about 35 seconds in, but unfortunately the video got caught short because the disc ran out of space.

One year ago…May 10

2011-05-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Mother’s Day & cuteness for the grandmas

Silliness with one of stud boy’s best buds

Visit from family

The standard dentist chair pic

One year ago…May 10

Two years ago…May 09

Three years ago…May 08

Four years ago…May 07

Happy Easter!

2011-04-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here are some moments from our busy Easter weekend.
Too busy and lazy to get into details but there aren’t many specifics to share. The parents came to town along with A&A and we enjoyed some quality family time before the wedding happens next month. Stud boy tried to wear everyone down with playing and wrestling and general merriment. There was good food, Spanish wine, good company, and Easter services (not necessarily at the same time or in that order).
Here are some picture highlights:

First, a cute picture of the cousins on Palm Sunday

Ever-present Longaberger

A & Little Man

Easter Egg Hunt

Dying eggs with little brother trying to get involved

Stud boy’s Easter drawing – there’ll be a separate post on this…

Our little conservationist

2011-04-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Stud boy has been on a conservationist kick lately and we’re not exactly sure how it all got started. He’s been very concerned that lights are turned off in the house. We are very appreciative of his efforts to reduce our energy footprint and electricity bill but it’s borderline obsessive. And he occasionally likes to flick the lights off and on multiple times while we are still in the room, which gets a tad annoying.
Alas, his green efforts are offset by his joy of standing before the open frig. He enjoys checking out his options and perusing the bounty. Maybe he’ll learn one of these days (hopefully before the food goes bad).

Stud boy in action

His weakness

A funny crawl

2011-04-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

For some reason little man decided to crawl around without his knees touching the ground. Not sure if his knees were hurting or if he was just being fickle but we thought it was entertaining. Maybe you will too.

Warm weather is coming

2011-04-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the radio silence over here but life has been busy with various things, and not necessarily blog-worthy items. For example, taxes. You probably don’t want to hear about doing taxes, or cleaning the yard, or other similarly mundane activities. But the weather is warming up, Chicago is thawing off and photo ops are presenting themselves.
For example, stud boy and I have spent numerous afternoons playing a bunch of sports. He usually is good for 5 to 10 minutes and then wants to switch to another activity. So within half an hour we’ll throw the fris, kick the soccer ball, play tag, and then play some baseball. It’s exhausting – for me.

Here are some moments amidst the action…

Some tee ball action

Learning to love the fris

A jealous brother wants to play soccer too

Off for a walk to the park, with a delicious snack on hand

Tag! You’re it!

So happy

One year ago... April 2010

2011-04-16T10:00:00.001-05:00

Stud boy plays soccer and ‘reads’, and some bedtime chatter

Comparing the boys’ baby pictures

Easter bunny and He is risen

One year ago...April 10

Two years ago…April 09

Three years ago…April 08

Four years ago…April 07

Happy Birthday!

2011-03-31T22:21:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I’m off by a day with this but stud boy turned 4 this week. Here are some goofy pics from the various birthday celebration moments. More details to come later.

the machine gun laugh

2011-03-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

As previously mentioned, the little guy will occasionally do a ‘machine gun’ laugh accompanied with sticking out tensed arms and shaking them. It’s quite funny but I’ve had trouble getting a decent video of him doing it. So I’ve compiled some of the efforts and posted them below for your enjoyment. I believe the last one provides the best idea of what he’s doing. Enjoy.

The first video, courtesy of Jeff’s iPhone, and perhaps the funniest for us since it was a relatively new trick.

The previous video’s a bit grainy, so I was hoping for a better shot of the kid. Here was another attempt:

And probably the best quality video of the bunch:

Birthday party

2011-03-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

The little guy enjoyed an exciting first birthday with his family last week. First off was some birthday donut, a nutritious way to start the day. He didn’t mind the birthday hat, and thoroughly enjoyed a donut with sprinkles. At dinner time we took the boys over to 2 Toots, a local diner with model trains that deliver the food. The cousins joined in on the fun and the boys chowed down on some cupcakes for dessert, heavy on the icing and sprinkles.

Here are the pics and accompanying videos…

Breakfast:

Dinner:

Hmmm, a very satisfying day.

Happy 1st Birthday!

2011-03-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

The little guy turns 1 today.

It’s flown by amazingly fast. As mentioned earlier this week he’s developing rapidly. I think much of that relates to him trying to keep up with his big brother, or at least not trying to get squashed or overly-hugged.

To look back over his development this last year, I recommend that you click here.

And here is proof of him doing ‘vroom, vroom’.

Happy Birthday!

Update on the baby

2011-03-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

Blogging has been a little sporadic and irregular due to the demands of life, work and kids. Part of the recent busy-ness involved visits from the grandparents, and spending last moments before the unfortunate depature of A&A for Canada/DC. I believe we missed a week in February but have still been getting something posted weekly outside of that. Maybe the posts are not as deep and rich and thoughtful as you're used to but we're still checking in, blog-wise. For those of you keeping track (that's probably just me), this is blog post #544 (#500 was Bumbo Time). We are 4.5 years into the blog and still keeping with it.

Anyways, back to the baby and a quick update on his latest developments/cute tricks for those family members that haven't seen the little guy lately. Hopefully I can get some pictures or videos up here soon.

Crawling - he's getting faster
He still enjoys "walking" while holding someone's hands, and in the same fashion he enjoys jumping on the bed.
You've seen the 'pouty face' and now I think he does it to get attention.
Opinions are getting voiced, from food he doesn't want to toys he doesn't care for, he's letting us know what he thinks.
He's been more vocal since the tubes went in the ears. It probably helps that the fluid is gone and he can actually hear now. We've heard da-da, ma-ma, and na-na but just as part of making sounds and not intentional words yet.
He's a momma's boy - no doubt about that.
Yesterday morning he woke up and may have said 'da-da', at least that's what Andrea says. I was less than conscious when that happened.
Bottles are very passe, he doesn't want to touch them anymore which is fine b/c we're going to transition him to whole milk shortly anyways.
He's been doing a 'machine gun' laugh lately but I've had the hardest time getting a decent video of it. I'll keep trying and hope to post examples in the near future.
And he's starting to play with cars. He'll push a toy car around on the ground and say something that sounds like "vroom, vroom".

More on the little guy to come on Wednesday, the 16th.

One year ago...March 2010

2011-03-09T19:44:00.001-06:00

Funny faces and somersaults with stud boy

Conversing and the first hot cocoa

Chuck turns 70

Mason joins us!

And the joys of a new born including swaddling and many, many pictures
More pics are available - here

Birthday wishes to Miles

One year ago…March 10

Two years ago…March 09

Three years ago…March 08

Four years ago…March 07

Pouty face

2011-03-09T09:25:00.000-06:00

The little guy shows off his "pouty face".

Silly faces

2011-03-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

Stud boy shows off for the camera

Snow-pocalypse 2011–video

2011-02-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of videos that we made after the Blizzard of 2011 that demonstrate how much snow fell.

Video #1 – Andrea attempting to use our snow-covered front walk

Video #2 – Mike walking thru the backyard and onto the porch, sort of

The baby post-surgery

2011-02-14T22:57:00.001-06:00

Hey fam, everybody’s doing fine after the the tubes went into the ears this morning. Here’s some proof of the happy boy about 3 hours post-surgery.
Thanks for your thoughts & prayers this morning.

the boys laughing

2011-02-14T06:00:00.001-06:00

Stud boy makes the baby laugh, courtesy of Nana.

A little time with Google Chrome OS

2011-02-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

In middle December an unexpected package showed up at our door. No, it wasn't the stork but it was a laptop. A few weeks prior I had signed up to be part of the Google Chrome OS pilot program and it appears that I was fortunate enough to be a participant. I never got any notice or heads-up so it was a pleasant surprise to get a free laptop in the mail.

Full disclosure: I did get a free laptop (called CR-48) out of the deal, plus 2 years of 3G connectivity via Verizon.

I figured I'd just offer up some quick thoughts/impressions here, but check out the links below for a proper review and to see where I signed up for the pilot program.

The laptop is thin and light; a nice change from our heavy 15' Toshiba Satellite. There's not much memory or hard drive, just enough to run Google Chrome OS. Basically it's like a netbook that runs the Chrome OS as opposed to Windows or the Mac OS. The idea is that everything you're doing is internet-based; in the 'cloud'.

When you turn on the computer you go to the Chrome browser (for the uninitiated it's Google's internet browser versus something like Internet Explorer or Firefox). There is no desktop and no applications to buy or download except what you can find via the internet or use via the Chrome Store. I don't have time to discuss this aspect but Chrome apps are similar to using apps on your smartphone. The Chrome apps are obviously optimized for the Chrome browser.

For a heavy Google user like me it's not a stretch to be internet based. For example, Google Documents provides a way to create documents, we use Picasa to store and share some of our pictures, etc., etc. For long-term use I would recommend getting an external hard drive to have a backup of files and pictures, especially if you lose internet connectivity. The only real problem during regular use arises when I try to sync my iPhone. That's not really an option with this laptop and it forces me back to a desktop or full laptop.

I wrote this and a couple of previous posts via the CR-48. I typically use Windows Live Writer, but this time I used Scribe Fire which I found via the Chrome Store. The blogging process feels like it takes longer than normal, but that could just be related to a learning curve.

The laptop itself has some nice features but I'll let the articles below clarify further. I recommend getting familiar with the keyboard shortcuts; in fact I think the average computer user could take better advantage of keyboard shortcuts. The touchpad has no buttons which took a little adjustment. I've had the most trouble utilizing the 'right click' option b/c it requires a similar movement to scrolling. I've also had issues with doing a click and drag. It seems to be hit or miss for me, or I can only drag for a limited amount. Hopefully it'll get better with practice.

In general, I was skeptical about using a netbook-type computer but this laptop has made me a believer. We typically only use our laptop for internet usage anyways, although I don't see us paying for a 3G connection at this time. This would be a great computer for a college student and someone comfortable with 'cloud' computing. Google gives the example that if the laptop gets run-over, you can just buy a new one and not lose any data. Chrome saves your bookmarks, applications and preferences, so once you login you're good to go.

Below are some pics and the reviews...

Here are the aforementioned reviews from the pros:

Lifehacker.com & here
Walt Mossberg of the WSJ
Google Chrome OS Pilot Program

Websites that amuse me [Super Bowl Edition]

2011-02-05T11:09:00.000-06:00

Whether you’re watching for the game, for the ads or for the food, enjoy your Super Bowl weekend.

The history of the Super Bowl Indicator

A research firm has figured out the winner.

A preview of the Super Bowl ads

For example - A ~~great~~ hilarious VW ad
Also, ad creep has been affecting TV shows for years, but here are details on the Super Bowl’s ad creep

Aaron Rodgers ‘photobombs’ the Packers’ team captain photos (thanks Alex)

The definition of photobomb

A look at the exhaustive number of possible bets on the Big Game

And some non-sports related links...

It turns out that Mike is not the only author in the family, here's an offering from Miles. It'll give him something to talk about with Uncle Andrew & Uncle Jim.

What is your state known for?

Illinois has the highest rate of robbery
Virginia has the highest alcohol-related motorcycle accidents in the country
Wisconsin is the state for binge drinking
Indiana is the least environmentally-friendly

A recent NHL hockey game had 3 fights in the first 4 seconds.

And then something that puts all of this noise in perspective - how big is the universe?

Snow-mageddon 2011 update

2011-02-02T23:28:00.001-06:00

Howdy everyone - here's a quick update of Team Lewis after surviving the 3rd largest snowfall in Chicago history (I heard from a couple of radio sources that this year was behind '99's record by about 2 inches and then back in the 60's there was some ridiculous snowfall).

I woke up at 6 something to begin the snow removal process in hope of getting to work at a reasonable time. The office is only a mile from home so it's not a big deal, relatively speaking. I woke up to find that indeed we'd been hammered with snow. Before going to bed Andrea noticed that the snow had gotten up to the first step of our front porch, and in the morning I noticed it had climbed two more stairs to the door. Upon opening the garage door, I could tell we were in the 18 inch range (later confirmed by the radio and my unscientific method with a tape measure) and this was after shoveling twice the previous night.

The shoveling began in earnest and wasn't done until about 50+ minutes later. I made the decision to bury the Mazda early on. It would be complicated to remove the snow around it and I wouldn't want to drive it in the snow anyway. Fortunately it was a dry, light snow and I focused on maintaining good technique - lift with the legs.

Here are some low quality "before" iphone pics...

And a few feet into the snow removal process.

And after I was done (for the time being):

Where's the Mazda?

And you can tell that another half-inch+ fell while I was plowing.

Getting to the office was tough, but our 4 wheel drive Pathfinder came to the rescue. The main streets were cleared very well (considering) but many of the side streets were tough. At one point we almost got stuck on our street, but 4 wheel Low saved us from embarrassment and pain.

We have some cute pics and videos from today but it's getting late and I'm rather tired. Plus I get to shovel some more tomorrow after the snow plows come through again tonight. Lucky for us it'll be frigidly cold due to some severe wind chill. It's a bevy of excitement around here.

See you again soon...

Snow-pocalypse 2011!

2011-02-01T21:27:00.001-06:00

Snow armaggedon has arrived in Chicago! It's the storm of the millennium, thus far.

Yes, we are still alive and the house is still standing, although it's going to turn into an igloo tonight after we're buried underneath all the snow.

For those of you ignorant about what's going on in Chicago - we got 2 inches of snow last night, a couple more today and then it's blizzard conditions tonight and tomorrow. We're expected to get another 12 inches or more tonight, and if you live in the lake effect band then it could be 18 to 24 inches. Glorious.

The kids are in bed at this point and we're enjoying some jazz, books and chardonnay so life is good for the moment. The gusts of wind and occasionally flickering lights are a bit disconcerting but we're hopeful. My only question is how many times will I shovel the driveway this week? I'm at 3 and I think the over-under is 5 or 6. Any bets?

We'll see what tomorrow brings on Winter Weather Watch 2011!

One year ago...Feb 10

2011-02-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

Miles returns home and here's the recap of the latest hospital visit

He shows you how to enjoy vino.

Chicago survives an earthquake, which I mistook for snow plows driving by

The Mason update - 35 weeks

One year ago... Feb 10
Two years ago… Feb 09
Three years ago…Feb 08
Four years ago…Feb 07

Somersaults

2011-01-31T06:00:00.000-06:00

We’ve taken several videos of the baby lately, so stud boy wanted his turn to shine.
Here he is showing off his somersault technique.

A bedtime story

2011-01-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

this one is for the grandmothers…

Trying to walk

2011-01-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

The little guy really likes ‘walking’ around the house. Here he shows off his trick.

One year ago...Jan 10

2011-01-14T23:20:00.001-06:00

Alabama wins! and we witnessed it in person

Elmo travels via the USPS

Train ride

Miles spends some time back in the hospital due to some blockage

One year ago...Jan 10

Two years ago… Jan 09

Three years ago…Jan 08

Four years ago... Jan 07

Websites that amuse me [Happy New Year edition]

2011-01-01T11:11:00.000-06:00

Welcome to 2011!

As you recover from the New Year's celebration, here are a few year-end related posts that I found interesting or amusing.

Best viral videos of 2010 via Videogum - not necessarily kid-friendly

Year-end review from Google

Boston Globe's The Big Picture always has excellent photo collections, these are reviewing 2010

Life Magazine has a photo retrospective of the decade.

I had more but I'm having technical difficulties. Hopefully there's plenty here to keep you busy.

Happy New Year!

Cardinals basketball with the boys

2010-12-31T15:59:00.003-06:00

Earlier this month I was able to take the boys to a Louisville Cardinals basketball, courtesy of Nana & Pop.
We strolled in hand-in-hand with Mason in the Baby Bjorn. Not a typical sight, at least from the sporting events that I have attended.
Miles really enjoyed it and Mason just stared in wide-eyed wonder. Miles' favorite part was yelling 'Go Cards!", and he did so rather indiscriminately.

The highlight of the trip for me was our post-game analysis. To provide some backdrop: Miles enjoys an iPhone app called Angry Birds and the Louisville Cardinal mascot looks very much like the red bird from that game. During the game we discussed the similarities between the two and after the game Miles said 'The Cardinal is angry".

I replied, "No Miles, the mascot is not an angry bird. He's just determined and focused to win the game. He'll be angry if they lose the game, but they are easily winning this game."

Then we talked about why the the Angry Birds are angry (their eggs were stolen) but the Cardinals are not angry.

The discussion made for an interesting ride home and a nice cap on the trip.
My hands were quite full, but here are a few pics of our outing.

[Forgot to include this] And here's a link to a NYT article about the Angry Birds phenomenon.

Is that Santa in the background?

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

from our family to yours….

Websites that amuse me [Xmas edition]

2010-12-22T06:00:00.000-06:00

I’m not taking Christ out of Christmas – see R.C. Sproul’s comments

A hilarious holiday song made by a friend – Best Wrapper Alive.

I’ve received this link about the Hallelujah Chorus flashmob about a dozen times, please don’t send it again. It was cool the first time, but I’m good now.

Speaking of overdone videos - I’ve seen a dozen versions of this one too – music major, music teacher v parent, audition for principal bassist of the CSO, quantitative easing, and the first one that I saw – iphone (includes swearing).

And a token Hanukkah link, a new song courtesy of Matisyahu. The intro is kinda long, so you can skip to 1:23 to just hear the song.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

The elf on the shelf

2010-12-20T23:46:00.000-06:00

This Christmas season we’ve introduced stud boy to the ‘Elf on the Shelf’.
Here he is describing the scenario. Oh, and he’s named the elf, Twiz.

Twiz keeping watch in the kitchen

Baby bro finds it all to be very fun

Christmas Letter 2010

2010-12-20T23:20:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the 2010 Lewis Family Christmas letter!

Our letter is below, along with pictures and links to further blog posts about various topics mentioned.
Clicking on blue text will take you to other posts, while clicking on the pictures will take you to our Picasa site to see a bigger version. We hope you enjoy this little trip down memory lane with us.

January featured an excellent start to the year. Andrea and I flew out to California to watch Alabama win the college football national championship. The game was a lot of fun and then we got to enjoy the warm sun of Cali for the weekend.

Unfortunately later that month we had to take Miles into the hospital. There was some blockage in his intestines caused by scar tissue near where his kidney was removed. Fortunately we found a great pediatric surgeon who was able to get in there and take care of things.

Miles spent a week at the hospital and was a great trooper throughout. We found an excellent pediatric surgeon close to home, which was a lot easier than the trips downtown to Children’s. And yes, those are heart shaped bandages, a signature of the surgeon. Miles came home in February and we took it easy that month because of his condition and the impending arrival of a baby brother.

March featured the arrival of Mason! Our little bundle of joy arrived mid-month; there was much rejoicing and then the onslaught of sleep deprivation.

The baby ‘stuff’ was a lot easier the 2nd time around but the 3 year old running around complicated matters. Fortunately we were awake enough to celebrate Miles’ 3rd birthday, Thomas style. We had a good time eating some pizza and cake, and hanging out with family. Here’s a funny video of Miles wishing random people Happy Birthday in a sing-song way during bedtime.

In April Miles joined his first soccer league, which was quite entertaining and resulted in some fun pics. And then there was this picture shoot at Easter for Mason – poor kid but great blackmail material.

The next couple of months (May & June) were not too exciting. Except for a couple of trips to Indiana, we stayed local since we were plenty busy dealing with a newborn and his rambunctious brother. But in July we headed south to Cayman and enjoyed some family time hanging out down there. Andrea & I were able to scuba dive (thanks to Nana & Pop) and catch up on some reading. Miles got to play in the sand and meet SpongeBob, and Mason did a whole lot of sleeping.

School started back up in August so things quieted down again for a few months – Mike did run his 13th half-marathon in September with his buddy, Mateo; but then we headed to Spain in October. Yes, we braved transatlantic flights with two small boys for the opportunity to hang out in paradise for a couple weeks. Mike’s immediate family all flew from various stateside locations to enjoy the good life on the Mediterranean coast. There was lots of wine, Valor chocolate, paella and other good food to go along with the beautiful scenery and excellent company.

November snuck up on us and featured more travel destinations. Mike had a work trip to California which provided an opportunity for the rest of the family to fly out and see Scott & Tina at their new home. The boys enjoyed seeing their aunt & uncle (plus Nana/Pop) and were also able to visit Disney for the first time. It was a pleasure watching the wonder in Miles’ eyes as we toured the park. He did great on the rides and despite rain showers we all enjoyed an exhaustingly fun day.

Thanksgiving was in Virginia with the Lewis/Rounsevell clan this year. There was a 5k, much eating (especially some quality Pho), merriment with extended family and then we headed home to face another winter in Chicago.

And now it’s December – wow, this year has flown by quickly. Mason is working on solid foods, he has just started crawling within the last week, and provides a ready smile or laugh. Miles is still growing quickly and talks up a storm. He loves playing with cars, blocks and anything related to Buzz & Woody. Andrea enjoys working out, good wine and a good movie (when time allows), and is sad to see the college football season winding down. Mike is still running despite the frigid temperatures and is happy to join his wife for the wine and/or a movie.

We still have the holidays to celebrate with family, and then next year will feature a wedding, more vacation time with family, and maybe a child-less vacation to commemorate a milestone anniversary.

Thank you for reading this far and reminiscing about the many blessings in our life. We pray that you have a thankful and refreshing Christmas and a happy New Year.

Little drummer boy

2010-12-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

Our little guy likes to bang his belly like a drum; not sure how that one started but it’s very amusing.
Now you can share in our mirth.

First visit to Disneyland

2010-12-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

The weekend before Thanksgiving we were able to head to the land of Mickey Mouse and company. It was a wet, rainy day in southern California to start but the sunshine showed up by late afternoon. Miles thoroughly enjoyed everything and Mason was his normal, happy self. But really, this day was all about Miles and hanging out as a family; to that end it was a great success.
Miles had fun on the rides and really enjoyed meeting Mickey. Mason was even able to join us on ‘Pirates’ and a couple other rides. Here are your photo highlights with a couple more at Picasa.

An early start to the day

First carousel ride

ferris wheel ride

Here are shots of Miles on a roller coaster – taken over the shoulder with an iphone.

Mickey!

Holiday cheer – Disney style

Smiley

The boys and the ears

Ann is engaged!

2010-12-12T11:10:00.000-06:00

This is actually months-old news, but it’s never been mentioned on this blog. We didn’t want to steal their thunder as they shared the good news with friends & family. Team Lewis is very excited for Lewis & Clark to unite, and look forward to a fun wedding in May.

Ann & Andrew have a website with info, registry and such; and there is a Facebook page with the same name.
http://14may2011.tumblr.com/

A bit of their story is available – here. Andrea & Andrew’s older sister were instrumental in introducing the two.

The lovebirds in Portet

Backwards crawl

2010-12-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

Little man is getting close to crawling, but right now he’s sort of doing the backward inch. A video would’ve been 5 or 10 minutes long so here’s my attempt at a photo montage. At a couple points you’ll see him get his knees in the air, he’s getting stronger daily.

Cackling with laughter

2010-12-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

To follow-up Monday’s post, here is a more recent video of Mason laughing as he’s bounced by Aunt Tina. Hopefully it’ll brighten your day and help burn some extra calories.

One year ago…Dec 09

2010-12-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

Two little angels in the snow

The imagination of a child

Two years ago…Dec 08
Three years ago…Dec 07
Four years ago…Dec 06

Belly laughs

2010-11-29T05:00:00.000-06:00

some fun with the baby, hope you enjoy.

Espana daytrips– Altea & Calpe

2010-11-22T05:00:00.000-06:00

Besides our trip to Villajoyosa here are highlights from our other visits to Altea & Calpe.

Altea features narrow, cobblestone streets and a plaza on the top of hill. The view is gorgeous and so there were plenty of Kodak moments. We also grabbed some lunch at one of the plaza’s restaurants while we were there.

Calpe – Andrea and I had lunch there one day. Alone. It was nice and peaceful. This is where the Penon is located and at night you can see the lights of the town from our balcony.

Espana daytrips–Villajoyosa

2010-11-17T05:00:00.000-06:00

Not all of our time was spent beachside sipping café con leche or sangria. We took a few daytrips to neighboring towns and here are pics from our afternoon in Villajoyosa .
It’s a cute seaside village with a Valor factory – heavenly. For the uninitiated, Valor makes some excellent chocolate. We’re partial to the ‘Puro con almendradas’, which means dark chocolate with almonds; none of that milk chocolate wimpy-ness. The itinerary for the day included a tour of the Valor factory and store, a beachside lunch and then over to the Valor shop for fondue and other chocolatey goodness.

beachside in Villajoyosa

Valor store – Miles is a big fan

David agrees

delicious fondue

As the Little Einstein’s say, “Mission Completion.”
This little guy is pleased with the results

Any day in Espana

2010-11-15T05:00:00.000-06:00

Much of our time in Espana was spent lounging around, enjoying café con leche or sangria and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Here are some examples of what you missed – but all of the pics are already up at Picasa.

Paella at Bar Portet

working on some aioli – delicioso

Hike to the Torre – a nearby tower that dates back to Roman times & apparently I didn’t take any pics of the actual tower this time

David kisses el Penon de Ifach – a rock outcrop that looks like a face

Andrea ‘falling’ off the cliff

Hanging out beachside

living the good life for a few days. next up we’ll do some pics from our daytrips

Viaje a Espana (2)–Blast off!

2010-11-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

Here’s a video from our first leg of the return trip – while everybody was still happy and optimistic.
If you’ve ever seen the Little Einstein’s then you know there’s an audience participation part when ‘Rocket’ takes off and here is Miles acting that out for us.

Viaje a Espana

2010-11-08T05:00:00.000-06:00

Team Lewis recently enjoyed a lovely trip to Spain with the rest of the Lewis clan. It was quite an adventure with beautiful scenery, good wine and delicious food. Here’s post one to get things going…

We survived the 2 flights - 11 or 12 hours total on the way there and 13 or so on the way back, via Zurich both times – but it was definitely interesting. And by interesting, I mean exhausting. The kids were rather well-behaved but Miles did get cranky at the end of each trip.

Example – Miles decided not to nap on our return flight and became very weepy during the last half hour. The pilot came on to say, ‘10 minutes to landing’, and then Miles started bawling. “Ten minutes, that’s soooo long.” Fortunately the people around us laughed.
And the long walk to customs was filled with crying, “I want water, in a glass, not from the fountain.”

The beauty of the bassinette

Nighty-night little buddy

Jet lagged and dazed in Zurich

Plaza Mayor in Chinchon – where we spent our first night

another jet lagged son, during dinner

We finally arrived in Portet – a happy boy and a great view

Let the fun & relaxation begin.

Fun with the little guy

2010-11-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Stud boy spent a week in New Albany in October so we got to spend some quiet time with Numero Dos. Here’s a moment of laughter with the boy and hopefully some more moments like this to come.

Hmm, watch, yummy.

Delicious and salty.

So proud of himself.

Here comes the tickle monster.

He, he, he.

One year ago…Nov 09

2010-11-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Beautiful fall weather in Chicago

A recap of our Napa trip

Stud boy does Halloween with the grandparents and here, and with the cousins

Proof that #2 was going to be a boy

Quotations from stud boy

One year ago…Nov 09
Two years ago…Nov 08
Three years ago…Nov 07
Four years ago…Nov 06

Happy Halloween! (2)

2010-10-31T21:57:00.001-05:00

No, this doesn’t involve Mike Meyers.
Here are some quick pics of the trick or treating action, well round 2 of it. Round 1 was in downtown Wheaton on Friday (the previous pics), and round 2 was actually on Halloween.

The little pumpkin in the baby bjorn

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

from Mickey and our little sleepy pumpkin

A moment

2010-10-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

The cousins had a cute moment whilst on our hayride. Tori asked to hold Miles’ hand and after some initial reluctance he acquiesced. Here’s the proof.

“Why won’t Mi-Mi hold my hand?”

“C’mon Mi-Mi”

Reaching in

he’s breaking down

let the overwhelming cuteness begin

So very cute.

Cuteness in the bumbo

2010-10-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Little guy is already starting to try and get out of his bumbo. That’s what he’s doing when he arches his back in this video, but I can’t explain the tilt of his head. Seems pretty cute and funny to us.
Enjoy.

Back at the farm

2010-10-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

We recently enjoyed a beautiful fall day at Kuiper’s Farm – place of past hits like this and this. The whole family went this time with Tori & Nana.

obligatory tractor shots – Miles kept saying ‘beep, beep’

fun on the bouncing pillow thing

fun on the hay ride – cuteness to come

it was a very exciting morning for the kids and featured some awesome cider donuts. now it’s time to head home and take a good nap.

One year ago…Oct 09

2010-10-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Stud boy gets stitches, and then we discover that Miles on Percocet is hilarious.

Love the donuts

Pumpkin farm visit

The joys of this summer

Two years ago…Oct 08

Three years ago…Oct 07

Four years ago…Oct 06