June 23 - Splash park

Seriously, can you two keep your hands off each other long enough to take a darned picture?!?

June 22 -Happy forty-mrrrth Birthday, Penny!

Jack started his day with a 10 mile run from Lisa and Steve's house to the church where, 10 years ago,  we were forever joined in marital bliss.  The Church of the Redeemer in Yorkville.  Upon his return, with coffee, the kids had fallen into an easy familiarity and were playing happily (actually, I was still in bed so I'm totally making that up - I have no idea what was going on).  We enjoyed an easy Sunday morning catching up over coffee while the kids thundered through the kitchen - alternating between all the fun toys upstairs and the trampoline in the back yard.  All that thundering needed to be taken to another location so we packed up some water and sunscreen sent the dads to the park with the kids.  Heaven!  Upon their return, we celebrated Penny's birthday and filled all those small people, 7 in all, with lots of chocolate cake.  Ahhh, that trampoline is paying for itself now, baby!

Our visit, as always, was far too short but we finally tore ourselves away and started the last leg of the journey to Brighton to see my parents.  Get in the car, kids --- it's time to bust out the camp songs again!

June 21 - Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' (Part 2)

Today was the loooong road trip from Cincy to Toronto.  Now this crew knows long road trips.  Once a year we load up the family wagon and drive the 7+ hours from Marin to Disneyland.  Now that's a road trip.  Well, today, google maps says we have a 7 hour and 32 minute drive not taking account heavy traffic or delays at the border.  Jack and I clutched the iPads like security blankets - I think the Analog Summer is in jeopardy.  How can you survive an 8+ hour drive through huge expanses of nothingness without letting the kids plug in and zone out.   Our parents did it all the time, right?!?  They didn't have iPads or any of that fancy stuff.  They had The Bee Gee's Greatest Hits on 8-Track and a cooler full of bologna sandwiches.  So how did they do it?  Easy, they put all the luggage on the roof and threw a little shag carpet down in the way back.  Little nap, little comic book reading, little sibling annoying - then back to napping.  Voila, 8 hours magically melted away!

So, we discussed our strategy ... Jacqui's easy - just hand her 2 back issues of The New Yorker magazine and a dog-eared Calvin and Hobbes and you won't hear a peep from her for the rest of the day.  Charlotte will sing her little songs and doodle in her little journal and snack on her little snacks.  She may need some redirection every now and then but generally, she'll roll.  It's 'Cruella DeVil' in the back that we're worried about.   She possesses some dark force, some Jedi mind power that forces the rest of us to bow to her every whim.  I've analyzed this at length and I think that it might be the screaming.  It's not the volume alone, nor the duration - though they are both impressive.  It's the perfect will-crumbling pitch.  We are outmatched and we know it.  So we set a goal of making it to Canada before we bust out the electronics.  Our road trip would be half analog / half digital - I can live with that!

So we waved a tearful goodbye to Sitty and Djudu and pulled out onto I75 headed North.  Beautiful blue sky, light saturday traffic, fresh iced latte - all systems go.  Over eager, I suggested a road-trip game.  "Let's see how many license plates from different states and provinces we can spot on our trip."
"Nah ... you guys can play.  Let us know what you find"

 ... hmmm ...

"Hey, Let's play eye spy"
" Nah, it's no fair ... I can't see anything over this suitcase"

... Jack and I looked at each other ... mayday mayday ... we are screwed!

So we stopped trying so hard and let the kids settle into their own rhythm.  They finally did get restless so we busted out the camp songs.  Big hit!  HUGE!   Down by the Bay! And the Green Grass Grew All Around!  On top of Spaghetti!  Classics!  Then we practiced the National Anthems --  we've got some work to do on Oh Canada before July 1st!    Singing.  Good, wholesome family fun. Who knew?

That got us to the lunch stop and then we cruised through Detroit (in all it's post-apocalyptic splendor) and then we could see it ... the Ambassador Bridge ... the border!  No traffic, no waiting, we sailed over the bridge and happily handed out those electronics at the first sight of a Tim Hortons!  Success!  We did it!  It's indicative of our standards when we spend a couple of hours interacting with our children and expect a parade or trophy or something.  Whatever.  You gotta enjoy the little victories in life and I'm taking this one.

The rest of the drive was unremarkable in every way and we arrived at my friends Lisa and Steve's house 9 hours after we set off.  Penny and Chris joined shortly there after.  What a reunion!  I haven't seen my grrrls in 3 years and boy did we have some catching up to do!  After we tucked the kids into bed and enjoyed a yummy Indian dinner, Donna joined too and the gals stayed up until the wee hours, catching up.  I miss you, grrrrrls!

June 20 - Goodbye Cincy

Sitty blew the dust off the old photo albums and took the kids on a trip down memory lane this morning -- Jack as a baby, Jack in the Smokies, Jack in the box (best Halloween costume ever).  I’m not sure who enjoyed it more – Jack or the girls.  After that we met up with the cousins one last time.
First stop was Tom and Chee’s  for their famous grilled cheese donut.  Yes, they take a glazed donut, cut it in half, put in a slice of cheddar cheese and grill it.  Sounds like heartburn waiting to happen but it was surprisingly tasty.  Sweet, salty, analog goodness.

Then the crew headed off to the Newport Aquarium.  It was long faces all around when we had to
part ways until we meet again. 

For dinner, we stopped in at the Pompilio’s restaurant, made famous when featured in the movie
Rain Man, and checked off the last must-visit Cincinnati eatery on our list.  Tomorrow, we pack up for Canada!  Thank you Sitty, Djudu, Tiff, Mike and all the cousins for making us feel so welcome and our visit so, so lovely.

June 19 - Sierra's Birthday and Butterflies

Happy first birthday to our littlest niece!  Sierra, you made it to 1.  It's only gets better from here, my friend!

This morning we headed off to another Cincy favorite - Krohn's Conservatory.  They have a special butterfly exhibit right now.  What a delight for young and old when a butterfly lands on your shoulder!  After that it was off to Rookwood Pottery for Sierra's birthday lunch.

Since we knew the thunderstorms were on their way, we decided to high-tail it home so we could watch them from the safety of Sitty's living room.  And mother nature did not disappoint.  We almost never get thunderstorms in California so this was quite a show for the kids!

Tomorrow is our last day in Cincinnati - the time is really flying.

June 18 - Heat stroke ... sometimes it's worth it!

After Jack came home from running the equivalent of a 1/2 marathon (yes, on a whim, he ran 13 hilly miles ... you can start hating him now) we packed up the posse and headed out to Coney Island (of Ohio) - featuring the world's largest recirculating swimming pool!  It's well worn, vintage feel adds to the ambiance of our Analog Summer and the fact that Jack came here as a kid, all the more so!  He remembers it being 'so much bigger'.  Shocking!

We slathered on the sun screen and splashed to our heart's content.  We even braved 'The Twister' -- water slide adventure like no other!

Coney Island (of Ohio) also features the Holy Trinity of Cincinnati food options - Montgomery Inn Ribs, Skyline Chili and LaRoses Pizza.  Jack was in heaven.  'One of each, please!!'   Good thing he ran 13 miles this morning - judging by the size and shape of our fellow bathers, Cincinnatians are not into the health food so much!  Sometimes, it's nice to get out of the NorCal vortex of organic, hand-selected, pampered produce and heavily-petted, nipple-fed meats and just get some good old fashioned Food.  Food that was not procured that morning by some bearded, bespectacled hipster and put on a biodegradable plate with tweezers,  Food that was pulled out of the freezer in the back and deep fried by a pimply teenager and served in a styrofoam clam shell.  Yummy Analog Food.

(pass the tums)

June 17 - Summer 2014 ...

Today we went to the zoo in the morning and then the cousins came over in the afternoon and we busted out the Slip n' Slide.  Honestly, kids + water = flat out fun.  From ages 3 - 11, all the kids had a hoot.  Top the day off with popsicles and take-out pizza and you have a winner!

As I look back on the first few days of Summer 2014, a theme is starting to emerge.  A theme that I like!  Natalie hasn't been waking up and demanding the iPad because there's Sitty and Djudu to play with; Jacqui hasn't been sneaking off with the kindle because there are so many new books to read; Charlotte hasn't been stultifying in front of the TV because there are so many fun art supplies to explore in the basement.  Not to mention ... corn hole, slip n' slide, zoo, museum ... I think we have the makings of an Analog Summer!  Like the summers we used to have, growing up.  Picnics and late nights and red dye #3.  Let's do this, Team!

June 16 - Bedtime? It's summer, who cares about bedtime?

So can I just talk a little bit about the bedtimes / wake-up times of my children?  In California - they are Daddy:  eyes rolling in back of head by 8:00 pm; up and annoyingly chipper at 5:30 am.  But in Cincinnati - they are mommy!  Oh yea baby - partying until they collapse into bed at 11:00 pm and crawling out of bed at 9:00 am.  9:00 glorious am.  It's a vacation miracle.  Thank you.

We got a late start this morning but decided to hit one of the all-time highlights on our Cincinnati itinerary.  The Cincinnati Museum Center.  Since I was there last, they have really expanded the Children's Museum part - it kicks ass even more now than it did before!  San Francisco ... take note ... this is what a Children's Museum should be.  I know, I know, real estate costs are high and all those bearded and bespectacled hipsters demand a 'living wage' but come on now ... let's get it together.  This place has an indoor, forest-themed climbing park modeled after the Ewok village in Star Wars.  Let's get on it, guys!

We sent all three kids home with S&D and we went to see the Diana exhibit - a special traveling exhibit curated by her brother, Charles the 7th Earl of Spencer.  It was lovely and I was sobbing (surprise) but the most interesting part was the marked-up draft of the speech he gave at the funeral.  We are left to assume that it was marked up by the PR masterminds over at Buckingham Palace and the passages that they crossed out and the things they reworded were telling.  Diana's family was in support of her relationship with Dodi Fayed and were happy that she had 'finally found happiness in her personal life' but were not allowed to say it.  Ouch!

After that it was back to S&D for dinner and bedtime.  Good day, team!  Good day.

June 15 - Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

After a blissful night at the W Hotel Downtown Chicago ALL BY MYSELF,  I realized that I must, at some point, reunite with my family (who seem to be getting along splendidly without me by the way.  Just sayin'.)  So I picked up our trusty rental steed from Hertz (can I not ever escape the curse of the minivan) and drove the umpteen hundred miles from Chicago to Cincinnati.  Since my phone was almost out of juice and, as such, I could not just chat my way across Indiana, I decided to unplug and really enjoy the drive.  How often do you have the car all to yourself, no one bickering, no one demanding a different song ('because if they hear this song one more time they are going to DIE'), no one wanting to 'talk about their feelings' (oh wait, that's usually me).  So I cranked up the bad 80's tunes and sang my little heart out.  There is something about the light, the landscape, the deep green of the midwest that reminds me of all my younger years.  That highway running through Indiana could have just as easily been the 401, cruising east toward Kingston, past all the great little towns that I knew growing up.  Between that and the Bryan Adams, I went deep into the memory banks ... deeeeeep.

I finally stumbled in to Djudu and Sitty's house bleary eyed, stiff and hungry to find the whole extended family about to sit down to a Father's Day feast!  What timing!  There are 13 of us in all and it was a lovely celebration of the 3 great dads in the family!   Then we went outside and played corn hole!  Good times!

June 14 - Mama on the move

So today was Jack and the girl's first day in Cincy with Sitty, Djudu, Mike, Tiffany and the cousins!! First stop ... any guesses ... yes, Skyline Chili! Jack, a man of discerning taste who has been known to say "why bother to eat any calorie that's not a perfect calorie" still makes a beeline for that temple of Listeria on every single trip. " I'll have a 3-way, a coney and severe stomach cramps, please"

I had a relaxing afternoon yesterday with the house to myself! Packing my clothes, organizing and just generally puttering around. This morning, not so relaxing as all those little organization projects that I started all over the house had to be jammed back into their cluttered closets because - well, I got a plane to catch!

Although the Bay Area is a hard place to leave, landing in Chicago and taking the el downtown has finally got me excited about this trip! Ahh, summer in Chicago! Good times, good times!


**

Not 5 minutes after I published that post someone on the train platform tried to rob me! Welcome to Chicago!  Sheesh.

**

June 13 - is Friday the 13th an inauspicious day to start your summer vacation?!?

Daddy and the girls packed up and set sail for cincinnati this morning - only 18 hours after school ended! Nothing like getting the heck out of dodge in a hurry!! It's not that we don't love our picturesque little town but gee whiz, enough is enough already. At the last few parties and get togethers I was thinking - "oh no ... not you again?!? I saw you 15 minutes ago - what on earth am I going to find to talk to you about this time?!?" Shockingly, I never seem to come up short ... but enough is enough! We all just need a little time to miss each other!

The girls and jack are giddy with excitement - for me it feels like doing all the stuff I normally do but without school to drop them off at and my nanny to help pick up after them. Just like for some, Monday is the new Saturday - for me, summertime is when I have to get to work!!

Either way, the Midwest Tour 2014 is rolling and I'd better get on board or prepare to get run over!

Long live thunder storms and hot summer nights and lightening bugs!! Let's DO this!!

June 12th - Last day of school ... I OK (but just barely)

When I look back on the last few weeks of this school year, I am reminded of my very, very favorite blog post EVER.  And I mean FAVORITE ... EVER.

It is here.  It is truth.   It is a gift to all my mama friends everywhere.  Enjoy.

http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2013/05/30/worst-end-of-school-year-mom-ever

69 days until school starts again ... stay strong, mamas.