OK, so I’ve admittedly been terrible about blogging about all the events going on in our lives. I spend lots of time editing and posting new pictures, as you can sometimes see in the Recent Photos widget, but I never seem to get around to writing about it. Honestly, I think the photos tell a better story anyway (not to mention I’m already writing when I do the captions…).

The Vandermarks, Sept 2010

I’ll try to get better about posting simple updates when a new batch of photos have been loaded (like the remainder of our April trip to AZ that uploaded last night), but in the meantime, here’s just a straight list of the albums that have been updated/created since last Sept:

• Sept-Oct 2010 – the Scarecrow Festival, the circus, Halloween
• Visit with Auntie Mary Ann – who came to visit us in Sept
• Infiniti Crash II: The Deer – the results when a deer runs in front of a car doing 65 mph.
• Nov-Dec 2010 – Christmas decorating, Thanksgiving in Chicago, big snow storms
• Christmas 2010 – yep, pictures of presents and family at Christmas
• Jan-Feb 2011 – Cole’s 16th birthday, fun birthday parties, making cookies and craft projects
• Zach and Alex’s 5th birthday – including their 1st “friends” party
• Mar-Apr 2011 – Karen’s birthday, planting a garden
• Spring Break 2011 – a few days of fun in Chicago
• Arizona – April 2011 – a family get-together

Tags: Alex, Belouseks, birthday, booms, cars, Chicago, Christmas, circus, Cole, family outing, friends, GG, Grandma Marilyn, Grandma Pat, Grandpa Dan, Halloween, holiday, Joe, Karen, museum, Papa Bob, party, playtime, Santa, school, Thanksgiving, Tucson, Vandermark family, Zach

The Russia Bunch, 1991

This summer, I took on a little project, something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time.  We have a lot of old photos that pre-date the digital age, and I’d love to get them all scanned to keep them preserved. I decided to start with a collection that is particularly meaningful to me – the photos from the trip I took nearly twenty years ago.  In 1991, I had the amazing opportunity to tour the Soviet Union as a “student ambassador” with the People to People organization. Our group was comprised of students from the Twin Cities and from Atlanta, GA, and we spent three weeks visiting cities in Russia and Ukraine.  The goal of the organization was to promote peace by teaching students like us about cultures around the world by showing them to us firsthand.

For me, it was an eye-opening experience, as like most teenagers, my world seemed to revolve around my school and my life.  This trip exposed me to a culture that was very different and a history that goes much farther back than what we have here, and yet, it also gave me the chance to see how some things are truly universal.  I also had the great opportunity to earn college credit by keeping a journal and putting together a slide show that showed what I learned along the way.

The photos I took, along with photos that some of the other travelers gave me, have been posted in the USSR – 1991 photo album.  Thanks to the wonders of Google and Wikipedia, I was able to fill in a lot of the gaps I had in the captions on the originals, as well as learned the significance behind some of the things I saw, so simply doing this exercise was a learning experience for me plus brought back a lot of great memories.  Enjoy the trip!

Tags: old stuff

When last I wrote, it was winter, still cold and snowy, and Cole had just celebrated his 15th birthday.  Now, it’s already almost the end of June, and Cole is beginning to drive, having just acquired his permit this week (yikes!).  It’s so cliche, but wow, time flies!

During that time span, the usual comings-and-goings have occurred, but there have been two things of note.  First is a big change for Zach and Alex – rather than having a nanny, they now attend the preschool/daycare at my office.  Some mornings are a little tough and they definitely miss seeing Debbie all the time, but they are really having a great time with their new friends and teachers at the “school at Mommy’s work.”  They do a lot of fun things there – they even had a petting zoo there this week and learned to make ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s a couple weeks ago (I was a little jealous).  And best of all, I’ve even gotten to have lunch with them a couple times – it’s really nice having them so close!

A family portrait with Minnie and Mickey

The other big event for us was a special trip with Grandma Pat and Papa Bob: Zach and Alex’s first visit to Disney World. We had a great time – the boys are already talking about our next trip to see Mickey. They particularly enjoyed the character meals, where your favorite characters walk up to your table for pictures and autographs.  My favorite moments of the entire trip were when Alex got to meet his beloved Eeyore and Zach, his dear Pooh Bear – it’s that magic, seen through the eyes of two little boys, that Disney is all about.  We of course took a ton of pictures to capture all the fun, and you can find them in the Disney World – May 2010 photo album.

Coach Daddy, Alex and Zach

In other news, the Preschool Sports season has started again for the 3- and 4-year-olds. The kids played soccer (or some chaotic version of it) for the first two weeks. They’ve got team pictures next week and then move on to teeball in July. Zach and Alex are the Green team again, although they’d be quick to tell you it’s the Dark Green team, not the Lime Green like last year.  And best of all, they have “Coach Daddy” on their team, as Joe is one of the team coaches; Joe is loving the opportunity to be involved in their sports!  Pictures from the season so far are in the May – June 2010 photo album.

In addition to all the Disney pics, here are all the other photo albums from the past few months, since I have lapsed on posting them:

• March – April 2010 – Karen’s birthday, fun in the kitchen, a day at the zoo
• Easter 2010 – egg hunt, Easter gifts, egg decorating
• Target Field – April 2010 – Joe went to Game #3 at the new park with our friend Phil
• Kwo Ue’s birthday party – a great day with friends
• May – June 2010 – playtime at Chuck E Cheese, Joe’s birthday, Father’s Day and Preschool Soccer
• Twins Game – May 2010 – date night at the game with Phil and Heather

Tags: Alex, Disney, friends, Grandma Pat, milestones, Papa Bob, school, soccer, vacation, Zach