Time to Catch Up!

I apologize to all of our faithful readers...I am SO behind with updates on the Mueller adventures and mis-adventures! We left off on May 7 with John's interesting tale of Singapore...so let's bring you up to date:

May 15-19, 2009
I traveled to Sanibel Island, Florida to join six of the Litehouse girls for a reunion to celebrate the fact that we have all made it to 40 years old! For those of you unfamiliar with the Litehouse, it was the house where I lived during my junior and senior years at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio). I shared this house (affectionately called "Early American Tacky" by Phil and Sheila) with nine girlfriends. Nothing brings friends closer together through laugher (and sometimes arguments) than sharing bathrooms and kitchens! Anyway, out of the ten of us, seven were together for the weekend. The seven of us just fell into our old rhythm and shared so much laughter and stories of our families...and drank a lot of wine. Thanks girls for a wonderful weekend...and thank you to our hosts, the Orazens, who graciously let us all crash at their condo!



I arrived home from Sanibel early in the morning on Wednesday, May 20. I had enough time to do some laundry and pack as Team Mueller was off again, this time to Barcelona!

May 22-25, 2009
On Friday afternoon Team Mueller and Team Basile embarked on another journey together. As you may have noticed from earlier blogs, we travel well with our friends the Basiles because John and I enjoy Kelly and Andre so much and their children are about the same ages as our children and they get along beautifully...they keep each other entertained. And so, another Griswald Weekend was planned, executed and laughed about.


The highlight of the weekend had to be the day we planned to visit the "Magic Fountain." Similar to Buckingham Fountain in Chicago, the "Magic Fountain" (located in Montjuic section of Barcelona) has daily light and music shows to accompany the fountain. The "show" does not actually begin until 9:30 p.m. When we left the hotel that day at 10:00 a.m. to do some sightseeing, making it to 9:30 p.m. really didn't seem impossible as there is so much to "see and do" in Barcelona. We started off the day at the Aquarium, which was a spectacular place for the kids to begin their day. We knew the kids would love it and it didn't require too much walking once we exited the Metro.

We spent the whole morning at the aquarium and stayed for a rather pricey lunch, only to discover a McDonald's at the rear entrance of the aquarium...oh well. After a quick spin on the carousel outside the aquarium we wandered over to the pier to pick up a boat tour. We had to wait about 30 minutes for the next boat so we killed some time by letting the kids crawl all over the monument in memory of Christopher Columbus.


I am pretty sure we offended at least a few as the kids were dancing, running and dripping ice cream all over the monument. After the exhilarating (hopefully my sarcasm is translating) boat ride we walked to the "Funicular" (a tram) and rode up into Montjuic Park. Where we then boarded the Teleferic (sky lifts) up to the Montjuic Castle.

We spent about an hour or so wandering the grounds of the castle. There were beautiful views of Barcelona so at one point we were trying desperately to get a good picture of all of the kids with the backdrop. It just wasn't happening. Trying to get the six of them to all look, smile and stop moving was next to impossible. There was a swarm of ants that they just couldn't tear themselves away from....until we asked Jack and Grace to have a go taking a picture of the grown-ups, at which point they all wanted a turn using the Nikon D80. "GO PLAY WITH THE ANTS!" Yes, that actually came out of my mouth - not my proudest moment as a Mom, but it had to be done.


Kelly and I decided we should stop at the snack bar to load up on sandwiches, pizza, hot dogs, drinks, etc. to bring to the "Magic Fountain" for a picnic dinner. We were not sure when the next snack stand would appear and shuddered at the thought of getting to the fountain without anything for the kids. We also bought a six pack of beer and six airplane size bottles of wine for us. When the salesman asked if we needed glasses we answered yes. He put 6 plastic tumblers and 6 wine glasses on the counter. Kelly and I were a bit embarrassed as we grabbed only 2 of each.

We started our walk down from the Castle - stopping briefly at the Olympic Stadium.


It was very cool to see where the Olympic games were held. Then we thought we would walk through the park rather than taking the Funicular. As we exited the stadium we made a gross error by walking to the right to head down instead of going left. The park was a series of terraced areas separated by winding staircases...not exactly accessible by wheelchair or strollers full of food, drinks and children!

When we finally arrived down to the "Magic Fountain" two things became abundantly clear:
1) It was only 7:45 p.m.
2) There were escalators from the Olympic Stadium to the "Magic Fountain" that we would have come across had we turned left rather than right.

Deep breaths...beers for John and Andre, wine for me and Kelly and dinner for the kids....it will be fine. As the kids were getting quite stir crazy I could see in the faces of John and Andre that they were not keen on sticking around until 9:30 p.m. And, they were starting to feed Kelly the kool-aid and she was doubting the endurance of the kids and us. But I would not cave! We did not come this far to blow off the one thing that was consistently mentioned by friends who had visited Barcelona before us. Several trips up and down the escalators, several trips to the port-o-lets (and the bushes in Tommy's case) and many more beers and wine later...it started. One word....MAGICAL! Everyone was so happy we stayed - the kids went nuts! They ran around the fountain, danced, got sprayed and loved every second of it. Not only did they last and stay awake and happy...but they insisted on having a "movie night" in the Basile's room when we got back to the hotel. We bought popcorn, wine and cookies and had a great post-"Magic Fountain" party....until nearly 2 a.m.! It is the favorite story of all the kids...and the grown ups too!






It was a great weekend - with more stories just like that one...but I am sure they don't come off nearly as funny as they were at the time so I'll spare you the epistle.

Team Mueller Moves House!
Team Mueller decided to move. Our lovely Garden Lodge was a great place to start our London adventure, but we soon determined we needed more space - mostly outdoor space. The need for outdoor space really occurred to me one afternoon while I was cooking dinner and suddenly got hit in the head with a football (soccer ball for you yanks) whilst standing at the hob (that's the stove). The boys were having another match in the kitchen because that was the biggest room in our house. That was the incentive I needed to find them a house with a suitable garden. Which we did and which was ready for us to move into on May 15. However, since I was going to be in Sanibel that weekend, we put off the move for a couple of weeks. However, the new Weber Summit BBQ was delivered on May 16 - assembled and ready to provide us (John) with hours of grilling happiness.



We arrived home from Barcelona on May 25. This week was half-term for the kids so thankfully I had enrolled them in a sports camp for the rest of the week that ran from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.! On Tuesday, May 26, I enlisted the help of Kelly Basile, Sara Milani, Jennifer Hamilton and of course Nilda to move our kitchen. In a matter of two hours we had the entire kitchen relocated to the new digs. On Wednesday, May 27 the movers came and packed up everything in the house except the beds, one t.v. and the Wii...still needed to entertain the troops after camp! On Thursday, May 28 the movers arrived and we were moved over to the new house. I picked up the kids from camp and brought them home to the new house. They were thrilled...but after spending an entire day at camp outside playing football all they wanted to do was retire to their new room to play Wii...go figure.

On May 31, 2009 we made use of the new space and backyard by hosting a First Communion Party for Jack. We were very proud of him. Meanwhile he was just excited to have Sunday School come to an end. Nevertheless, we had quite the crowd over for a BBQ and had a lovely afternoon.

June 5-7, 2009
On Friday, June 5, 2009 John and I departed for Boston. John and his fraternity pledge class (and some spouses) were meeting in Boston for their 15th Reunion at MIT. Most of John's pledge class was in attendance as several spouses. It was a blur of a weekend as we arrived late Friday and flew out Sunday morning...but we managed to have a lot of laughs in a very limited amount of time. The highlight was definitely the Red Sox game. John arranged a sky box at Fenway so we could all be together plus invite a few non-MIT friends...we were so happy that the Heberleins (our friends from London, moved back to Marshfield, MA last June), the Simpsons (friends from Chicago who moved to Marblehead, MA earlier this year) and the Snows (my sister Kathleen and her husband Steve) could join us. It was a great, albeit short, weekend!




June 13-14, 2009
This was our "quiet" weekend. We were staying in town, enjoying our new home and spending time with the kids. However, we still managed to have a pretty full schedule. On Saturday, June 13 John's boss, Jim, had a party. It was a lovely party and very well attended .... John and I had a celebrity moment. We met, "Super Gran" - Jim's neighbor Gudrun Ure. She played a Grandmother with super powers on a television show in the 80's. John and I spent a great deal of time chatting with Gudrun. She was very interesting and we had no idea of her character. When she left, John and I were talking to some women who work with John and they clued us into the "Supergran" phenomena.
Judge for yourself...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvPtq8pXIJg

On Sunday, June 14 we attended the Abercorn School Summer Fair...whooohoooo! It was a beautiful day and the kids were excited to spend the afternoon with their friends and teachers. I volunteered to work at the event so I helped with set-up and then with a friend "managed" the wine tasting stall. My friend Amanda and I donated the wine as our contribution to the fair and worked really hard all day! The kids had a ball too - John was ready to call it a day, however, after Owen asked for another five pounds so he could "duck for donuts." The kids would grab sugar coated donuts that were hanging on strings with their mouths...no hands! Needless to say their faces were covered with sugar! But they had a solution - "Mom, I'll go to the sponge toss and get my face washed!" Here is Jack with the P.E. Instructor Paul Doyle at the sponge toss.


It was a GREAT fair...we look forward to next year!

June 20-26, 2009 - Fripp Island, SC
On June 20 we left London for Fripp Island, SC. My parents celebrated their 45th Anniversary by renting an amazing house on the beach. Traveling to Fripp Island from London, however, is no easy task. We drove an hour to Gatwick, flew to Charlotte, connected to Savannah then drove to Fripp. A long day of travel, but as soon as we walked through the door I could feel myself relax. The laughter was almost instant - and it helped that a cold Bud Light was presented to me upon our arrival!
All 22 of us were under one roof for a week and it was heaven! We had much to celebrate too - the anniversary, my Mom's 70th Birthday and Emily Snow's graduation from high school and her starting at the University of Delaware in the fall! Not that we need reasons to have a great party - that happens every time we are together!





June 26-28, 2009 - Millstadt, IL
On Friday, June 26 we bid farewell to Fripp and headed to Millstadt, IL for Mueller Holiday Part 2. We arrived very late on Friday after a day of planes, trains and automobiles...but the kids perked up immediately upon seeing Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Elaine, Uncle Judd, Peyton, Lauren, Aunt Carol and Uncle Jarrod.



On Saturday, everyone except me went to "Monkey Joe's" - an indoor playground of inflatable climbing walls, bounce houses, etc. I went to my own version of playground...TARGET! Oh, the joy. I spent a solid two hours wandering the aisles and basking in the glow of the bright florescent lights. I met up with the gang at the Millstadt pool - it was about 100 degrees in Millstadt so the pool was a popular place to be. We capped off the day with fish sandwiches from the Fish Stand...it was a perfect day for everyone involved.




On Sunday, Betty and Roger hosted a luau for family and friends to come over and visit. It thankfully was a cooler day than Saturday so we enjoyed being outside watching the kids play on "Grandma's water slide" all day! We were happy to all be together to celebrate Great-Grandpa's 90th Birthday and Aunt Carol's birthday...bring on the cupcakes!



On Monday, John and I departed for Chicago...the kids stayed behind at Grandma and Grandpa's and had a GREAT week with them. We heard stories of riding combines, going to the zoo, back to Monkey Joe's, and more time on the water slide! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa.

June 28-July 3, 2009 - Chicago without the kids
If John works while we are in Chicago it doesn't count against our vacation...so we landed in Chicago without the kids for a few days. My parents have condo in Marina Towers (the corn-cob buildings) and they let us stay at their place for the few days. It was a perfect set up for us - John could walk to work and I would wake up and take nice long runs along Chicago's lakefront. I do love Chicago and it felt good to be back on home turf.

We had a great time being grown-ups in the big city and kept a full schedule. On Monday night we had a great dinner with my Mom and Dad and my Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Dan Fusco. We went to McCormick and Schmick's, which was a stone's throw from the condo. We had such a nice evening. Selfishly for me, it was nice to have my parents and the Fuscos all to myself...usually when we are all together we have to fight for air time :)

On Tuesday I spent the entire day shopping with my best friend Kelly Schmit. For those who don't know - Kelly has been my friend since freshman year at Miami. She and I lived in Kelly's condo (the Barbie dream house) in Chicago before I married John. We hit all of our favorite spots along Southport and added a few new places to the rotation. I did quite a bit of damage and was a bit afraid the Amex would be declined...it wasn't. So we carried on straight through to dinner. I left Kelly and went over to Sheila and Sean Castette's house for a dinner club evening. While living in Chicago I was in a dinner club with nine other women and we would meet every month and cook to a different theme. This dinner club has been together for the better part of 12 years! Sheila and Sean's rooftop deck is absolutely lovely and the perfect setting to sit and drink wine with the girls...thanks Sheila!

On Wednesday my run was a bit slower than usual thanks to the wine intake, but I still managed a nice run along the lake. Then I did some more shopping - this time on my own, which was nice. I am not truly alone very often so it felt good to do my own thing for a few hours. That evening John and I had dinner with Nina and Sam Kuhlman - our old neighbors from the Roscoe Village days. It was great fun - Hub 51 was terrific! We shared a lot of laughs and hope they make it over to our side of the pond sometime soon!

On Thursday good friends Anne Eckhart and Chuck Ticknor arrived from Columbus, Ohio. They make a great effort to see me and John when we make our trips home. They flew in last summer as well - always just for a night, but it is amazing what we can do in the course of 24 hours. This time the highlight was the Cubs game. We had my Dad's seats, plus my Dad's friend's seats, plus John scored six more seats in the same section. The usher was very patient with the game of musical chairs that was going on. In addition to me, John, Anne and Chuck we were joined by Mike and Chris Reinhardt, Ed O'Reilly, Chris and Aileen Bruner, Scott and Dana Brandt and Kelly and Larry Schmit. It was a helluva night...John even caught a foul ball!




July 3-10, 2009 - Oak Park/Barrington with the kids
On Friday, July 3 we were reunited with our kids - and wow did I miss them. Even though it was only four days, I was so excited to see them and spend time in Chicago with them. We had a nice BBQ dinner at my parents' house and settled in for the night.

On the 4th, John and his Dad took Jack and Owen to the Cubs game while me, Kate, Grandma Mueller, Mama and Papa relaxed. We met up again in Barrington at Meg's for a BBQ. Team Mueller made a first stop, however, on Division Street. We had a quick hello with our new tenants and then went up the street to say hello to the Fox Family. Kelly and Sarah Fox were our babysitters extraordinaire when we lived in Barrington. The kids still talk about them and once they got over their initial shyness they fell right back into a routine with the Foxes. Then it was off to Meg's for a great 4th of July celebration with Team Simmons, Mama and Papa, the Altons, the Nyes, and the Moormans.

On July 5th we had to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Mueller and Daddy. We drove everyone to the airport and it was a tearful car ride back to Oak Park.

The next few days were full of visits with friends and family:

We spent a day at the South Barrington Pool with Team Simmons (thanks Meg!!);




We spent a day at Oak Park Country Club and had a wonderful BBQ in River Forest (thanks Lis and Jim!!),




We visited with the Hirschman kids and saw their new house (thanks Mindy!!),


We had a playdate with Crea and Jude Wilhelmi (thanks Meghan!) and Edie and Becca Anderson (thanks Mardie!)...sorry no picture of this group!

I had dinner with the girls from City Hall...we all worked together in the 90's...yes, I really said the 90's!


Mama took all of us to Navy Pier to see "Aladdin" at the Shakespeare Theatre and then we had lunch at Riva with Papa and Uncle Jay-Jay (thanks Mama and Papa!);



and we had a final sleep-over at Aunt Meghan's house....the hardest goodbye of all....but before we left Kyleigh gave Kate a quick manicure that Kate is still talking about!


On Friday, June 10 the kids and I left Chicago and flew back to London on the overnight flight. My kids were rockstars! All three of them slept - Kate even slept right through the landing at Heathrow. I didn't sleep much - but mostly just out of fear that I would be so out cold that I would not hear the kids if they needed anything. We arrived safely and were happy to be back at 10 Grove End with John...back to our own beds...back to a routine. It was quite a ride...and we miss everyone so much!!! We look forward to next summer's adventure!

Well, that should do it - we have not been up to much since we returned. The kids are going to summer camp, I am trying to get organized and caught up with pictures, the blog, get back to an exercise routine etc. We leave London again on August 2 for our cruise to Scandinavia and Russia. In the meantime though we are having house guests - the Hughes Family arrives on Monday, July 27 and we cannot wait to see them!!

The door remains open to all friends who want to visit - just say the word!
CHEERS!