In my comfort zone defense

Georgia: Age 2

In the spirit of documenting this thing called life, I must say: June and all of its wonder marked more than a few milestones. (Yes, I'll figure out an appropriate four-year-old way to sum up July in the next week or so.) In no particular order of importance, we've tallied up the following events: Cabin time with Aunt Val and family, a road trip to Chicago and Madison, a lesson in finger snapping, the inaugural summer soccer league, and Georgia's 2nd birthday. Two, I tell you! Not sure how the world got itself in such a hurry, but we're having a ball.

Ken: Age 4

The latest ball involves my YMCA Youth Sport Thursday night soccer league. Yes! Soccer! Destination: World Cup. I think, though, that the best part is the running. I used to think that being the goalie was cool. But no -- soccer really is all about the running. And the friends. Once, while applying my newly acquired knowledge of zone defense, I toppled into my friend Veronica. We go to the same park. The soccer play all but stopped as we embraced and exchanged our latest summer happenings at the mid-field line. Soccer. Is. Awesome.

Sam: Loving summer

In all of my four years, I've never experienced Val's lake as fully as I did this year. She has a four wheeler. Enough said. We fished, we ate, we rocked in the hammock, we gained intimate knowledge of mosquitoes and their bites. So comfortable was it to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Conrad, the aunts, uncles and cousins.

Hooray for family! And fishing. And four wheelers.

Georgia: Swimming

We planted tomatoes a few weeks ago. (Yes, a tad late for planting season) Four plants, to be exact. Sam decided to name each plant in order to ensure proper backyard blooming. And so, each evening, we venture into the backyard with Dad to inspect Larry, Junior, Bob and Cassie. So far, they're growing at the same delayed pace with which they were planted. But, they sure seem happy. Sam sings his special tomato song to them -- to help them grow. Ask him to sing the tomato song to you, and he'll decline. Apparently the song is saved just for the tomato plants.

Ken: Soccer!

Chicago! Madison! Two road trips and a few hotels in one week -- you can call me a pro at back seat driving. Amid countless family and friends, we witnessed Mom's cousin become ordained as a Catholic priest. So full of faith and peace was Andrew and his family, that I have a renewed belief in the power of community, prayer, and the ageless rhythm of "Veni, Sancte Spiritus." Congratulations, Andrew -- and may we always and everywhere give God thanks and praise.

We wrapped the week with a splash in Madison: To dance at cousin Sarah's wedding reception, drop a few tokens at uncle Mike's pizza shop, and kibitz with timeless friends over chocolate-laced ice cream. I could get used to both the comforts and adventures of summer vacation.

And so it goes. Sam and I continue to link arms and dive into life together. Georgia is always nearby -- and behaving as if she's leading the way. I'm not sure what we'd do without her. Most of the time. Here are a few more tidbits -- just to complete the most recent picture of toddler-dom:

• The three of us -- Sam, Georgia and I -- have been introduced to the practice of fishing off the

  

  Sam: Age 3

  pontoon. (Thanks, aunt Val!) After a few rotten casts (and a few respectable ones), I asked, "How long is a fishing line?" To which Sam immediately responded, "As long as it needs to be, Ken." Huh. Sam. The altruistic one. 
• Georgia continues to request "Mom music" when we're in the car. Typically, this means a few minutes (only) of country music, followed by  decent selection of current pop music. Upon Dad's request that his children are exposed to all types of music, Mom now has us humming long to artists like the Beatles, Elton John, Eric Clapton and Billy Joel. Not bad, really.  Any other suggestions for Mom? Send 'em along. Until then, we'll be humming memorable bars of "Piano Man," "Running on Faith" and "Paperback Writer."
• Thanks to the aforementioned exposure to classic rock, I've figured out how to snap my fingers. Watch out, world.
• Yesterday we celebrated the end of my soccer game with dinner at the local (and I mean really local) hamburger joint. Sam looked out the window at the gentleman with the smoke stick (I think you adults call them cigarettes) and said, "Look at that man steaming." I guess that's one way to look at it.
• And finally -- I'm proud to report -- that Georgia is starting to master the English language. While I still hear phrases like, "My did it!" vs. I did it, and "My wash teef" when reaching for her toothbrush, she now calmly reaches for Mom's morning hug and says, "I slept well, Mom."

Hope the summer is treating you right, loyal reader! 

Until next time,

Ken