#82. First Summer in Evanston

It sure has been one fun summer living in our new home in Evanston!  The twins have thouroughly enjoyed exploring their new neighborhood and town and ALL they have to offer!

Early in the summer, on a beautiful blue sky afternoon, the twins visited the Baha'i Temple and its surrounding gardens. This famous temple, the oldest of only ten of its kind in the world, is a short drive from our house to the bordering suburb of Wilmette.

Luke & Clare enjoyed strolling the temple grounds...looking for photographic opportunities, of course!

These two have been to a few temples, but never one quite like this!

The twins marveled at the beauty of the temple grounds and were fascinated by this fountain in the distance

We were even lucky enough to run into a nice family who offered to take this picture for us...right before two twin meltdowns began to occur!!

This summer we learned that the 4th of July is a BIG DEAL in Evanston.  There is a 2-hour parade with a route that goes right by a street corner one block from our home.

Cousins, friends, and...

...even a goofy uncle gathered at the corner of Central and Walnut for our first 4th of July parade viewing

The Evanston PD started things off and there were a lot of interesting parade entries to observe...

...some were international...

...others involved building community spirit...

...and some were downright political (including politicians themselves!).

These two sure are lucky to be a part of such an interesting and diverse community

One amazing thing about living in Evanston (as was the case in Chicago) during the summer is our proximity to Lake Michigan.  Last summer the twins enjoyed Foster Ave beach in Chicago, but this summer the twins were spoiled by the (even closer) beautiful beaches in Evanston.

The closest beach to us (about a 5 minute drive) is 'Lighthouse Beach'.  Based on its proximity, this is our usual 'go to'.

What a difference a year makes in terms of the beach!!

While playing in the sand...

...and building sand castles and pyramids (and sand castles and pyramids with rivers surrounding them) remains a priority...

...this summer I had to keep my eye on the twins as they became more and more interested in the WATER at the beach!

As the lake water warmed, these two found themselves spending more time in water than on land

Luke kept moving farther and farther (not too far, Luke!) into the water, enjoying the 'big' waves

Whatever they were doing, it was fun to photograph these two having so much fun!

Clare is such a natural in front of the camera on the beach...

...striking model-like poses without any prompting!

Luke's eyes, on the other hand, often struggle to meet the camera...

...but he sure makes for a fun photo montage in his Luke-like attempts!!

Aside from temples, parades, and beaches, much of the twins' summer entertainment has occurred a short stroll from our house.  We may not be city folks anymore, but our new neighborhood sure has plenty going on!

The appropriately twin-named 'Alley Park' is just an alley walk away...

...as is one of Evanston's public libraries...

...which houses appropriate 4-year old titles

The ice cream shop down the street, Hartigan's, has received a lot of business from these two!!

Further down the street is Lovelace Park, where duck watching is a fun activity

There always seems to be a street fair going on somewhere in Evanston on the weekend...

...sometimes with carnival rides...

...for kids and families!

The twins even took a trip to North Shore Towing for this VERY expensive photo!

There was also a lot of fun to be had around our new house this summer.

The twins set up a lemonade stand and met new neighbors...and even earned a little cash!

The twins now have a nice backyard (actually side) to enjoy

While the yard is a work in progress...

...these two have chipped in to 'help' with some of the planting, 

...and watering!!

Of course, the main event in our house this summer was the twins 4th birthday.

Yep, somehow we all survived the '3-nager' stage!!

The 'birthday week' began with receiving bikes from Grandma Steffie and Grandpa Dan...

...which were test-driven on the spot!

On their birthday Luke & Clare had a couple of friends over...

...to help celebrate...

...and watch them open presents!!

The twins are coming to realize they have it made here on Hartzell Street living in Evanston.  We look forward to many more summers in our new home and town!

#81. School's Out for Summer!!

The twins have reached another milestone...they are experiencing their first of many summer breaks!  Having the opportunity to experience summer vacation almost every year of my life (I have come to call it my '73-day weekend' since it means no 'work' for 2+ months!), I know what a gift and special time it can be.  Clare & Luke have already hit the beach, visited a temple, attended two street fairs, and more (of course, these will be covered in a future blog post!).  Summer break is an annual reward for making it through another school year.

We had no idea what we were getting into when we registered our two 3-year olds to attend full day preschool at St. Matthias in Lincoln Square (in the city),

We hope they're this excited the first day of school every year!!

but we are proud to say it was one of our best decisions. The twins flourished attending pre-K, so much so that when we moved north to Evanston in November, we continued commuting them to the school (which then became a 25 minute drive each way).  The beginning of the year was a challenging adjustment, but we are thrilled with the learning, friendships, and growth Clare & Luke experienced while attending St. Matthias!

We made the decision to separate the twins into different classrooms this past year.  Clare's teacher was Mrs. Mueller, who she learned so much from, including how to 'use her words'!  Clare can confidently spell and write her name, and I think I caught her counting past 100 (she may have skipped a few along the way!) while we were out driving this week.  Mrs. Mueller was a great influence on Clare, so much so that she often (we think) emulated her at home!  We are so thankful Clare was guided by such a patient, gifted teacher.

Clare and Mrs. Mueller

Clare with Mrs. Smith who also did a wonderful job teaching and encouraging Clare

Luke's teacher was Ms. Welch, someone who taught him many things, including lessons in managing his frustrations (smell the flower, blow out the candle!).  Ms. Welch was an excellent match for Luke because she did a fantastic job channeling his passion and energy (and love for all things trucks!) into learning and building positive relationships with his classmates.  Luke is still working on his hand-writing but we are proud to say he can already count to 20 in two languages!  We are grateful Luke was matched with such an energetic, talented teacher.

Luke with Ms. Welch

Special thanks to Mrs. Guerra for teaching the students so much...including Spanish!!

As parents of young students in the 21st century (something our parents can't claim!), one exciting thing that helped us follow the twins' experience in growth in school was a website called 'Seesaw' (think Facebook for preschoolers!).  Both teachers regularly posted information, photos, and videos that helped us peek into their classrooms and daily activities.  We enjoyed following the posts and watching the twins grow (and goodness, did they grow!).

In only 9 months, Clare grew from a tiny, quiet three year old into a more confident and articulate soon to be four year old...

Clare took pride in her artwork and projects...

...and made many, many friends.

Like his sister, Luke also grew from a tiny boy (look at that baby, baby face!) into a young boy with a more directed passion and excitement for all things...

Luke enjoyed all of his classroom activities and projects...

...and, of course, made great connections with his fellow classmates.

We will miss St. Matthias greatly, but are so thankful for the wonderful impact and foundation for education the school has established on our two young learners.  Next up, pre-K 4!!!

One year down...many, many more to go!!

#80. New Digs for a New Year

As many know, last fall we made the big move up to Evanston.  It was a tough decision to leave the city (Chris and I both lived in Chicago over 15 years), but Evanston (the first suburb north of Chicago along Lake Michigan) ended up the best compromise to remain connected to our former city life and establish new residence that will support all of the twins' future interests and needs.  We hadn't planned to make any such move so soon, but right before Labor Day, we found the perfect house and neighborhood and have never looked back!

Yay!! We have a front porch swing!

As exciting as a new house can be, we will definitely miss our old townhouse and neighborhood.  Before heading out, we took one last chance to say goodbye.

The twins took one last lap around the courtyard....

...and sat for one last pose (we are already talking about sneaking back this summer!) on the 'birthday' bench

Then, it was time to say farewell (sealed with a kiss...Luke would often say goodbye to the townhouse this way)...

.... to our townhouse on Winnemac

While it was hard to say goodbye, we quickly said hello to the 'blue house' on Hartzell and began to see the perks of moving into a new house.

Out with the old, in with the BLUE!!

The new house didn't come with a courtyard, but there is a backyard built for two!

For now, the twins will continue to share a bedroom...

...but they are excited to have graduated from cribs into toddler beds

The twins are learning a new home means MORE space...

...to line up cars!!

They are also discovering that some of their favorite hangouts, like 'the bar' in the new kitchen, are similar to our old place...

...and we're already investigating several options to replace the 'birthday bench'...maybe this will become the 'birthday tree'!

One of the best things about the new house is the piano...

...a generous gift from the previous owners that we hope will entertain the twins for many years to come!

It didn't take long for the twins to find all the comfy spots in our new home.

Luke likes lounging on the couch,...

...Clare has found her favorite recliner to rest on,...

...and the living room floor is a great place to set up a slumber party!!

The new house has already seen its share of good times. 

Thanksgiving was the first holiday in our new home

The twins enjoyed showing Grandpa &...

...Grandma Knapp around the new house!

Grandma Steffie popped in for a visit... 

...and gave the twins a lesson in baking cookies!

The twins have also enjoyed visits...

...from various cousins (and the pizza parties held during those visits!)

Trig (age 5!!) had the first family birthday...

...and the twins enjoyed celebrating with her!!

With many more memories...

...and construction projects to come...

...we have a great feeling these two will enjoy growing up in our new home!