Magic carpet ride

The day started out innocently enough. In fact, it was to be quite an exciting one. Thursday was Su's first day of kindergarten. And she was just giddy about taking the bus to school. I even arranged to get off work early and planned to be home to photograph the moment when she returned home from school, bounding off of the bus.

About 2:45, the bus was nearing its stop on the route near our home. But so was an unbelievable storm. We had been watching the skies for a little while and knew it would be a photo finish to determine what would arrive first -- our girl or the rains. We had heard that nearby DeKalb was in the midst of a tornado warning. Shortly after, so were we.

The bus that we watched go up one side of the nearby block failed to come up our side. And the tornado sirens wailed. A neighbor yelled out that the buses had been sent back to shelter areas. We hustled back to the house, grabbed flashlights and the pooch, and took cover in the basement as the winds and rains pelted the house. And within moments, we also lost power.

The initial blast did pass and we went upstairs to assess the damage. Nothing terrible in our area, although we would later find that nearby spots weren't nearly as fortunate. But the question of the day soon became: Where was Su's bus? Frantic calls to the school and transportation service confirmed that the bus made it back to the school (a VERY odd choice to take the 10+ minute drive back to the elementary school with a bus full of students when the middle school was 2 blocks away, as were other safe locations, in the middle of a tornado warning). After some time, all buses were released, although it took quite some time for us to be hooked up with Su.

Through it all, Su had been virtually oblivious to what was happening. She arrived smiling and waving. And had no real idea what the fuss was all about. Other kids on other buses were rain-soaked from open bus windows. Su didn't even realize that there had been a warning. She was just bored with the additional time back at the school and on the bus. But we were just plain relieved.

But that was short-lived. Our power didn't return all day. And the additional pouring of rain that continued through the day -- mixed with all of the rain we'd accumulated over the last week or more -- evolved into something unplanned. With nowhere to go and no power to the pump to push it out, the rain water invaded our basement.

Frantically, I worked to save items of value. Up went boxes, work samples, and children's toys. And the biggest task -- saving the music studio. If there was a shelf or a chair above the safe level, I piled on with electronics, boxes of equipment, and a couple of decades worth of recorded works.

With nowhere to go outside, water kept moving in from the outer walls of the basement. But with most items out of harms way, we just waited out the storms. By midnight, the power was restored. Water was quickly retreating. Of course, it was too late for the carpet.

So the weekend was spent tearing out old, soggy, cat-pee smelling (previous owners had cats -- apparently some who must have treated the entire basement as a litter box... cats suck), and hauling it up to the roadside curb. After serious cleansing, next comes drying, painting, and new carpet.

Oh yeah. On Friday, Su took the bus back to school. And this time the bus arrived on time. No winds. No rain. No problem.

Do not sit on the cows

This weekend was sort of a first for us -- at least in recent memory. This was our first little getaway for a couple of days since we were fortunate enough to have Su enter our lives. Well, the first overnight excursion that didn't involve a job interview of some sort. Yep, it had been that long. Destination? Madison, Wisconsin.

As the weekend approached, we were a little worried about the changing weather forecast. The chance for cooler temperatures didn't bother us -- not on the heels of so many 90 degree days of late. But the rain could be a problem. But we forged ahead. We had a room booked at a Holiday Inn Suites (complete with individual kid's suite), the dog-sitter was all set up, and we had a full tank of gas. Onward!

Of course, part of the way into our journey, the drizzle started up. But remaining optimistic, we wanted to make the most of our rare chance to get away. Upon arriving in Madison, we kicked off with lunch at Zuzu Cafe. What a find! And only a block away from the next stop on our journey, the Henry Vilas Zoo. After thoroughly enjoying the hummus plate and a relaxing, casual environment, we headed over to the zoo. Again, a little rain didn't dampen the mood. We had umbrellas to serve us when needed. And Su had a wonderful time.

Little did we know that this was to be the high point of our visit. After we left the zoo, the rains started to come down that much harder. We attempted to take in a little bit of the downtown area, but outside strolling became impossible. We rushed through a visit at the Children's Museum (highlight: Su with her first cow-milking experience), hiked back to our car, and then made our way to the hotel to check in.

Still, we were hopeful. We spent some time in the hotel pool (more of an indoor park), and then headed out for dinner. We dined at Sa-Bai Thong, reported to be the best Thai food in Madison. While the service was good and the atmosphere enjoyable, the food was average at best. And not nearly enough bite to the curry dish I had ordered.

Then the rains turned to storms. In trying to get to our car in the lot (in order to pull up to the door for the gals), I was nearly hit by a speeding car. And the rest was all downhill after that. Storms raged all through the night and into the morning, flooding out all of our entertainment options.

After attempting to drive around the rain-soaked city in the morning, we gave up and just headed home. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. It had been several years since we had an opportunity to enjoy ourselves away from the house, work, and employment-guided circumstances. The drive home was made that much longer by the lack of visibility during the next wave of storms.

A crushing end to a weekend with much hope. And so we head back into another work week.

Take it to the Max

I don't have an awful lot to report on with this post. More than anything, it's just a way to correct an awful realization: Max hasn't seen his furry little face anywhere on this blog site! At least not in the last several months.

For those of you not familiar with our huggable mate, we adopted Max from the Kendall County animal shelter in Yorkville (IL) when he was about one year old. Since that time, he's seen the arrival of our little girl and has managed to stay somewhat sane during our moves into 4 different "homes" over the past 3.5 years without any transition issues. He just goes with the flow.

Max recently enjoyed his 6th birthday. He's a giant walking pile of fur and a constant provider of drool and hair. But he's a goof. And he's wonderful with Su and her friends. Sure, he's not fond of the UPS delivery person. And he also seems to have a problem with certain print brokers in my industry. But the rest of the world is a happy, happy place for him -- and we're fortunate to have him in our family.

Sorry, Max. I'll do a better job of providing info on your future exploits. Gomez and your other canine "brothers" are asking. I'll try not to disappoint.

Gotcha!

Amazing. Has it actually been four years since our journey to China? Has it really been 1,460 days since officials from a far away land handed over a 13-month old child named Su over to two individuals who had no clue just what the heck they were doing? Four years ago on this date (August 11th of 2003) ended a 19 month adoption process and brought about the first day in the actual start of our new "family." And, frankly, I can't remember much about what life was like before Su entered our lives.

Part of the tradition in some adopting circles is to acknowledge the actual date that the new addition actually is handed over to the new parents. This day is referred to as GOTCHA DAY. It's a special date that deserves recognition, as it's a momentous occasion for the parents and becomes a special day for the child, more unique than birthdays or miscellaneous holidays. And it creates a wonderful opportunity to relive and retell the events that brought this family together.

Our Gotcha Day turned out to a very fun-filled day despite the continued 90 degree heat and awful humidity. We decided we weren't going to let the uncomfortable conditions take us out of having some outdoor fun. We decided to cope with the heat and embark on a little biking journey. We attached the trailer, strapped in Su, and headed out for the Batavia Art in Your Eye fine art show and festival. It was a chance to stroll through some art displays and also spend a little time in the park alongside the Fox River.

Later in the day, we dined at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, El Tesoro in West Chicago -- a favorite of Su's. Feeling quite full from our dining experience, we elected to take a trip to downtown Geneva and walk the main strip of shopping and assorted gathering spots. Armed with a handful of coupons from our volunteer time associated with the Geneva Viking 5K run last month, we strolled into Graham's for some incredible free ice cream. Feeling even more uncomfortable with the added calories, we elected to walk a little bit of it off before heading back home.

We concluded the evening by viewing one of the DVDs from our journey 4 years earlier, just staring in amazement at the footage of this little baby, once unable to even so much as crawl, and just marveling at how far she had come in such a short period of time. How far we ALL had come.

Kids and crocs!

Hmmm... Time to plan the day's activities. Let's see now. It's hot. The sun is beating down. Humidity is about 90%. It's just miserable out there. What to do? How about the Journeys of the Heart Annual Picnic!

In fairness, one can never really plan in advance for outdoor events and not expect weather to be a factor. The good news is that there was a breeze blowing and there were even a few trees to provide much needed shade. And it's really about the kids, right? It's certainly worth some sweat, sand, and sunscreen.

For the 2nd year in a row, the Journey's picnic was held at Wheaton's Northside Park. This annual event is a wonderful opportunity to meet up with other families who have chosen to adopt through the various programs offered at the agency. It's a great time to meet up with old friends, meet new ones, and just stare in amazement at how much our babies have grown.

Aside from playing, running, feasting, and sweating, this year's event also brought in a traveling reptile show. And it was a huge hit with the kids -- and adults! Chris Boerema's Traveling World of Reptiles spent part of the afternoon with us and just wowed the kids with creatures of all sizes and textures. Some friendly. Some not so much. All handled in a professional and educational way. The kids got to pet some of them. Some kids were selected to hold turtles, place a frog on a nose, or a tarantula on a head. Good fun for all!

After more sweating and playing, we ducked out of there around 4:00 or so. About 10-15 minutes later, the thunderstorms moved through and concluded the days events. We were all pretty wiped out after a day in the sun. But it was just a great day to bring so many people back together again.