You're the Swedish thing...

Hard to believe it's already been a year since I wrote my last little summary of Geneva's Swedish Days weekend. My gosh, so much has happened since then. And oddly enough, my overall feelings about these events and the city of Geneva haven't really changed that much. It's a beautiful area and there is certainly a charm about the location. But unless you really get into that whole Third Street shopping and have the extra cash just begging to spring out of your wallet or purse (I prefer the wallet), there really isn't that much to do.

Well, unless you have a kid. Then you can turn it into a little bit of fun. And this year's fun was almost a carbon copy of last year's fun. Face painting. A chance to climb the fire engine. Some live music. Even a demonstration by the fire department for kids detailing how to react in the event of fire.

This year, we even saw a couple of people we knew. Su's kindergarten teacher and a school friend of hers. Otherwise, no familiar faces. A few dogs being walked. Lots of school kids enjoying a brief amount of freedom sans parents.

Aside from the fire department demo, Su also went on her first small roller coaster. I tried my best to take a photo, but the delay on my camera made that an impossible task. I did manage to get part of the front of her body in one shot. But nothing else to show the joy on her face. The first moments, as the coaster jerked from its stopped position, brought about a sense of worry and anxiety. You could see it in Su's eyes. But after a trip around the tracks, suddenly the expression was one filled with absolute joy. The screams ("those were GOOD screams, mommy") were an indicator that this little girl was going to handle fast-moving rides much better than her parents!

Otherwise, not much else. It just made for a nice evening and a chance to walk off a little bit of dinner, mingle in the crowd, and wear down the little gal just in time for bed.

Next up: Good Old Days in Winfield. And by then, we'll be in walking distance. Two more weeks to go until moving day!

A day for dad

[There are 3 posts for the price of 1 today... read on!]

Over the last nearly 5 years, the term "dad" has taken on much greater significance for me. Each and every day, I get to hear that word escaping from the lips of a special little girl. And most days, it still leaves me a little speechless. Me? Dad? Coming home from work and hearing someone shriek out "Daddy!" as I'm entering the house. Does it get much better than that? Oh, sure. Max barks continually and spends the next 3-5 minutes whining. But it's not really the same thing, is it? And Anita stopped shrieking upon my arrival many years ago. Guess the thrill is gone. :-)

This particular Father's Day was especially nice from almost the first moments of the day. I started out with a leisurely morning run and got caught out in a storm for a bit. But it quickly passed and the day did nothing but look up from there. Su woke up in a great mood and greeted me with "Happy Father's Day!" Then Su presented me with her special gift -- a White Sox balloon to float proudly around the house! And that was capped by a wonderful White Sox sweatshirt, which will be worn with much pride during cool evenings in the fall -- as we cheer on another World Series run (Sorry, Cub fans, but your pitching isn't going to hold in the 2nd half. Lilly? Marquis? Ha!).

We went out for late breakfast/early lunch at our favorite local diner -- called The Geneva Diner (surprise). Some of the best casual dining in the area, though. Breakfast and lunch only. The place was packed when we arrived. Probably a lot of dad's getting honored at this point in the day. But we were able to sit down at the counter -- a new experience for us. There was something rather neighborly about the whole experience. Overall, it was a very pleasant lunch.

We then took a little drive into Winfield to glance at the new house for a tiny bit. Saw the current owners and chatted for a while. All parties are quite excited right now. In 3 weeks, we'll be in the house and neighborhood we've been seeking (since we left back in '04) and the current family will be heading off to Phoenix to return to family, as well. We drove around, looked at the parks, the schools, and then daydreamed about the very near future.

We capped the afternoon with a top at Graham's in Geneva for some world-class ice cream. We finished up just moments before the rains hit again and headed home. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and enjoying some free time before the next work day would follow.

It really can't get much more special than this.

Going home again

Returning to the neighborhood we love. Back in Winfield. Closer to work. Closer to Barone's. Closer to Ashoka. Closing July 9th. More details to follow.

What's all the racket?

Earlier in the spring, Su surprised us with the following declaration:

"I want to play tennis. Can I take lessons?"

What? You've never shown any interest in tennis. We don't watch tennis. None of your friends play tennis. Oh, sure. Why not? But here's the deal: If we sign you up, you've got to finish it out. If you don't like it, you have to see it through.

OK. That's fair.

So Su is playing tennis now through the Geneva Park District. And she's actually having a lot of fun. I had the opportunity to see her on her very first day. Unfortunately, the camera was not with me. The day pretty much went like this:

Swing and a miss. Swing and a miss. Swing and a miss. Oooh. A tip! Swing and a miss. Then the instructor worked on her 2-handed form. Swing and a miss. Oh, a hit! Cool! Swing and a miss. And then another hit! Sure, not far or fast. But she's making contact. Now THIS is getting excited. And where is my damn camera? Oh, yeah. On the kitchen table. Another hit! Whoo-hoo!

So we're in week no. 2 now. And we even picked up a used kid's racket for $1.50 at a garage sale over the weekend. So now she has a racket with her own name on it. And she's having fun. Not Bjorn Borg just yet. She's not Bjorn Ulvaeus, either (ABBA).

And she's not quite Bjorn to run... Ooooh. Sorry. That was really bad.