Rion's 1st Soccer Practice

My Two Front Teeth

My mom wants me to talk about how I lost my two front teeth. It all started

at Y's kids where I was going down the slide head first but crooked
sideways. And then I crashed into the side, bumped my teeth. They were super
wiggly. Then I had to sit on the bench until dad came. When dad came he
picked me up and drove me home. And then I went in the bathroom and spit
blood in the sink. Then, with a couple pulls, I pulled out both of them
together with some skin in the middle. That's it. - Owen

School

I go to Kindergarten now. My first day, and I was good, I got to earn

something for the last day. That day I choosed going to the movies on
Sunday. And, today is Sunday the 28th and we got to play on the trampoline.
I went to my school on Tuesday, but I didn't have school. It was meet the
teacher day. My teacher is Mrs. Guftason. At Kindergarten we had free time
and we got to go outside. I go on a bus to get to my school. If you go to
Elmhurst KinderCare, you should know I go to KinderCare, but you have to be
in Kindergarten. And, I got to play with cars in a race and I was beating
like everyone who was racing me, I was beating them. I was not in the lead
and then I took the lead past them cuz my car starts slow and then ends
really fast. And, I did some work in my school but most of it wasn't hard.
I'll tell you how many I had in my works this week. I had 8 pieces of work,
I think, at my school. I did, so that should be all of my work. I'm done. -
Ri

On Tuesday me and Rion went to meet the teacher. My teacher is Mrs.
Peterman. I had her for math last year. I got accelerated math, I just got
to go to 2nd grade for math. In school we got to go outside instead of going
to the LRC, because the LRC isn't open yet. In 2nd grade I don't have to do
the math with everyone else because I have a math packet from 3rd grade. I
got it on Friday, I think, or Thursday. I have 4 friends. I have one I don't
usually play with. One of my friends, plays with me outside with another one
of my friends in a different class. - Owen

Where's my Rion?

Such an odd day - Rion slept in past nine (granted, he was still on Pacific
time and didn't get into his bed until after 1am) and he watched all but 11
minutes of the Chicago Fire game. Where is my Rion?

Summer Vacation

Summer vacation 2011 is done! After the Disney experience last summer I
wanted something completely different, so we decided to visit the pacific
northwest - Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. Neither Mike nor I had
ever been to Oregon and British Columbia, so it was a new experience for us
too. Overall, mountains, food, and alcohol summed up the trip. The boys
enjoyed the hiking and being outdoors, but their favorite portions were
climbing rocks and playing in the water. Both decided that they prefer
beaches to mountains. We'll see if we end up back at a beach next year. They
are already lobbying for their choices - Owen really wants to visit NYC and
Rion wants to visit the Magic Tree House (from the children's book series).
I don't see either one in our future! - N
I'm happy to be back home in our house because I didn't like that much
hiking there cuz we didn't have playstuff outside our hotel. We had to walk
to the playstuff. We have ours in our backyard. And, they don't have a
sandbox, or a slide, or a bridge, or a telescope. A slide you can slide down
on your butt with nothing under you or on you. Next year I want to go to,
um, Pennsylvania, cuz I don't know what they have there, but I just want to
go there to go to Frog Creek. That's what I want to go there for. I want to
go to Frog Creek because me and my brother think Jack and Annie live there
in Frog Creek woods cuz in the woods there is Jack and Annie and they always
go to the Magic Tree House, every book. - Orion Stufflebeam
On the vacation, it was a really good vacation and I want to go to New York
next year so I can have a giant frozen hot chocolate and a giant
cheeseburger. - Owen

Quote of the Day

We spent a week in the fresh mountain air, but after walking out of O'Hare
and feeling the humid, Chicago, summer night, Owen took a deep breath in and
remarked, "Ahhhh! This is home." Apparently he missed the humidity and
pollution.

Canada - Whistler and Blackcomb

A day in a half in Whistler - It was supposed to be two days, but we stayed

at Mt. Hood longer than planned, and on our little detour through Vancouver
we missed a turn. The boys were so busy watching movies in the back seat,
that I doubt they remember seeing any of the city. Once there, we visited
Whistler Village and the Adventure Zone at the base of Blackcomb. The boys
were able to go down the summer luge, drive go carts, bungee and trapeze,
and go in a human gyroscope. The next day, we took the ski lift up Whistler,
and another to the peak, where we hiked and the boys built a rock statue,
similar to the Olympic emblem. The boys found snow and had more snow ball
fights. Here they also "skied" and went sledding down a snow hill, without a
sled. We were able to ride the second, open ski lift back down from the
peak, which was a different experience - Great if you don't mind heights.
Next, we took the Peak 2 Peak gondola between the two mountains. We were
even able to ride in one with a glass floor. It was amazing from an
engineering standpoint. We hiked a little more Blackcomb, which is probably
one of the best trails we did during the week. Rion was VERY thankful that
we didn't see any bears. As much as he wanted to see one, the idea freaked
him out. Owen, who typically thinks he can do anything physical, was a
little surprised when he had trouble climbing a straight, little path. What
he didn't consider was that it was a third of a mile, straight up, with a
200 ft. elevation change - and it was at 6,000 ft. Mike and I had trouble
with it too. That's the hill Rion ended up hitching a ride on. He knew
better than to even try it.- N

We went to Canada and we got a Canadian flag but it's like only about 6
inches, like 7 or 8 or 6. And, we saw the biggest Canadian flag ever made.
We went to Canada's outside pool and I can touch all the way, but I can't
touch in the 12 meter side. I can only touch in the 8 meter side. So, if we
see a 8 meter I can touch. I went on go carts but they did have wheels. And,
they moved quick. I keeped on, I was winning everyone because all of them
were crashing. Only one time I crashed. The first time I crashed my brother.
I crashed him out. He gave me lots of boostes. And, I went on this thing
that went around and it was so fun cuz, it went upside down. It was so fun
cuz it went around like upside down like 10 times or like 12. It went upside
down like lots of times. We went on a summer luge. And it goed slow. There
is no pedals. You have to pull something and it went super quick with my
dad. I went on a mountain and we had to hike for a long time. I was tired by
then when we got up on the top. I had to have lots of breaks walking and my
dad had to pick me up. I had to hang on his back and he had to pick me up.
And, my brother had to have two breaks. One break he was walking very slow.
And, the other break he was just walking. I went on a ski lift and it
closed. There was a door on it and it closed and it was 35 minutes. There
was lots of bears in the mountains, there should have been, but we didn't
see any. Over 60,000. And, there was babies, moms, and dads. We didn't see
any. When you see a bear just walk slowly back. We wanted to see a bear
because we wanted to take a photo, a picture. I was skiing and I only fell
down once on Whistler. And, me and dad were racing and I beat him all of the
time. And, I was skiing down a mountain and it was little and I put my
breaks on, on accident, breaks on my shoes over on the toes parts. That's
it. - Orion Stufflebeam

At Whistler and Blackcomb we went to this place where there were bears, but
we didn't see any but there were bears there and sculptures of animals. The
sculptures of animals were eagles, coyotes, foxes, and birds. And, we got to
go on this ski lift thing that had a door. That was the best part. And, we
got to climb this long hike. It was maybe 35 minutes. And to get back up to
the ski lift we had to walk up a steep hill. It was not fun. On the way up
to Whistler it took 35 minutes only to get up. That was really fun. And, me
and Rion were on a bear hunt the first time we were in it. We were looking
for bears. That was the best part of vacation. At Whistler there was Olympic
stuff like the Olympic person. The Olympic person was 5 rocks. There was two
legs, a part on top of the legs, a long rock for two arms, and a head. And,
we got to see five Olympic rings. And, we even got to go to the best ice
cream and the best gelato at Whistler. The best ice cream was at Cows and
the best gelato was at Hatley Scoops. That's it. - Owen

Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood

We spent one day in the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood Region. Our first

stop was a little creek or river off of the historic drive. The boys could
have stayed there all day playing in the water, playing with the rocks, and
eating the wild blackberries. Rion loves playing in water, no matter how
cold, especially if he's fully dressed. Owen prefers to try building things
out of the rocks or catching the minnows. From there, we drove to Larch
Mountain, where we hiked in the woods, including 120 stairs, up to a point
where 5 mountain peaks are visible - Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt.
Jefferson, and Mt. St. Helens. We thought the view was worth the 120 stairs
(which is saying something at that altitude), but the boys were bored. They
did enjoy seeing Mt. St. Helens without it's top. The Mt. Hood region was
pretty, but the top of the hill was very steep and very dry and dusty. It
was amazing that the climate differed so much from Mt. Rainier. It also
amazes me that with everything we did that day, they both mentioned the 5
minute stop at a winery. We ran in 3 minutes before closing time, so it was
a very quick visit, but it must have made some type of impression on them. I
think it was because Rion found a map under a seat cushion, which we let him
keep, and Owen was jealous of the rest of the trip. - N

I got to take off my pants and they turned into shorts. And, I went into the
Columbia River Gorge. It got deep and then shallow. It got deeper, and
deeper, and deeper. And, me and my dad saw people, a boy playing with his
dog like our dog plays too. And, we got some blackberries. We sawed
waterfalls and we went to a winery and we went to the Columbia River Gorge.
And, we made a waterfall. I went to Mt. Hood and I got to go on a huge,
huge, humungous rock. Humungous means that it is big, and big, and big,
super, super big. I standed and putted my hands up and said, "I'm the king
of the world". And, me and my brother hided from our mom. She didn't see us
because we were hiding behind rocks. It looked like I was underground and it
was so funny cuz our mom didn't see us. - RiSt

At the Columbia River Gorge we got to go in water. It was so cool. It went
deep, shallow, deep, shallow cuz we were trying to get somewhere and we even
got blackberries. And, we saw some minnows. Me, dad, and Rion saw this
humongous minnow but we couldn't catch it. At Mt. Hood we were hiding from
mom when we saw her coming up. We were like crouching down under rocks. And,
Rion was standing on a rock saying, "I'm the king of the world". On Mt. Hood
we got to go to this winery. This winery place where mom and dad got to try
wine and Rion got a map there. That's it. - Owen

Portland

One day in Portland - Great food at a few breweries, Voodoo Donuts, and a

waffle sandwich food truck. We spent most of the time at OMSI, the Oregon
Museum of Science and Industry. I had to drag all three boys out of it. It
had a history of video game exhibit, with over 150 games on display for you
to play. We all had fun in that section. Rion was excited to tour a real
submarine, until he realized that it wasn't going to go under the water and
take him for a ride. The submarine and blimp rides are still on his wish
list! Their favorite section was the hands-on portion, where they were able
to build towers that could sustain the earthquake, experiment with pulleys
and gears, shoot rockets and balls, and race paddle boats. We also visited
Powell Books, which was so big it was a little overwhelming, but it would be
great to live near. Owen loved it! - N

I went to Voodoo Donuts. It was SO good. And, I traded my voodoo guy for my
dad's donut and it was little and I ate most of the voodoo guy. And, there
was Captain Crunch on my dad's donut. He let me have it. I love Captain
Crunch. It's a kind of cereal. I ate some of it but I didn't eat all of it.
After that we went to a place where a waffle stand is in a food truck. And
the guy was from Chicago. We went to a bookstore. We went to a museum and we
went in a submarine! But, it didn't go under water. It used to go under
water but the farther you go down the littler it gets. I listened to that
guy. And, we got to turn the controls. And, I asked the guy, who was our
guy, I asked him what the wheels do up on the top. He didn't know and he
just turned one and I don't know what it did. (Rion was listening! We
learned how a submarine is compressed as it goes deeper in the water. He had
lots of questions and wanted to understand how things worked on-board. The
most exciting thing for him was to learn that submarines have ice cream
machines!) So, I got to play. I did a boat race with me and my dad and he
always tried to beat me but he didn't. His boat was very slow. My boat was
slow but then it went fast. I was going to trade with my dad but I didn't.
And, it was so funny because I kept on beating all of the races. Ha! My dad
thought he was going to win, but we was always a loser and I kept on beating
everyone. The motor was spinning very slow and then very, very fast, like a
beyblade when you spin it with your thing. It starts fast, and then goes
slower, and slower, and slower. It's like that, but the opposite. (As
always, Rion's luck held out and he won all of the races. This kid wins
almost every game he plays, even when he doesn't cheat.) - RiSt

In Portland we went to Voodoo Donuts. At Voodoo Donuts I got a voodoo man. A
voodoo man is a guy that has a pretzel sticked into his body. It was super,
duper, woopher, hooper, good. It was like the best place ever in Portland.
And, we went to this place called Powell Books. It was the biggest bookstore
in the whole wide world because it was a whole block. And, we went to this
place where me and Rion got to drink root beer. It was the best day ever. At
the museum we got to go to this game place that had 180 games. It was the
best museum ever. So, that's it. - Owen

Mt. Rainier

We spent one day at Mt. Rainier's Longmire and Paradise regions. The boys
loved climbing the rocks and playing in the water at Longmire, and playing
in the snow at Paradise. If we had gloves with us, I don't know if we ever
would have gotten them out of the snow. They were a little bored by the
hikes down to see the waterfalls, but did enjoy finding a rainbow. And, they
agreed with us that the pie just outside the national forest is delicious.
It's a must! - N

I went to Mt. Rainier and I got to play in snow. It was
cold. I asked our mom if we can have gloves but she said N-O. She didn't let
us, but we got to play in the snow and we made a snow man. And, I threw
snowballs in my dad's shoe and it was cold for him. He thought it was very
cold. Mt. Rainier is not a mountain cuz it is a volcano but the top's not
off and it's bigger than a mountain. I had a pie, one huckleberry pie and
one was blackberry. I loved it. It was awesome cuz when we ate it the
huckleberries looked like blueberries, but they weren't blueberries. They
were huckleberries. And, it was so good. The huckleberries plain are great
cuz they taste like blueberries too. So, I'm done. - RiSt

On Mt. Rainier we got to see deer that mom found and dad even saw a marmot in the snow. And,
we got to go hiking on rocks where I hit my head and Rion tripped on the
rocks. It's good I was wearing safety glasses. That was really fun when we
went on the rocks. After we went on the rocks we went on some other trails
and it was like the best day ever. We even got to play snowball fight with
dad. We beat dad cuz Rion kicked snow in dad's shoes. That is the whole day.
And, we built a snowman, just to tell you. - Owen Michael Stufflebeam (In
case you are wondering - Mike had on sandals in the snow. The boys thought
it was funny!)

Seattle

Two days in Seattle - Pike's Place Market, the Piers, a harbor tour, brunch

in the rotating restaurant on the Space Needle, exploring a little of
Seattle Center, and a Mariners vs. Red Sox game - including a run around the
bases. Rion's favorite was the Space Needle and seeing all of the ships in
the harbor, especially the container ships and the fire boats. It was like a
real life Lego City. Owen's favorites were probably eating the fresh fruit
in the market and the baseball game. - N

I went to the Space Needle and I went to a pool, two pools, one in Seattle
and one in Canada. That's mostly it. We went on the top of the Space Needle.
It was fun. I thought I was going to fall off, because I thought there was
no glass, but there was glass so I didn't fall off. And, I did a maze and it
took forever. It was like a loop, loop, loop, loop, loop, loop, loop, loop,
loop. (he went on for quite a while). it keeped on with loops, and loops,
and loops. Most of the parts of the maze was loops. We sawed the music
museum. I wanted to go in, but our mom said no. And, we went to a baseball
game and it was short, pretty short. And, I raced Owen and I won. There was
a boat what had boxes on it and there was a cruiser boat what you can take
your car and you on it. And, you can go from there to somewhere. And, we
sawed two fire boats. One was big with a big top and one was just a plain
boat with nothing on it, just fire stuff on it. We ate at a restaurant and
we sat at a window. - RiSt

In Seattle we went to a baseball game. The Mariners were versing the Red
Sox. There were like a thousand Red Sox fans all over Seattle. We went on a
boat ride on the dock where there was food and there was drinks. And, you
got to look at all of the views. And, we went to the Space Needle. It was a
building that was like 18 million candy bars stacked on top of each other. I
think that's what it said. That is high. After that, we went into this maze
that took like forever. It was the best day ever. We went to this giant
market place that was like a hundred stores. There was a cheese place and
there were lots of places there because it was a big humongous place and we
were there for like three hours. That's the whole part of Seattle. - Owen

Quote of the Day

From a daycare note sent home:
Rion amazes me every day! Please God, I pray he is a "force for good" -
America will be in "great" hands!!!

Share the Care

I went to a Share the Care party at Brookfield Zoo and I sawed some animals,

like the giraffes. We went on the carousel and I got to choose my own
animal. I picked the panda because I love pandas. They are my favorite
animal on this whole Earth. The whole world. The whole planet. And, I liked
Brookfield Zoo so much because I like the carousel a lot. I was there
because I adopted an animal and it was a giraffe. That's why. They were
making everyone go home if they didn't have stickers on. If they didn't have
stickers they couldn't be there cuz it was like till 8:30, it was open till
that day. - RiSt
When we went to the zoo for Rion's Share the Care day, we got to feed
stingrays. You had shrimp and fish and you had to hold them between your
index and middle fingers. And, you put them all of the way down as far as
you could go, because a stingray's mouth is on his belly. So, you had to go
down as far as you could and he'd go over it and eat it. And, I got three
stingrays to eat my stuff and one felt like he was about to bite me. I don't
know why. It was really funny. It was the best thing in the world. The end.
- Owen

Wisconsin State Fair

I went to the Wisconsin State Fair and I had a chocolate éclair. Me and my

dad and my brother. Our mom doesn't like chocolate éclairs because she
thinks they are gross. She doesn't like them at all. My dad offered her a
bite, but she didn't want a bite. And, we had chocolate bacon and we went
down a big slide they had there. It was super fun cuz it was like bumpy, a
lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. It was so bumpy. My dad made me go off far. And,
we ate inside. I got some pizza and my brother got chicken O's. There were
lots of people there so I had to stay by my dad. My mom was watching us from
the side. She was standing right against the fence. She saw me coming down.
The guy said, "Cubs on that side, (some team) on a different side." Me and
my brother are both Cubs fans, so we both went there. Even my dad did
because he's a Cubs fan. After that, we sawed cows, horses, even pigs, and
goats. That was like what we did at the Wisconsin State Fair, and lots and
lots of walking. – RiSt

When we went to the state fair, we got to see the race track. We got to park
in it. It was really cool. When we went there, me, mom, dad, and Rion all
got lunch. At lunch time, I got corn, chocolate bacon, éclair, chicken
nuggets, pizza, and fried pickle chips. And after that, we went to this shop
with lots and lots of foods, candies, and desserts. It was mostly covered
with desserts there. It looked like a restaurant in 3010. And, the people
selling the corn said, "Corn here. Get your corn here. Best corn ever." And,
me and Rion went on this giant slide. It was like up to the sky and we got
to ride down it all of the way. But this guy said only Brewers fans could be
on one side, and that was not good. The end. - Owen

I'm not sure what they were talking about, but we had another good afternoon
at the Wisconsin State Fair – chocolate éclair, fried pickles, maple syrup
ice cream sundae, pretzel bites, cranberry juice soda, chocolate covered
bacon, corn on the cob, pizza, chicken nugget O's, brats, bison burrito,
apple cider, apple cider donut, caramel apple slices, and maple cotton
candy. And, we brought home cream puffs. I think that covered everything! -
N