Famille Du Pentium

Aaron, Ethan, and Justin are all in Challenger British Soccer Camp this week, learning soccer from British pros and semi-pros.  Aaron is quite good at soccer and for him it’s an opportunity to improve his skills before AYSO Soccer starts in the fall.  This year, not only will Mike be coaching Aaron’s (U12) team, but Marla will be coaching Ethan’s (U6) team. 

Unfortunately we don’t have any pictures yet, and because of the wide angle of the soccer fields, it’s unlikely  that we’ll have any (but we’ll try). 

We went to Arlington Park yesterday; this was an employer-paid event that included admission, a program, food, beverages, and a private tent for our company.  The kids had a great time, and pictures are HERE.

Next event: A Day Out with Thomas, in August.  More pictures to come! 

So I’m catching up on some stuff that should have been done in late May / early June, if we hadn’t hightailed it out of Illinois so fast after school ended.

Aaron is a member of the District 73.5 beginner band, and this band won the 2006 John Philip Sousa Foundation Sudler Cup award for excellence.   This award covers the full band, including the beginner band that Aaron belongs to, all the way up to the elite Symphonic band.

So in honor of this award, the band had a concert during the last week of May, and we recorded portions of it.  

Here is Aaron’s band playing three selections of music [MP3].  This is an MP3 file, so you can download it but you’ll need an MP3 Player to listen to it (hopefully your computer already has one).  If this works out well, I may post other MP3s from the concert.

BTW as I was writing this post, Aaron received a letter from Illinois Congressman Louis Lang congratulating him on his class’s Sudler Cup achievement.  We, of course, are very proud.

Oh, I guess I should mention that Aaron plays Trombone. 

If you looked for the pictures yesterday, they might have still been uploading.  Everything is done now, and you can find them all at:

http://gallery.famille.org/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=1249&g2_fromNavId=xdd28d5ca 

This includes Disney, Dells, July 4th, and the car races.

On July 4th, we went to the Skokie fireworks show after returning from the Dells.  This is an annual event held at Niles West High School that includes music, food, games, and of course the fireworks show.  The pictures are HERE, and here’s what you’ll see:

• The kids running around on the Niles West athletic field during the concert. 
• A juggler
• Ethan in the Sack Race
• Aaron waiting for the sack race.  Somehow, he didn’t get to participate.  Sigh.
• Ethan eating watermellon.  There was supposed to be a seed spitting contest, but he just ate the food.
• Justin eating watermellon too
• Ethan in the tug-o-war game
• Aaron in the tug-o-war game (he won!)
• Pictures of the Skokie dusk sky, just before the fireworks
• Aaron on top of the car, waiting to watch the fireworks
• The Fireworks 

Last night, we all went to Hartford Speedway Park in Hartford, MI (about 2 hours from Chicago) to watch stock car racing.  This is a half-mile dirt oval track that has Factory Stock, Mini Stock, UMP Late Model, UMP Modifieds, Mini Sprints, Enduros, and Quads.  We actually went to see a friend race in the Quads, which are like little one-cylinder two-stroke four-wheel ATVs.  A friend from work helped the driver rebuild his Quad, and he was there watching his friend race.  So we went, because it’s a good opportunity for the kids to  (A) see REAL stock car racing, and (B) Meet the driver.

This is what NASCAR was 30 years ago – a bunch of guys just racing their hearts out on a dirt track  just for the thrill of it.  And we all had a great time, and came home at 2:00 AM covered in dirt. 

The pictures are HERE.

This is the time of year where we haven’t had any holidays, vacations, or other family events to use as an excuse to take pictures of the kids.  So just ’cause it’s spring, here are some pics we took this week.  (Actually, this was a birthday party for our next door neighbors at the Skokie Exploratorium).

See The Latest Pics HERE 

I won’t go into the whole Passover story, like I did for Purim.  However, I thought this was an interesting side note.

Most of us know the story about the Jews escaping from hard labor in Egypt.  Not enough time to rise the bread, so we eat Matzah, yadda yadda, and then the parting of the Red Sea.

What few know is that actually, it didn’t go like things did in The Ten Commandments.  The Jews didn’t arrive at the banks of the Red Sea and suddenly things just opened up for them.  In fact, at first, (the story tells us), nothing at all happened.  It wasn’t until every Jew had completely immersed themselves before the miracle of the parting of the Sea occurred.  In fact, the story goes on to say that most had to go in far enough that they actually could not breathe until the sea was parted.

This was an extraordinary leap of faith.  No one knew for sure what to do next or what would happen, only that their God would see them through.  And only when things got as bad as they possibly could get (as with the faithful who dove in over their heads) did divine intervention save them.  

This story tells us a lot.  First, that faith – most importantly – is required for God’s intervention.  Second, even when God was imposing his will in the form of miracles that saved the Nation of Israel, personal human choice was required to make those miracles happen.  Faith first, and choice second.  That’s the way it has always been, even in the days of the Passover.

Happy Passover. 

Long ago, there was a king named Ahaseurus, who ruled over the Persian Empire after the Persians defeated the Babylonians and released the Jews from their captivity.  Ahaseurus was generally a good king, although he sought council from an evil man named Haman.  Ahaseurus’ wife, Vashti, refuses to meet with King Ahaseurus upon his request, and is shunned.  Ahaseurus then goes about selecting a new wife.

Hadassah, cousin of Mordecai, is selected and becomes Queen Esther.  Haman is outraged that the Jews in Persia will not bow to Ahaseurus, and he convinces Ahaseurus to kill all of the Jews via a lottery system (Hebrew: Pur).  Neither Haman or Ahaseurus know that Esther is Jewish.

Meanwhile, Mordecai became privy to a plot by two of Ahaseurus’  Eunoch guards to lay hands upon him, and overthrow him.  Mordecai tells Esther, who in turn tells King Ahaseurus on behalf of Mordecai.  King Ahaseurus arrests the eunochs, confronts them, and they confess.  King Ahaseurus makes a mental note to someday reward Mordecai.

Mordecai has become despondant over the King’s decree to kill the Jews.  He contacts Esther, and together they come up with a plan.  If Esther approaches King Ahaseurus to speak to him, and he refuses, Esther would be killed.  But she agrees that this is important enough to risk her own life in order to save the Jews.  So Esther first approaches King Ahaseurus to invite him and Haman to a dinner feast.  King Ahaseurus accepts, and Queen Esther lives.  

Meanwhile, King Ahaseurus has a sleepless night, and contemplates his fortunes.  During this time of reflection, he remembers that he owes Mordecai a favor, and summons Haman to tell him to reward him.  Haman is upset because at that very moment, he was contemplating asking the King to hang Mordecai, and in fact had already built a fifty-foot high gallow for just that purpose.  

During the meal, King Ahaseurus asks Queen Esther what is on her mind.  She reports that she is upset, because a bad man has convinced him to kill all of her relatives.  King Ahaseurus is surprised, and asks who this bad man is.  Esther responds that it is the Wicked Haman.  King Ahaseurus is outraged, and orders Haman seized and hung in Mordecai’s gallow.  The Jewish people are saved, and Mordecai becomes a trusted advisor.  

Happy Purim.  Chag Simeach. 

Tonight is Monster Jam at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL.   This is another great event to take kids to, because behavior (good, bad, or otherwise) is of course optional. 

The kids will have their ear protection, of course, but we’ll still all come home smelling like complex hydrocarbons.  Meanwhile, let them scream, yell, jump around, and act their ages.  I’ll sit back, have some nachos and beer, and enjoy the show.