Well here it is the 4th of July. What would the day be like without fireworks?!

Those of you who are parents understand the importance of choosing just the right name for your child. I thought it was difficult enough to name a dog. But a child… that’s another story. At least the dog doesn’t care if it is called Rover, Pongo or HeyU. Your children have to live with the names you pick for them for nearly 100 years! If they don’t like their name’s it is your fault.

Yesterday, Sheryl and I had lunch at Bennigan’s and pored over the baby name books looking for names for our soon to be born son. We are not sure if we will continue the naming pattern we already have established. Everybody in our household’s first name is 6 letters and has an “H” in it. The kids names all begin with the letter “M” On the other hand, do we name this child in honor of my mom who passed away two years ago?

So once we find a name which either fits the naming pattern or honors Mom we put it on the list. Some names get crossed off immediately. Reese — Reese’s Pieces. McHale — McHale’s Navy. Simon, Simple Simon or Simon Says… You get the idea.

I don’t think I will ever forgot what happened to my friends Joe and Tina years ago. They were expecting their second child, a girl. They agonized over the name like Sheryl and I are doing now. After much thought they decided to name their little girl Amber. They thought they had found a name which the kids couldn’t make fun of. How wrong they were. Just days after Amber was born, they brought her home to meet her 3 year old brother, Sam. Upon meeting his sister for the first time he said “Hi Amber-ger!”

After much anticipation on Meghan’s part, it was the day of her class field trip to the Brookfield Zoo. Never mind that she’s been there hundreds of times already. Today was the day her daddy, me, would get to spend time with her and her classmates. Meghan’s teacher, Miss Sullivan, has two kindergarten sections. So when we arrived in her classroom this morning, it was controlled mayhem. Somehow, after thirty-three years of teaching kindergarten, Miss Sullivan has field trip organization down to a science (too bad she’s retiring at the end of next school year).

We were quickly assembled into our groups. Our group had three kindergarteners: Sammy, Bobby and Meghan. There were the fourth grade buddies: Sara, Cindy, Angelo, Alex and one boy who’s name I never did learn. The chaperones were Mary Kate, Frank and me. That made for eleven of us. Soon we were on the school bus along with all of the other groups from Miss Sullivan’s classes plus the other morning kindergarten class.

During the bus ride, we traveled through the tail end of rush hour. I realized this was one thing I did not miss from my former life in the corporate world. The rush hour drive. We arrived at the zoo a little before 10:00 and waited on the buses until it was time to go in. For those of you who are not in the Chicago area, I guess I should tell you that it was a miserable day.

It was a cool 40 degrees with a steady drizzle most of the morning. To make it even more uncomfortable there wind was blowing and making it seem even cooler. Despite the weather, we set off in good spirits. The first problem was deciding what to see first. We had a limited amount of time as we had to be back on the bus at 12:40 and also take time for lunch.

Somehow, we decided what to see. We started off at Tropic World. The kids were fascinated by the monkeys. Especially the two baby gorillas! After that we went to see the bear Miss Sullivan adopted. Lunch was next, followed by the dolphins, seals, tigers, lions, elephant house. Suddenly it was time to leave. In spite of the weather, a good time was had by all.

Today we combined family and business on our one day trip to Milwaukee. We took the kids to a McDonald’s playland for lunch and to allow them to burn off some energy. Immediately after lunch we drove to Milwaukee. I dropped the family off at the in-laws and drove down to University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee to meet with some potential clients, Lindsey and Joseph. They are planning a June 2007 wedding. She is a student at school there and did not have the time to meet me in Chicago.

Sheryl’s parents were entertaining some guests who they’ve known since Sheryl was a little girl. They wanted to see Sheryl and the rest of her family. Finally, the in-laws love every opportunity to see the kids. They don’t care about us, just the kids! Once again my kids have been spoiled with gifts from Nana. Boy does she love shopping. I think my kids are just the excuse my mother in-law needs to support her shopping addiction!

We ate dinner at the North Shore Bistro. The food was ok but not as good as I would have expected for the prices. I ordered clam chowder which had too many potatoes and not enough clams. Later on, my specialty burger which I had ordered medium came out beyond well done. It was so bad, I had to send it back after one bite. At least the company was entertaining and my in-laws had the chance to spend time with the kids.

Living with young children you sort of accept that important items will turn up missing. As long as you know your children did not take anything out of the house they shouldn’t I can rest assured that what’s missing is some where in the house. Finding it is another story.

Several weeks ago, I spent an hour looking for a stuffed dog Mathew lost. He was quite upset by his lose and told me he put the dogs out. Sheryl was convinced either Baloo or Kane (the real dogs) found the stuffed dogs on the porch and took them into the back yard.

So there’s Howard, criss crossing the backyard at 9:30 PM with a flash light looking for the lost puppies. After the yard had been checked twice, stepping very carefully to avoid the real poop, I gave up. As I walked into the house, lo and behold, there was the stuffed dogs sitting on a desk!

Another time, Thomas and Duncan two of Mathew’s trains were awol for weeks. We searched the house high and low. I checked cabinets and behind TVs, in couches and even in the microwave oven. Still nothing. Then one day — poof they reappeared!

I expect this from the kids. What I don’t expect is having my wife misplace the remote control for the DVD player. Once again, we’ve turned this house upside down looking for the lost item. Now I know it has to be somewhere in the house. But darned if I can find it. In the meantime, I’m cursing the designer of the DVD player who decided to put a limited number of the controls on the DVD player itself. To really work it, you need the remote!

Then there’s man’s best friend. You would think that a retriever could find things. No he just lays there and sleeps while the rest of us run around looking for the lost items. By the way, did you know the Labrador Retriever is once again the most popular dog in the US? Here’s the list according to the American Kennel Club with the number of dogs registered in 2005:

1. Labrador retrievers 137,967
2. Golden retrievers 48,509
3. Yorkshire terriers 47,238
4. German shepherds 45,014
5. Beagles 42,592
6. Dachshunds 38,566
7. Boxers 37,268
8. Poodles 31,638
9. Shih Tzus 28,087
10. Miniature Schnauzer 24,144

Last Sunday, Sheryl’s cousin Mitch and his family arrived from New Jersey for a week long visit to the Chicago area. We started the visit by celebrating my father-in-law’s and Carolyn’s (Mitch’s daughter) birthdays by having a family get together. All of the in-laws from Milwaukee drove down (3 adults and 2 kids). Then there was Mitch, his wife Laura and their 3 kids, Carolyn, Tracy and Sara. In total we had 7 adults trying to control 7 children and 2 dogs.

Somehow a couple of the neighborhood children also joined the party. There was so much chaos that it took a couple of minutes before we realized we had party crashers! I grilled Brats, Dogs and Burgers for dinner. Then we had cake and ice cream. All too soon it was time for the Milwaukee folks to go home. Plans were made to join the Millers on Wednesday.

Today, Wednesday, Sheryl and I took Meghan and Mathew into the loop to see their New Jersey cousins. We were supposed to have taken the fire truck tour. The tour runs by appointment only and they never called Laura back to confirm an appointment. We decided to visit Water Tower Center for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. Just before our meal arrived, Mathew realized the Thomas store was in sight. There was no getting him to eat after that.

When our late lunch was finished, we visited the Thomas store. Mathew was in heaven. They even had a Thomas train he could ride! Next we went back to the Doubletree hotel to swim. The kids had a great afternoon. Suddenly, it was 6:00 and time to change to go home. We were having so much fun, I really didn’t take too many photos.

Here are the 5 kids taking a 2 second break. From left to right, Carolyn, Tracy, Sara, Meghan and Mathew.

Another shot of the kids posing. After just a couple of hours they were the best of friends.

Everywhere you look in the loop, there are blooming tulips. There are so many I almost thought I was in Holland.

I just liked this tree with its lavender blossoms.