Be sure to view our July family photos as well.

Hello Friends and Family,

This month we had the pleasure of sharing both Canada Day and US Independence Day with our good friends Kate and Simon from Ottawa. Of course they brought along their baby daughter Anna, and together with Noah and Luke we all had a great time. We caught the huge fireworks display on July 3rd and then stayed in downtown Chicago for the night. The next day we took in the amazing Taste of Chicago, featuring lots of Chicago's best food and some great concerts as well. This year's lineup of free outdoor concerts (right on the heels of the Country Music festival at the end of June) included Steve Winwood, Santana, Los Lonely Boys, John Hiatt, and Moby. In addition, later in the month Keith went to see Mark Knopfler (singer for Dire Straits for those of you who don't know - such as Natasha) at one of the great old theaters in Chicago. Keith's seat was in the upper, upper, upper balcony (six floors up) but at least he was in the front row.

Also this month we finally bought a digital camera and entered the 21st century. Thus there are many, many photos to share this month - and lots of video too (see bottom of this page)!

Now back at work in downtown Chicago after his leave home with Luke, Keith continued to prepare for his annual participation in the Accenture Chicago Triathlon (officially certified last year as the world's largest triathlon) coming up in August. This included biking (half way) to work a few times as one of the few ways to fit in biking. Keith is again seriously considering a bike upgrade to a Cervelo One, and has started looking around for one. Unfortunately, he waited too long, as they stopped making them after the 2004 model. So, Keith started looking in earnest for one on eBay. He found a used one from a seller in Canada, but the bidding got too high and so he let it go.

At work Keith accomplished a major milestone, helping to achieve ISO/TS 16949:2002 certification for the distribution services department of NAVTEQ. Keith has been working almost exclusively with this group since early December. This month Keith returned to the Valpo triathlon with his training partner and former co-worker (from the steel plant) Mathew. Later on the day of the triathlon, Keith summoned what energy he had left for us all to visit nearby Deep River waterpark. Natasha's work (St. Margaret Mercy Hospital) had booked a private event, so as evening came we pretty much had the place to ourselves. This month Keith also officially started his new role as chair or the Northwest Indiana section of the American Society for Quality (ASQ), and completed a financial audit as outgoing treasurer.

We introduced the boys to camping at Silver Lake State Park in Michigan, where we slept in a tent and swam in both Silver Lake and Lake Michigan. We have not quite progressed to cooking over an open fire (maybe when the boys are older) and so opted for a pizza at our campsite instead. The campground was quite busy and lacked privacy, but otherwise it was very nice. Mostly we just wanted to get outside and enjoy some fresh air. Mathew had recommended Warren Dunes State Park (which is even closer to Indiana) but there were no open campsites there. On the way back we did stop there and it looked much better. The camping sites are more private and rustic, and the beach is huge. For 2006 we will book early! Noah loved the Warren Dunes beach and "rolling down the sand hill" per the Wiggles. Earlier in the day we had been swimming in the same great Lake Michigan with proper swim shorts and towels and Noah wasn't too keen on getting wet. At Warren Dunes he waded into the water repeatedly with all his clothes on!

Luke is settling into full time daycare, but we think he would rather still be home with Daddy or Mommy (or Grammie, who was down earlier this year) instead. At least he has big brother Noah to keep him company.

At the end of July we flew to Nova Scotia for a quick visit. We spent a few days in Halifax first, visiting family and having dinner out with Laura and Denis. At dinner, Denis mentioned he had submitted his APENS work experience diary, and was planning to write the Engineering Professional Practice Exam, which is the next step towards a P.Eng designation. Keith had also been planning on writing the exam this October, but had been dragging his feet on the diaries for the last few years. Denis' enthusiasm motivated Keith to firm his resolve to complete the task immediately upon our return to Indiana, and apply in time to write the exam with Denis. This would of course require a return trip to NS, but there's nothing wrong with that!

We drove from Halifax to Cape Breton to visit with the Kings as well. We arrived just in time for Dominion Seaside Daze, an event Natasha attended many years when growing up and one that Keith has wanted to take in for many years now. It's mostly for kids, so it turned out better that we waited until we had our two boys before finally getting home for the right weekend in late July. Noah enjoyed the many games and activities, and demonstrated his hula hoop skills! Noah and Luke (and Natasha and Kate and Anna) both enjoyed the pajama parade, but that was too early in the morning for Keith. While in Cape Breton we also celebrated Anna's baptism with Natasha as her godmother.

Here is some video as well of Noah's hula hoop skills, and some others from our trip to Nova Scotia; a high-speed connection is recommended:

Noah - Seaside Daze Hula Hoop (11 MB) - no audio

Madeline and Noah - Joking and Playing with Marbles (21 MB)

Noah and Luke - Jumping (6 MB)

Luke Finds His Voice (5 MB)

Here is some video of Noah and two of the many songs he now (more or less) knows:

Noah - Take Me Out to the Ball Game (6 MB)

Noah - E.T. from Outer Space (3 MB)

Keep in Touch,

Love, Keith & Natasha

July Milestones

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