Fun in the Sun

While Tom was in Indiana working on (and then enjoying) a club firework shoot, we headed over to visit Dave, Leah and the cousins in St. Joe. It was fun to see Naomi again and Hannah is getting so big - SO great to see them!

Shelly is using black rocks in the center pieces at her wedding so we put the boys on a mission to help her collect them. They did get distracted a time or two :)

Michelle and Claire hunting rocks.

Jacob was so much fun to hang out with. What a great guy!!

The boys had a blast with Uncle Dave. He took them on a couple different adventures along the beach. They loved the time with Uncle Dave and I loved not having to keep such a close eye on them for a few minutes. Mom, Shelly, Claire and I were able to relax in the sun - Thanks Dave!!

Drew had a great time and really enjoyed hanging out with Jacob. He is very sweet with younger kids which makes me so proud!

Shelly had to stay the night so we took the train home - another adventure!

The kids waiting (fairly) patiently even though the train was running late.

We met two police officers when we stopped for dinner at Subway. They were great with the kids and gave the boys Honorary Police Officer stickers.

Shortly after the train left the station Grandma took the boys to the snack car and bought them candy. I've never seen Reese eat so slowly. He had fun "drawing" pictures with his M&Ms.

The kids loved being able to walk around and switched seats often.

Drew playing with my phone. Right about this time Reese was talking the ears off the couple sitting across from us. After about 10 min. he simply climbed into the guy's lap. Ahhhh, Reese :)

Right around 9:00 Claire gets super silly. This day was no different. She had Grandma cracking up at the end of the train ride.

Whereas Reese finally just collapsed.

Staying Cool

The temp has been hot and none of the available pools are open yet so we hit up the splash pad at Hawk Island with Jules & Butchie yesterday.

Claire didn't actually run through the water but she was really good at running AROUND it.

The water guns were a favorite - thankfully they turn off when you spin them around to try to spray the lounge chairs.

Butchie was proud of his rolly-polly bug he found.

Cedar Point

Our first family trip (minus Claire but plus Aunt Michelle) to Cedar Point ended up being a very fun day. The boys were so excited - notice Reese and his map :)

On the sky lift... just getting them warmed up to being up off the ground.

Waiting in line to ride the Jr. Gemini

Reese and I spent a lot of time checking out all the rides for kids. He ran from one ride to the next without having to stand in line and wait at all - a MUST for a 5 year old.

The boys rode the Jr. Gemini at least 8 times.

Reese was very brave and rode every ride he was tall enough for - he tried to get on a few others but is just an inch or two too short. This has him motivated to eat veggies to help him grow.

Shelly caught the plate on the truck Reese choose and we both felt it was appropriate for him.

We stopped for dinner and ice cream on the way home just before the boys passed out. Drew used a wet-wipe on his face but apparently missed some of the mess.

Tom and Shelly got to ride all the rides they wanted while still keeping the kids entertained. Drew was a champ and rode the Iron Dragon 5 times (including twice by himself).

Got Goose?

As I'm driving home yesterday there is a baby goose shivering on the side of the road. There is not another goose in sight... what was I supposed to do?!


So we got it home, got it warm, and Claire and I stopped at Tractor Supply and picked up some Goose Food (yes there is such a thing).


As of right now he/she is doing well. Eating, drinking, pooping and all. The question will soon become: what on earth am I going to do with a growing goose in the house?! Drew has offered to teach it to fly - passing on the wisdom/experience from all his years flying I suppose. Curious? Me too. Stay tuned.

Mother's Day Recap

Sunday was a good day. It's slightly ironic to me that on Mother's Day the special treat is to have time off from being a mom :)

So the day started like this... 6:15 am wake up to Andrew putting a plate of toast on me as I'm fast asleep in bed. This was very sweet of him yet somehow slightly worrisome thinking of him down in the kitchen, by himself, using the toaster. Tom got up and went to turn a cartoon on for Drew while the rest of the house slept. One of my Mother's Day gifts from Tom was the chance to sleep in while he got up with the kids. I must say - this was REALLY nice! I slept in till 9:30 and tried my best not to feel guilty about it.

We headed off to Jumping Jacks to meet up with Nate, Lisa, their girls, Mom, Dad, and Shelly. Gracie and Annie were dedicated at church and so we wanted to celebrate the occasion as a family. After Jumping Jacks Claire went down for a nap and Tom & the boys hung out while I got to go to Kohl's with my mom. After that, Tom mowed the lawn while the kids and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. Once the kiddos were in bed, Tom and I sat down in front of the TV and ate dinner. For some reason this is one of our favorite things to do - don't judge.

All of this added up to a pretty good day - Thanks Tom!

Chef Reese

So this is Reese's new creation... he calls it, "Sabooseah."

It consists of:

- A layer of grape jelly

- A slice of processed cheese

- A layer of peanut butter

- All between two slices of bread

Reese, Drew, and Claire have all eaten several and according to them, "They're delicious!"

...Tom and I are taking their word for it.

Q & U Wedding

Claire and Reese were both excited to visit Drew at school today.

Drew got to choose which role he wanted... he wanted to be the guest book attendant and the limo driver.

Reese and Claire with Grandma, waiting patiently for the ceremony to start.

Dr. Johnson (school principal) performed the ceremony. It was pretty official with vows, rings, and "I do's". He did skip over the "you may now kiss the bride" part.

Drew made a GREAT limo driver :) He now thinks he is qualified to drive the limo at Michelle and Ben's wedding.

The whole gang.

Even a cake and punch reception

Reese enjoyed seeing some of what he has to look forward to next year!

Playing Catch Up

Ok, so it's been forever since I've blogged. I'm not quite sure where to start to get caught up, and truthfully, don't really want to attempt it but here's a quick glimpse of the last 9 months starting from the most recent events...

It's fireworks season which means our basement is now an extreme fire hazard. We are having our annual 4th of July party this year complete with a fantastic fireworks show put on by Tom and our neighbor Rico.

It's been great having Shelly home. She is engaged to Ben (who the kids absolutely adore!) and will be getting married and moving to Lansing, IL this Sept.

Tom burned a lot of calories this winter shoveling snow... in our backyard. He made an incredible terrain park for the boys who spent MANY hours sledding and snowboarding on Daddy's creation.

Claire turned 2 in January and has been such a joy to have around. We love our boys (and all their energy) but there is something special about a little girl.

Claire is an animal NUT and is usually walking around holding some sort of stuffed animal. She especially loves horses. I'm taking bets on how long it takes before she start batting her eyes at Tom and asking for more pets.

This is the kids with their good buddy Jules on Halloween. We spend as much time as possible with the Mitchell family. Tom and I have gotten really close with Zack and Kari and the kids love to play with Jules and Butchie! Words cannot describe how much we are going to miss them when they move to Texas this fall. In fact, Drew just informed me the other day that we need to move to Texas too and buy the house "right next to Jules and Butch."

This is Drew on his first day of Kindergarten. Hard to believe the school year is almost over and he'll be a 1st grader.

One of the highlights of this year (at least for Tom and I) was our trip to Cabo. We went with a great group of people and had a wonderfully relaxing time away from the kids and all the responsibilities we typically deal with every day.

Within the last few months I've taken on a new job at a local YMCA. I've truly enjoyed the chance to use my education, enjoy some adult interaction, and learn some new skills. While I'm teaching or working with clients the kids play in the tot-watch at the Y or participate in Karate (at least the boys) two days a week.

Time to go get changed for a wedding at Drew's school. The letters "Q" and "U" are getting married today :) Drew is excited to be the limo driver as well as the guest book attendant. Good practice for Aunt Michelle and Uncle Ben's wedding in which he'll be a ring bearer.