Fall stuff

The raking lasted for all of about 1 minute and then it was onto something else!

Chase really was a good "raker". Can you see his weapon sticking out

of his coat? That is our vacuum attachment that he carries in his

back pocket everywhere with him. He even took it to school

once without Blake knowing...the only parents that have to search their

son before school for vacuum attachments!

Mid jump






This is Chase's Thanksgiving Feast at school. They always sing their Sunny Days Preschool song before snack each day and today was no exception. A lot of times Chase wants us to sing it with him before we eat dinner, so cute!

Grand Bear Lodge

So excited!

On the carousel at the indoor amusement park

Luke being "brave" on the toddler water slide

The kids playing in the wave pool

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving we packed up the kids, the cousins, & my sister-in-law and headed down to Starved Rock to the Grand Bear Lodge. It was a mini-vacation for all of us. The kids had so much fun playing in the water and waves were a huge hit! Luke was pretty much done with the pool after the first night so we spent some time in the arcade and at the indoor amusement park. We might just make this event a tradition before Thanksgiving every year. The water park was virtually empty so we didn't have to fight any crowds at the pool and since it's only an hour away, we were able to make it to Blake's parents' house for Thanksgiving dinner.

Luke ended up sleeping in a big-boy bed while we were there and although he got out a lot the first night, I do think he's ready to move up to a new bed. We've been talking to him about that a lot lately so he's excited to get a new bed and start being a big boy by going on the potty...we'll see about that since he has virtually no interest at all. We're going to try over winter break with both changes, hopefully it will go well.

The Howard's US visit

Liz, me, Josi (holding baby Max), Maria & Jackie

Dinner-you can just see the craziness!

The girls dancing

(Payton, Mia, Logan & Breena)

Video of Luke singing Usher's-DJ's Got Us Falling In Love Again

(one of Chase's friends from preschool gave us a CD with this song

on it and the boys can't get enough of it, we sing it all of the time, so fun!)

So our friends Kris & Liz that live in Toronto came into town last Saturday. We invited a bunch of friends and their kids over for pizza and playing. Although the night was very loud, everyone got along and there was barely any fighting, amazing with 16 kids that are 6 and under! It was so nice to see friends that we haven't seen in awhile and catch up a little bit.

The Greatest Show on Earth

Posing with the funny hat that the popcorn came in!

During the show-look at that smile, ugh!

Trampoline jumpers

The elephants performing

The motorcycle riders, truly amazing!

We recently ventured to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus for the first time with the kids. The show was very entertaining and the kids loved the animals the best. The circus is really neat but also kind of strange, some of the acts are very odd from an adults perspective! The kids liked enough to go again next year!

Toronto Get-a-way

Our first adult night out with the Howards in a long time, it was great!

At the Howard's house before game time with the "cheerleaders"!

Bears' fans were everywhere!

Down by the field before game time

Honoring both countries

View of the game from out seats

A toast to a good game and great friends!

The first weekend in November Blake and I took a trip to Toronto, Canada to see our friends Kris & Liz. Although we were there in July with the boys, this time was just for the adults. Liz's mom was staying with them for the week and watched their adorable daughters the whole time we were there.

Most of our time was spent talking, there never seems to be enough time for us to catch up, let alone talk about everyday life occurrences. We treasure our friendship so much because although we don't see each other often, we can make up time we've missed in a matter of minutes. They took us to a great restaurant our first night there and we literally sat for hours, eating and talking. On Sunday we hopped onto a train to Toronto for the game. The Bears won (just barely) but they won so our spirits were very high. After the game we grabbed a bite to eat and went to a show called, "Rock of Ages". I can't tell you how much fun we had there, a musical set with music from the late 70's and early 80's, it doesn't get much better than that for me.

We had to catch an early flight home on Monday morning and the moment we landed we knew we were back...there was a voicemail waiting saying Luke was sick. An ear-infection...nothing like a welcome back!! I'm so grateful to Dana for watching the boys for 2 nights (one of them not such a great one with Luke)! We can't wait to do it again!

Our pumpkins

Serious painting

Taking a break to rest with Buddy

Giving Daddy decorating tips

Our pumpkin creations (mine, Blake's Luke's, & Chase's pumpkins)

This year Chase was adamant about painting his pumpkin instead of carving it so we gave it a shot. The boys really enjoyed painting but thought carving was neat too.

Rosenberg Athletes!

Chase and his buddy Tyler (from his pre-school) earning their basketball

ribbons for a great season!

Luke sliding down the slide in his "gymnastics" class

Luke playing with the parachute

Chase "playing" basketball

Chase just finished up his basketball season this fall and he really loved it. Parents weren't allowed to be in during practices, only the last session when the kids played a game. It was so interesting to us because Chase can be really aggressive at home and with close friends but put him around people he doesn't know and he is quiet and passive. We're hoping the more he plays sports, the more motivated he'll become to play the game and get involved, I know, he's only 4!

Fun Times

One of Luke's favorite things to do is cuddle with the dog. Buddy seriously gets

more attention from Luke than from anyone else but I think he loves

that little boy!

Coloring together one morning after breakfast but...

Luke mistakenly colored Buddy when we were upstairs :(

A closer look

Blake & Luke at Blake's championship football game this year

Watching a movie after bath, almost bedtime!

Making a "fort" at the bottom of the stairs

Cruising in the Jeep

Playing hopscotch at the park

Halloween Mania

Our festive treats at our Halloween party with the neighbors on Halloween Eve. We had a great time with them, as always!

By the end of the night there were a lot of Superheroes wrestling

All 5 boys posing for a shot, notice that most of them are wearing a different costume in the next picture! Who said that boys don't dress up!

Downtown Naperville at the Halloween Happening on Halloween, we didn't stay too long because

it was super crowded but the boys enjoyed it while it lasted.

Running to the next store!

Halloween night, trick or treating with our cousins, our neighbors and the Chrustowski's,

it was cold but the kids didn't care. They were just excited about all of the candy!

Ryan was great riding in the wagon, he is so easy going.

Luke on the other hand, was in a mood, this picture captures it perfectly :)

The scary Draculas!