Splash Park

This week for play group we met friends at a free splash park in Woodridge. It is a pretty small area for the kids to play but it worked out great for us. The boys, especially Chase, loved the water and even put their faces in the sprays. Chase has been so hesitant to put his face near the water I was actually surprised at his willingness to play as much as he did. Our other friends were brave so I think that helped.

4th of July Weekend

Luke, Chase, Paige, Jordyn, Casey & Ryan-Friday Night



Caleb, Charlie Vanessa, Chase, Mary, CeCe & Luke-Sat. Night

Setting off firework poppers

Sparklers

Aunt Katie, Luke & baby Colton

Dylan being Dylan

Chase swimming in the pool-Sunday

Making 4th of July treats with Aunt Katie

Cassi with a butterfly on her shoulder-Monday

The boys in the pool on the 4th

We had a busy and fun 4th of July weekend this year. Friday night we had friends over for pizza. I met both Sara and Julie when we were pregnant with our first children in a water aerobics class. We've stayed in touch though play group and girls nights out. Our husbands and kids get along great. It was a fun night with friends.

Saturday my sister came in from the city to spend some time with us. We went over to Trevor and Jackie's house. Our friends Dylan and Maria were there also. The guys had a great time lighting off fireworks for the kids (and themselves)! The kids got to throw "snaps" which they thought were awesome. They also did sparklers which was fun to watch. I loved talking with Maria and Jackie, and we had another great evening.

Sunday, the 4th, we set up the new pool in the backyard and let the boys and the neighbors, Tyler, Ryan, and Payton play. They had a fabulous time. My sister helped me get some treats ready for the neighborhood 4th of July part. The party was a nice time and a chance to get to know some of the neighbors a little better. We feel so lucky to live in a place where there are other children that are the boys ages and people that are friendly, warm and willing to help out.

Monday was Blake's dad's birthday so we went over to my in-laws. It was a really nice time to sit around and watch the kids play with their water guns. Of course Blake and his cousin Keith threw both Dana (my sister-in-law) and Eilleen (my mother-in-law) in the kid's pool. It truly was hilarious and the kids got such a kick out of the silliness from the adults. All in all, a great weekend!

Taste of Chicago

Showing off our fried ravioli

Our favorite-turtle cheesecake from Eli's

Blake and I sent the kids to Cathy's last week and had a day date. We went down to the Taste for lunch. The traffic was great getting down there. We ate a lot of food: mustard fried catfish, pierogi's, eggplant & steak sandwiches, prime rib quesedillas and some wings. We haven't been to the Taste since college so it was a nice change for us. When we got back, we went to a movie and then to pick the kids up by 5. It was a great afternoon for us!

Chicago Fire Soccer Camp

The Chicago Fire chant

He's the one wearing a green shirt!

I signed Chase up for a Chicago Fire Soccer Camp called "First Touches" which gives kids an opportunity to experience soccer for the first time with real life players. I have to say that it was totally worth it. The camp ran for one week, everyday for an hour. Chase has the tendancy to go into a new experience being very shy. This was no exception. However, by Thursday he was telling me he couldn't wait to go to soccer.

I felt like the coaches helped the kids learn a little bit about the game but more so showed them how much fun they could have. They played games like Jailbreak and Pirate Ship, all with hiding skills inside the game. I think we might sign Chase up for some sort of soccer in the fall because he enjoyed this experience so much!

Kite Flying

Chase has been asking us for months if we could go fly his kite. One windy afternoon we took him up on his request. It was a hit and now he is asking again because it knows what fun it can be!

Father's Day 2010

For Father's Day this year we were very low key. We went out to breakfast with Blake's parents and then they came back to our house for a bit afterward. We capped off the day with a long bike ride with the kids.

Cosley Zoo

Reagan, Chase, Payton, & Peyton

At the park by the zoo

The digger

So sweet

A few weeks back we went to the Cosley Zoo with our play group. We always have a great time with them and this day was no exception. We started with the zoo, the favorite highlight was the otters and the cougar. After the zoo we headed for lunch and the park. A great time was had by all!

Backyard Swamp

Starting the dig
A long way to go

Daddy's helper

A muddy mess

So our backyard has turned into a nightmare. Our sump pump drains at the top of our backyard and has created the muddiest yard that I've ever seen. Blake decided to extend the sump pump and dig a 100 foot trench so that the water wouldn't collect in all of the low spots in our yard. After a lot of hard work, the trench has been dug, the sump pump extended and there have also been several days of no rain which has helped a ton. At one point the mud was so overwhelming that Blake put up as temporary fence in the backyard because Buddy was having to get a bath almost daily from all of the mud. The only problem now is that 2 of our neighbors sump pumps dump directly into our yard. So, now we need to get them to extend their pumps to attach to ours in order for our yard to be a place that the kids can actually play. Never ending yard issues!