Monday, July 27, 2015

Ordinary Extraordinary July!

We continue to live the freedom of summer to it's fullest around here, enjoying ordinary but extraordinary things (at least we think!).  Noah has had some time to do art projects, which he loves.  Recently he made "character tablets" which are character faces shaped into tablet size made from construction paper.  I think they turned out awesome!
 Sam was blessed with a plethora of art supplies for his birthday, so we took advantage of the weather and did some outdoor painting with glitter paint (thanks Bamma) and big spiderman pictures (thanks Auntie Kim).  We chose to do this during nap time so that Isaac wouldn't make a giant mess.

 Our local park district hosts some outdoor concerts nearby, on Thursday Noah and I had a date night.
 I think he enjoyed the gummy worms more than the music (mostly Motown and Oldies).  It was a fun evening to spend some special time with my big guy!
 The boys had a special sleepover at my parents house, which they thoroughly enjoyed.  Of course they had to have a fun pancake breakfast before they came home!
 The weather has just been great lately, which has allowed a lot of time to play outside.  Nothing says July like freeze pops outside while playing on the slip n slide!
 We also took a trip to the local splash pad on Sunday and played at the park.  The boys love spinning around until they can't walk straight!

 Sam also was the lucky recipient of a razor scooter from Josh and Kjersten, so we took that out for a spin too.  They both did well racing around the driveway!

 Another gift Sam received, from us, was a Wubble Bubble ball.  Yep, it's one of those "As Seen on TV" products that he had been begging for.  It is pretty fun, a bouncy stretchy plastic material that can stand up to 3 boys!  Mom approved (as of now)!

So, the fun continues as we march through summer!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Sam's big birthday wrap up!

This past week has been a celebration of Sam turning 5!  As usual, Mike was on cake detail.  So on Saturday, I took the big two to the local splash pad to get out of daddy's way.
 We met up with the Townsends and shared some ice cream.
 And we met up with the Worsts too, who even brought a birthday present for Sam!
 We came home to a masterpiece!
 The birthday boy was very pleased!
 On Sunday, several family and friends came over to celebrate.  We all wore Star Wars shirts to mark the occasion.
 The wind didn't cooperate, so Sam had to stand in the doorway to blow out the candles.
 Another winner cake from Dad!
 Everyone enjoyed eating it too!

 We all took turns with this little cutie pie, Xavier!
 Happy, chunky boy!
 One of our adventures during the week was a trip to the Promenade in Bolingbrook.  We enjoyed the Bass Pro Shop with the big fish tank!

 And some cool camping gear!
 On Wednesday, his actual birthday, Sam awoke to gifts from us.  Minion playdough kit from Isaac, HulkBuster Ironman from Noah, a Wubble bubble ball and Star Wars comforter from mom and dad!
 Noah made him a special placemat fro the day!
 We went to Krispy Kreme (in Elk Grove Village) to see donut making and eat some product!

 The Worsts met us there for an early morning treat!
 After that, we headed to the Schaumburg Volkening Heritage Farm where they have farm animals and plenty of nature trails for the kids to run off their sugar highs!
 Sam was a tad nervous of the larger animals.
 The draft horses were HUGE!

 Now that Sam's a whole 5 years old, he can help out his little brother more (so he tells me at least).
 We ended his special day with a trip out for ice cream.  He chose Sonic!
 It was a beautiful night and a perfect end to his big day!  Love you Sam, can't wait to see what 5 brings!
 Of course his brothers didn't mind helping with the celebration, either!

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Summer fun with good friends!

Another fun week has gone by, where is the summer going!  Noah recently did some "Inside Out" related art - Anger.  Pretty cool, I'd say!
 We had another successful (and warmer) week of swim lessons.  Isaac has now graduated from the parent/tot class and should be good to go on his own next summer when he's 3!

 Sam also rocked swim lessons, graduating from level 1 to level 2.  He's very willing to go under and is starting to get bolder in the deeper sections.
 Noah made some great strides in level 4, he's improved his backstroke, freestyle, breast stroke, and diving skills!
 Little slide is always a hit with Isaac and Sam!

 Noah showed off his diving skills when Bamma and Bampa came to watch.


 On Wednesday we had a fun day at the Worsts.  Philie spoiled us adults with variations of Mexican street corn, it was SO good!
 The kids took a break from the sandbox for s'mores!






 Construction on the Worst house starts soon, so we helped with the deconstruction of the car wash.  It was a beautiful day!
 This guy has shown a mild interest in the potty, no success yet but at least he's smiling about it!
 On Friday we met up with the Barton girls at Morton Arboretum.  We had scheduled this date awhile back, before knowing about the Lego exhibit.  It was the first day of the legos, and it was also HOT, but that didn't stop us!
 It was fun to see Meryn (who is 8) and Piper (who is 5) and explore the arboretum.
They had lego stations where the kids could build (and get some shade)!

 The kids also loved exploring all the ponds.

 Sam was inspired by all the other kids to try the large climbing structure, he was pretty hesitant, but he made it through!

 Suckers and silliness ward off the 100 degree heat index!
 The lego structures themselves were really impressive!
 The kids soldiered on, even with the height of the sun and heat at midday, and we walked around the small lake to see all the legos.
 Sweaty selfie with Ryane and me by the peacock.  It was great catching up and spending time together, even if it was so blessed hot!
So, we keep on trucking through this summer of 2015.  Next up, Sam's birthday!