Sam's Seventh!

We have enjoyed a calmer pace this last week here at the house.  Most of our things are unpacked and we are really starting to feel like this is home.  The boys made good use of the boxes before we recycled most of them.

 Swim lessons were a success!  Isaac is now slightly more comfortable putting his head in the water most of the way.

 His teacher, Miss Makayla, even convinced him to go in the deep diving pool with her!

 We can now say with confidence that Sam can swim by himself.  He even dove off the diving board in the deeper pool!

Most days after swim lessons ended like this, with Isaac passed out on the floor somewhere.

 On Friday, we had a wild storm.  The wind and hail were intense and we lost power for a few hours.

 The plants and trees took some major hits from the hail, fortunately I think everything will recover.

 It was a lot of hail!  But, we were very lucky to have little to no damage anywhere.

 On Saturday, Sam awoke to a new year of being 7!!!

 He opened some gifts right away.  He really enjoyed a fidget spinner from us, a stuffed minecraft spider from Isaac, and a pokeball toy from Noah.

 This year's cake: Roblox (a video game that he enjoys)!

 We had quite the crowd here for his birthday/our housewarming party!

 He got some amazing gifts, including these Thumper "skinny pants" from Aunt Michelle!

 The Townsends shut it down with some feats of strength!

 And, as usual, the kids stayed up WAY too late but had a blast.  It was a great party in our new home!

 The next day was spent recovering and enjoying the wonderful gifts!

 Isaac enjoyed his solo sleepover with Bamma and Bampa this week, they did some light gardening...

 ... and some heavy snacking!  What more could a boy want?!

 We had the Worsts over to play and we tried out Sam's new stomp rocket.  Awesome!

Soon, we head off to California to visit some friends.  Cannot wait!

Adventures at the lake and the new house

 Well, we survived the big move and the 4th of July!  Back on Wednesday, July 28th, the boys and I headed up to Cassopolis, MI for some fun on Diamond Lake.  First, the boys bid adieu to the only house they'd ever known.  920 Brandywine Drive, Roselle, IL has served us well and saw all our baby years.  We were sad to leave, but excited for the upcoming, new adventures!

 When we arrived at the rental house Bamma and Bampa had secured, we immediately hit the pontoon boat for a ride around the lake.  It was breezy!

 Despite the cooler temps, of course they all wanted to swim and try out the water trampoline!

The house was situated on a small bay, it was perfect for fishing!

 Noah loved the kayaks too, he spent a lot of time paddling around our bay area!

 The house also had a little beach, Sam and Isaac were happy just to play in the sand!

 More kayaking and fishing were in order the first couple days we were there!

 Of course, all this excitement also leads to ample napping!

 The Independence Day festivities started on Saturday, July 1st.  The islanders host a small parade each year with a theme.  This year, it was Star Wars!  Sam looked hilarious in his BB-8 costume!

 Brad converted the trailer into an AT-AT!

 That evening was also the night for fireworks!

 No one told Isaac that late nights require sleep ins.  Nope, this is 6:00am!

There was plenty of time to gather with all the cousins and enjoy the weather!

On Sunday night, we had our red/white/blue cooking competition and some birthday celebrations.  Mom's entry of deviled eggs was awesome!

 Noah did some layered jello shots (non-alcoholic for the kids!).

 Summer birthday crew of Maggie, Dan, Ella, Sam, and Addie!

 The boys loved having CJ around, he spent the night with us and did some early morning kayaking with Noah!

 Nap time for Mike, Mom, and Josh.  Beer o'clock for me!

 S'mores!

 On the actual 4th, we hit the sandbar early before it got too crazy.  Marcia was a welcomed addition and so much help with the boys!

 Sam tests out his shark fin!

There was an epic balloon fight with the cousins!

And, some "tackle Deewee!" by the Rodriguez boys!

 Brother chats on the boat!

 On the 5th, Marcia and I abandoned Mom and Dad with the boys and headed home.  They remained, fortunately with some more cousin time too!  I was the recipient of lots of pictures of all the fun they had while I was toiling away packing and cleaning and moving!

 Super cousins!

 There was a lot of ice cream while in the care of grandparents!

 Did I mention all the ice cream?

 Dudes trip out to lunch!

 My kids are so spoiled to have so many great cousins to play with!  They had a blast!

Diamond Lake has always held special memories for our family!  Another successful trip in the books!

 And, when they arrived home, home was now a new place!  Welcome to 513 Hillcrest Drive in Schaumburg!  We are so happy to be here!

 In our first week here, we have adjusted well and unpacked most of our stuff.  We have had lots of visitors this first week.  They are loving the trampoline the previous owners left for us!

 Yep, all that jumping wears one out!

 The interesting weather has messed with our swim lessons a bit, but we forge ahead!

 Isaac is in the level 1 class, where they are working hard to convince him to go under (unsuccessful as of yet!).

 Sam is doing so awesome in the level 3 class, learning backstroke and freestyle.  He can barely stand at this spot, but he's doing a great job swimming on his own!  Noah opted out of lessons this year and has been a great cheerleader for his brothers.

 So, now on to summer part 2: to include such adventures as Sam's birthday and a trip to California!  The fun just keeps on going, long live summer!