The school year begins...

The end of summer was so lovely.  We had a few more Lauren days.  We enjoyed taking her to the forest preserve to see the elk.

And a quick stop just outside of Legoland to see the big giraffe!

And a quick smoothie before nap!

Isaac and Molly have reached some kind of agreement where he gets to pet her and she doesn't whack him in the head, so that's great.

More Lauren time!

We had a girl date to Bison's Bluff - she loved the stream!

One of Isaac's summer bucket list items was Urban Air.  Sam and Isaac really enjoyed their time there!

One more bday celebration for Sam!  He got his own mortar and pestle so he can make some mean guacamole!

Noah decided to get his ears pierced.  He didn't even flinch!

They look awesome!

Isaac dual wielding the cats!

I finally had my much delayed due to lack of lasers ear surgery.  Fake stapes bone is working great now!

Another end of summer bucket list item, trying out the local Menchies Frozen Yogurt!

First day photos!  Noah the sophomore...

Isaac the 5th grader...

And Sam, the newly minted junior high kid in 7th grade!

So now we are all settling into the business of the school year.  Mike took on a couple projects around the house, including this accent wall which turned out great!

Sam, Isaac and I did a quick lake trip over Labor Day weekend and got to meet Po the elderly chihuahua who was so sweet!

And now here we go for rodeo!  September is wild!

Oregon Trip and Sam turns 13!

Summer is definitely flying by, as it always seems to do.  We celebrated 7/11 by getting slurpees and then headed out for our weeklong adventure in Rockaway Beach, Oregon!

We had an awesome house right on the beach with the 5 of us, Faith and her family, and Danny and his daughter; 11 in total.  Hello ocean!

Sam was in heaven finding all sorts of shells and crab parts!

The water was COLD!

We spent some time on the beach doing beach things!

Taking beach naps!

The house also had a hot tub, which was perfect for the 60-70 degree weather!

We did some hiking and explored the forests, trails, and beaches of Oregon!

Short Sandy beach was an unplanned, but amazing spot!

We found a local restaurant that offered genuine Italian soda, so Isaac had to try it!

More beach days building castles and digging trenches!

The kids actually went in the water, even though it was so so cold!

Noah, Sam and X all went fully under - crazy!

More beautiful hikes with waterfalls!

We found one of the biggest cedar trees in Oregon - the estimate it to be 900 years old!

Fire & S'mores on the beach!

Cousin selfie!

We took a trip to Tillamook to see how the cheese is made!

Free Samples, yes please!

Definitely had to try the ice cream, we all agreed that Noah's Oregon Cherry flavor was outstanding!

More hikes and cousin fun!

Sam found a salamander!

We also so some slugs, ew.

Lots of downtime at the house playing Minecraft too - Noah was helping Addy.

Beverages with an amazing view!

Sam, Faith, X and I woke up early one morning to go tide pooling.  I'm so glad we went - we saw some amazing sea life!

Of course Sam and Isaac had to try more seafood on our last day.  Isaac got a crab melt - which he loved!

And Sam devoured a Salmon Sandwich!

We had a great time just being with our cousins and hanging at the house too!

Back at home, the cats had clearly missed us and were happy to hang around wherever we were.

On to more fun - Sam's birthday!  He chose a porcelain painting party at a local spot here in Schaumburg.

He had a great crew to celebrate! Happy 13th dude!

And last night Mike and I attended the wedding of my dear coworker, Natalie.  It was a beautiful night with a beautiful couple.  The Walker School crew did not disappoint!

So now we relax and enjoy the rest of our summer days here at home, whew!