Summer: Part one!

 So the beginning part of our summer has been phenomenal!  We have had plenty of time for small and big things.  The younger two have been so pleased that the local Costco has had some sushi recently!

We have had plenty of time for kitty snuggles!

Sam, Isaac and I did an early trip up to the lake for some indoor and outdoor fun.

This was Isaac's first go at tubing and he did great!  Thanks to CJ for being a good sport and going along.

We had more fun with Lauren back at home too.

Isaac has been my hard worker and is always up for a good cleaning project!

Sam and I work workshopped some recipes for the upcoming skewer cooking competition.  We did a cinnamon roll/bacon combo and ended up tying for 2nd!

Isaac wanted to try out some strawberry rhubarb pie.  New apron from Aunt Kim!

More forced kitten snuggles.

Isaac headed back up to the lake for a longer stay with Bamma.  He and Pops had projects!  Their main one was making a small c table for our couch.

It turned out awesome!

He also showed off his bartending skills making mocktails!

Noah, Sam and I arrived on the 4th to try out some of the work.  Noah looking exquisite in a tinkerbell towel turban.

Sam woke up at noon to test it out too!

Lauren arrived just in time for some puddle jumping!

Isaac helped out with the float construction too.  This years theme was Halloween, so he wore is hot dog costume.  Naturally!

Sam also looked the part!

Fog/bubble machine for the win - thanks to Aunt Philie!

That night we stayed up for the fireworks and some sparkler and glow stick shenanigans!

Back at home, we tackled some aggressive landscaping - including taking down a tall, dead pine tree.

Noah learning how to use a chainsaw.

Isaac tried his hand at peach cobbler!

Sam and Mike took a trip up to Michigan with the Rodriguez family and had a great time.

We celebrated 7/11 with the usual slurpee.

And just yesterday we did an early birthday party for Sam with game bus rental.  It was awesome!

Happy 14th (almost) to our family comedian!

Now we prep for our 2nd part of summer complete with Mike off work (switching jobs) for 3 weeks and a trip to Canada!  Can't wait!

We made it! Summer 2024

I can't believe we actually made it to summer!  This 2023-2024 school year was a TOUGH one, but we survived and we are all better for it!  Isaac got to have a fun "Donuts with Grownups" at his school...

Sam returned to archery and absolutely crushed it!

I took a tumble in a muddy field at work which required a full wardrobe change!  Yes that is in fact MUD.

Noah officially got his license and is now cruising the streets of Schaumburg as he attends summer school!

Weekend shenanigans ensue, like eyebrow grooming of a certain 13 year old at 10pm on a Saturday.

The cicada invasion of 2024 was no joke slightly south of us - in Clarendon Hills it was wild, they were trying to make it into the building!

Isaac: most likely to become a mad scientist - accurate!

Cheers to the last freaking day of one of the hardest school years of my now 20 years of working as an SLP!  Murder of crow shirt from a beloved coworker.

Usual summer tradition of ice cream by the fountains!

Sam got 2 more teeth pulled by the oral surgeon, not exactly the most wonderful start to the summer for him, but closer to his goal of a more straight smile!

Starbies run!

Isaac has goals to cook and bake more this summer.  He wanted to try out pancakes with blueberries and powdered sugar.  He and Mike made the famous homemade Dr. Rodriguez pancakes and they were delicious!  He also tried his hand at fettuccine alfredo with me this week too, it was great!

We had our first Lauren Day of the 2024 summer!  This is what she does while Isaac practices trumpet - so cute!

So, we are off and running and excited to unwind and accomplish some new things this summer!  Onward!

Spring 2024

Well, I seem to have gotten a smidge behind again, oops!  So we had a great Feb/March.  We had a joint band concert with Sam and Isaac, it was awesome to hear them both play!

We also got to celebrate Lauren's 2nd birthday!  It was exactly what a 2nd birthday should be!

We prepped for a March birthday celebration for Isaac, Bamma, and Noah.  Isaac helped make a lasagna!

On Isaac's actual birthday, we went to the Melting Pot for some fondue, just the 5 of us.  It was great!

I had a weekend getaway with the gals in Iowa, we had a great time! Wine, spa time, Eras watching, and just generally laughing a lot!  Love these ladies!

Just before our spring break trip, Sam got his braces.  He is not looking forward to 30 months of hardware, but he is looking forward to a new smile!

We headed out on for our spring break roadtrip!  We went to St. Louis first and found the amazing Pharaoh's Donuts!

Our hotel was right by the arch, we could see it from our window.  We spent the first morning walking around the downtown area.

We took the little tram up to the top of the arch.  Isaac and I didn't not really enjoy the ride, but we did it!

The view from the top was incredible!

It was super cool to walk around and see the Arch from different angles and talk about how it was built.

We tried some St. Louis BBQ too!

Then we headed to Memphis and spent the first night at a dive spot have some good family conversations.

We went off to visit Graceland!

The rooms were all so crazy, it was definitely interesting to see!

We tried out a great fried chicken spot!

And we explored the giant Bass Pro Shop pyramid!

We did see the Peabody ducks (not the parade, but we went to see them) and followed the tracks back to our hotel!

During our trip Noah turned 16, and I celebrated with a big ole beverage!

It was an awesome trip, but it was also nice to come home to our kitties and to have a few days left of Spring Break to relax!

Skillet cookie to celebrate being home and Noah being 16!

Easter Egg dyeing is actually way more fun when you have patient older kids that can do it themselves!

But Easter Egg hunting is way more fun with a 2 year old cousin who excitedly declares "ITSA EGG" every single time she finds one.  It was a fun Easter and a great way to end our little spring vacation!