September/October 2024 fun

So we have settled into the 2024-2025 school year.  We did our annual trip to the Tri-State Rodeo back in September.  This year it was me, Noah, and Isaac.

They had the Budweiser Clydesdales!

Reunited again, feels so good!

We had great weather and great food, as usual!

School Photos!  Noah in his Junior Year at Conant High School.

Sam in his 8th grade year at Mead Junior High.

And Isaac rocking the last of the last elementary years in his 6th grade year at Nerge!

We had a Lauren weekend in preparation for baby Hewes #2.  She did a great job and we tried a new ice cream spot!

Sam's 8th grade band got to play at the half time show at Conant's football game, so fun (and cold)!

Sam enjoyed his 8th grade trip to Washington DC.  Here he is with his roomie, Ryan.

They walked 9 miles all over the capital!

Isaac had a local field trip to the nature center with his 6th grade class.

We had some unexpected renovations (which are ongoing) thanks to a broken drain pipe.

Noah did a trunk or treat with some D&D club friends.

Pumpkin time!

Isaac did a classic one while Sam did Jack Skellington.

Halloween 2024 - Moon Knight and a mission impossible style spy/thief.

My school did a book character theme and our team rocked the Hogwarts student look!

Recent outing with Cliff and Jamie, Isaac found us a turkish dessert place that specialized in fried dough and bubble waffles.  Sam did some damage!

So now we prepared for the holiday rush and all the fun that goes with hosting Thanksgiving!

Beginning of the school year 2024

We finished out the summer with a couple fun outings.  We made it to Pequod's Pizza for a lunch, it was awesome! 

I had a lovely dinner with Philie and Kelly!

Noah was the first to return to school for his first day of Junior Year!

The cats adjusted to days alone and daily forced reunions when people get home from school.

Isaac headed back for his first day of 6th grade - our last year with a Nerge Knight!

Sam enjoyed a day of golf before he got started!

And then he was off for his first day of 8th grade!

We had a fun visit with Lauren, she demanded that they all swing!

Sam's 8th grade band performed at Schaumburg's Septemberfest over the Labor Day weekend.  The weather was beautiful!

And we hosted a Rodriguez Family pickleball tournament.  It was fun watching the original 4 siblings play, and no one got hurt!

Stayed up to watch the Septemberfest fireworks from the front yard.

And Sam had a very successful return to archery! On to all the fun of fall!

Maybe a new tradition of early morning coffee with cats - we will see!

Summer: Part Two!

So our trip to Canada was incredible!  We flew from Chicago to Calgary and then drove to Canmore, where our rental was.  We spent 5 days with our friends the Desai-Gruenhagens from California.  We were able to drive into Banff and take several scenic hikes!  Isaac was ready!

Sam celebrated his official 14th birthday while we were there!

The group was so fun and it's been great for all the teenagers to reconnect!  This year we had Meera's niece Elena join us too, she was so great!

My pictures are completely out of order, but we did one rainy trip on a bus to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake!

Sam joined the "higher hiker" club and went up to the top at Moraine Lake!

Lake Louise was beautiful too!

Many of of the local small lakes were also really beautiful.

We sampled many Canadian treats - but this one is Sam's own creation of a monster oreo.

We spotted some wildlife throughout our trip.

Awesome waterfall!

Lots of evening card games!

We found a local German place for dinner one night.

A great lake hike not far from our condo!

There was a wildfire north of us in Jasper that caused an evacuation and a lot of damage.  We were safe, thankfully, but you can certainly see how smoky the air was!

Gotta have Tim Horton's!

Evening puzzle action too!

We tried out some beaver tails - delish!

Downtown Canmore!

Just amazing views even walking to dinner!

We tried many Canada only chip varieties, including ketchup!

Isaac got his poutine fix!

These kids were so great and really enjoyed hanging out all together, it was an amazing trip.  We are already plotting summer 2025!

Now back at home we are trying to enjoy some last minute fun before all the business starts up.  We went to Raging Waves this week and Noah go his float on.

Sam and Isaac did a lot of slides, even some of the big big ones!

We also tried out a local boba place - excellent!  Sad that these impromptu outings will be ending soon, but we sure made the most of it!

So we stand ready for all the new challenges this 2024-2025 school year will bring our way!  Here we go!