Sam turns 16! Oh and Niagara...

The middle part of summer is always my favorite, and always goes by WAY too fast. But we have had some amazing times. Sam and I went to Ravinia to see Lizzo perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It was incredible!

We had a fun day with the girls while Josh and Kjersten did some appliance shopping. Of course Lauren needs a chainsaw!

The younger cats realize that maybe these two aren't so bad if they offer treats!

We had some crazy poor air quality due to the Canadian wild fires.

Then we set off on our summer family roadtrip. First stop - Buffalo, NY!

The highlight of Buffalo was of course the buffalo wings (our main reason for visiting). We were not able to get into the famous Anchor Bar, it had a 100 minute wait! So we opted to drive out to Bar Bill (where Josh Allen gets his wings!) We all agreed, best wings we have ever had.

Then we continued our drive to Niagara. We stopped by Whirlpool state park and did a trail that had 400 steps!

Then it was time for the main event! We checked into our hotel and finally saw the falls, AMAZING!

The Clifton Hill area on the Canadian side where we stayed was pretty wild with shops, restaurants, and entertainment. 

We did the mandatory tourist experience of the Hornblower (Canadian version of Maid of the Mist).

Dry for now!

It was everything everyone had said it would be. We got so close and could experience just how powerful the falls are!

It was certainly another highlight of the trip!

Mike, Sam, and Isaac indulged me with a trip to "Bird Kingdom" which was just nearby.

They had an impressive open aviary with so many cool birds!

We also enjoyed the rooftop pool with beverages at our hotel.

When in Canada, must find Beaver Tails!

We returned back home and turned it around the next day for Sam's birthday! We did a nice family dinner at Perry's Steakhouse. So good!

Happy 16th to this amazing guy!

And then Isaac turned it around again to head back to the lake with Bamma to do some projects with Pops! I think this summer he has spent more time away than at home! But he's enjoying it all!

So now we do some last summer fun before we return to school!

Beginning Summer Fun

 Our summer has gotten off to a great start! We celebrated our friend Daren's birthday with a rooftop Cubs experience!

Mike's friend Corey led a D&D campaign for all the boys one evening.

I got to have a great brunch with dear friends!

Sam did a semester of summer school and began driving!

I took the boys into the city for the CSO!

Then we headed to Michigan (small town on lake michigan between South Haven and Saugatuck) with the Rodriguez fam.

Just after the above picture, Sam lost his phone on the beach. No signal, so we couldn't ping it. But thankfully Uncle Danny found it as we retraced our steps. Relief!

The house was super cool with amazing outdoor space.

We had some fun evenings and then Sam and I had to return home for his driver's ed. Mike and Isaac stayed a few more days.

Then the boys and I headed back to Michigan for the 4th of July on Diamond Island. The first night there had some CRAZY storms with high winds. A huge tree blew down on Uncle Dave's, fortunately everyone was ok!

We had to get some fun shirts!

My cousin Apryl had some fun signs ready at each cabin. It was a full house everywhere!

The parade theme was America's 250th, and the float this year was Washington crossing the Delaware!

After the parade, we enjoyed cocktail hours in the lake!

I enjoyed being the big NCAA basketball bracket winner along with Pops and Brad!

Lauren enjoyed her first fireworks (that she was awake for) with us. Sofia slept thru it like a champ!

Noah and Sam went tubing!

And we managed to get a scrabble game in amongst all the World Cup soccer matches. It was a great weekend!

Now we are back at home, preparing for our next adventure - Buffalo, NY and Niagara Falls! Can't wait!