School started and it felt like we jumped in full speed and haven't slowed down a bit. We've managed to cram in some fun despite being quite busy with renovating our entire basement after a major flood. This fall has been very rainy, and our basement felt the effects of that after a double-whammy of massive amounts of rain and a power outage that kept the pump from helping the basement stay dry. We are finally done with that project and are looking forward to having just a bit more time on our hands!
A friend of mine had White Sox tickets that she wasn't going to be able to use. Tyler, Grandpa, Caleb, and his best bud Micah all enjoyed getting to spend an afternoon at the ballpark.
Nyla had a very special GOLDEN birthday this year. When we asked how she wanted to celebrate, she said that she wanted to go paint-balling. The Lake Road crew had tons of fun together (while I happily stayed home with all of the kids who were too young to go). Afterwards, we enjoyed a great dinner with Nyla, Nikko, their families, and some friends.
We had a wonderful time on our annual trip to Champaign. We started out our trip by walking around campus and reminiscing. Afterwards, we headed to the tailgate and had a great time with our family. The game was a night game, so we had plenty of time to sit around and catch up. Though we didn't end up with a win, the game was still a lot of fun! We stayed until the very end and didn't make it back to the hotel until almost midnight (after, of course, a late night college town visit to Taco Bell per Grandpa's request)! The following day, we continued with our traditional visit to Curtis Orchard. We got plenty of apples and, of course, cider donuts!
Chief has been growing like crazy and is already almost 60 pounds. He loves to play fetch and his two favorite toys are tennis balls and his blankie. He misses the kids while they're at school and excitedly runs to the door the minute they get home each afternoon! We are really loving our little boy!
Sports are keeping us quite busy this fall. The boys are both playing flag football. We've had some gorgeous days for football, but also some muddy and rainy days. Nyla is playing varsity volleyball and it's been fun getting to go to some of her games. Leah is back to taking tumbling and is working very hard. She has enjoyed having the chance to show off her skills when special people get to take her (like Grandma and Nana Pam). She was especially fond of the evening when Nana Pam took her, because it ended with a trip for ice cream!
Tyler enjoyed a weekend away at a fishing tournament down at the lake. Chief got to tag along for the trip and really loved getting to see his buddies!
The original date of our chili cookoff fell on the same day as the horrendous basement flooding nightmare. We had to postpone it, which left us with colder weather and less people, but it was still a wonderful time!
In between the rainy weekends and crazy cold snaps, we've tried to get as much time outside as possible. Fall in Chicago can be so beautiful...it's a gift for being able to put up with our loooooooooong winters. The kids spend a lot of time just running around with neighbors and playing various games. One afternoon, we enjoyed a family-friendly game of kickball against our buddies down the road. Though we lost to the Rojas crew, we all had a lot of fun!
On top of our busy sports schedule, the kids are having fun with other activities like Kids4Truth (a weekly church group), 4H, and Girl Scouts. Leah really enjoys her troop that she's been with for the past year. They've already done a few fun things this year...including helping with the annual New Lenox food drive.
