Family Lake Trip 2015

We had another awesome trip to the lake. Each year our family trips down there seem to get more and more enjoyable. The kids are all at such fun ages and it is great to watch the joy on their faces as they experience all the goodness that comes with time at the lake. I am beyond grateful that we have the ability to just pack a few outfits, jump in the car, and head away to an absolutely beautiful place....we certainly count it as one of our biggest blessings in life!

Caleb, of course, loves all of the knex and lego sets Uncle Dave and Aunt Nancy get him. He especially loved this roller coaster they put together in just a couple days!

We love boat rides!

Lunch on the boat is always fun...especially when we eat at a pirate restaurant :)

Pool Time

Chill Time

We love having Daddy around all day to play!

We brought back a favorite tradition from my childhood....taking the boat to dinner.

Grandpa and Grandma bought us a new tube....yippee!

Not a fan of tubing...but I still enjoy skiing (for a few minutes until my whole body aches like an old lady)!

Picnic and Playing on the Boat

Another great lake trip in the books!

Slammers Summer Fun

Another Summer means another group of baseball players living at TiTi's house. We have really loved getting to know the guys this year. Mike and Alfredo started the year there and John was added on in June. All three guys are incredibly nice and treat our kids like family. Needless to say, they have all grown quite fond of the guys and get very excited when they get to go see them play. With the random weather we've had this year, it hasn't always been easy to get to the games, but we've enjoyed the couple that we could make it to.

Celebrating 10 Years

It's hard to believe 10 whole years of marriage have passed. In all honestly, every single year with this guy truly does get better. He is the most amazing husband, dad, and friend. I am beyond blessed to have someone who puts up with my stubborn, type A personality day in and day out. Not only does he put up with me, but he also does his best to give me the most amazingly wonderful life - three kids that I get to stay home and raise, a house that is just right for us, and companionship that can't be beat.

The best part about reaching the 10 year mark was having an excuse to get away for six whole days. We took a trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. It was absolutely amazing to have peace and quiet and tons of quality time together. We hung out at the beach, relaxed in the lazy river, ate tons of great food, drank lots of yummy drinks, played tennis, walked along the ocean, and talked for hours without interruption. If only trips like this could happen more often...

June Recap

It doesn't seem fair that the Winter months draaaaaaaaaaag on and Summer months seem to fly by in the blink of an eye. June came and went rather quickly and it is hard to believe Summer break is already nearing the halfway mark. We've managed to stay quite busy this June. Here is somewhat of a picture recap:

Caleb survived the last few weeks of school (and had an entire extra week thanks to snow/cold days). The official last day was June 5. I am pretty sure that entire makeup week was filled with only fun and games because every day when it was time to pick kids up, they were all a bit silly! I can't say I blame the teachers :)

Summer started and there was no better way to kick it into gear than to head down to the lake for a few days. The weather was great there and we managed to avoid quite a chilly and rainy week at home.

We have spent a lot of time playing with friends at parks and other hangouts that are suitable for a much cooler summer than normal. One of our favorite places is the children's garden at the Morton Arboretum. The kids always have a blast there!

There's nothing better than a campfire on a cool, summer night. Well, maybe one thing is better....S'MORES!

Caleb's baseball season wrapped up. He had a great year and we enjoyed celebrating with a team pizza party/parent vs. child wiffle ball game.

We enjoyed going with our Mom2Mom group to the local assisted living home. The kids chatted with the residents, did a craft, and ate cookies.

We've had to make the most of our rainy days by spending lots of quality time together. The kids have days when they get along so well and then there are days when they can't even be in the same room because "he's looking at me" or "she's making a noise"....

Despite the soggy weather, we were able to squeeze in a short trip to pick strawberries. The kids loved finding the perfect berries and loved eating them all even more!

Our zoo membership was coming to an end, so we decided to make one last trip there. It was great to get to go as a family and we lucked out with great weather.

It sure would be nice if the rest of Summer would slow down a bit! We are all enjoying the lack of a schedule and having nowhere that we have to be. Later bedtimes, extra hours outside, and endless fun are just what Summer is meant to be!

Preschool Program and Graduation

It's hard to believe a whole 'nother school year has gone by. This is the 4th year we have been sending a kid to Kids & Company Preschool. The scary part about that statement is that we have been doing this for 4 years, but only have TWO left! Each year, the end-of-the-year program is such a fun night. Leah spent over a month listening to the songs on repeat several times a day. She also dragged Joel into "rehearsing" way more than he would've preferred! Needless to say, by the big show, they were both ready. We figured Joel might not get into the performance (since he is having some major terrible threes moments lately). We wondered how Leah would do. In the past, she has gotten up on stage and just stares around and everyone else. With as much as she practiced, though, we figured this year might be different.

It turned out that Joel did have some grumpy moments, but managed to mix in a few moments of smiling, singing, and dancing. Leah danced, sang, and did all the moves just like she was supposed to. The funniest part was when both of their classes were on stage and Joel kept turning around looking for Leah, but never seemed to be able to find her.

Leah also had her graduation ceremony. She has been looking forward to this since she saw Caleb graduate two years ago! To make her night even more special, she was picked to hold the American flag during the Pledge of Allegiance. She was thrilled to have that big job!

Awana

This year, Caleb and Leah had a great time doing Awana. Our church does not have a mid-week ministry for kids, so (with a few other friends) we signed up for Awana at a nearby church. It was great to see them so excited each week. They worked hard learning songs, memorizing verses, and growing in their understanding of the Bible. The volunteers went above and beyond to make it an awesome experience. They had lots of special evenings (a bonfire night, fun fair, spaghetti dinner, etc.). The year ended with a great award ceremony.

13.1

Most people who know me know that I love to run. I learned to enjoy running (after a childhood of despising it) while I was in college. Over the past several years, I always thought it would be fun to go down to U of I and run in the half marathon that they started after I graduated. However, though I claim to love running, I've only ever loved running a couple miles at a time! Anything more than a 5K seemed impossible, but the thought of someday running a longer run became a goal of mine. 

This past winter, I decided there was no time better than now to give it a try. I researched various training schedules, signed up for the 1/2 marathon, and figured I had nothing to lose. Training went fairly well, though most of it was done on a treadmill because running in negative temps all winter was not my idea of fun. I learned to enjoy longer runs by just plugging my headphone into the IPad and zoning out with a good Netflix movie or show. I only managed to sneak in a few outdoor runs, and those were mostly during our trip to Florida. The longest training run I did there was 12 miles and it. was. HARD! Between the humidity and the lack of scenery (the only path to run along was the sidewalk along the main road, which was lined with high rise condos) I figured my actual 13.1 run couldn't be worse.

The day came, and just like the forecast had shown for a week, the weather was awful. I grabbed a rain poncho, covered my socks with plastic grocery bags, and hoped for the best. It was chilly, drizzling, and windy throughout most of the race. The temp ended up being pretty nice because I didn't have to worry about getting too hot. Other than that, the weather stunk! Drizzles occasionally turned into significant rain, and the wind was just like I remembered it being during my four years there as a student...brutal! Despite the circumstances, it was still a race to remember. I had moments of thinking there was no way I'd ever make it to the end...but, in my determined stubbornness, I pushed through and ran the entire time. I held a good pace until the last few miles. At that point, I felt like my legs weighed 500 pounds each and it took everything in me to just keep going. I am still not sure which was harder...natural childbirth or those last few miles!

We didn't end up with any pictures from race day, but these two were taken the night before (when, by the way, the weather was absolutely lovely)!