Memorial Day

We went to the world's shortest parade today! We met some friends in Libertyville for the Memorial Day parade. We got there about 25 minutes early and there weren't too many people. It's the first time we didn't have to fight off the crowds! We knew the parade wasn't going to be huge but weren't sure how small it was actually going to be. Shortly before the parade started, I got really tired and decided to walk over to the Starbucks to get a drink. Well, while I was in there, I missed the whole parade! I did manage to see the firetruck from the window. It was a relaxing morning though and the kids seemed to have fun. The boys always enjoy getting together with Kate and Ella. Afterwards, we went over to the Bos' house for a cookout.

Dan's niece, Naomi, arrived in town this afternoon. She has another interview in the area tomorrow. We headed over to a graduation party after the boys woke up from their naps (this was the fourth graduation party this weekend!).

This evening, we had our neighbors over for a cookout. Our neighbor, Nancy, brought steaks over to grill...yum! Dan did a great job manning the grill. Nancy and Dianna then surprised me with a Baskin Robins ice cream cake. The boys had fun running around in the back yard and playing on the swingset.

Dan, Levi, Marc, Kate, Ella, Isaac

Jenny and Kristin

Levi enjoying his American flag!

Isaac being photogenic.

Waiting for the parade to start.

Kate and Ella

Yummy ice cream cake!

Dianna, Nancy, and Naomi

Ryan and Kim

Zoo Day!!

My friend Kristin invited the boys and I to go to the zoo today with her and her girls. Kate is 1 year older than Isaac and Ella is in between Isaac and Levi. They always have a lot of fun together. We went up to the Milwaukee Zoo. It is nice going up there, away from Chicago traffic. It was a pretty busy day up there...lots of buses and families...but once we got inside, we couldn't really tell. The kids had fun checking out all the animals. They also had fun running around and swinging from the bars. The weather was absolutely perfect today...sunny with a little breeze.


Checking out the gorillas.

Climbing to see the bears.

That looks comfy!!

I think there was a caribou or something behind there :)

A beautiful male peacock.

Isaac and the peacock.

We love giraffes!

Both boys were getting tired at this point :)

Saying "Good-bye" to the elephants and the zoo!

Visits from Grandma Connie and Cousin Naomi

Last weekend my mom came up to watch the boys. Dan and I went up to Wisconsin for the Seniors Only retreat. It is one night/two days where we celebrate the high school seniors graduating from high school and help prepare them for college. We have been meeting with the seniors several times throughout the year and this was the last time. We stayed at a lake house of one of the students. It was really pretty up there. The students had fun riding big wheels down the hill into the water, paddle boating, and just hanging out.
While we were gone, our niece Naomi and her friend Betsy came to stay at our house on Friday night. Naomi had an interview at Six Flags on Saturday. We were bummed that we missed her but it looks like we'll be seeing her again next week (and possible all summer!)
The boys had a lot of fun hanging out with Grandma. They went to the park and played in our back yard. They also helped make me a rice krispie "cake" for my birthday. When I called home to talk with the boys and ask what they were doing, Isaac said he was making me a cake! So much for surprises :)

Our 7th Anniversary

Dan and I celebrated our 7th anniversary last week. We went out the weekend before and had a babysitter for the boys. We went down to Bahama Breeze in Schaumburg...yum! It was a nice evening celebrating all that God has done in our lives the past 7 years. A lot has changed since then and we are very thankful for the wonderful family God has blessed us with. I had to work on the evening of our anniversary. Since Dan had the day off, we decided to go out for lunch at a kid friendly place where we could actually enjoy ourselves! We chose Rainforest Cafe. The boys loved seeing all the fish and other "animals". They also loved the waterfalls. Isaac wasn't too sure of the thunderstorms but we assured him it was just pretend. The food was good (although a little pricey!). It was a very fun and relaxing way to spend the day together as a family.

Go Bald for a Cause!!

One of our college students who went through the high school ministry at our church was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. He has started treatments of chemotherapy and will likely lose his hair. Several leaders in our high school ministry, along with a couple students, decided to shave their heads so that Adam would not be alone in being bald. We also asked people to donate money for the family, as they are having to go down to Chicago to visit him. We raised $1000 for the Frank family, so that was so encouraging! God is good!
Last night was our leader's appreciation and there was a 70s theme. Dan wore an afro for most of the night in preparation for going bald! This morning when the boys woke up, Dan put on the afro. The boys were both scared of Daddy and weren't sure what to think. When he took off the wig, they were still unsure of him. Finally, when he put on a hat, they realized it was Daddy! Isaac said that he doesn't like Dan bald and wondered where all his hair went!! We told him that it will grow back :)

Getting ready for the head shaving!

Adam's dad, Gerry and brother, Brenden

Nice afro!!

Last shot of the hair.

One of the students had her name drawn to shave Dan's head!

He still looks handsome to me :)

Dan and Jeff Ware

All the guys who shaved bald - what a great group!!

Vacation to Lake of the Ozarks

We went down to Lake of the Ozarks last week to visit my parents. With baby coming in August and a busy summer ahead, we decided to do an early vacation. The weather was actually really nice the first couple days and we were able to go in the water (although it was a little chilly!). The boys had a blast throwing rocks. The lake is still low so we were able to walk down the steps and out on the rocks.
Isaac also enjoyed fishing and liked helping Daddy and Grandpa reel in the fish. Dan and my dad caught quite a few fish, so we were able to have a fish fry twice while we were there. It was delicious!
On Friday night, Mom and Dad watched the boys so Dan and I could go out on a date. We went to a restaurant called Baxter's, which overlooked the lake. The food was delicious and the view was gorgeous. We drove around a little bit afterwards and had a nice evening with just the two of us.
We took quite a few walks while we were there and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. It was good for me too to help me get in shape! On Saturday, it was cool weather but sunny so we went to Lake of the Ozarks State Park. It was great hiking weather. Isaac was a trooper and hiked the entire trail. Levi had a very bumpy ride in the stroller but managed to sleep most of the way. Dan had to take him over a bunch of rocks and trees so the stroller was definitely not ideal but it was better than carrying him. It will be nice when both of the boys can actually walk the whole way on their own :)
I had a nice Mother's Day. The boys slept in until after 7:30am, so that was a wonderful treat. Dan and Dad made a yummy breakfast for us and then we went for a nice walk. We stayed for lunch and had a fish fry then headed out. The drive back was long, as the boys decided not to take very good naps. We did stop at one of my favorite restaurants...Carlos O'Kelly's...so that was a special treat. We thought the longer stop would help break up the trip. The boys finally fell asleep around 9:30pm (which is 1&1/2 hours past their normal bedtime). Isaac kept telling us he wanted to get out. We finally arrived home at 10:30pm and were thankful to be done driving!!

Potty training Levi?!

We stopped by my parents' house in Joliet on our way down to the lake. We thought it would be nice to get a head start the night before and get past all the Chicago traffic. Levi was having a hard time going to sleep that night. I went in and tried rocking him for a bit and while I was holding him, I noticed he was pretty gassy :) I thought, maybe that's why he isn't sleeping...I bet he has to go to the bathroom. Since I had just put on a clean diaper, I decided to spare myself having to change a dirty diaper and put him on the potty. He actually went which surprised both of us. He was content holding the two motorcycles that he had found!! Who knows, maybe he'll be ready to get out of diapers before the baby arrives :)