Where Did Summer Go??

I haven’t posted for a while because this has been a busy summer and every time I try to update the blog my app crashes.  Ugh!  So....here goes another try.

We ended June and started July with one of the hottest days of the year in which Rich cut down a huge dying tree in our yard.  He had some good helpers and managed to take a break for a baseball game.

4th of July had us celebrating with friends, family, fireworks and parades.

The second week of July was the highlight of our summer.  We headed to the Outer Banks of NC for family vacation.  Our quickest route was via flight and a quick stop for a battleship adventure in Norfolk.  

Then we were off to the beach!  Our kids are still asking when they will see their cousins again and Gunnar was disappointed to learn that Eli wouldn’t actually be in kindergarten with him.  Bummer the schools are so far apart!  Needless to say we had a lot of fun and can’t wait to see everyone again over the holidays.

We climbed the nearby lighthouse and rented bikes to get around and see the sights.

And then we had more family beach fun and even checked out some wild horses.

I love these kiddos.....

And to finish off vacation we took a ride in a monster truck!  It was awesome!  Who knew we would get to see the real life Gravedigger?!

Finally we headed back to Chicago and back to reality.  Real life has been busy hence the delayed post but I’ll try to get another post in soon with an end of summer recap.  Before that though.....be ready for our first day of school photos!!

So long for now!

Hazel is 2!!

Our little lady is TWO today!  Hazel is a barrel of fun these days and makes us laugh constantly.  She is smart, funny, loves to be tickled and has a lot to say (even if we can’t understand all of it).  She loves anything Minnie Mouse or Moana related and does her best to keep up with her brothers.  She still likes to cuddle with mom or dad but doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to ruling the roost and keeping the boys in line.  Hazel has us all wrapped around her finger. Who knew having a little girl would be so much fun?  She’s just what our family needed two years ago. 

Happy birthday Hazel!!

We spent our morning at the beach.

Spoiled her with gifts at home.  Here she is checking out her loot.


And sugared her up with Minnie Mouse cupcakes.

School’s Out for Summer!!

We are officially the proud parents of our second Pre-K 4 graduate.  Gunnar graduated today and did a rockstar job with his class performance.  It is bittersweet to see him growing up but he is more than ready for Kindergarten in the fall.  Until then I hope he plays his heart out all summer!

We somehow all ended up wearing gray today.




Hazel had to jump in on the action.


Here is Gunnar and his teacher Miss Lutow.  She was great for him this year and sent all the kids home with some really cool books she made of them from the year.


And of course it was Zach’s last day of 1st grade today.  He had some fun after school with his buddies Hannah and Matthew.  I hope these three stay tight friends as they grow and move through school.  They are just so much fun!

Memorial Day 2018

This a few days late but thought I’d post it anyway.  Memorial Day weekend has become one of my favorite weekends of the year.  I never thought much of it growing up or even throughout my 20s (those are long gone) but in recent years we have made a point to have absolutely no plans for the holiday weekend and it has continually turned out to be so much fun.  What started as a non-planned weekend with no sports and no commitments turned into a great weekend of first experiences, seeing friends and welcoming summer.  

We ran through sprinklers, drove toy cars, played with friends and ate a lot of grilled foods and watermelon.  Zach was even so excited to see his friends one day that he sat under our small tree out front and waited for them to arrive!  While this was all fun, the highlight in my opinion was taking the boys to their first Cubs game.  I may have been as excited as them if not more.  I randomly scored some great seats through work that even included a parking pass so we cut out early on Friday and headed to Wrigley.  The boys hoped to catch a foul ball but no luck.  They did however get a lot of snacks, drinks, ice cream and a Cubs hat.  We even bought a hat to bring home to Hazel.   Anyway, below are some fun memories from the weekend.  

Go Cubs Go!

Weekend fun....

Our last day of school is on Monday so summer is right around the corner!!

The Big 5!

Five years ago today Gunnar made me a mother of two and today we celebrated us both.  Gunnar is amazing!  We forget he is only 5 sometimes because he just seems to have been with us forever.  He is funny....really funny....and he loves to be a helping hand especially when it comes to projects around the house or cooking in the kitchen.  He has a love for all things cars and legos lately and has become quite good at telling us stories from his day.  Gunnar loves to be with his friends, playing soccer and baseball, and has turned into a fish in the pool.  Can’t wait to see how much more he grows as a person this year!

Happy Birthday Gunnar!!!

And happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!  I hope you are all wearing jewelry as fun as mine.