HELLO?????

hi.

we are here!  (kind of).

just took some time off to really “do” summer…lots of fun things in the past couple of months to share – American Girl, Pool Days, Firetruck Riding, Grandparents Weeks, Cousin Fun, Pops Lake, Sophia updates…Those will come soon.

I’m gearing up this week for MY JACKY BOY STARTING KINDERGARTEN NEXT MONDAY!  Getting us all organized and getting myself emotionally ready.  :-)

Updates to come…just soaking up this last week of “Summer” with my lovies – beach days, pool time, play-dates, backyard camping.

Expect more SOON!

summer fun with friends

we are having SOOOO much fun this summer!

even with the wonky weather, we have been very busy with playdates, swimming, field trips, library, trips to parks and splash pads, vacation bible school, trips to grandma and pops and more! 

here is a glimpse of some of our fun so far!:

one of jack’s first friends and our old nanny-share partner – Dylan – and his family the Korbmacher’s moved to Minnesota last week…so sad to say goodbye, as Jack and Dylan have always played crazily like brothers together (fighting and all, right Katie?!).  We got together for playtime, dinner, and hugs.  Good Luck to them on their new adventure!

  we have made such AWESOME friends here in Glen Ellyn, mainly through Jack’s preschool.  Most of them also have younger siblings for Emma to connect with, so it is PERFECT!  Here we are at Emma’s first movie in a theatre – Clifford!  Such a fun morning!

Vacation Bible School at First Pres with his friend Ethan – he had a BLAST!  Sports, singing, Bible stories, crafts…can’t wait for next year!

Golfing with his buddies Aidan and Jack – again, we feel so blessed to have found such an awesome community to raise our kids!!!

Park dates

face painting and ice cream at the library ice cream social

Sophia’s first splash pad – she obviously LOVED it!

Jack and his friend Sophia – this is the girl in the preschool class that ALL the guys have their first crush on!  :-)  And she is Emma’s idol – she follows her everywhere!

and just this week, we went berry picking!  the kids LOVE LOVE LOVED it!  Strawberries, Raspberries, Cherries – Yum!  I think they really loved the freedom of running around the farm with no fences or us telling them not to go too far.  What a GREAT group of silly kids!

(obviously sophia enjoyed the berries – look at that face and shirt!)

And the fruits of our picking labor…the moms got together for wine and jam-making!  we got about 30 jars of freezer jam – it is SOOOOO good!

And to think that summer is only 1/2 way over!  we still have lots of pool days, Pop’s Lake this week (we leave tomorrow!), concerts, ballgames, picnics, trips to Grammy and Pappaw’s, and more fun!

Way to go, Brewers!

Our little {big} Brewers had a great season!

oh, it was sooo fun watching these kids play every week!  glen ellyn organizes tball by your upcoming kindergarten school, so it was great to know that these guys will all go to school together and be guaranteed to know 8 kids very well!

 

it was also super fun that scott got to help coach this year…they both enjoyed the time together and jack was so excited and proud that his dad was there.  it was a wonderful family “event” and sophia and emma also both enjoyed the games, as their friends were also there to play with and entertain!

Soph and her buddy Declan

Her brother’s #1 fan!

the kids all progressed so much throughout the season and the last few games were doing great at Coach’s Pitch vs. off the tee!  They all had a BLAST and I think really understood the basic concepts of baseball by the end. 

On 3…Go Brewers!  Can’t wait for next season!!!

day in the life…

i did one of these posts in the past and i think it will be fun to look back on in the future when i think i am really busy (ha!).

a recent day for us (in phone pics)…

the night before they slept together (emma said she was scared) and they stayed like that all night…up at 7am

7:30am – waking up (jack NEEDS his show to wake up – not a morning person!) watching Jake & the Neverland Pirates and Sofia the First while I get ready for the day, get my coffee, and make breakfast

8am:  Sophia awakes smiling!  Who knows how long she has actually been awake, as she just hangs out in her crib until I come get her (she is so dreamy…).  Green pancakes (leftover mix from St. Pattys day) for Breakfast!

9am:  quietly playing together downstairs – HALLELUJAH!  Sophia goes down for a nap while I clean up from breakfast and pack up for the day

10:00am – Look who is sitting forward now?!  She loves it and will dance, laugh, and smile on most trips.  :-)  Heading to the library for storytime

11:30am – special treat lunch at Qdoba for “the best” quesadillas

12:30pm – at Children’s Museum – one of our favorite places!

1:30pm – still at the museum getting pictures taken in dress up.  Jack on the moon!

2:30:  on the way home, just lovin’ the summer breeze!

3:30pm – the big kids are playing in the backyard (emma skipping nap), sophia is sleeping, and i am enjoying my flowers (So nice to just be able to pick beautiful flowers from the yard!) and my 3:00 cup of coffee to get me through the rest of the day!

5:00pm – early dinner as both girls are tired from the museum – spaghetti & peas, YUMM!

6:00pm – Emma decides to play marker makeup artist with Sophia and they both found it hilarious

7:00pm – Emma crashed super early at 6:45, so Jack and I got alone time (much needed, he LOVES this time) to play catch and a board game

8:30pm – Jack reads me this entire book BY HIMSELF!  “The Foot Book” by Dr. Suess.  He does a great job of sounding out the words and referencing from the pictures – So proud of my READER!

9:30pm – Scott is out of town, so I am crashed out on the couch with a Shandy and House Hunters!

A very fun & busy summer day – Whew!

1 MONTH GARDEN UPDATE

All we need is some SUNSHINE and we will really be up and growing!

i was behind on my last update, so it is going to look double the size, but in the past 1.5 weeks, things have really shot up!  we are having so much fun!

The peppers and tomatoes are starting to flower, the zucchini & squash are really taking off, and the brussels sprouts are getting TALL.  cucumbers are not doing very well, but i think they need some sun, and broccoli is getting eaten by something (just a couple of plants), so I am going to have to tackle that.

i attacked the weeds this weekend and am trying to keep it staying nice, but it is a lot of work! 

next to plant are watermelon, cantaloupe (re-plant), and pumpkin to get ready to halloween!

the kids and i are going strawberry picking next week, so i am adding homemade jam to my homemade salsa canning days…