Illinois - Summer 2011

I will let the pictures tell the story:

Excited for the airplane to take off; luckily both flights went 100% better than I anticipated!

Ate lunch at Miller Park

Boat ride on Lake Michigan with Amy

Milwaukee

Jacob and Anna, we were able to watch Anna perform as Liza in Peter Pan

Jaden swimming on his own

Each grandchild created stepping stones with hand and foot prints

Madison fun; visiting Jen, Rick, and Kelsey

Best picture ever! 1st motorcycle ride

Park fun

Caleb enjoying a nap

Cousin love

The last day of our visit included a hot air balloon festival

Summer - FINALLY

Photos courtesy of Jaden:

I believe Caleb was trying to attack my hair, HA

On Saturday we dug out our swim suites and went swimming at our local outdoor pool.

What a stud

Spraying everyone; sorry random people in the picture

Jaden enjoyed the 2 kid friendly water slides

Jumping in

With my boys and proof that I swam as well (oh and Caleb splashed in the water as but no picture)

And after the last picture Jaden threw the camera causing the lens to malfunction, then I tried to fix it but instead made it worse.  The camera actually does work now but the lens cover is broken.

The second best part, swimming being the first, no one got sunburned.  Mom mission accomplished!

Also this summer (so far) we have attended 2 Knights baseball games, played LOTS of baseball ourselves, accomplished some yard work, and taken many walks.  Now lets hope this 80ish degree weather continues.

Picture catch-up

I was uploading pictures from our pool adventure the other day and realized there were quite a few pictures I failed to share.

Aww....Caleb sleeping (10 months)

These 2 have a lot of fun together, if Caleb is up before Jaden he crawls all over the house looking for his brother

Watching TV in his "little green chair" with his dog

Sandbox fun

And Jaden feeding it to Caleb; oh the life with little boys :)

What a Weekend

Mom's 60th birthday was this past Monday, June 6.  To celebrate Crystal, Ashley, Dad, and I planed a celebration weekend full of surprises.

Surprise #1:
Mom's sister Judy and cousin Laura flew up late Friday night from California to surprise her.  We all met in Canby mid morning and they surprised her there.  Mom could not believe it and squealed with excitement when they walked into the room.  To allow the 3 of them to chat we ate lunch and hung around Crystal's house for a few hours.

Surprise #2:
Early afternoon we headed to the Rose Festival City Fair in downtown Portland.  The kids enjoyed playing carnival games and riding a few rides.  The weather was AMAZING!!!!!

 
Surprise #3:
Dinner at Jake's Grill.  The before mentioned family, mom's cousin Mike, and friends Margaret and Dave joined us to surprise mom for a delicious dinner.  We reserved a room that was separate from the restaurant and that worked out great for the kids.  They all were very well behaved but it also was nice that they did not have to sit at the table for 2 hours.

Laura, Judy, Mom, Mike

The whole gang, minus Mike 

Surprise #4
After dinner we enjoyed the Starlight Parade.  Ashley and Paul graciously set up chairs for everyone while the kids were enjoying the City Fair.  It was nice to watch the parade with out needing coats or blankets.

Mike plays the Tuba in the One More Time Around Marching Band

Mom and Dad stayed downtown at the Governor's\ hotel Saturday night while everyone else stayed at Crystal's.  Sunday morning we all met up again for breakfast and more great conversation.

It truly was a magical weekend.