Take me out to the ballgame

In early September, we headed down to Wrigley field to watch the Cubs play. Luke got to bring his buddy Toby. I think they were in heaven.

First, a stop at McD's for a happy meal.

The train ride, Skokie Swift to the Red line.

As you can see by all the empty seats, it wasn't a busy day at the ball park.


Really, it's all about peanuts, hotdogs & COTTON CANDY. At least for these little guys :)

Lincoln Park Zoo

Just about every summer we make a trip downtown to Lincoln Park Zoo. It's really lovely. It is about the only zoo I can enjoy. I find zoos quite depressing for all the animals. Especially the big cats & other animals that are confined to small spaces with lots of concrete. This zoo is really beautiful. Tons of big shade trees, flowers & not much concrete for the animals to reside on. The movie "Return to Me" was set in the area, it's a favorite of mine.

Our attempt at a family shot (taken by a stranger). Yes, the boys are chowing on soft pretzels.

They had a nice air conditioned kids play area. A climbing area fashioned after a rain forest (or something) Luke had a great time there. Quinn was dying to go up, maybe next year little buddy.

Very fun family outing!

Back to School Part 2- The first day

Luke gets on the bus at about 11:55 so we have to be home from outings & have lunch before the bus comes. Is kind of a crunch sometimes. He was really excited to go today.

Finishing up PB&J with Quinn on the porch before the bus comes.

Daddy even came home for lunch to see him off on the bus.

Ms. Sheri is his busdriver again this year. She's really sweet. Doesn't he look soooo small getting on the bus.

All in all it was a good day for him & me :)

Back to School Part 1 - Open House

So, we went for our back to school orientation this week. Luke is in the early childhood program at our public school. He says "I go to Pre-K now Mom, not Preschool". He's so funny. It's hard for me to believe we have a child old enough to go to school. Time is already flying.



There are 8 kids in his class. Max of 10. There's always a teacher, assistant, and either speech or OT in the class about everyday so there's lot of one-on-one attention given to the kids.

Checkin' out the tool bench.

Computers, looks like a big ole Mac screen. I've managed to keep him off my computer up to this point. Guess that will be changing.

Silly boy!

More coming soon about the first day....

Another trip to the beach...

Last Monday we went to Round Lake Beach for a couple of hours and had a lovely time. Gotta soak up the sun while we can. Quinn was really enjoying the sand. He is such a cutie!

Yes, he was a complete mess by the time we left the beach. This is a great sensory activity (for all my preschool friends :)

A nice shot of all my cute boys! So blessed.

Full Bloom

Just a couple of shots of the flowers out back when they were in their prime. These days they are looking really tired. Have enjoyed them this summer. The blackeyed susans have nearly taken over. Anybody want some? We have plenty to share.

Sporting some new specs....

Since it has been awhile since Luke got his first glasses & his prescription changed a bit we decided it was time for some new ones. I, of course, am way more excited about his new specs than he is. The first day he would have nothing to do with them, you know, change is hard. The second day he was happy as a clam in them. I think he figured out he could see better & they are very light weight. These things are amazing. They are completely flexible, sidebars, nose bridge, pads all plastic. The side bars have no screws to tighten, they actually pop off. Another cool thing about them is that we can change the colors if we get tired of the look (well, me mostly, Luke could care less). They also grow with him. The line is called T2, made by a company in California.

Yes, I took most of these photos while he was watching PBS.

Now he's all aready to go back to school.

Trip to the beach

When my family was here we drove up to Kenosha to the waterfront. There's a nice beach area next to a park on lake michigan. It was well worth the drive. It's always amazing to me to look at Lake Michigan. It really looks like the ocean. Below, me & my sister Sherry. Bet you wouldn't guess we were sisters-ha!!

Luke had the best time playing along the shoreline.


Quinn had a great time with the rubber mallet (we used it to hammer the umbrellas into the sand, we don't typically take tools to the beach with us :)

Brent, Mason & Quinn playing in the sand

All in all it was a lovely day. Especially since Brent took all the children home & let us stop at the outlet mall & go shopping. What a great dad he is!

Cardboard Clubhouse

My husband is an engineering genius, at least I think so. He's so great at taking simple things & making them into something useful. For months we have had big cardboard boxes in our basement (taking up a ton of room btw). Well, our neighbors put out a big weber grill box & Brent snatched it up. One weekend he & the boys created one of his "leftover" masterpieces. The kids have been having a blast in the cardboard clubhouse. Now, this is no ordinary cardboard creation. It has wooden supports, ladders, doors, windows & is actually very sturdy.

This was phase #2. We were out biking in a nearby neighborhood & this nice green slide was on the curb. Of course, Brent had to go back & get it. I thought "what in the world are we going to do with that thing?" Well, he added it to the clubhouse & now it has a super fast slide!

Save up your boxes & maybe you can persuade him to build one for your basement :)

The family is visiting...

You are probably wondering after 6 months, why all the posts?n Well, I have taken a break from couponing, my other time consuming hobby. My Mom, sister, niece, nephew and aunt from TN are visiting. It's been so great having them here. I feel like I've had a break and some extra time to catch up. The kids are playing great together!

Been having a fabulous time playing in the pool out back.

Quinn loves the water

Mason is doing a good job watering the flowers

Maddy wants to go snorkeling

All BOY!

Cycling adventures

So, I took a 6 month vacation from blogging. I'm back (again) and excited to share some of the things we have been doing this summer. I'm thrilled because I was recently blessed with a new camera. Hopefully the pics will be sharper & better. I sure have alot to learn about this camera. It does way more than I will ever figure out i'm sure.

We've been biking as a family some. When it's hot we can usually bear it b/c there's typically some breeze. Luke is thrilled to ride his new "pull" or tag along, at least that's what I call it. He is having a great time with it. I'm hoping he will get motivated to lose the training wheels in the next year. Oh, these photo are with my point & shoot camera. New camera photos are coming soon.

Love these boys!

Lovely...

This is our perennial garden out back. It is filled with flowers from mothers day, gifts from friends & a few transplants from neighbors. It looks awesome because my sweet husband totally reworked the soil & moved all the plants around. I think it's just Lovely.