Caroline's in the Kitchen . . . again.

Caroline whipped up these little surprises for our snack on Sunday. They are butterflies made out of a slice of bread (cut in half) for the wings, strawberry whipped cream cheese, cut up strawberries, and a chocolate wafer stick for the body. Yummmm......... She made one for each of us.

Swimming with Caleb

Auntie Diane brought Caleb over for a little swim the other day. He loved the water and watching the kids swim. He also loved the freezer pops!!

Daddy's Home!!!

On Friday night, John came home from Texas. He was there learning how to be an awesome history teacher, which he really is already. ( a more awesome history teacher, I guess! ) He was gone for the whole week (he had to leave on Father's Day morning. . .boo!) We missed him very much. The kids threw him a little "welcome home" party. They decorated the driveway with chalk and taped a banner and balloons on the garage door. We're so glad you are home, John!! :) (the pool is glad he's home, too. . . it got a little cloudy while he was away . . . I just couldn't figure out how to keep it crystal clear in the 100* heat)

This is the Life

Jake is thankful for his bud, Jacob Kainer. They have been hanging out since Jake was in Kindergarten and Jacob was in first grade. Jacob's mom, Lisa, works with John so the two boys hang out before and after school in the classrooms upstairs. We now live about a mile away from the Kainers, so Jake gets to have a lot of impromptu play dates with Jacob. He's a great friend and we consider him to be a blessing.

A Reason to Celebrate

Tonight, Jake played in the first game of the playoffs. They really struggled through the first 6 innings (they only play 6 innings!). In the bottom of the sixth, the score was 12 - 6. . . a sure loss. Not so!! They came back and scored 6 runs to tie the game and go into an extra inning. The other team did not make any runs and we did!! We won!!! It was by far the most exciting game of the season. Jake did well pitching. One inning was a no-hitter. He got a couple of good hits and got to slide a couple of times (his favorite thing to do as a ballplayer). We stopped at McDonald's on the way home for ice cream sundaes and then Jake caught his two biggest fans a lightning bug. (they got new bug houses at the dollar store and they just couldn't catch one on their own. . .good ole' Jake just reached out and caught one, and then another. . .a big hero tonight!!)

Hot Summer Day

Today, it was sooo hot!! It was about 100* . We decided to go to the public pool ("Turtle Splash") which is less than a mile away from us. It seriously is like a mini resort. Here are a few of the features. . .there are more and the kids love it there! Taking a break . . .eating some Trader Joe's fruit strips. When we weren't swimming, Luke and Caroline were making a dirt cake. Here is the finished product. . . pretty cute, huh? And they really decorated the whole thing by themselves. (we wrapped the little rat in Saran Wrap before putting it in the cake) Jake was happy to have his good buddy, Jacob, over for a sleepover. :)A very fun summer day, indeed.

All Star Game

Today Jake played in the All Star game. They won!! Jake did great and had so much fun. He had the first RBI of the game and walked to load the bases in the bottom of the sixth. And defensively he made a really good play at first base.

Jake's first hit. He really "cracked" the ball. (that's what I heard some little boys saying after he hit it) He got out at first base, but he was happy because his hit brought a runner home.

Some of Jake's number one fans. Auntie Diane and Grandpa were there, too, but I didn't get a photo of them. :( (Oh, and John and I were there, too!!)

Jake and his bud, Caleb. Happy kids. They had to go and play another game right after the All Star game. They were two hot and tired boys! They jumped in our pool when the day was finally done.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

On Friday it was my mom's birthday, so we went to Auntie Diane's house for the day. Diane, my mom, and I had planned on going on the Barrington Garden Walk (mom's birthday tradition). There was such a bad thunderstorm in the morning, we didn't think we would be able to go, but it cleared up enough for us to go in the afternoon. It was a lovely time of looking at beautiful homes and gardens in Barrington. Caroline even came with us. Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed so I don't have any pictures of the event. Before we went on the garden tour, we took a little walk with everyone to jump in some of the puddles that were created by the storm.

Looks fun, right?

We were trying to find some frogs and turtles. We saw some geese and a frog, but no turtles.

Caleb and Uncle Colin looking at the geese.

Caroline just loving nature.

Jake found a worm. (right after I took this picture, Jake threw the worm and it landed on my shoulder. yuck!)

After the garden walk, we came back to our house and had a birthday dinner (tacos) for my mom. Another bad storm hit (sent us to the basement) and we lost power for four hours!! We had cake and ice cream in the dark. It was kind of fun. :)

Happy Birthday, Grandma!!!

Summer

So far, the kids have been having a great summer. We've had some very strange (cold and rainy) weather, but they managed to fit some swimming in. It's amazing how kids can tolerate such cold pool temperatures. When we first opened up the pool, they swam in 65* water!! brrrrrr! (The pool is 85* now!!)

yummmmmmm...

We LOVE summer!!!

All Star

Look who made the All Star team!! We got Jake a White Sox hat and little bat (he collects little bats) to show him how proud we are of him!! He will be playing in the All Star game next Saturday.

Favorites on Fridays . . . Like Oprah's "O" List, But Not Really

Favorite Home Decorating Store : Pottery Barn

I absolutely love Pottery Barn!! I carefully study their catalogs and walk slowly through their store trying to soak up any ideas I can incorporate into my own home. It is very expensive, so I get ideas and then gather items from garage sales and other stores to create the same look. I think I like it because their style is very simple and very personal.


* * a close second is Crate & Barrel. :)

My Review of the Movie UP

On the last day of school, I decided it would be fun to take the kids to the movie UP. It was a cute movie about two adventurous kids, Ellie and Carl, who played together as children, grew up, fell in love, got married, and grew old together. As kids, Ellie showed Carl her scrapbook of "stuff" she wanted to do, which included going to a place called Paradise Falls in South America. Carl promised Ellie that he would someday take her there. (He even crossed his heart!) Carl and Ellie had a very simple life. . . the years just kept passing by and the money they would put in their "Paradise Falls jar" kept getting used for other things. Carl loved Ellie so much and they had many precious days together. Unfortunately, Ellie became ill and passed away (I had no idea I would need a box of tissues going into this movie!) Carl turned into a very grumpy old man and he was so sad that he had never kept his promise to his dear Ellie. He decided that late is better than never so he "flew" his house with a million balloons (he was a retired balloon salesman) to Paradise Falls. It ends up that a stout little boy scout was on his porch when the house took off and this little boy ended up teaching grumpy old Carl that it is the "boring" stuff like eating ice cream on the curb that is important. . .not going on great adventures. Carl and Ellie had filled their lives with these wonderful, "boring" things. Carl took a second look at that scrapbook that Ellie had showed him so long ago and it was filled with pictures of all the ordinary things they did together and it hit him that the stout little boy scout was right.

I really loved this movie because of the love that Ellie and Carl shared and that Carl went to such great lengths to keep his promise even after Ellie was gone. I love the reminder of the fact that the "boring" stuff is so very important. . . to cherish the ordinary, everyday things we do together. I highly recommend this film. (there are a couple of weird vicious dog scenes, but just ignore those)

Fun Sunday

Can you guess what we did today??

The pool was freezing, but that didn't stop these kids!! It was extra fun because Jake and Caroline had friends over, Caleb and Cassidy Larson.

Opening the Pool . . . A Family Affair

EEWWW! Can you believe how gross our pool looked after the winter cover came off????

Caroline started working right away. :)

John knows all about how to get a pool back to swimming order. Here, he is teaching the boys how to check the chemicals.
Caroline sure likes to skim and vacuum the pool. . .go for it!!!

Jake and Luke are taking a break . . . playing some volleyball with the net Grandma and Grandpa gave us for the pool. Thanks G'ma and G'pa. . .the kids LOVE that thing!!

All the hard work was worth it!! It's still a little cold, though. Our pool heater is being replaced thanks to our home warranty! :)
Look at that nice water now!! No more EEWWWW!! :) Good job guys!!!
Oh. . . . and look who has no crutches and no boot!! Yay for walking on two bare feet!!!