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.