Labor Day in Michigan

For Labor Day, we went to see John's mom in Michigan.

Luke had fun exploring around Grandma's pool.

Jake and John had fun playing football.

John's long time friend (and neighbor . . . who still lives right by John's mom) came over for a visit. His name is Larry and his little cutie's name is Jackson.


Football anyone??

Aunt Carole came over on Sunday. We had a wonderful visit with her.


Caroline taught Aunt Carole how to play Mancala. Caroline won once and Aunt Carole won once . . . a tie. :)
Everyone helped prepare dinner . . . BLT's and sweet corn . . . yummmmm.And ice cream for dessert. :)John showed off his handyman skills by fixing Grandma's loose steps. Luke helped. :)A good weekend was had by all. :)

Another Package from Aunt Carole!!

Look what Luke got!!! . . . . a package from Aunt Carole!!Instead of chocolate, it had a big bag of Twizzlers. He had so much fun sharing with everyone. He gave everyone two each day until they were gone. :)

The package also had a Batman that shoots, a fun book about brothers, and some cool pool toys. Thanks, Aunt Carole!!! We love your packages!!! :)

Luke is FOUR

On September 1, our little Luke turned FOUR! Here is the birthday boy eating his birthday breakfast. He opted to have it downstairs instead of in bed. :) He and Caroline made this cake with LEGO decorations because . . .. . . we went to LEGOLAND for his birthday!! Here he is standing in front of a very tall birthday candle made out of LEGOS!There was a ride there that was super fun. It is called the Technicycle. When you pedal, it goes up in the air. We got to ride it sooo many times because there wasn't a line!Luke had so much fun building a car and then zooming it down ramps.

Little Caleb came and celebrated with us. :)There was a statue of Darth Vader that was built with LEGOS.

The whole skyline of Chicago was built out of LEGOS, but I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing. Here is the Hancock Building.We loved walking through the jungle.
Luke and Caroline enjoyed a drink together. Aunt Shirley sent Luke some $$ and he used some of it to buy a new LEGO set at the store. Thank you, Aunt Shirley!! :)Luke sure had a great day . . . his cake was pretty good, too! :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET LUKE . . . you certainly are a blessing!

First Day of School '09

It's hard to believe that summer is over already. I guess it is a good thing that it seems to have flown. That just means we had a lot of fun, right?? I get so sentimental when a new school year begins. It is just another reminder that time is passing quickly and we need to keep making the most of it with our children.

Jake is ready for the FOURTH grade!!!!

Jake loves his new teacher and he said there is a new boy in his class that he thinks he will become great friends with. (He's TALLER than Jake!!! This is very impressive. Jake said he couldn't stop looking at him. Usually HE is the tallest!)

These two are happy to be together during the day. I am going to be homeschooling Caroline (and Luke) this year. It was a hard decision to make, but we feel it is the best for us right now. I tutor a lot during the evening hours and John and I thought it would be best for Caroline to have a lot of "Mommy" time during the day. She is a very good candidate for homeschooling. She loves to learn. This should be a FUN year!!

Sundaes With the Kriegers

Last week, we went to my cousin, Julie's house. We had ice cream sundaes to celebrate Richard's and Caroline's birthdays. Their birthdays are about a week apart.

White Sox Game

On Wednesday, Jake had the opportunity to bring Caleb Larson to a White Sox game. They had so much fun and the Sox won!!! Yay! Thank you Uncle Colin and Auntie Diane for the tickets!!

Package from Aunt Carole

Last week, Caroline got a package on our doorstep from Aunt Carole!!

She knew there was going to be CHOCOLATE!! A whole bag, just for her!! She has been enjoying passing it out to the family. She keeps the bag in her desk drawer upstairs and every once in a while we all have a bar. :)There was also a very cute book about gardening, 2 Webkinz (a Walrus, "Wally" and a Puppy, "Biscuit"), and a water gun that shoots out two holes!!Caroline posing with her treasures.

Thank you, Aunt Carole!!! Your packages are so much fun. Jake said, "Aunt Carole gives the best presents. . . she is so generous." You are a blessing to our family.