Fence Time

It's done, we broke down and got a fence. We are loving it so far. It allows the kids to run wild and lets us relax a little rather than chasing them every second begging them to stay in their own yard. The whole yard smells of cedar too! We've been out playing in it ever since. It only took 3 total days from start to finish. I think I'm going to enjoy the rest of the summer a bit more now, and I know Hannah, Josh, and Ryan will.

Fourth of July!

For the first time we decided to go to Aurora's downtown Fourth of July parade. Our neighbor had said he was taking his family there to try it too and that gave us the idea. It was very nice, easy to park, and easy to get out when we were ready to leave. The kids had a fun time watching bands, jugglers, clowns, and firetrucks. They got flags, freeze pops, and waters too! That's all they need to keep them busy! The weather was beautiful again and Hannah, Ryan, and Josh were dressed in their red, white, and blue.

Later, we let Hannah stay up to watch the fireworks in our neighborhood. She really only like the idea of them, not the noise! She sat in her little chair outside covering her ears! That's our Han!

It's Summer!

How time flies! It's already been a month since I last posted. I haven't had anything monumental to say I suppose! We've been keeping busy being outside in the nice weather, with the exception of the winds and storms. We've since been to Pat's brother Jimmy's and Rachel's engagement party which was a lot of fun and we learned that Hannah will be a flower girl with Rachel's niece Isabel who is 7. Hannah and Isabel really hit it off at the party and played together the whole time. Jim and Rachel are getting married in October of this year, so it's coming up quickly!

We've been playing outside with the sand and water (sans water) table and learning how to keep the sand IN the sand space instead of on the deck, so that's fun...Hannah got a new scooter the other day, one with 3 wheels so it's easy to balance. We need to get her a helmet yet tho' before we set her free. Josh and Ryan chat at you as if you know what they're trying to say, but it's really cute. We've also been hanging out at our neighbor Brenda's house during the week some days as Hannah and Jenna like to play together and the boys with little Joey. They all played in the sprinkler a couple of weeks ago and Josh had no desire to get out!! Too funny.

Hannah turns 3!

Our little Hannah is 3 years old now. It's hard to believe how fast her little life is going!! We celebrated with a Michigan party in St. Joe on May 3rd for the Lampert side of the family. Hannah chose Strawberry Shortcake as her theme as she and the boys are sooo into Strawberry right now. Too funny! It was fun to have it at mom and dad's cottage for the first time and it seemed to work out great as we just had cake and ice cream. It was fun to see everyone as it had been a while.

The next day we took her and the boys to Brookfield Zoo for the morning. She loves the zoo and it was the first time we'd been this season. It was somewhat cool, but comfortable so it seemed like the animals were out more than usual. It was fun for all!

The following weekend we had a party for Hannah here at our house with Jim, Mary, Jimmy, and Rachel. We grilled and I made a chocolate cake for the birthday girl. It was the first time we saw Jim and Rachel since they got engaged too! Congrats! Han got stocked up on princess gear, Strawberry Shortcake stuff, and a sand and water table (which needless to say she and the boys all LOVE).

Library Firsts

Today was a little stormy and rainy, so we went to our local library for the first time. They have a Friday drop-in storytime that I've wanted to try for a while so we went to that first. Hannah did great after she warmed up a bit to the group of moms and kids, Ryan sat in the stroller happy as can be, and Josh wanted to sit with me about 2 minutes into the half hour. We hung in there for almost the whole time where they sang, read, and danced. We just had to leave with about 5 minutes to go as Joshy was unleashing "the siren."

After storytime, we went to the children's section of the library and we got Hannah's first library card and she checked out 5 books to get her started. We've already read them all numerous times, so we'll probably back for more very soon.

Our park district is connected to our library, so we walked around there to check it out too and signed up for online access to register for classes. What a productive day!

Odyssey Cruise

This past Saturday Pat and I got to go on the Odyssey dinner cruise that docks at Navy Pier for Pat's Pepperidge Farm manager and spouses outing. Jim and Mary graciously watched Hannah, Josh, and Ryan for us at our house. The evening was foggy at first so we thought we wouldn't have much of a view from the ship, but it cleared up nicely so we could see the skyline. The view from the top of the ship was soo cool. The food was delicious, so much that I couldn't even eat it all (it happens). The caramel pecan cheesecake was sooooo creamy and decadent! The cruise was 7:30pm-10:30pm, hope Pepperidge does it again!

Hilton Head

We're back from Hilton Head...we made it through and had fun. We had great weather, played at the beach, visited with family, and ate at our favorite restaurants like Wild Wing, Sea Shack, and Cheeburger Cheeburger. Had the best keylime pie with blueberry sauce-yummmm!

Ryan earned the name "Sandman" and you'll see why in one of the pics I post. He couldn't get enough of the sand! Josh started walking at the beach, and Hannah discovered the joy of being buried in the sand and building sandcastles too.


Pat and I got to go out to eat by ourselves one night to Sea Shack courtesy of mom and dad-THANK YOU! We had awesome seafood and sweet tea!

We survived the drive and we'll do it again! Until next year...