Wall-e

Jake and Wyatt along with Maddy Morris made this awesome Wall-E. I wish I could say it was because there's no TV, but they started it at the Morris' house where TV and video games are alive and well. Jake got involved once we were back home though.

Visiting Great Grandma

On Sunday we drove to my grandma’s for the day. Justin and the boys went wading in the creek and we all had a wonderful homemade lunch.

Barrington Festival

On the 5th the boys got to go with Jarrit (Jake’s best friend) and his brother and mom to the Palatine parade. They got sooooo much candy and Wyatt came home covered in every political sticker imaginable. Then we walked up to Barrington’s annual festival and the kids had a ball. Jake went on the bouncy slide with the little ones while Wyatt and Maddy stood in line for a looooong time to have the man on stilts make them balloons.

Fun on the 4th!

It was a fun and busy day today! The boys and Justin marched in the parade with the scouts and Chloe and I walked up to the parade to watch with the Morris family.


When we got back from the parade, Grandpa George and Grandma came over and played with the kids. Chloe is always very interested in talking with Grandpa and she loved when her read her a story. I had to take this picture because I was struck by how tall the boys are getting.

Then the Barths and the Morris’ came over and we grilled out and hung out.

Toward the end of the night the Styers came over and we all made a mad last minute dash to the fireworks.

No Right Title

I am so sad to say that beautiful little Caitlyn lost her battle with cancer today.
http://www.caitlynchurak.blogspot.com/

Birthday Party for Chloe's 3rd and Jake's 9th

This was our first year of a combined birthday Party for Jake and Chloe. We were so busy getting ready for the party and luckily my friend, Kim, offered to take the kids to drama and ballet. Here they are walking down to her house. I love this picture. Chloe picked the Little Mermaid as her theme and Jake picked Sponge Bob. Since their both “under the sea” it worked pretty well.
Grandma Lynn made Chloe a beautiful cake that she could not stop looking at. She kept pulling her chair over to stare at it. and the Jewel bakery did a fine job with Jake’s. Lynn would have made a cake for Jake, but I thought that seemed like too much work and I knew Jake would be fine with the jewel cake. This is a classic "Jake's happy Birthday Song Face" picture.
We rented a jumpy house and borrowed the Barth’s drink machine to make frozen drinks for the kids.
The girls had a Little Mermaid piñata and the boys had Sponge Bob.

The neighborhood girls coordinated Chloe’s gift opening. One of the most exciting gifts for Chloe was the life-size Belle that the Morris family gave her. It is taller than Chloe!
We had quite a good turn out with at least 65 people! The weather really cooperated despite storms in the forecast. We were very lucky.
Here's baby Tyce Bucy whose parents are expecting baby #2 in February

Library Trips

With no tv or video games, we’ve been taking lots of trips to the library. We’ve been bringing Maddy and Jack with us. All the kids are doing the summer reading program. Jake has read non-stop since June 1st and Wyatt read like crazy until he filled up his required book list and since then it’s been a little hit or miss. Here’s the library gang:

Chloe Turns 3!

On June 18th, Chloe turned 3! She woke up to her present from Mommy, Daddy and her boys. She had been asking for, Ivy, the American Girl doll who is Julie’s friend. You might remember that she got Julie when we went to the American Girl store and celebrated her one year home.
Later that day Chloe walked down to Delaney and Grayson’s house with her brothers. It was like she decided that she was 3 and could now have play dates like her brothers. She went on to have 3 more play dates that week! While she was at Delaney’s house, the Meek family gave her her present. Another American Girl doll. This one is Marisol. Delaney has several and had planned they had planned to sell Marison, but Delaney decided that she’d much rather give her to Chloe. So sweet!
Later that night we went out to dinner and celebrated with ice cream sundays at Max and Erma’s. It was a very nice birthday!

Tony Turns 6

My nephew, Tony, turned 6 on June 17th. All 5 kids always have a blast together. While I was teaching summer school, Missy watched Chloe. So, Joey and Chloe have really bonded. Chloe has also gotten quite close to her Auntie Missy.

Fathers' Day

We had a very nice Father’s day. Justin went golfing in the morning while the kids and I took Grandpa George out to breakfast. Later that day we went to a BBQ at our neighbors’house.

Drama and Dance

Jake, Wyatt and their friend, Delaney, are taking more drama classes this summer. The classes are on Saturday mornings. Luckily, this time there’s a class for Chloe there, too. She’s taking Tutus and Tap Shoes. Watching those 3 years old dance around is about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I’ll video one of the classes and post it before the summer’s over.

Get together with the Jacobs Family

We had a mini family reunion at my Uncle Bob and Aunt Katie's house. It was so much fun and I could have stayed for days just hanging out and talking. I just love this picture of Justin and Jake
Two Jakes

We got to see adorable baby Mia.

The little kids had so much fun together. Carmen and Chloe were fast friends as is the case every time they see each other.

The little kids had so much fun tackling the big kids. Well, they're actually men, but I can't quite get used to that. It makes me feel very old.