Neighborhood Picnic

It was another busy week here at our house.  I didn’t take many pictures though.  This past weekend we enjoyed the fire pit with the kids a few of the evenings.  Once the kids discovered that Daddy didn’t burn marshmallows they quickly let him roast every.single.one.  =) 

We enjoyed the Pumpkin Festival Parade and catching up with some old friends and meeting some new.  Again, no pictures. 

Sunday evening we had our annual neighborhood picnic.  We also celebrated this sweet lady’s birthday.  She very graciously tolerates all our kids running all thru her yard and that her deck has become their “Ninja Headquarters.”  We are blessed to live in such a wonderful neighborhood!

  

Brett has started framing his basement walls, so we had to stop and check that out.  The kids love the construction site and Uncle Brett.  We try not to stay too long as poor Uncle Brett doesn’t get much accomplished with the kids constant barrage of questions.  =)  Why is that board here?  Can I have this?  What is this for?  What are you doing now?

   

One last picture.

Lake Geneva

I had my 30 week sono last week and the doctor seemed confident that baby #4 is a girl!  Kate is really excited and already planning how she will rearrange her room to accommodate the crib.  This is a 30 week picture, with Mike included. =)  It’s a bit far away and blurry, but the camera was balanced on a rock landscaping wall.  You get the point. 

This weekend is Dee-Mack’s Homecoming, so this is spirit week.  Kate and her classmate and neighbor, William, dressed up today for “Twin Day.”  You have to use your imagination a little, but green shirts and jean bottoms, close enough for 1st graders. 

Earlier this year, Mike and I had planned to take a week near the end of October and celebrate our 10th anniversary which is coming up in January 2013.  However, we discovered we would be having a baby mid-end of November and decided we would wait until 2013 to take a trip away.  Being the amazing husband that he is, Mike planned a weekend away this year to take the edge off of having to wait an extra year for our anniversary trip.  After talking with his sister and her husband, he decided on Lake Geneva, WI.  It was a BEAUTIFUL place and we enjoyed the weekend immensely!  We left Friday afternoon, checked in, and then went to dinner at a place called Sprecher’s, I think.  It was another of Greg and Mary’s suggestions.  =)  We then went back and walked around our hotel to check it all out.

Since we were celebrating an early anniversary, the hotel gave us (me) a flower and some truffles. 

 

I’m just a good ol’ country gal from Mackinaw, apparently, as I had never seen a bathroom mirror with a tv in the mirror. =) 

Some resort pictures

  

Saturday we slept in, ate breakfast, then took some books and took in this sight for the day.  Anyone who knows me well knows that this is my idea of a perfect day.  And it was! 

That night we went to one of the resort restaurants for dinner and when we told our waitress that we were there celebrating an early anniversary, she brought us another rose, a complimentary glass of wine (and grape juice for me), and a dessert. 

 

Sunday we packed up our bags and went to Lake Geneva for a boat tour on the mailboat.  I guess a lot of the roads to these lake houses did not used to be very well maintained and the houses are closer to the lake than the road, so many of them still get their mail and Sunday paper delivered via boat.  A teenage girl ran off and on the boat delivering papers to mailboxes on people’s boat docks.  It was actually very interesting, but I don’t remember most of the details of who lived where and for how long and all that.  I do know that the Wrigley family owns many of the houses on one part of the lake and many of the houses up there are unfathomably large.  =)

    

Lastly we ate lunch at a place called Popeye’s (another Greg and Mary suggestion) and enjoyed this view before heading back home to get the kids.  A big thanks to my parents for watching the kids for the weekend, to Greg and Mary for all the tips, and to Mike for planning our trip!!  I hope we can go back someday! =)

Kate is 6!

We celebrated Kate’s 6th birthday two days early since Mike was going to have to be out of town on her actual birthday.  She requested haystacks and ice cream for her birthday meal.

 

Opening her gifts

  

On her actual birthday, Aunt Tessa graciously met me at IHOP (Kate’s choice) to celebrate, but I didn’t get a picture.

We like to stop out often at Uncle Brett’s building site and check out the action.  The basement walls are now done.  Grandma giving them a wagon ride to check it out. 

We went to CEFCU night at the Peoria Chiefs game, but the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac turned it into a rather wet affair.  =)  The kids didn’t seem to mind in the least.

  

I am amazed at how well the kids swim.  Kate is now fairly good at swimming with an actual stroke and just yesterday Lincoln took his belt off that he has worn all summer and was swimming.  They both do so well and I’m grateful, it makes swimming with littles so much easier to know they can swim so well on their own. (note, while I think she looks great, I did crop A. Tessa out of these pictures so she wouldn’t be mad at me).  =)

 

Time Marches On

 

August 17 was Kate’s first day of 1st grade.  She has a wonderful teacher and is enjoying being back at school with her friends.  On her first day at school, Lincoln looked at me and said, “Well, now what do we do?”  (Kate is fairly bossy, but he has quickly adapted to doing as he pleases again.)  When we left Kate in the gym, Creighton thru a kicking and screaming fit because he wanted to stay too.  So, yet again, our first day of school was not drama free.  If you don’t remember that story, go to the 2011 August Archives. 

 

Mom K, Kate, and Creighton all have birthdays in August, so we celebrated with Culver’s, cake, and presents one Sunday.

  

A picture of my parents with the 3 grandkids

One morning, we were getting ready for church.  I walked back into our room and found Creighton with a leftover bowl of popcorn (that had been in the kitchen) and the ipad. 

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to spend approximately 24 hours with our good friends, Shannon and Susan in Missouri.  The kids enjoyed:

Playing with kittens (this gray kitten was very patient)

  

A little farming

    

Horse Riding

  

Gator Rides

 

And Much More Fun!  Thank you, Shannon and Susan, and kids, for a wonderful time!!

Sunday we visited Mike’s grandparents at the nursing home, followed by dinner at Busy Corner, but I forgot my camera.  =( 

This morning, Lincoln started back to preschool.  He had to make a poster of things “All About Me.”  (yes, he did go to school dressed like that….it’s just not worth the agony…I did ask if he thought his clothes matched and he said, “yes, my boots match my shirt.”  There you have it.)  =)