Ages 2 and 4!

I try to get a good set of pictures of the kiddos every year. This year I begged my friend Mindy to take their pictures and here are the results! Our friend Sarah was passing through and came to help with the fun as well! Caden did awesome--bribery works so well with him--he was told if he listened, smiled, and took good pictures, he would get icecream and could play with Carter--it worked like a charm! Brynn was a little harder to convince, but Mindy still got some good shots! So here is Caden at 4 and Brynn at 2!

A little bit of fun with Sarah!

Here is Caden!

Brynn

Both of our kids!

Thank you so much Mindy for taking the time to take our pictures and helping me choose some great ones--now I just have to take the time to go get them printed--on my "to do list!"

Swimming and Such

Summer has been fun so far--I could get use to mesh shorts, tank tops, pony tails, swimming lessons, playdates, story time, and t-ball--but here it is already the end of June--wow--we will just keep on enjoying as long as we can!
We had a playdate at the spray park with some church friends recently--Caden loved it and was all about it--Brynn watched, tried out the little fountains, and then asked to go swing! She stuck it out though, and by the time we left, was getting more wet and enjoying it!

The water guns are ever so popular!

We have also been to visit my parents in Ellsworth a few times lately and taken advantage of their free pass into the pool--works great for my two who are done swimming after about an hour and a half. Here are daddy and the kids on the Sat. before Father's Day--he is getting quality time with his children!

Daddy and Brynn going down the slide in Ellsworth--she wanted to go, but clung to us like a monkey, but then wanted to go again--I was proud of her!

Caden and Grandpa take a turn--I just had my small camera--so the zoom was not the best!

More pool fun with Grandpa.

Standing under the mushroom with Daddy!

Just looking cute!

I signed Caden up for 2 weeks of swimming lessons with the YMCA--it got us up and out of the house by 9:15 and he loved it and did everything he was asked to do--we still have some work to do on learning all the strokes, but I am just happy he loves water and participated!
Our good friends the Richardson's took swimming lessons with Caden--so the mommy's got some good talk time in as well!

Listening to their swim teacher Arica tell them about lessons that day.

Enjoying the water.

Caden's turn to swim!

Finishing up for the day.

Summer also meant Slip N Slide Time!
Brynn just thought she would be sun queen and just watch Caden--but before I knew it she was right in the water loving every minute of it--of course this was the day she did not put her swim suit on--tis life!

Sliding fun!

Come on Brynn--get your shoes off--I will help you!

My happy water boy!

Last Day in Chicago!

Monday Morning, we enjoyed breakfast at a cafe close to our hotel and then headed over for a family picture by the BEAN. We walked through a couple parks enjoying the sunshine and environment!

Checking out the beautiful and big Buckingham Fountain.

Other people enjoying the fountain as well--the size of this fountain just amazes me!

Brad and Lindsey--we were so happy they would come up from Houston to join in the family fun! We are also super excited to watch the new reality TV show that Lindsey and 2 of her sisters will be in that starts on Thursday--Expedition Impossible--it has been fun hearing details about the show and listening to some of the adventures that Team KS faced!

Layne and I by the fountain.

Next we caught a bus and rode to the John Hancock Observatory to see many breath-taking views of Chicago and also enjoyed some yummy drinks.

Here is the Navy Pier from way up high--I still want to ride that ferris wheel--so I guess I will be going back to Chicago sometime to do that--it is still on my bucket list!

Beach, lake, and city

Mom, Dad, Brad, and Lindsey enjoying the views and a drink.

My drink and Layne's plus an awesome view!

We then headed over to Portillo's for lunch for a famous Chicago Hotdog. Before we left for the aiprot we just enjoyed walking around State Street looking at the shops and doing a little shopping!

Thank you Chicago, Mom, Dad, Brad, Lindsey, and Allison for a wonderful adult trip--it was great company and a fun weekend!
And for mom--a pretty good retirement present that we all could enjoy and celebrate!

Chicago Day 2

Millennium Park in Chicago--one of my favorite spots--Mom, Dad, Layne, and I walked over here Sunday morning to see the sights before heading to the Cubs game. These towers are so cool--they have different faces on them and water pours out of them to make fountains for kids to play in--you could sit and watch the action for hours!

Mom and Dad at the Park.

The famous Chicago Bean at the Park--it is all mirrored and really cool.

I found myself on the Bean!

Mom and I

You just can't get enough of the bean!

Walking under the Bean to find ourselves--we did!

The city

The buildings were mirrored on one side of the bean--which made a cool picture!

Then we all got on the train and went to meet our cousins Allison and Tori for some Chicago style pizza at Lou Malnatis'--one of Allison's favorite Chicago pizza places--it was yummy--we ate pizza and watched it pour down with rain wondering if we would get to see the Cubby's play or not!

It stopped raining, so we got back on the train and headed to the Cubs game--it is an awesome environment--as soon as you get off the train--people meet you with Cub items to buy and everyone is in baseball spirit! The field was covered when we went in and they were trying to get the outfield drained, when another downpour occured! There was almost a 3 hour rain delay--we were covered, but the rain and wind were still chilly so we were doing all we could to stay warm! We asked if we could leave and come back after the rain delay, but the answer was no--so we got a lot of time to people watch, walking around the stadium, and drinking hot chocolate before the game even started!

Here we are--trying to stay warm and happy as the rain came down!

Finally the game was underway--it was cool to see fans fill in the rooftop seating.

There was a whole bunch of seagulls that landed in the outfield and someone hit a ball right into them and here is the outfielder trying to scoop up the ball while the seagulls are swarming him! The Cubs did win and the game went pretty fast--but was not the best conditions for a baseball game--I guess we will have to go back and try it again another time! My husband who did not bring a jacket--finally broke down around the 5th inning and bought himself a long-sleeved Cubs shirt--so yes, it was chilly :)

After the game--we all did our own thing for the evening--Layne has always wanted to see the Blue Man Group and he found out they were in Chicago--so we went to see them. We had to walk down a very interesting street to get to the performance--a gay district--we walked very fast down that street and chose to walk a different way to the train after the concert! The Blue Man Group put on a very energetic concert full of music, acting, painting, and drums--Layne and I both really enjoyed it!

Mom and Dad took a walk and looked at some of the sights and fountains--here is another famous fountain in Chicago!
Brad and Lindsey enjoyed dinner with some friends. Despite the rain--we made the best of another day in Chicago!