Lillian's 5th Birthday

Lillian was bouncing off the walls ever since the calendar turned to October--she just couldn't wait to turn 5 on October 14th!

But let's be honest, we were pretty excited to celebrate this cute girl!

 

She enjoyed being showered with gifts

and then spent the rest of the day playing away with her new things.

She felt like the biggest princess with her new jewelry beads!

Ever since Hylie showed Lillian how to use a little loom with the elastics, she has been creating bracelets LIKE CRAZY!  She was delighted to get her own kit and probably made 3 bracelets before the sun went down that day!

Lillian has such a big heart and was so patient with Kyron who also wanted to be in the middle of the fun all day long.  We decided to wait until after Kyron went down for a nap to actually try to PLAY a game of Trouble!

Her dessert request was a chocolate cake with green frosting and sprinkles!

I'm wondering how long until Lillian passes up Hylie...

She also got to be celebrated at Preschool.  She selected Goldfish snacks

and picked out one of her favorite "Piggy and Elephant" books to be read to her class.

Lillian shows us so much strength, determination, and kindness.  We are delighted we get to keep her forever and ever!

Shedd Aquarium - October 8th

Ever since establishments started opening up after the pandemic lock-down, Lillian has been begging to take a trip to the Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago.  We finally made this little girl's wish come true on a day off from school on October 8th.  That morning she danced out of bed and already had her outfit picked out, what hairstyle she wanted, and even knew what rings she was going to wear!

Lillian was also determined to get a picture with a Beluga whale because her preschool teacher mentioned that was her favorite animal.

 

Hylie giving some serious fish quite the stare-down--they were some pretty fierce competition!

It was a gorgeous fall day and we loved eating our lunch on a balcony of the aquarium.

Thankful for all we can learn and experience near our home

Summer 2021

On Memorial Day we finally got a grill and enjoyed trying out new recipes all summer long!

 The Summer of 2021 proved to be a HOT one, so we were grateful for a local pool --for a local OPEN pool!  It was nice to have COVID numbers drop enough to get out more, have Primary classes again, and feel a little more normal...before the Delta variant came in and reminded us that life is unpredictable and fragile.

We got to visit a local zoo that featured animals native to Illinois...plus a giant turtle statue!

Not going to lie, we had some growing pains with this little dude.  He showed us a pretty stubborn side--if he didn't want to do something, he wouldn't.  He sat here in the hot, hot sun for an hour at the pool while his sisters played in the water simply because he wasn't the one who decided to go to the pool.  Eventually I wrestled him into his swimsuit and after he screamed for a bit, he was happy as a clam in the cool water. 

Our local Library had classes and events that we loved participating in.  Here's Lillian dunking the Youth Services Director, Will Savage.

Hylie's Activity Day Leader at Church, Amy Anderson, hosted a Day Camp for these girls--complete with crafts, a scavenger hunt, and s'mores!

Geoff's 45th Birthday

On September 13th, we got to celebrate the man of the house!  The girls let him know that if he picked a fruit salad for his treat again, they were ready to boycott!  Geoff did not disappoint anyone when he picked Snickers Fudge to ring in his 45th trip around the sun.

 

Geoff certainly knows how to love, laugh, and roll with the punches.  He's a fantastic husband and father and we are so thankful to call him ours.

Kyron's Perfect Day - September 11th

 On September 11th, we got to let Kyron call the shots for the day.  His day was full of outside playtime, mac and cheese, and chocolate milk!

Summer Flowers

For the longest time I was convinced I had no ability to keep a plant alive unless it was made out of plastic.  When I was living in my townhome in Colorado, my visiting teacher was so kind and brought me a beautiful potted plant AND a watering can to bring some color and warmth to my porch.  In less than a week it was dried out and dead and I was so embarrassed that it was long gone by the time she visited again.  While we lived in Morton Grove, I made attempts to grow many different types of flowers and bushes with minimal success.  Determined to overcome this terrible weakness, I continued to do research on gardening and I think I may have finally turned a corner!

 

Our landscaping is most certainly still a work in progress, but the good news is I'm making progress and absolutely loving the successes!

The kids, birds, and squirrels especially loved these vibrant sunflowers.

These two-toned dahlias made my heart so happy this summer...now if only I can figure out how to successfully store their tubers over the winter...