July is quickly passing by...

Another catch up post. I hate doing it this way, but it saves my sanity a bit. I knew July would go quickly, but I'm sad to see it go. August means school mode and it's all too close.

We were able to have a mini vacation with Mark's family a week or so ago. The kids had a great time with their cousins (minus a fever and sore throat from Conner right before our King's Island trip).

Here's the overview of our time together...

We started our weekend by watching our nieces perform in a drama camp play, then the next day we watched Jacob and Hannah play in their miracle league baseball game. The league is for any child with disabilities that would like to participate. The kids all enjoyed watching the game and then they headed to chick-fil-a for lunch (I do love that place!!).

The girls were able to get away for some shopping and out to dinner at Brio. I love Italian food and it was a real treat!

On Sunday we went to church and then headed off to a friend's house (a friend of Mark's brother) who graciously allowed us to swim in their indoor pool (it was very cool outside) and fish in their pond. I wish I had some pictures, but unfortunately Conner developed a fever and was coming down with something, so I was trying to deal with that. I was really worried because King's Island was planned for the next day and he was not looking so great.

Sunday evening we celebrated some recent and upcoming birthdays. Here the kids are awaiting their birthday cookies that Mark's mom picked up.

Conner ended up with a very bad sore throat and fever...the fever broke in the middle of the night and he was well enough to go to King's Island. He wasn't 100% for sure, so he didn't enjoy the rides quite as much (I think they made him more dizzy since he was rebounding from not eating much the day before etc.)

I do have some pictures of our time there. Thankfully it was a great weather day...not too hot...and the kids had a blast. I have many pictures of Millie since we had to divide up a bit with all the age ranges of the kids.


Conner has been talking about riding the bumper cars since before we went to Disney. He really liked them!We ended up staying until the park closed. Several kids were asleep before we left the parking lot.

You'd think after such a full day that we'd have a 'low key' day on Tuesday. That was the plan, but the weather called for rain on Wednesday, so we headed to the zoo and water park.

I wish we had more time at the zoo, but we didn't arrive until about 11:30 (recovering from the day before) and we wanted to make sure we had time at the water park. I didn't take one picture that the water park...ugh!, but when you have that many kids around water, more specifically a crowded water park, I go into mom/aunt/lifeguard mode. It became more relaxing as the day progressed, but it does take a lot of energy to keep your eye on everyone. The kids loved the lazy river and wave pool and finally braved Dolphin dash in the end and loved it so much the rode it 3x's in a row (wishing they had started earlier). Here's a photo of us on the train ride at the zoo...

In the aquarium area...
Finally on Wednesday it rained so we headed to Game Works for some indoor fun. Steve and Lisa found some gift cards from there and were so gracious to let us all play. The kids ran around riding things, playing on games and earning tickets. Two hours and 4,100 tickets later (that's a long story) the kids headed over to the prize area to pick something out. It was fun to see them pick and choose...we had some many tickets they had a lot to choose from.

Thanks to Mark's parents and the whole gang for making our mini vacation so much fun. What great memories...

And I can't believe it's almost August...I think I'm in denial...

Our 4th of July

Our 4th of July started on Friday night with a pontoon ride to watch the fireworks on the lake. I love this tradition. Seeing all the boats on the lake, all the boat horns honking for the really amazing ones, taking snacks and bundling up.

They didn't start until about 10:15 pm, so the kids were up late! Here we are headed out with our blankets.

A beautiful sunset...
Some of our favorite fireworks...

Getting home from the fireworks by boat is, lets say, amusing, comical, nerving etc. We have to travel down a narrow channel to get from one lake to another. This is a two boat wide channel at best, but at about 11pm we were about 6 boats wide all shoved together trying to get home. People are using paddles to keep from hitting each other. No real 'brakes' on a boat. It is amusing, but some people are a bit intense about it.

Our fourth of July parade on Saturday.
Millie and I back at the lake...lovely boat cover in the background... :)
Time for sparklers...


We love our time at the lake and had a great time with cousins and grandparents. More summer fun to come!

Taylor Girls Chicago Reunion

I love my Taylor friends. Reuniting with this group of women is always a treasured time for me. I love our laughs, our reminiscing, our eating and shopping and sharing our lives. We quickly catch up the time and distance dissipates quickly. There are 10 of us this time, coming from California, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee.

I thought I'd post some pictures to capture our weekend in Chicago. Kathleen has been an amazing hostess and has welcomed us and pampered us in her beautiful home.

We spend Friday afternoon catching up at eating lunch and then heading to Kathleen's friend's pool. Very relaxing!! Here are some photos.



After the pool, we cleaned up and headed to Wildfire for dinner. I had the best fillet (3 oz. with different crusted tops) that I've ever had!!We stayed up late Friday talking and catching up.

Saturday morning we relaxed and ate a yummy breakfast that Kathleen made. I'm posting the recipe for the casserole because it's my new favorite breakfast casserole. I really like a casserole w/ potatoes that isn't overly eggy. Here it is:

Paula Deen's Ham & Cheese Quiche with Potato Crust
1 30 oz. pkg. frozen hash browns (shredded), thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 8 oz. pkg. bacon or ham
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1 C. shredded mozz. cheese
6 large eggs
3/4C. half and half (or whole milk)
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Firmly press potatoes into bottom and up sides of lightly greased 9" pie plate (or double for 9x13-don't have to double the hashbrowns). Pour melted butter over crust. Bake 30-35 min. until lightly browned.

Reduce temp to 350. Sprinkle bacon or ham and cheese over top.

In small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over top.

Bake 25-35 in or until puffed and set.

Enjoy!!!

After breakfast, we headed to a farmer's market in Wheaton. There were fun produce stands intermixed with boutique type stands.
After the farmer's market we hit some stores on our way to downtown Chicago (which took about 1 1/2 hours to drive b/c of traffic!) We shopped at the Tag outlet, Crate & Barrel outlet and ran in Trader Joe's for a snack.

Then we headed to our dinner reservations at Hub 51, a very trendy restaurant downtown.
From there we walked to Michigan Ave. and shopped. It's now Saturday evening and I'm already sad that the weekend is coming closer to an end. Tonight (it's 11:22 now) we'll stay up talking and eating and enjoying each other. I've really reflected this weekend how much these girls are so the same as I knew them at Taylor. Sure our life experiences have changed and we've grown in many ways, but the personalities, character traits, quirkiness etc. is very much the same.

As a side note, Aimee made these delicious 'power balls' as she called them for us to enjoy this weekend. I had to post a picture and the recipe because they are healthy, gluetin free if you have Celiac disease, and a yummy snack for you and the kids.
Power Balls
1 C. creamy peanut butter (organic or natural preferred)
1 C. raw honey (or other)
1/4 C. ground flax seed
1/4 C. chopped nuts
1/4-1/2 C. dried fruit (craisins)
1/4-1/2 C. chocolate chips (mini work well)
3 C. rolled oats
Mix together p.b. and honey, add flax seed, oats, nuts, fruit and chips.
Moisten hands wiht water and roll into balls.

Yields about 50. Enjoy.

An evening to remember...

So apparently when you are out of town and your small group meets and decides the summer schedule, you never know what you might come back to.

An 80's night...with karaoke...and appropriate 80's attire...and yearbooks...and pictures of it all...

Yes, that's what our small group did last night. We had an 80's karaoke night.

Everyone came dressed in 80's garb (some of the outfits dug out of old spaces for a reappearance). I did find my class ring and some old hoop earring to wear. I borrowed leggings, leg warmers and shorts. I invested in a $2 tank top that I cut up a bit, some bracelets and blue eyeshadow.

Mike and Traci (Mike was looking very Miami Vice)
Jon and KelliCarrie and I (without our husbands...Mark was at Conner's baseball game and came late and Gary was out of town). Carrie had it down to the details...shoulder pads, feathered hair & feather earrings, a Wham button, Walkman clipped to her belt and stirrup pants! We were being directed to strike a pose...

but I was totally laughing at myself...


Real high school sweethearts...Mark and Christa...Todd and Dara (Dara in her old prom dress)
Oh how will we top this night? Or should I ask that?

We had a great time and the karaoke was full of laughs!

Father's Day

I have a Father's Day post with no picture of Mark with the kids. How pathetic is that? Nor do I have a picture of me with my Dad and I was with him. Nevertheless, we had a great day.

The kids went tubing in the morning and my brother did the sky ski a bit.

Then we loaded up the pontoon for our first on-board picnic and stop at the sandbar.
Hayden and Addison were trying to 'surf' the waves and having a great time with lots of falling off!


I love spending the weekends the lake and it was a great Father's Day complete with a fish fry and fried potatoes. The fish were mostly caught by Conner with a net in the swimming area by my parent's place.

Mark, thanks for being a great dad and being there for our kids. The boys love to spend time with you playing baseball, going for bike rides, having bonfires and I'd say you and Millie have a special bond as well. She just might have you wrapped around your finger...?? We love you and Happy Father's Day.

A view from the pool...

We had another good experience with our two weeks of swimming lessons. We drive 30 minutes each way for a 35 minute swimming lesson, but it was totally worth it. Conner and Hayden both had 4 kids in their class. Hayden was very nervous about being in the deep end this year, but he did great. Mark Yordy taught Conner's class again and always does a wonderful job offering great techniques. They started learning breaststroke this time, along with refining freestyle and backstroke. He still has trouble with proper breathing in freestyle, but it's nice to know he can swim confidently.

Here are some photos...