Chicago visit

I've said it before but I can't say it enough.  We LOVE having some family within driving distance to be able to go visit once in awhile.  All of our other family require 7 airline tickets for us to see so a 5-6 hour drive is a breeze for us.

We took the week of the 4th to go visit Grandma and Grandpa and spend some time with some cousins as well.  Ross and Diane...please never move!!!!

I absolutely adore this picture.  This is typically where you will find grandpa in the chair with one of the grand kids telling them all a story about "Jake and John" and it always ends up in a tickle fight with hysterical laughter.

 The week we were there it was hot....like really hot.  All of our outdoor plans had to be switched to indoor plans or involve water of some kind.  We found some fun new places and the kids had the time of their lives.

We found a place called airtastic that was filled with inflatables.  The kids had so much fun we went twice while we were there.

 We watched fireworks with the family and we even had our very own secluded viewing spot right under the fireworks.  And let me tell you, to find a secluded spot to watch fireworks in Naperville is unheard of.  I won't reveal our spot ever because I would hate for the secret to get out but it was a PERFECT night.

 Here is where the water comes in.  We had to get a bit creative since it was so hot and grandpa had a great idea.  He came up with a game of swords and shields.  Basically it is grandpa attacking kids with a hose while they do their best to defend themselves hiding behind sleds and buckets.  They were out there forever and had such a great time.  Good idea grandpa! 

 The bishop of Ross and Diane's ward has a beautiful pool and he very kindly offered for us to be able to come and use it.  When he offered I don't know that he really thought we would come every single day but he saved our vacation.

It was so nice to get out each day and spend some great quality time as family and cool off in this beautiful place.

This is the truck that Logan spent the entire trip playing with.  It is actually grandpas truck from when he was a young boy that his father made for him.  Logan loved it and I have already requested that it is put in the will to give to Logan.  I have a feeling though that this may end up in a battle of the kids just like The Santa!

 We ended our trip with a night of fun at Medieval Times.  The kids had so much fun cheering on the green knight and eating "dragon" with their bare hands.

 At the end of the night Morgan was awarded the Queen of Love and Beauty sash by our green knight and she was so thrilled.  She wore it all the next day and all the way home.

It was another great trip to a place that feels like home to both of us.  We also placed an offer on an investment property while we were there so if it all goes well we may be back sooner rather than later and that is just fine with me!

Field of Dreams

A few weeks ago my kids got to do one of the coolest things ever. 

We have a beautiful baseball field here in our town and  they had a special night for Scouts and their families to have a camp out on the field.  We got to go watch the game as a family that night with some great friends and when the game was done the scouting families got to go and set up their tents right there on the field.  I headed home with Logan since he is not quite ready for camping yet.  I was sad to have missed the fun night but the kids had such a blast I think we will for sure do it again net year.

 They set up camp and then got to watch a fun baseball movie up on the jumbotron and eat popcorn all night.

From what I hear they all got to stay up very late but they had an absolute blast.  I hope Logan is cooperative enough by next year so we can join them.  I love special summer fun things like this and I am so glad we live in such an amazing town that offers so many great opportunities for families.

Totally Random

When our family was in Chicago visiting a few weeks ago we took the kids to go see The Pirates! Band of misfits.

In the movie there was this totally random song.  Charlie and I both looked at each other and just laughed through the entire thing.  It just came to my mind for some reason and I looked it up and it made me laugh all over again.

So if you are in the mood for a chuckle and a totally random song take a listen.

I can't decide what my favorite line is:

I'm making a lasagna (for one)
For your information there's an inflamation in my tear gland   OR
My eyes are just a little sweaty today

I actually downloaded this song and have added it to my running playlist in hopes that it will make me giggle and forget that I want to die!

Boys Gone Fishin'

Before one of our good friends moved away the guys planned a manly fishing trip for them to have one last adventure together.  I was not there but from the stories I heard they had a beautiful and fun and relaxing day out on Lake Huron. 

I love that my hubby has some great buddies and they have such fun together.  They have had many a late night playing games and eating ridiculous amounts of calories and talking about who knows what.  But they have fun and I love it.  Rick is missed already!

 Once the day was done they were able to take their catch to a restaurant right down the road and they cooked up their fish for them for a great dinner.  I think this is one tradition they just may continue over the years!

Birthday Trip

This year in school Ethan got to study Pennsylvania.  He loved coming home each day and sharing with us all the interesting facts about Philadelphia and he especially loved learning about Milton Hershey and all of his chocolate!

Charlie just so happens to work for an awesome company that provides a free airline shuttle to employees and family members that goes to Philadelphia.  So one thing led to another and before Ethan and I knew it we were both headed to Philadelphia for an adventure just with the two of us!

 Our arrival day was a bit more stress than we had planned for with delayed flights, sheets of rain, cars with no GPS and missed tours but I put on my brave momma face and made the best of it and got us to our hotel safe and sound.

The rest of the trip was a breeze and we had beautiful weather and had so much fun together.

We started out bright and early the next day at Hershey's Chocolate World.  This place was great!  Ethan and I loved every second of it.  We took a chocolate tasting class where we were taught to notice the different flavor notes in the chocolate.  It was deliciously fun!

 After that we took a tour on the Hershey Trolley all around Hershey Pennsylvania.  This tour was so well done and Ethan and I both agree that it was our favorite part and they gave you chocolate to eat all along the way!

 We then headed back to make our very own chocolate bars.  You pick what kind of chocolate you want to use and what special things you want added to it and then you watch it go from start to finish all the way down the conveyor belt!  You finish it off my designing your own packaging.  Ethan and I both had so much fun doing this together.

I fell in love with the town of Hershey.  Maybe it was because the day before had been stressful or maybe it was because the weather was absolutely perfect but this town was peaceful and gorgeous and I would have loved to have brought a good book and just sat down in a patch of grass and relaxed the day away.

 After Hershey World was done we headed back to Philly to walk around downtown and see some of the historical sites.  Most of the places were closed by the time we got there but luckily the tour that we had scheduled the day before that we missed because of the delayed flight let us reschedule.

 So we headed out on our Ride The Ducks tour.  It is a fun little tour that takes you on a driving tour of all the historical sites and then you drive right down into the water with a big old splash and get to see the city from the Delaware river.  They give you these little duck quackers at the end and it was really fun.  The quackers are now hidden away since Logan and Sam got a hold of them and drove me nuts in about 4 seconds flat!

That night we headed to the hotel for a swim and watched a show together until we both fell asleep.  It was a quick but fun trip and it was nice for Ethan and I to spend our birthdays together in such a special way.  I hope this is a trip he remembers for a long time!

Hello, this is the principal calling

Last Friday evening I went out.  I plugged my phone in to charge and I saw that I had a missed call from the kids school.  I quickly checked my messages and I was surprised what I heard on the other line.  The message was from the school principal asking me to please call her back.

Oh boy.  In the 6 years I have had children at this school I have never gotten a call from the principal.  And now it was the weekend so there would be no way to contact her until Monday.  My stomach sank and I immediately started questioning my kids to find out if anything bad had happened.
 
They all claimed they had no idea why she would be calling but you could tell they were all a little freaked out too.  I have good kids who do well at school and have never had any problems so I don't know why I assumed it was something terrible, but I had to wait the weekend to find out what was up.

First thing Monday morning my phone was ringing again and I saw that it was the school calling again.  I took a deep breath and picked up the phone.  Much to my surprise it was the principal informing me that Abby was going to be awarded The Principal's award the last day of school and she wanted us to attend!  Wahoooo...no one was in trouble!  I was so excited for Abby and feeling really bad about the level of questioning I had given my kids the last few days.

We kept it a surprise and said nothing to her about it.  Abby was nominated by her wonderful teacher and was chosen by the principal out of 115 fifth graders! 

(Abby with her teacher Mr. Zimmer)

After the awards ceremony they headed back to class where her teacher gave each child in class an award for something special just about them.  Abby was awarded "The Most Inquisitive".

As Abby's mom I know what a great kid she is but it was a proud momma moment to see that other people see in her what I do.  My heart was beating fast for her as I heard the kind things her principal and teacher had written about her.  Way to go Abby!

Abby {11} Sam {4}

 As many of you know June is birthday month for us around here.  We pretty much decorate once and just keep it up and we might as well have an I.V. drip of cake and frosting going right into our bellies the entire month.

 How I am old enough to have an 11 year old I am not quite sure but it is true.  This year Abby requested a flower cake, a pedicure, and a ukulele.  I think she was quite pleased with her day.  She has played her ukulele non stop since she opened it.  Her fingers are sore but believe it or not in only 1 day she has taught herself a few songs and is loving it. 

It has brought back a rush of memories of when I was young.  My sister got a ukulele once and hearing her tune it over and over again to the famous "My Dog Has Fleas" tune drove me nuts.  Well I am pleased to inform you Jeni that 25 years later the my dog has fleas technique still seems to be the best method and I now have the joy of hearing it over and over again in my own home.  Who in the world came up with that jingle in  the first place???

Our sweet Abby is growing up so very very fast.  She blesses our family each day and we are so lucky to have her.  She is kind and sensitive.  She is loving playing piano and her sweet teacher.  She adores crafts of all kinds.  She has created an entire craft room in the basement and she is constantly coming up with creative things to make out of almost nothing.  She is a good friend and a great conversationalist.  Abby, we love you!

Mr. Sam or Sammy or Sam Sam is now our big 4 year old.

He had a different request every 5 minutes of what he wanted this year.  He was so excited the entire day.  In church the primary presidency gives the kids a small gum ball machine on their birthdays.  After sacrament meeting when I told him he would get his gumball machine today his entire body started to shake with excitement.

The kids had fun decorating for his party.  They all made him a special gift and Ethan wrote him such a special big brother note that he loved. 

His requests this year were for a super Sammy cape that Grandma Diane made for him and the slinky dog from Toy Story.  We also got him his own pretend lawn mower.  We already have 1 mower but it is Logan's and Sam's favorite thing to do to "help" daddy mow the lawn.  With only 1 mower one of them always gets left out.  In theory 2 mowers should work, but now they just both fight over the new shiny one!  Go figure.

Sam is an absolute joy.  He brings so much love to our family.  He is loving and patient and funny.  He loves to be with the big kids and is such a good brother to Logan.  He loves to sing and dress up in costumes.  One of his favorite songs right now is Follow the Prophet, only he has his own little spin on it.  He sings it like this, "Follow the prophet, follow the prophet, follow the prophet, don't come and stay" It makes us laugh each time he sings it.  I am forever grateful that Sammy is a part of our family and am so blessed to be his mommy! 

I loved this video clip.  He seemed so surprised when he realized we were singing happy birthday to him!  Unfortunately I missed the sweetest moment ever when I turned the camera off just a minute too soon.  As soon as he blew out the candles he said that he had wished we could all be together forever!  I could not ask for my 4 year old to have any sweeter wish on his birthday.  We love you Sam!

Alpha Race

It was another race filled weekend for The Carnaroonies, although this one was in a whole different ball park!

(awesome Alpha Race gear, personalized dog tags and all)

This race was the Alpha Race.  Charlie and I ran it last night and Ethan and Morgan ran on Saturday.  This is not your typical go run 4 miles and cross the finish line...oh no.  This was running at 10:00 at night in the pitch black with head lamps in the rain in 45 degree weather and facing 12 military style obstacles along the way.  The last one being a 200 foot slip-and-slide ending in an army crawl through a giant mud pit. 

The unfortunate part of the entire thing was because of what we were facing bringing a camera along would not have worked.  We did our best to snap some before and afters but we have no real footage of the actual event. 

We ran the race with some of our closest friends and stuck together the entire time.  We found ourselves many times along the route just the 4 of us and it was prefect.  We laughed and threw our bodies up and over walls some of us more graceful than others.  I often refer to myself as Little Miss Sissy Pants since I am not quite a thrill seeker.  However, last night when I found myself balancing over top of a huge cargo net with nothing but the light of a small headlamp to guide my way I think I may have retired that self given nickname!

The second 1/2 of the race was filled with obstacles and boy was I getting tuckered out towards the end.  I had a huge smile on my face the entire time and I found myself just giggling more and more as the race went on and loving each obstacle more than the previous one.

Here is our after picture.  We may not look all that different but trust me we were soaked to the bone and FREEZING cold.  It all seemed like a dream just moments after we finished.  I can honestly say though that this just may have been one of the most fun nights I have ever had in my entire life and it was so great to share it with amazing friends who will be leaving us in a few short weeks.

We got home and hopped in some hot showers as fast as we could....man did that shower feel good!

The next day was the kiddos turn.  I don't know if they were excited or intimidated after seeing all our messy gear that was left on the floor from the night before but they got their numbers on and were ready to go.

Ethan got to race with his best friend and they also ran with some friends from church which was fun for all of them.  The kids race was 1 mile with 3 obstacles to face and theirs ended the same wonderful way as ours did.

Morgan was the first to finish in our group.  That girl is unstoppable.  They both did great and had fun and I was proud of them for trying something new and difficult.  It was chilly so to convince your kids that it is a good idea to go run through water and down a giant slide and then throw themselves into the mud can be a difficult request but they did wonderful!

The really fun part was after all the races were done they had a chance to help break the current book of world records for the most people down a slip-and-slide in 1 hour.  Charlie and the kids went down a bunch of times but the cold won out and we headed home before the hour was over.  We will have to wait over the next few days to see what the results are.  Either way it was exciting for the kids to give it a shot.

The race was a huge success and a night and day I will NEVER forget.  Anyone up for joining me next year????

UPDATE:

I just checked the paper and it looks like the current record for total feet slid in 1 hour was 82,080 feet.  Drum roll please!!!!!  Our record came in at 118,200 feet so we have oficially broken the world record!  What a fun thing for my kids to be able to say they were able to take part in.

Here are two pictures from the race held Saturday morning that were in the paper.  It will give you some small idea of what we faced!

And last, here is some video footage of Charlie and the kiddos breaking the record!

Dow Run

 Have you ever heard the saying "The family that runs together stays together".  Ok, so I made that up but I think it is true. 

(all our gear lined up the night before)

 Our family has spent the last few weeks training for the big Dow run we have done each year since we lived here.  It has become a great tradition that the kids look forward to each year.

This year each and every single one of us participated.  Morgan and Abby and Charlie ran the 5k and then we all ran the 1 mile together.  Morgan and Abby set a goal this year to run their first 5k and they met their goal! 

Sam and Logan are not even old enough to officially register them for the 1 mile but we run it with them and they do amazingly well.  Mr. Sam ran with me and he did not stop even once.  His little legs went as fast as they could and he finished at exactly a 12 minute mile.  Not bad for a 3 year old!

Logan was not far behind Sam and did as good as any 2 year old wearing a shirt almost to his ankles could have done.

Charlie and I both signed up for the 5k because we were not sure who was going to run with who.  I did not even run the 5k but for some reason they put me up with a chip time of 1 hour 45 minutes which works out to be a 34 minute mile!  I am a slow runner but a dead person could run faster than that.  It annoys me a bit to know that I am down in the books as the slowest runner ever for a race I never even ran.  Oh well!

The last few weeks we have had long summer night running as a family on the rail trail and often ending the night with laughs and yummy ice cream.  I am so proud of my kids for setting goals and working hard to accomplish them.  What a great day!