Snow...

We had some snow up north!
And now that spring has come, I'll share some photos!




He LOVED the snow!

 She too, love the snow, sledding and walking the hill to slide down again!

Our first snowman!

This girl held her own!

And loved EVERY second of it!

pumpkins...

we went to the pumpkin patch and had lots of fun!



its hard to believe how everyone has grown since last year. and that made our adventure lots of fun.



this guy loves to show us his muscles. in fact he says, "hey mom, take a picture, and i'll show you my muscles". Love. This.



we did a kiddie version of a corn maze... some of us got stuck!



and this sweet baby just followed everyone around.



then we fed the animals at the cute petting zoo part! a far cry from how we spent our summer at Lincoln Park Zoo...



and Tenley insisted on touching all the animals.



and then we tried L.O.T.S. of group pics and the reality is... no one looks at the camera at the same time during this phase of life.



so then we opted for these...



and frankly, they look like they are in pain...



then we did the self-timed-family-portrait... {STFP} and these are the results!



changed the background... and tried again..



and again



and then we gave up and decided a funny picture would be best... only to conclude that we must enjoy sticking our tongues out... that is silly to us.


the.end.

our absence....

For those of you, my avid blog followers, we've been gone. Gone from life in a sort of way. Surviving. You see, I am a routine person. I like some change, but when it gets overwhelming, there are many things that go... blogging is the first! But alas, I am inspired by all the blogs I read. So here is what you've been waiting for!

these special people came to visit!

we love these people so much! {its like family that you just don't have enough time with}

it was filled with a trip to the zoo, a boat ride, cubs game, yummy food, playgrounds and lots of quality time!

we could swap daughters and no one would think any different.... it's the hair!

Brian got his big city trip in, and it will last him at least 10 years ;-).

such a bad idea... boat ride with the kids...

one of the summer highlights! wrigley field

i am a bandwagon fan, Lauren is not!

Justin says he would be a season ticket holder if we lived close... but we are not sports people.

they played their hearts out four days straight!

and I used their SUPER cool stroller... I may have had stroller envy the whole time they were here!

we had so much fun. our summer highlights were spending time with people we love, and we're so glad they belong to our "club".

dad.

it's fathers day. i heart father's day. probably because i have the worlds best dad, and also because my husband is also the best daddy.
these three LOVE their daddy.


she is pretty sure he helped God create the earth {seriously}.


this guy is confidant that when his dad grows up he is going to be a t-rex and eat other people.

and this sweet girl, all full of giggles loves to chase her daddy when he gets home {crawling that is}.
and this lady, i am blessed to have a husband who is devoted to his family, kids and our God. what an amazing man my children get to call father.

life is full of adventure because you are their dad.

Happy Father's Day

fun fridays

we took an adventure {or that just might be our life}. we rode 14 miles along chicago's greatest attractions. and it was fun. we were hot. but still, lots of fun.
we went to Buckingham Fountain.

took a picnic. played hide-and-seek in the bushes. relaxed.

when you aren't actually riding the bike and are a passenger in the trailer, you have lots of energy, when your parents have none!

some of us attempted to walk....

l.o.v.e.

took a venture over to the famous BEAN

you can see how we roll. about 20 feet in length. two and a half peddlers.two riders and a sweet 4-year-old who does gymnastic poses on her tag-a-long {no, not joking.at.all}.

then we went to the fountains. you can see pierce in the corner of the tower. and behind you can see the images of faces that flash up on the fountain walls.
it was super fun. i was just thankful no one broke a bone while we were there. it was slippery and there were a few falls.
/
there were LOTS of people splashing. this is what you do in the city, when there are no swimming pools around.
and super daddy was the one to venture out with the big kids, while little T and i stayed back to climb in and out of the bike trailer.
i let my kids spin bike tires around, go ahead and judge its great entertainment.