State Fair, Concerts, and BFF's...what gets better than that?

Well, I will first apologize for basically not blogging the month of August. Let's just say things have been busy and I can't believe a month has past and I am not even caught up with stuff from July...so I am just not going to think about all of that and just let you know about my fun week I had last week.

First of all- It has been State Fair time which is always exciting no matter what but I will say that this year I set a record (for me) for number of visits within one fair timeframe. But don't worry- I didn't set a record for amount of fair food eaten (but haven't seemed to step on the scale to find out), but probably did spend a record amount of money at the fair/events this year. Soooo...my first visit started out with Jamie and me and the kids. We had concert tickets that night so our entry was "free" so we decided to make the most of it and eat both lunch and dinner there. The kids saw baby cows and pigs, giant boars and the biggest mules I have ever seen. Got to eat my first corn dog and elephant ear and all were happy. We headed home in between and Jamie probably got a nap, but I decided to go for a root canal. And this is totally off base, but I seriously love the guy who does my root canals (sad to say I have had 3 in the last year)...but he is awesome. No problems, hardly sore, very nice.

ANYWAYS, that night Jamie picked me up and we headed back to the fair for a concert (and some potato curly fries of course). It was Mercy Me and Jeremy Camp which are two of my favorite Christian Bands. The concert was AWESOME. Seriously the best concert I have ever been to. Amazing songs sung and words spoken and God just fed my much hungry heart that night. I really needed that. No pics that night, but of course we looked awesome! ha!

Then Thursday one of my highschool bff's flew in from Texas for the weekend. It was soooo amazing to see her. I hadn't seen her in years and hadn't hung out for multiple days in a row since highschool. She is the same girl I knew back then and it was amazing to get together and really catch up. But I will say this...she got put on some serious Technology detox for weekend. I picked her up and on the way to grab some lunch I told her the bad news;

Me: Melanie, I just want to let you know that I don't have cable...

Melanie: What??? (in sheer total disbelief) You are joking right? Do you have like one of those like box things too? hahaha...

Me: Ummm....yeah because my tv is from college.

Melanie: Huh??? Wow, I seriously didn't know people like you existed out there. I saw those commercials reminding you to "get your converter box before its too late" and I was like- Who doesn't have cable? pleeeease!

Me: Yeeeah...and um Melanie...I have some other bad news....I have dial up internet.

Melanie: Oh My Goodness!!! Where are you taking me???

Seriously the conversation was really close to that...it was actually pretty funny (and I am sure scary for Mel...wondering why I haven't caught up with the 21st century)

But once the shock wore off we had a great time and I even took her to Zumba (latin/hip-hop dance aerobics) that night and had a blast! The next day we went downtown to the soup kitchen to volunteer, got hit on by some firemen at the grocery, and then headed to the spa. Soon after that Stephanie (another highschool bff) showed up and the party was ready to begin. You can read her blog for more fun pics and details...but here it is in fast forward.

We got all dolled up and ready to head out to a Kelly Clarkson concert (yes, back at the State Fair)My bff from college showed up and we quickly snapped a pic before heading out to pick up two more! Here we all are at the concert...after we had eaten our share of fair food that is...(wow, that makes 3 meals now). The concert was REALLY good. Kelly's voice is amazing. I really wasn't that big of fan before, but I would have to say she won me over.

The next morning...before dawn, I quietly snuck out of the house to meet Tim and the kids at the Fair for the anual hot air balloon race. It has been a tradition and I didn't want to miss it. For some reason, Mel and Steph didn't want to wake up before the sun!

proof I was there before dawn Luca and Lilly thought it was pretty exciting, it is so much fun to watch there reactions.

The united van was new this year which was fun It went up practically right over us!

And here they all are off on the race! And of course after they were out of sight I stuck around just long enough to eat some fair food breakfast- haha! When I got back home the girls were still sleeping and didn't even know I was gone!

Another bff (my little sis) showed up mid morning and got to hang with us the rest of the weekend. We hit the pool, downtown circle center, st.elmos (bc I had a gift certificate I won at a golf outing -woot!woot!), and a movie (with a celebrity movie reviewer). Good times had by all...wished all the girls could have made it.

And just to end my story, I did go to the State Fair one more time! Last day was yesterday and Tim and the kids and I headed over to grab my infamous carml apple watch a little demoliton derby. It was actually the first derby for all of us, wasn't sure exactly what the point was when it first started but it was suprisingly entertaining (although very loud). We even finished off the fair by watching fireworks from the back of Tim's truck before we pulled away. 2009 State Fair was very memorable this year, not sure next year can top it...but I can always try! :)

A New Park = A New Adventure

So we checked out a new park a few weeks ago. It was actually called a "childrens garden" vs. a park, and it was a nice change of pace. It was more of an architectural landscape wonderland and the slide you see below was the only piece of "playground equipment" that was there and as you can see it was built into the rock which was pretty cool.

I wasn't sure what the kids would think at first but you put 2 kids in a new place that has rocks, sand, trails, tunnels, "a little town" and it equals nothing but adventure full of treasure fights an robberies...

These tunnels were their favorite part. There was a series of them all on a trail and once they realized that you could climb on top too it was quite fun. At one point they were playing with two other kids that were also on top of a tunnel and they were acting like they were on different pirate ships (and yes of course there were cannons and guns being shot back and forth).
There was alot of running and hiding and chasing (which equals tired children)

And then the other side of the park were all these little storefronts which made for great imagination games.

In this senario, Lucas was hiding in the coffee shop from the cop (the other boy...I forget his name) because he and Lilly had stole money from the bank. Lilly on the other hand had already been caught...

and was in jail.

It was a fun evening and brought a little more imagination and fun that your typical playground. We will definitely be going back...and next time I will take a book to entertain myself while the children, I mean pirates, pillage and plunder.

oh how they grow

Well, the group hasn't grown any since last year...(and actually dwindled in size for the picture op). Haven't been able to get the entire old Highschool girlfriends group together all at once this summer, but we are spreading out the love. Actually going to have a few girls here in August with no children which should be fun as well! Below are some fun pics from a few weekends ago when I got to see a friend who was in town from NJ and of course was hosted by the lovely Stephanie. Of course we always forget to actually get a picture of us...what's up with that?

four boys in the middle of three beautiful ladies.
i love the expressions in this one...my kids are such cheeseheads.

here is the one from last summer.

and here is the three of us from two years ago.

and here we were 14 years ago. ha! who would have ever thought?

Swing your heart out

Just some great summer swinging pics I thought I would share!

I sware if we had a swingset that is all these kids would do!

Wordless Wednesday- Check it out mom! I can carry Daddy on my shoulders!

Ummm...what was suppose to be a Throwback Neocon Post

Ok, so first of all I wanted to apologize that the last post was just a random picture of me. That was a mistake. It was suppose to be this post, but I only got one pic uploaded and thought I hit the save button when I must have hit the post button? Needless to say when I was up North at my friends house and saw a glimpse of my blog I was a little embarrassed.

Soooo....what the blog was suppose to be about was my Neocon trip to Chicago that happened over a month ago now. (I am soooo behind on blogging it isn't even funny). My Interior Design co-horts and favorite sales reps headed up to Chicago to the infamous Merchandise Mart to see all the latest and greatest that the furniture, carpet, wallcovering, fabric, lighting, and any other misc finish world has to offer. It was definitely less busy than in years past but that just made it easier to get around for us!

Neocon is essentially about seeing the latest and greatest, getting wined and dined by the best reps ever and enjoying a few "kid free nights" where you can get dolled up and hit the town is definitely a bonus!
The Mart itself is filled with fun photo ops- this one was a favorite...I mean how often can you sit inside a wood laminate "cave"?

And the pic you got to stare at for over a week. Sorry!

It is my new favorite self-portrait. And I did earn a new nickname "hotstuff" while we were there...which I guess has come from my "over-confidence" during Neocon. Recently I have been using a reverse psychology of sorts- where if you tell yourself (or other people) something over and over again then maybe it will actually be ingrained into your head as being true vs. what you really think of yourself? Not sure it is working and may come off snobbish at times? But I do feel better about myself lately (which is interesting considering the circumstances).

Yummmmmmmm...Strawberries!

So I took a little time off in the middle of June. I was going to be headed to NeoCon in Chicago for the yearly Interior Design TradeShow (another post) and I thought I might as well extend my fun week since work was slow and the weather for June was already beautiful. I headed up North to the old stomping grounds and caught up with my friend Steph, we stayed up late cranking out some Art which I then took to show to show an owner of a unique gift shop just down the road the next day (another post). Then met up with my girlfriends for Neocon in Chicago for a few days and then headed East to pick up the kids from Gram and Gramp's house. They had had a blast with daddy for a long weekend and then G&G for a day before I got there. And they were super excited to get to play again with cousins Noah and James for the day before we left. Amanda and I decided to head out for a little adventure with the older ones while baby James slept (don't worry, Grams stayed with him). So we headed down the road to a Strawberry patch . I think Amanda was a little unsure about the adventure at first, but it ended up being alot of fun.

The kids were great about finding strawberries, which we had to reiterate as only the bright red ones over and over. And then they wanted to show you each and everyone they found which was cute (at first).

They did a great job and it held their attention for about 20 min before they realized they could eat them, then I spent the next 10 min. convincing Lilly not to eat another one (as she shoved them in her mouth over and over).

We actually filled up the whole box before the kids started running around all crazy.

And now I think it is almost the season for Blueberry picking! Yummo!

And FYI, if you bring a few ziploc bags of strawberries back to show daddy don't step on them in the car (and therefore take them quickly out and set them on the shelf in the garage) and then accidentally leave them in there for two days in the midst of 90degree sauna-like weather because they will turn into two bags of mush. Sorry Tim! And sorry that we didn't get to enjoy the rest of our strawberries! :(

Cousin Catch Up

Well I have alot of blogging to catch up on since somehow the month of June got away from me. I will blame part of the reason on the fact that I actually took a little vaca in the middle (another blog), and the other part is just laziness. So, prepare for some catch up, some throw backs and some really great pics over the next week.
Starting with the most recent and working backwards...kinda...we have got in some good cousin time. This past weekend my little sis came down with my two nieces and we got to enjoy some girl time (+Lucas) which was really nice. I was actually up at their place the weekend before at the end of my "vaca", so two cousin weekends in a row had the kids pretty excited! Here are some pictures from our trips;

We did get to help Allie celebrate her 2nd birthday while she was here. Happy Birthday Allie!
I do wish I lived closer to my sisters so we could see eachother more often, the kids have such a great time together when we do see them. One night up North, Lilly, Allie and Hannah were all belting out songs and dancing while Lucas kept the beat on some bongos. It was oh too cute. Here are the naked (potty training) back up singers.

Then, this past weekend we really got the party started with a pancake breakfast and sprinkler park morning. The kids were sitting at the "bar" at the window so Tiff got some cute pics. cheese! I think this pic is funny bc Hannah is so adorable and Lucas is so Lucas. Bring on the pancakes!

Then we headed to the sprinkler park (my new favorite place so far this summer). Gotta love free hours of entertainment!

And then later we headed to Nana and Papaws for a little birthday celebration and grub. The kids has a blast on the swings that hang from their pergola. It was the joy of the evening! the two year olds and the four year olds (that suprisingly still fit in the baby swings) And nothing like a giant cookie and some icecream to end a great day. I guess the celebratory birthday month of June is officially over. Anybody still wanna party?

Happy Birthday to Me!

I celebrated my 31st birthday this past week, I know I know I TOTALLY don't look 31, but it is true. Haha. Here is a great pic of me in my younger days...(in homemade matching outfits of course!- you rock mom!)

This pic totallys shows off my personality...hehehe.

So my day started out with Tim bringing over my presents from the kids early so the kids and I could play for the day. Lucas picked out a pirate ship for me, and Lilly picked out a princess castle (they know just what I love).

we had alot of fun putting them all together...

the finished products!

(I also got some 3d sidewalk chalk, which we will have to check that out later today). The rest of the day was great. The weather was hot so we hit the sprinkler park with my friend Jamie and her kids combined with a picnic lunch (my fav), headed home for naps, joined Tim for dinner and then drinks with my favorite work girls. And then I even crashed a boys night out. All in all a perfect day. I think it will make my top 10 birthday list! Thanks for all the love via fb, calls, cards and support. I have the best family and friends ever!

Wordless Wednesday- Lucas: "MOM!! What is that?? Are those GIANT marshmellows??

Throwback Thursday- Some things don't change and some things do

So we live out in the country a bit and really don't have too many neighbors, one immediately to our north, one across the street that you really can't see due to trees and the neighbors to the south are quite a ways back off the road. Our closest neighbors own the 14acres that run behind our 1 acre and are nice enough to let us venture out on it. There is a mowed path that winds through them and if you take the path straight back from our house you will find 2 gorgeous horses that belong to our neighbors on the other side. We have already walked back there many times this year, even before the grass was green, but I found these pics from last summer and they are just too cute not to share.

Ahhh the days where children were content to sit in the wagon for more than 5 minutes...and Lucas wanted to "help" mommy pull. They seem so little in this picture.

The rest of these pictures below are infamous "Lucas portraits" if you could not tell....

Hmmm...could you tell he was sitting next to her in the wagon at this point?
EXTREME close up...I LOVE these self portraits!

There were about 20 of these shots at all different angles...but I thought one would be enough to share with you.

And here are our horses (ok, not ours but the closest we will come to calling any ours). Everytime we actually take something back for them to eat like an apple or carrot they are in the barn and everytime we don't they run up to the fence...maybe this summer we will be able to coordinate the two.

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Since I have had a little more time to myself than normal the last few months I have been venturing back in the trails just me and Wrigley for a little jog every now and then. Not exactly even jogging terrain but it is fun winding in and out of wide and narrow trails and trying to see the horses too. Last week just the white horse was out (without those blinder things on) and it was a very sunny day, so his bright white coat was just beaming in the sun. An absolutley GORGEOUS horse and I just couldn't help but stop and stare at him for awhile and for some reason he was staring back at me. I think God surrounds us with so much beauty each and everyday. I have been trying to stop and recoginize and appreciate the little things more often while at the same time giving credit to the one who created them. God is so good, even in the moments when we don't recognize it.