Thursday, May 31, 2018

May 2018

Here's what we've been up to during the month of May...5th grade girl slime parties, playtime at the park, visits with extended family, spring baseball, Irish dance, beach days, and a lovely piano recital from Cassie and Gavin, with accompaniment from Erik!
Cassie's latest hobby is making slime with friends (Mom's not a huge fan - so messy - but I'm trying to roll with it!)
A fun visit with Grammy, Grandpa, Jack and Charlie!

Cousins!
Lots of spring baseball...




Our first beach day of the season
Cassie completed another fun session of Irish dance
Gavin played the Star Wars theme by John Williams as well as "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."  



Cassidy played Wohlfahrt's "Waltz for Four Hands" as well as Mozart's "Theme from Don Giovanni"




A fun volleyball night at Gillson Beach with friends
Dusk at the lakefront - beautiful colors

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Celebrating Friends - Scottsdale for our 40ths

Back in 2000, as our college years wrapped up, my 3 best college friends/roommates/sorority sisters and I all promised to get back together as often as we could.  Of course we all went separate ways - took jobs after college, moved to different states, got married, started families.  Over the years we have gotten together more than a few times - sometimes just 2 or 3 of us, sometimes all!  With husbands and kids, we are now a group of 20!  But we have always maintained that when we all turn 40, we were determined to get just the 4 of us back together, just like the old times.  This past weekend, we did just that.  We all headed down to Scottsdale for a weekend of catching up!  It was amazing.  Of course the scenery was beautiful - warm sunshine in the scenic desert - but most of all I just cherished the time to catch up with each of my dear friends, without the interruption of sweet little ones that need naps, meals, bedtimes, etc.  We caught up over coffee, explored Old Town Scottsdale, did some fun shopping, had some amazing dinners, hiked up Camelback Mountain, walked through the cactus gardens, enjoyed a little spa time, and raised a glass or two to our wonderful friendship.  So grateful for these 3 lifelong friends.
Meeting up at O'Hare - Meg and I took the same flight down to Scottsdale.  Cheers!


So happy to see my crew!


Hiking Camelback Mountain



Gorgeous views!
Delicious dinner at El Chorro Lodge - loved the outdoor fireplace!
Shopping day!

We hitched a ride on this guy's mobile cart!

One of the many times we cracked ourselves up

Dinner at Elements Restaurant with a gorgeous view of the sunset.  And a hilarious Mario Lopez sighting!

The cactus garden onsite at our hotel, The Phoenician.  So pretty!

Time to say goodbye!