St. Patrick's Day 2017

As Cassidy continues to enjoy her Irish dancing classes year after year, the month of March continues to be extra busy and festive for our family!  This year, we enjoyed her various performances with her group.  They performed at a nursing home, which the residents thoroughly enjoyed; at the school-wide party in the gymnasium; they also had a performance this year at Michigan Shores Club. We love watching her do something she enjoys so much and we love her confidence to get up there on stage and perform!  We also marched in the annual St. Patty's Day Parade through downtown Chicago.  It was very sunny but also extremely cold - the dancers kept coats and hats on until the very last second.  Once the parade starts to go, they need to be in uniform and dancing as they march in front of their dance school's float.  The families all follow behind the float.  No matter the weather, there is always a giant rowdy crowd of Chicagoans lining the streets.  We really enjoy going with her!

Gavin Turns 8!

We had fun celebrating with our birthday boy!  He has a handful of school buddies that also have March birthdays, so this year we decided to get them all together with the rest of the boys in the class and have 1 big party!  We went to Funtopia, which is a big indoor climbing wall center.  They had a blast!  We also celebrated with family when Grammy and Grandpa Brown and the Tieman family came over for dinner and cake.  We love Gavin so much and are so thankful for the day he was born!

Opening a gift that came in the mail...

Celebrating with his March birthday buddies at Funtopia

Ready to party!

Celebrating with Mom, Dad, Cassidy and Gavin

A baseball helmet was high on the wishlist! 

Celebrating with cousins!

We were so happy to celebrate with Grammy & Grandpa!

Gavin's Dino Project

In grade 2, students are asked to study a specific type of dinosaur.  The must research facts, put together a little presentation and create a diorama.  Gavin got pretty lucky with his selection of T-Rex.  Both of my older kids really loved dinosaurs when they were little (especially Cassidy!) so we have a pretty solid collection of dino toys and figurines in the basement.  We had a ferocious-looking T-Rex on hand for Gavin's project, and he already knew a few things about this dino, so it was not too tough for him to pull it all together.  Tyler and I had fun attending the grade 2 dinosaur open house, where we visit the classroom and listen to the students present as we tour the dioramas.  Nice work, Gavin!

Keeping busy with winter sports

We've been spending time at the ice skating rink and also at the basketball court! The kids are all taking ice skating lessons to get more comfortable on the ice. On the weekends, we often go to the rink during open skate to practice and have some fun. Also, Gavin is playing winter basketball, so we've been enjoying watching his games each weekend. Tyler is taking an indoor soccer class and loving it! Lastly, at the end of February, Erik and I enjoyed attending SFX's annual fundraising event, Showcase.  This year it was a more casual theme - country western!  We put on our flannel shirts, got our hands on some cowboy boots and had a blast!

Grammy came to watch a game!

Giving it a go as cowboy, cowgirl!

A gorgeous winter sunset out the back window, just had to share!

February Fun!

We had some fun outings this month. We had a few school holidays, so we decided to make the most of the time off.  First, we met up with Don and Jack at Maggie Daley Park in Chicago. It's a giant outdoor park and playground that the kids really love! Next to that is Chicago's skating ribbon. We had fun ice skating, but had to dodge the puddles of melting ice!  The weather was gorgeous, no complaints - but just so strange to feel such warm temps in the middle of February. Afterwards, we went over to the old Sears Tower - now called Willis Tower, but that still sounds strange to Erik and me - and made our way to the skydeck at the top.  It's 108 floors up - what a view!  Later this month, we drove up to Blue Harbor in WI to spend a weekend at the water park/arcade.  The kids have come to really look forward to this annual trip now that we've done it a couple times.  It's a fun change of pace in the heart of winter. Looking forward to spring heading our way soon!

Welcome, 2017!

We are ready to bring on a new year!  We are hopeful for all that 2017 will bring and are looking forward to some fun family adventures.  Happy New Year!