Old Friends!

Even though life with kiddos keeps us busy, Erik and I do our best to stay up-to-date with old friends and see one other in person from time to time.  We had so much fun getting together with this great college crew.  20 years has gone by in an instant!  Already looking forward to the next "reunion."

Spring Baseball is Underway

Gavin is happy to see spring baseball season arrive!  He and his teammates went to a fun kick-off event at Roemer Park and games are now underway...

Gavin taking a turn as catcher

Tyler is also playing t-ball for the first time.  He has been on the sidelines for many of his older brother's games, so he's excited to finally have his turn!

Run, Tyler, run!

Easter 2017

What a lovely Easter!  We had a really fun weekend.  On Saturday, our street held an Easter egg hunt throughout a few front yards.  There was one hunt for the 5 and under crowd, and another for the 5-13ish crowd.  The Easter bunny made an appearance and we all enjoyed the beautiful weather and drinks/snacks outdoors.  Spring weather always brings the neighbors back outside and we love catching up and seeing everyone more regularly again!  Later on that day, we hard-boiled a dozen eggs and did some egg decorating.
On Easter Sunday, we attended mass at SFX early in the morning and then drove out to Clarendon Hills to spend the day with Grammy and Grandpa Brown and the Tiemans.  Grammy does a fun egg hunt throughout her yard, and all the cousins have a blast collecting eggs!  We stayed for a delicious Easter dinner and loved spending the day together.  We are extra mindful on this day of God's many blessings...Happy Easter!

Tyler practiced his bike-riding at Grammy & Grandpa's house!

Cassie: Father/Daughter Dance and the spring play!

Cassie and Erik had a great time at the annual SFX Father/Daughter dance!  They tore up the dance floor and had lots of fun with friends.  For the 2nd year in a row, they were crowned the King/Queen of the dance.  This is largely due to Erik's annual Axl Rose impression - somehow he's always given a mic before the end of the night (at this point the other dads request it, it's hilarious) and the DJ (who has the task of selecting the king/queen) is always so shocked that Erik ends up a clear winner for the crown.  Cassie's enthusiasm on the dance floor and skills as a hoola hooper are a big help too!  I told Erik he is not allowed to accept next year - he needs to let one of those other great dads doing an impressive limbo take the crown for once!  He agreed!  But seriously, he has a lot of fun with Cassie and it makes for a really memorable night for both of them.  So many laughs.  They are lucky to have each other (and we are all lucky to have them both!).

Cassie also played a minor role in the spring play at school, The Lion King.  She really enjoys the creativity of school plays and she loves to perform with her friends.  We always enjoy the performance and are proud of her confidence and great effort!

Spring Break 2017 in South Florida

What a wonderful trip we had to South Florida for spring break!  We enjoyed our relaxed, lazy days in Pompano Beach.  We built sandcastles, looked for shells, swam in the ocean and the pool, played card games, and had some great dinners at local spots.

At the airport - ready to go!

Sunrise...

Waiting for the boat to get to Cap's Place, one of our favorite local restaurants

I celebrated my 39th birthday on this trip, and my parents drove down from The Villages for the day and we loved spending time with them, too!  They brought a yummy cake and made us breakfast the next morning. We cherish the time with them!

We also went on some great daytime adventures throughout southern Florida.  We spent an afternoon at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, where they care for injured sea turtles in the rehab center, preparing them for re-release into the wild.  They have many other animals there too, so it's fun to tour the grounds and see them all up-close.  

We also went down to the southwest tip of mainland Florida and toured Everglades National Park.  As we walked the paths, we saw plenty of alligators (we spotted a juvenile alligator having some lunch, a fresh fish catch, just beneath the footbridge we were crossing), beautiful birds, snakes and fish.  We finally made our way down to the Flamingo Visitor Center where we went out on a boat into the Florida Bay, which separates the Everglades from the Florida Keys.  As we boarded the boat, Cassie asked about the potential for seeing any dolphins.  The captain told us they had not seen many lately, so we'd have to get very lucky.  Once we got going, he (jokingly) told Cassidy that if she could shriek in her highest voice, that might attract dolphins to the boat.  After a few of her best shrieks, we found ourselves next to a pod of dolphins!  Some might call it coincidence, but in Cassidy's own mind, she is now an official dolphin caller and has a new career path ahead.  We ended the day with dinner at the little dive restaurant on-site at the Flamingo Center, called The Buttonwood Cafe, where the most popular entree is the breaded alligator nuggets.  We gave them a try...mixed reviews.  (Kind of like dark chicken meat?  But a little greasier?!)  On our way back to Pompano Beach, we stopped at a giant fruit stand we had seen on our way down earlier that morning.  It was called "Robert is Here."  We'd never seen such a funny name for a fruit stand so we had to stop in.  We picked out a few strange fruits to take back to Pompano for the week....

A young gator eating his freshly-caught dinner! 

Dolphin-spotting!

Alligator nuggets - eek

Another fun day-trip we took was to the Miami Zoo.  We thought we'd be fighting spring break crowds, but for some reason it wasn't the least bit crowded.  One of the best parts of this zoo is all the hands-on opportunities they had.  They had a bird-feeding center, where the birds eat from the little seed cup in your hand and land on you (Erik loves this; I'm more ambivalent, ha).  Cassidy and Gavin loved feeding them; Tyler thought it was terrifying and dropped his seed cup as soon as they came fluttering towards him!  Later, Cassidy took part in a turtle feeding, handing the turtles all sorts of vegetables for their snack.  It was very sweet and a trip highlight for her.

The kids loved this slide that took them (literally) through the otter habitat!

After enduring winter in Chicago, it sure felt great to spend time in the warm sun.  We always look forward to returning!