Thanksgiving 2018

We had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday!  We started out at Grammy and Grandpa Brown's house.  The kids always go on "nature-watch" out Grammy's back window, as she has bird feeders and a squirrel bungee cord.  They practiced their nature photography.  We also went to a new park near their house that has a zip line, that was a blast!  We watched some football, and I happened to catch a photo of the guys celebrating as the Bears beat the Lions.  A Bears win always makes for a better Thanksgiving!  Of course Grammy made a delicious turkey dinner that we all enjoyed.  The kids had fun with a cousin sleepover in the basement.  We are so grateful for family.

Go Bears!

A cousin sleepover in Grammy and Grandpa's basement!

The next day, we drove into downtown Chicago to meet our dear friends, The Vlachs, at Maggie Daley Park for some playtime, lunch, and ice skating.  Afterwards, we all took a leisurely walk past the famous State Street windows and over to the "Christkindl" Market.  It was crowded, but it was fun!  It was such a treat to catch up with longtime friends and their sweet kids.  We are so grateful that it worked out.  We love you, Vlachs!

Lastly, on Saturday we made our way down to Lafayette to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Hardings!  Tracy and Steve always make the most delicious Thanksgiving meal, and we are especially grateful that they don't mind doing it again just 2 days after the actual Thanksgiving.  We always love catching up with family and we had a wonderful time.

Next up, the Christmas season!

November 2018

We had some family photos taken this month, and despite the pretty sunshine, it was actually frigid outside!  We huddled in blankets in between shots and tossed coats off at the last minute.  But as the kids seem to be growing like weeds, I'm really glad we captured these family moments!

Speaking of cold weather, we had our first snowfall!  It's pretty, but I'm not sure I'm really ready for winter...

Erik and I took a weekend trip up to Kohler, WI.  We had one the kids' favorite schoolteachers stay home with them for the weekend.  Kohler is really beautiful and we enjoyed having a slower pace for a couple of days.  Lots of pretty walks, afternoon coffees, reading books by the fireplace and delicious dinners.  We'd love to go back sometime!

Gavin and some buddies got a real treat when they were invited to sit courtside at a Northwestern University basketball game.  They got a tour of the new Welsh-Ryan arena and more concessions than their tummies could hold.  The Wildcats got a win!  Although we stand firm as Illini fans in our house, we support our local NU teams whenever we can, too.  Gavin said it was one of the "best days ever."

Once again this year, as Thanksgiving approaches, our family took part in a large local philanthropic effort to prepare meals and provide winter clothes for a parish on Chicago's south side.  The gathering of items is handled throughout November, and then we all caravan down to the church on a particular Saturday morning and pass out pre-assembled meals to the crowds that are lined up to receive them.  I hope we can take part in this every year.  It's wonderful in so many ways.

Since we travel for Thanksgiving, we have started pulling out some Christmas decor the weekend prior.  This way, when we get home from the Thanksgiving car trip, we can roll right into the Christmas season.  The kids had fun starting with the manger!

Happy Halloween 2018

For Halloween this year, we had Cassie dressed as a yellow dragon named Cricket, who is a character from her current book series, Wings of Fire (who also must look very similar to a nerdy bee, since that's what most people guessed she was, ha), Gavin dressed as Todd Gurley II, a football player for the Los Angeles Rams, and Tyler dressed as a Star Wars clonetrooper.  They had fun at the daytime school parade, and of course made the most of trick-or-treating that evening.  We went together to the houses on our street, then the kids met up with friends in some nearby neighborhoods.  Luckily it wasn't too cold this year.  Happy Halloween!

October Happenings

October has been full of sports, activities, family outings and Halloween prep!  Here are some photos of the fun we've been having...

Cassidy continues to enjoy her fall sports seasons.  She has been running in cross country meets as well as playing volleyball for SFX.  She was very excited to get her first serve over the net during a game this week.  She worked hard on that and we are so proud of her!  Her sweet teammates rallied around her to celebrate and I happened to catch a photo.  Keep doing your best out there, Cassidy!

I was able to join Tyler's Kindergarten class for a field trip to the pumpkin patch!  We had a beautiful sunny day.  They taught us about pumpkins, corn, and farm animals.  We made our way through a corn maze and rode on a wagon.  It was great fun!

We took a family outing to Lego Land to see their Halloween exhibit.  We always have fun here!

Cassidy competed once again in a Halloween-themed Irish dance competition, known as a feis (pronounced "fesh").  She entered into 3 specific dance competitions.  She earned a 3rd place ribbon in a dance known as the reel.  Congrats, Cassie!

Gavin is having a blast with his fall house league baseball team.  They made it all the way to the final game in the playoffs.  We've had so much fun watching them play.  Great job, boys!

Time to carve pumpkins!  Each of the kids had their own ideas on what they wanted their pumpkins to look like.  Cassidy was going for a Lego character name Uni-kitty; Gavin wanted a scary face with toothpicks mixed in; Tyler opted for a traditional jack-o-lantern face.  As always, Dad lends a hand with the messy part.  Ha ha.

 

Chicago Botanic Garden hosts an annual jack-o-lantern festival that features the carving work of artists.  Its so impressive and neat to see their creations.  Some artists are carving on-site as you walk by.  These were a few of our favorites!

Tyler loves to help out in the kitchen and I always welcome his assistance.  With the temps turning cooler, we have made some warm pretzel bites and some pumpkin pie.  Good job Ty.

Tyler also loves to draw and work on his words and labeling.  We love seeing what he creates!

Lastly - a shot of the backyard...the pretty fall colors have arrived!