Virginia reunion

Last weekend we were able to have a mini Virginia reunion.  Our friends, the Goodes, are moving from Buffalo, NY, to Reno, NV, and Chicago just happens to be a good stopping point on the way.  When we made plans for them to stop we knew we had to get the Wilsons, who live in Minneapolis, to join the fun.  Chicago is always a great meeting place!  So we planned it out and made it happen.  The Wilsons arrived on Friday afternoon.  I was amazed how quickly our kids warmed up to each other.

 We ordered some Chicago-style pizza and went to a nearby park to enjoy.

 After we ate, the kids had lots of fun at the park and got nice and sandy too!

 The poor Goodes arrived in the middle of the night, but they were up and ready to play the next morning.  We wasted no time doing just that -- heading to Pirates Cove.

It was so fun to see these 3 together again.  I witnessed each of their first birthdays.  I can't believe they're all baptized 8-year-olds now!  Ahhh!

Pretty fun to have these 3 together too :)

This was the first time Caleb was big enough for all the rides.  He LOVED being like the big kids!

Quite the crew.

The paddle boats are always so fun and I'm always jealous of the staff that gets to wade around in the water!

We had so much fun racing down the slides.

Even the parents got involved.

This picture is kind of my favorite!

(too bad Dillon isn't in that third lane)

These 3 were so adorable together!

Caleb loved riding the train.  He kept begging us to go back to it.

And who doesn't love a good carousel ride?

I was really proud of Dillon when he decided to try out the climbing wall.

He did a pretty good job and got better each time he tried.

He and Katie were pretty good buds throughout the weekend.

So were these two.  Wesley and Laura were like a little boyfriend and girlfriend, holding hands everywhere they went and always looking to make sure the other was nice and close!

They like the same kind of silly!

We got the big kids in our car on the way back to our house -- so fun.  They're all such readers!

We had a little quiet time and then put together some dinner for all 16 of us!  I kept thinking about the Duggars all weekend.  How do they feed so many mouths all the time??!  We decided the best way to clean up after the kids is to just let them eat outside.  So they had a nice little picnic on the deck.

With all the pics of the kids I made sure to get one of the parents.  We were there too!

Ice cream cones for dessert!  And we stayed out long enough to catch a few fireflies.  It was the perfect summer evening!

 The next morning we ate waffles, got ready, and headed to church.  They all left from there to get back on the road.  It was such a great weekend!  Thanks for making the drive Wilsons and Goodes!  We miss you already!

p.s. I just have to say how blessed I've been to have wonderful friends wherever we've been.  I count it among my greatest blessings!

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

We had so much fun with 2 sets of grandparents in 1 weekend.  It was heaven for the boys!

 There was lots of tickle time!

We also made time for the zoo,

 

 an architectural cruise through Chicago,

 some early birthday presents,

and a trip to Catigny.

 The boys loved playing on the tanks.  We were super surprised and a little scared when Caleb made his way to the top!

 One of my favorite things about Wesley is his ability to jump 100% into character!

Love that kid!

 

To both sets of grandparents, thanks so much for coming!  We love you and loved showing you our world!

Baptism Day

One June 15th, this awesome boy was baptized.

 It was such a wonderful day!

 Seeing my two boys in white was a sweet experience for me.  The program was beautiful.  All 4 of Dillon's grandparents participated.  The highlight for me was when Aaron and I got to sing with our newly baptized boy. It was so sweet hearing him sing ," Now I am here in a beautiful place, learning the teachings of Jesus."

 Afterward, friends and family joined us for lunch.

 I have been blessed with the best friends and neighbors!

 We grabbed a few family pictures on our special day.

 I'm so grateful all the grandparents made the sacrifice to come be a part of the baptism.  Stay tuned for some of the other fun we had with them while they were in town.

Most of all, I am so proud of my first born son, Dillon, for choosing to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It's been a sweet process as we've helped prepare him for this day.  I love you Dillon!