Merry Christmas!

Make a free ecard - it's easy!

Kamryn's Family Day Project

Kevin was out of town on Kami's family day, so instead of going out for Chinese that night, I decided to go to the store and pick up the great American meal fixings for dinner; burgers and fries. Matthew needed a pin cushion and needles for his family applied science class aka home ec (can you believe he'll probably be able to sew better than his mom) so I went to the Walmart Superstore to get everything all at once. While there in the sewing aisle, we spotted Little Mermaid fleece. Kamryn still loves the Little Mermaid, even had on her Little Mermaid tshirt that day, so I decided to buy some and make her a blanket. It would be our afternoon project. It's been years since I've made one, but since it's no-sew, I figured I could do it. We spent the afternoon watching the Little Mermaid with the fleece on the family room floor while I cut the little strips. I just hope she doesn't think it's okay to take scissors to it again or any other blanket for that matter.

Make a slideshow!

Two Years Ago Today

Kamryn was handed to her mommy, held by her daddy, fed cherrios by her brothers . . . all for the first time and our family became complete.

Want to see a cute baby?

Kami's friend Grace from playgroup is going to be a big sister! You can check out her cute new mei-mei on the blog, Journey to Maddie. The link is listed on the right side of my blog.

Kamryn meets Santa

Today we went to a Christmas party hosted by our friends in the Fox Valley FCC group. We all had such a great time. Santa even came to the party, and it was the first time that Kamryn actually sat on his lap! Last year she was too afraid. She still seemed a little reserved, but she is really getting the idea of Santa this year. She is even singing a few lines of Jingle Bells.

Our friend Julie brought these great crafts today for the kids to do. They decorated little Chinese lanterns with modge podge and glitter. Even the boys enjoyed doing the craft. As soon as we came home from the party, Brendan put his on the tree. Kamryn was right behind him in doing the same thing. Do you see them?

Our first snow!

We got that first snow of the season so Kamryn and I bundled up to shovel the driveway Wednesday morning. She LOVES playing in the snow. I was busy shoveling, looked over at her, and there she was laying in the driving making snow angels. How does she remember doing that last winter? Of course I didn't have her snow suit on because I didn't have one for her yet . . . but now we have pink snow pants for her! Good thing because it's snowing again tonight!

Am I dreaming? Nope!

Again, at 2 am, I think I hear Kamryn crying. I get up, walk out my bedroom towards her room, and yes, there she is STANDING in her doorway with her blanket and bedroom light on! Oh my, please no climbing out during the night! She was looking for her pacifier, which we refer to as Nuk-E (I so have to get rid of this last one before she turns three, I just cut another one this week) Then she tells me she wants to eat. Honestly, I don't think I've seen Kamryn eat so much as she has in the last few days. After that bug, she's turned into this bottomless pit. I suspect she's going through a growth spurt. I recently started recognizing this pattern of her waking during the night (to eat) when she's growing. So beware moms of littler ones! Try to notice if your little one does the same thing.

So it's 2 am, we're both sitting criss cross applesauce on her bedroom floor having a cereal pow wow. She's picking up one honey smack at a time and putting them in her mouth. I decide I'm hungry too so I pick up three at a time and start eating with her. Then she starts picking up a huge handful and shoving them in her mouth. Oh my, and she's learned this from me. (although I didn't pick up a whole handful but what difference does it make) At least we'll get through the bowl faster and can get back to bed.

Nope. Now she wants music on and wants us to dance. So instead of putting up a fight and risking her waking Brendan who is sleeping in the next room, we dance and she twirls under my arm.

There is no way I am getting her back in her crib without a fight. She seems wide awake. Since my bed is empty (Kevin's out of town) we head into my room. I know this is a bad thing to start, especially because I know what it's like to have a toddler come in your room every night once they move into a big boy bed. (named Matt) But I need sleep . . . I stayed up until midnight again and need to get up at 6:30 to get Matt off for a field trip . . . and then I am watching Gavin in the morning too. I really need my energy:)

She finally drifts off happy and we are snuggled together in my bed. She's still there . . . snoozing . . . dreaming . . . honey smack stuck to her bottom and all.

The bug . . .

hit our house, well at least Kamryn, poor girl. I went in her room Thanksgiving morning and she was laying next to her crib slats and just said, "look" and pointed to yucky stuff you spit out when you have the flu. She was so calm and just laying there! We have never seen Kamryn with this kind of bug in the almost two years she's been with us. She was fine all Thanksgiving day except before bed when it happened again. When I went to bed, I prayed that if she needed me during the night and didn't cry, God would wake me up or the angels would come get me (something I pray a lot especially with only one good hearing ear and asthmatic boys. Since I can't hear out of my left ear, I usually sleep on my right side and it's oh so quiet;)

Well I woke up at 2 am, was wide awake and went to check on her. As I was bending down by her crib, she got sick. How weird is that timing? God answers even the littlest prayers in the middle of the night. Again, she really didn't cry, so I put her in the tub for a quick cleaning. Sweet girl kept getting sick for the next hour and a half and at one point said bad girl. I quickly reassured her that she was not bad but that she was sick and couldn't help it.

I'm still so amazed at her calmness through it all and wonder if she ever got the flu type of sick that first eleven months without us. Did she get sick in her crib in the orphanage or while she was living in foster care? It's a question that quickly crossed my mind last night. If so, I hope she was tended to quickly and that someone loved on her.

I'm sure God keeps a watch on all the little babies waiting for their mommas just as He watches our little ones in their beds just down the hallway. I'm so thankful for that and so honored to be Kamryn's mom. I feel lucky that I am her mom and the one able to give her that TLC when she's not feeling well.

Thanksgiving . . .

We had a great Thanksgiving Day with my parents and Aunt. They came over, and I had a chance to "find" some kitchen stuff. It's like playing hide and seek when you move into a new home, put things away and then have to find them again when you go to use them for the first time. Heck, it's been 11 months since I've seen some of this kitchen stuff. Pretty sad I know to say that I don't cook big meals enough to find the electric knife or the gravy boat, the big roasting pans and the butter dish more easily. All in all, we found things relatively easily, and we enjoyed a nice meal.

Here are 10 things I'm most thankful for this year:

1.) That our family has been healthy this year.
2.) That my friends with cancer (in the past) are doing great now and staying healthy.
3.) That Matt and Brendan are doing great in school and getting more comfortable in their new surroundings. Still praying that Brendan makes that one special friend.
4.) That we are living closer to our family and Kamryn is getting to know her cousins and aunts and uncles better and spend more time with her grandparents. We have even be able to see her grandparents living in Florida a few times this year!
5.) That Kevin's sister is now happily married:)
6.) That we've been able to stay in touch with our "Carmel" friends as much as we have.
7.) That we are able to reconnect with our "old" friends living here while making such great new friends too.
8.) That we have found a church that we will likely call home.
9.) That we found a church preschool for Kamryn to attend.
10) That we are working on improving Kamryn's speech, and I have heard her say I love you for the first time this year.

We got elfed!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9544039150

Funny things Kamryn says

Her new phrases include "five more minutes" when I tell her it's bedtime.

She's got a cold, and I wonder out loud, "hmm, maybe I should take you to the doctor." She says, "No, I'm fine, I'm fine." with a little shake of her head and one of her hands. Or I'll tell her to put on her coat, and she'll say that same thing, I'm fine, I'm fine.

What is it with all of my children not wanting to wear their coats?! It's the middle of November and the boys will still insist on wearing only a sweatshirt or light jacket to school. They are crazy! Kamryn will get in the van and take OFF her coat! I will not be standing in the cold putting it back on her when we get to our destination.

Another of her favorite sayings when I'm talking to her is "oh ri-i-i-ght" and she drags out the right. She can be ham sometimes, surely has a sense of humor. She'll still walk out of the room with a purse to pretend to go shopping and now she says "right back." Tonight Kamryn was playing with a tea set when I told her it was time to get on her pj's and she said "one sec" and kept on playing.

This picture was taken a couple of nights ago. I guess she figured if she could hide in the toy drawer, she could get out of going to bed.

Trying to figure out these kid friendly chopsticks!

















Hey, I think I have the hang of it! Makes eating my noodles more fun!

We got a new van!

Well, okay, we got it over a month ago, but it's still new, and I still don't know how to use all the wonderful new "features" it has. Pretty sad I know, but who has time to sit in their parked vehicle in the driveway with the manual?! I need to make the time though seriously because I am not using the van to it's fullest extent!

I think I can download my IPOD to the van's hard drive and even download pictures to the screen because I see a picture prompt when I'm pressing buttons. It has a navigation system which I don't know how to use. It also has 2 tv screens, one for the second row and one for the third row and supposedly can be showing different things at the same time; either satellite tv (Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, or Nick) or a movie.

It's the 2008 Chrysler Town and Country. The one that is advertised as family room or bedroom . . . one could practically live in it. It's very cool for a mini-van. Pretty high tech and definitely more than we need. But hey, we usually hang onto our cars for a very long time and drive them to the almost 100,000 mile mark. Plus, dear friends of ours (Hi Debbie & Bill) graciously offered us their employee discount voucher, so why not. That doesn't happen every day!

It will make road trips easier with the three kids, and I'm loving that the boys can watch something different from Kamryn if we ever figure it out. They all have headphones too so I don't have to listen to what they are listening too. There are times when I tell them no media at all so we can talk, and I usually get disgruntled noises in my ear . . . at first.

As often as we are in the van trying to get through traffic around here, it really is our "second home" and we are loving it!

Weekend trip to Indy

A few weekends ago we went to Indiana to visit friends. We're so lucky we can stay at friends' houses when we go down there. This time we invaded Carol & Rob! (thanks guys!) That's actually the first time Kamryn climbed out of the pack and play and when we got home, she figured she could climb out of her big crib too.

We lived in Carmel for four years and never did we take advantage of going to the Children's Museum's Haunted House so we did that this trip. The boys LOVED it! Kamryn was afraid of the hanging witch outside the haunted house and even though they have friendly hours, she didn't go in.

We were so glad the weather was pretty good that weekend so we were able to go to the park a couple times and meet friends there. It was a fun trip but like always, the weekends go too fast!

Kamryn sitting with our "pretend" doggy, Shadow.

Since the boys are both allergic to cats and dogs, this is the next best dog to have! It doesn't bark, it doesn't bite, it doesn't need food or need to go out in this cold weather!

She finally did it . . .

ugh . . . Kamryn climbed out of her crib!

(and will climb into any open spaces!)

The boys never did that. Figures, she would figure it out just like any monkey would;) She did it pretty gracefully I may add. I didn't hear a big thump at all. In fact she kinda shocked me because I was going to the laundry room (which is upstairs closest to her bedroom) and out she ran from Brendan's bedroom and cut me off! They share a jack-and-jill bathroom and the little stinker ran through the bathroom into Brendan's room instead of coming out her bedroom door. She showed us how she climbed out, and now life as I know it is now over. She hasn't been napping much anyway because if she does, she's up until 10 pm. Lately she's been falling asleep around 6:30 or 7 pm just for 45 minutes or so which is not good because then she up until midnight! This sweet little girl has so much energy! I've told her not to climb out again because if she gets hurt, we'll have to go back to the doctor for stitches. So far that's been working.

My friend Heather witnessed her energy when she babysat her one night (thanks Heather!) while Kevin & I went to my cousin's stepdaughter's Quinceanera. Heather said Kamryn was a good match for her son Josh but Hannah and Kaitlyn were tired and fell asleep at their normal bedtime. The Quinceanera was fun and quite an experience since we've never been to one before. It's nice to learn about other customs. Melanie, the 15 yr old, looked beautiful and the dances they performed were fun to watch.

Isn't Brendan sweet?

Last Friday Brendan came home from school with this stuffed Toucan. His teacher rewards the students with "dollars" for good things done in class and they all have a "checkbook" in which they record these dollars in. Friday they were able to buy something with their dollars and this is what Brendan bought FOR KAMRYN. He said he picked it out for her instead of buying a HOMEWORK PASS for himself. Wow! That was so thoughtful of him especially because it is like pulling teeth to get him to do his homework! Isn't he sweet? He has such a big heart and always thinks of others before himself. What a special boy!

(p.s. Kamryn has a cold, so excuse her runny nose and the mess on the floor behind them!)

16 Years Ago it was snowing . . .

and it was our wedding day! Who would have thought that it would snow on November 2nd? Since I love outdoor pictures, I still don't know why we chose a fall wedding. Probably because back then planning a wedding quickly was out of the question. We had 11 months to plan. It was a beautiful day, and all that planning paid off. Who would have guessed that night that in our future as husband and wife we would be blessed with 2 wonderful boys and travel half way across the world for our daughter? Or that we would live in five houses together, move out of state and move back? Marriage is an adventure! So happy to be sharing it with my best friend.

My Precious Panda and Scary Boys

The boys totally rejected any "funny" Halloween costume ideas and opted for scary again this year. Matt actually tried on a banana costume in the store but was so embarrassed by it that he was actually blushing until he got it off. Brendan's school had a Halloween parade and to tell you the truth, I've kinda missed them. In Indiana, the school's didn't do Halloween parades and the kids weren't allowed at all to wear their costumes to school. They did "fall parties" instead. So Kamryn and I braved the wind and somewhat cold weather to wait for Brendan's class (the last one) to come by in their costumes.

I've had Kamryn's costume for weeks since I ordered it on the internet. It is adorable, so soft and cuddly and of course very girly. She has not been interested in it at all so I was pleasantly surprised that she even put it on. (The costume included a pink tutu that she wouldn't put on, but that's okay.) Once Kamryn went around to a few houses and got candy, something clicked in her head. She wanted to continue trick or treating! It was cute to hear her say trick or treat and then thank you after getting candy. I went to a few houses with her, but since I am a wimp in the cold, we headed back home fairly early. My parents, aunt, and sister and her kids came over so I cooked up the adults a yummy treat . . . homemade chili with lots of vegetables that really could win a chili cook-off! (I can say that because it is so good, and I got the recipe online:) It was a fun day!

The boys are done with sports now

I just have to brag about the boys for a bit. They finished up their fall lacrosse season this past weekend, and they both played great. I am a tad surprised that Brendan is sticking with a sport, and I'm very happy about it. They both enjoy it!




This is Matt's room of course!




We recently had Brendan's bedroom painted. It was long overdue since Matt's room was painted in the spring. I had good intentions of doing Brendan's room this summer, but he chose such a dark color so I kept putting it off. Nothing, not even time, would change his mind. (stubborn boy;) So I finally caved and agreed to his color of Palm leaf (I think that was the name.) He wanted a Pirates of the Caribbean theme in his room and the comforter is this army/olive green and yellowish cream.

He has a pitched ceiling (I guess that's what you call it with the angled wall before the flat ceiling?) and again we didn't quite agree on where to stop the green . . . all the way up to the flat ceiling (which would be painted white) or at the first slant of the wall. When the painter came out to give me the estimate, I asked his opinion. His opinion was to do what Brendan wanted since it is his room in the house that is totally his. Hmm, that's true. Such words of wisdom from a grandfather and quite right.













The jack-and-jill bathroom separating Brendan and Kamryn's room was painted a tea light yellow color which I matched to Brendan's comforter. It is a nice yellow and will go nicely with whatever color we decide to paint Kamryn's room someday. I did buy a new fun "kid-friendly" shower curtain to go in the bathroom . . . a bunch of monkeys. Pretty appropriate for our little monkey taking baths in there, and well Brendan doesn't care much about the bathroom but I told him that pirates often come across monkeys when they go ashore;)

I have to admit, his room looks great! We rearranged the furniture and the room looks so much bigger. He was sitting on his bed with this happy grin and told me, "thanks mom, I appreciate this!" It was so nice to hear, but I felt a twinge of guilt for not doing it sooner. He never complained about his room not getting done, but boy he feels like a million bucks now because it is done and done exactly the way he wanted it. Now to just add the finishing touches like a window valance and a few cool decorations if he'll let me:)

This treat isn't helping their teeth

While shopping one day, I saw this Rice Krispie kit in the store and decided it might be fun for the kids to make. It was fun for them especially because it was messy. I didn't know if the boys were beyond this type of activity but they really got into it. I guess I need to get them more involved in the kitchen cooking real meals so they can impress the girls some day or heck just even make dinner once in a while to give me a break sometime! Now I'm dreaming. The kids had more fun making these funny faces, and Matt is the only one who ate it. The others got thrown out. (this took place after our Chinese dinner on our referral anniversary and they all were so due for baths/showers and clean hair! excuse them please:)

Matthew recently lost his last baby tooth. I didn't even realize he had one more in that mouth of his, but it cracked in half and he lost part of it in Indiana. So the other half finally fell out. He was planning on putting it under his pillow for the tooth fairy but he literally lost it somewhere in his room (oh great.) So he wrote this nice note for the tooth fairy which started something like this: (beware parents of small children)

Dear Tooth Fairy (aka mom),

blahblahblahblahblah - really he described how he lost it, but this was the funny part:

Since it is my last baby tooth, I am hoping to get more money than usual.

Oh my goodness, he is such a negotiator at the young age of 12!

So here our 12 year old is almost done getting all of his adult teeth while our 2.5 year old is still teething! Poor girl has been waking some nights crying, and after checking her mouth, I noticed that her 2 yr molars are just coming in.

It will be a long while I think before the tooth fairy makes deposits under her pillow.

It was 2 years ago today

that I was anxiously waiting for the most exciting Fedex package ever. Our daughter's picture was being delivered. When I saw the truck turn down our street, I turned into a screaming excited lunatic and nearly attacked the poor driver as he was coming up to the house. I took the time to explain to him why I was so excited and why I wanted to take his picture, then I went into the house and Kevin and I opened the package together. My body was literally shaking as we were soon to find out which child God had chosen for us. I remember this day like it was yesterday. Just like I remember the days when I found out I was pregnant with the boys, this day of getting our referral pictures was the same kind of exhilaration. We were no longer paper pregnant, but actually had a specific child waiting for us. I remember having friends over that night who shared our excitement. We were on cloud nine.



















Kamryn then















Kamryn now

Looking back at her paperwork, I notice that it stated that she was active and obstinate. Hmm, funny how I didn't pay attention to those characteristics then but keyed into the fact that she loved to play with dolls. They were really right on about her though.

Today we played with friends and tonight the family went out for Chinese. The waitress commented at the end of the meal, "She's very active." We chuckled, and said, "Oh yes, she is." She doesn't sit still at all. I remember while in China our guides making that same comment. I guess this is my payback for having such calm boys. She definitely spices things up.

Finding Nemo on Ice

Kamryn and I shared a girls afternoon on Saturday with my friend Kris and her daughter Sophie. We went to the United Center to see the Disney on Ice performance of Finding Nemo. The girls really enjoyed it. It was fun to see them ooh and ah over the skating fish. It really helped that Kamryn has seen this movie before so she knew the characters. I was really amazed at the costumes and all the props. They really know how to do it right.

Kris and I spared no expense for this outing. The girls came home with lots of Nemo stuff to help remember the day. They got the official program that came with a coloring book and shark hat, a professional picture of the two of them for the fridge, and a light up Nemo toy, even after we found out that was $20. Yikes, there was no turning back, the girls had to have them. Kamryn enjoyed a $4.00 little box of popcorn but at least she didn't whine much when I said no to the $10 bag of cotton candy! At the end of the day, she was happy enough to just carry her bag of loot.
















I tried to videotape a little bit, but it was too dark and it really didn't turn out that great. It is cute though to hear Kamryn saying, (yes talking!) "time for school, time for school" in the beginning of the performance when Nemo goes to school. It's cute to see her clap too. I'm learning how to download videos onto the blog so maybe I will try to get it on here sometime soon.

Speaking of school, she did great this morning getting out of the car! No tears, no scared look just happy and ready to play.

It was nice for the boys to have time with dad on Saturday. The three of them picked up Kris' two boys and they went to play laser tag and video games. When we got home to Kris' house, her son Steven was ready to go to the homecoming dance. We took some pictures and of course Kamryn had to get in a few. She just loves the attention from the boys! It's funny how she really smiles when she's in a picture with Steven and when I try to get her to smile for a picture, she doesn't really cooperate.

My little blessing started Little Blessings

Kamryn started going to a mom's day out program on Mondays at Little Blessings Preschool at a local church. The first day I walked her in, she cried horribly when I left. The second week she had a yucky nose so although we went to drop off snacks since we were on snack duty, she didn't stay. She did however reach for the teacher and wanted to be held by her that day for a minute. Yesterday I dropped her off via the car drop off line and when the woman came to the car to get her, she looked so so sad. She wanted to cry but she held it in. I felt so guilty for leaving her. When I picked her up, the ladies said she did great and on her little report card in her backpack was circled these three words: cheerful, content, vocal. Ha! I know about the vocal part! Even though she doesn't really talk words and sentences so much, she is always making noise of some sort, whether it's whining (most of the time lately), singing or just loud babble. Mondays from 9-1:30 is my little time for peace and quiet and my power hours to get things done. The guilt didn't last long on Monday . . . moms need "me" time too and as much as I love my little blessing, those four and half hours are a weekly treasured blessing too.

(see, she's still cheerful that night right before bed!)

Time to buy stuff like this?!

Kamryn went potty on the toilet tonight for the first time! You see, she likes to sit on the potty but she never does anything so this first is so exciting for me. If you want to be spared the details, stop reading. Otherwise, here's how it actually happened. She was playing in the tub and got that "oh no" look. I told her not to poop in the water (which she's done in the past) so she got out and sat on the potty. She sat there and sat there and sat there. Then there was that tinkle sound! I told her to be quiet so we could hear it, and she thought that was funny. Back in the tub she went and back out she came and sat down again and made more tinkle noises. Brendan was my witness the second time as he came in to see what all the hubbub was about. I know this is a long process, but we're on our way!

Hoping this works

Here's a music video of Steven Curtis Chapman singing "When Love Takes You In." It's a very touching song and especially popular in the adoption world.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=demRHgul2Zk

It's finally done!

I've been putting off cleaning out Kamryn's closet, but I'm proud to say the job is done! That's because I've been forced to clean it since the weather is starting to change:) When shopping for some back to school clothes for the boys, I found some slim little 2T jeans and khaki pants for Kamryn at Kohl's. It was a big accomplishment that made me very happy! (the Sonoma brand, in case you need little waists too) Since she's still such a peanut, it's hard to find pants that fit her little waist and are the right length. Luckily there are a lot of stores that sell pants with those adjustable waist bands too, gotta love them. All summer she's still been wearing 18 mos shorts. Clothes shopping for Kamryn is so much more fun than clothes shopping for the boys. I really don't have to buy too much for her though because lucky for us, she's got some cute stuff already in her closet thanks to our friends who give us great hand-me-downs. Maybe Kevin won't notice those cute black fashion boots I had to buy for Kamryn one day while shopping with Tina and Lilly or any other future purchase then because they'll just mix right in.

Last weekend, some college friends of ours (Tina & Ken) were in town from Massachusetts with their kiddos. (in the picture with Kamryn) They were able to squeeze in a visit with us, which we were glad for. It was the first time they met Kamryn and by the end of the visit, Kamryn was passing out hugs and kisses like she's known them forever. She is such a little lovey.

The boys have started playing Lacrosse again on Sunday afternoons. They are actually on the same team which is really nice for us. Kamryn has her own little stick and likes to pretend to play lacrosse outside with her brothers. More pictures soon . . .

Ivy Ling Arrived Today!

Ivy Ling is one of the newest dolls from American Girl. I've always wondered why they didn't have an Asian American Girl, so I'm glad they do now! Kamryn loves her bitty baby and hopefully she will love Ivy just as much when she is older. I was thinking of giving it to her for Christmas, but now I think I'll wait until she is old enough to understand the whole American Girl thing. Of course I had to order the Chinese New Year outfit too and Ivy's accessories which includes a Chinese coin.

Ivy Ling is the other new doll's best friend, who just happens to be named Julie. Kinda funny . . . Julie and Ivy Ling . . . Kamryn's surname in China was Ling. These are the 70's girls. It's funny to look at Julie's toys in the catalog and think wow, I remember that! Like the Barbie styling head or the tie dye record case which I swear I had the same one in pink, or the Brady Bunch poster.

I think I'm going to have more fun playing with Ivy than Kamryn some day. I may just have to get Julie at some point too.

Navy Pier Pictures from July

I wanted Kamryn to sit in front of a bunch of pretty flowers. This is what I got instead!















Brendan became a star as he was picked to accompany the funny man doing tricks. Brendan did great spinning the frisbee on his finger while twirling the rings.















My mom, Kamryn and I went on the Ferris Wheel while Kevin, Matt and Brendan played mini-golf.

Matt's first school dance!

Yikes! Can you believe it? He went to his first Jr. High dance on Friday night. I dropped him off alone, and he had no problem going in solo. He was meeting a friend there though. He also had his cell phone with so if his friend didn't show up, he could call me to come get him. I thought 12 was too young for a cell phone, but now I'm glad he has it. He actually called me at the end of the dance to see if I was in the car line for pick up:) I asked if he danced, and he said no, only the girls danced. He had a fun time! Do you remember your school dances? I do . . . and it was the same way, the girls danced and the guys stood against the wall.

Labor Day Weekend Fun

Our friends Carol & Rob and their 4 children came up from Indy last weekend to visit us. We sure kept busy, and we surely had fun. Matt was signed up for a babysitting clinic way before the visit was planned so we signed up Garrett too. Both Jr. High boys spent 7 hours on Saturday at this class while Carol and I took the rest of the gang apple picking.

The Chinese playgroup was meeting at the apple orchard so we joined them. It was a nice outing even if the kids were more into eating the apples rather than picking them. I know Brendan enjoyed eating the homemade apple cider donuts more than the apple picking. Actually, we all enjoyed those. I think it was the first time I've seen Kamryn eat an entire donut. Usually she just licks the chocolate off the top. Baby Logan was a dream as he just hung out with his mom. I think Vince enjoyed picking the apples the best although Lindsey and Kamryn had fun too.




Labor Day weekend is full of fun stuff to do around here so after the big boys came home, we headed to the River Walk in downtown Naperville. We hit the skate park first, and Carol was brave enough (or foolish enough!) to try it too. Garrett was so embarrassed that his mom wanted to skate, but I was impressed that she had guts to go out there with all those young boys! We brought bread to feed the ducks and then since the Last Fling was going on, we let the kids do one ride at the carnival.
At home we had some Chicago favorites for dinner; Italian beef sandwiches and real Chicago style pizza. Italian beef was something hard to find in Indiana. I did find it there finally at a Nancy's Pizza place. When I called deli's there looking for it, they had no idea what I was talking about. Carol told me that they are building a Dunkin Donuts in Carmel! We lived there for four years and that was something we always loved to get when we came back home because Carmel didn't have one. Now if only Chicago would get an Abuelos or a Paradise Bakery.


It was great to see the boys out in the backyard playing football and stuff with their friends. That's what they miss the most. We made sure to find a house here with a big backyard and it's mostly been empty. It means so much that our friends came up to see us. It was hard to say goodbye:( though. Already the kids are asking when are we going to see them next. If only school and sports didn't get in the way, our calendar would be more free for visits. We do hope to get down there soon though.