Happy 4th of July-belated!

Where to start~

We have had a busy post-Orientation life! Lots of fun.

The weekend I was done Uncle D and his brother treated his Dad to a weekend up north. It sounds like they had a great time (cars, good food, and no women=). I headed to Pickle Lake with the kids. We also had a blast with tons of swimming and fun-in-the-sun. I amazed my family when I allowed CBW to ride behind a pontoon in a tube. She was with Olivia and had a life jacket on but I won't pretend I wasn't nervous every moment of the ride. However I was so impressed by her bravery (which is rare for her) I couldn't say no. Gregg promised to drive very slow and we had two life guards on board (me being one of them) so I just hoped it would all be good. My Mom couldn't even watch which is funny because I don't remember her being that nervous when I was a kid. I was always the brave one compared to my cousin Teresa and sister. Now I'm a neurotic Mom. It sucks!

On the 4th of July we headed to our town festival. For the third year in a row...with Ty! CBW and Ty loved hitting their fun blow-up toys. CAW had fun although the heat did get to him. However he hopped right on the train for his ride...which also shocked me since we had to talk CBW into it last year.

From Thursday-Sunday the kids headed north to Pickle Lake and Uncle D and I headed south to Chicago! We had a great time. We spent a night with Liza, a night in the city (see our hotel above), and a night with Kevin. We had such fun and enjoyed our time minus kids! We had our favorite Gino's pizza (the best in Chicago), shopped Michigan Avenue, took a boat ride, etc., etc.

It felt so good to get away from work and parenthood. I loved seeing Liza and Kevin (and their partners!) They are two of my favorite students from all of my years and it is so fun for me to see all they are doing. They are both amazing teachers (which is the most important job in the world!) I couldn't be prouder=) We had a lot of laughing. Uncle D even enjoyed some beers and we had lots of sleep.

BTW-Kevin says I don't write enough and post too many photos. Maybe he'll change his mind now that he is finally in a photo!

The kids were delivered on Sunday night (clean clothes and all). It seems they had a ton of fun but I don't kid myself to know how much work it is to travel with them and keep them safe. We very much appreciate it.

Uncle D has his interview on Thursday. We are all a bit nervous/stressed and will be super excited when it is finally done! I think we were able to forget about it while in Chicago so that made the trip even more timely.