Memorial Day Weekend

We had a pretty quiet Memorial Weekend.  Shawn had to work so we couldn't go too far.  

Liv had a birthday party to go to...

So Shawn and I took the boys over to the new house.  They love to play on the big hill behind and find weird things the workers leave behind.  The house continues to progress and it's looking like we will be able to move in by the end of July.

Lots of playing outside...

We did a little furniture shopping in Chicago (note to self: furniture shopping with children is horrible)  

The kids decided to shove everything down the laundry shoot and get it jammed....again :(  That is the Bop-It game on top that you can see.

Ethan 11 year old pictures

Ethan decided this year that he was "not going to do birthday pictures".
While I decided that "it is not an option" :)

So, we kept it short and sweet and just took a few pictures.  We took these pictures on the trail behind our new house.  The photoshoot lasted about 5 minutes and Ethan complained the whole time, but we got it done!

Thursday

Thursday I spent the day at the Elementary School helping with "High Interest Day".  It is a fun day at school when the kids get to try out different actives and learn about different things.  People from the community come in and teach the kids. They get to choose from classes like fencing, cake making, yoga, painting and many more.  This year I was the group leader for Liv's class in the morning and then Cole's class in the afternoon.  I didn't get to spend time with Ethan, but he was busy having fun with his friends and had a great day also.

Liv started out in the morning with a presentation by the Schlitz Aubudon.  It's a big nature center and they brought in many of their animals for the kids to learn about.  The favorite was the Eagle.  

After this we went to a Karate class and then went to an Orchestra class.  The kids then had a large picnic with the whole school for lunch.  

Then I went with Cole to a Bubleology class.  It was actually really fun getting to make large bubbles in different shapes.  At the end of the day all the kids attended a crime scene investigation presentation and had to figure out who committed the crime by detective work.  It was a great day and the kids all had fun.

After school we spent the evening at Cole's soccer practice.  It was a beautiful night!

Liv's 7 year-old pictures

Finally got Liv's pictures done.  Here are a few of my favorites.  Ethan's coming soon (hopefully....)

The Weekend

Friday after school I took Ethan and a few friends to Sky Zone for a few hours.  The boys spent most of their time playing dodgeball.

And a little basketball.

Liv spent her time with me doing this...

Saturday morning was Liv's Spring Expo for gymnastics.  Shawn and the boys came also, but had to leave before Liv even got to perform because Cole had a soccer game.

But, I recorded it so everyone could see it :)

I stayed and took Liv home form the Expo, while Shawn and the boys went to the game.  We all met back at home for lunch and then headed out for Ethan's soccer game.  Both soccer teams lost, but Liv kept entertained making dandelion chains.

Liv made me a bracelet.  It says BFF MOM.  

We ended the weekend with our first broken window thanks to a ball.  Honestly, I am surprised we have gotten by this long without anything broken.  While playing catch in the backyard the boys broke our basement window and now get to spend all their money buying a new window!!

Lately...

Ethan went to the doctor this week for his 11 year old immunizations.  This was how he felt about that....

The boys have been riding their bikes lately to soccer practice.

Liv and I like to go on hikes during the boys practices.

The boys are spending hours outside everyday playing catch.

Love Cole's face in his team soccer pictures this year :)

Liv wrote a note requesting a later bedtime.  She really does have a hard time going to sleep and so this was her attempt to stay up later.

The house is moving along great.  The painters started this week and the masons also are getting the exterior stone started today.  We are about 6 weeks out from being done :)

Back from camp

After Ethan came home from camp Friday night he was exhausted.  Seriously, we tried to sing Happy Birthday and eat his cake and this is what he looked like...

Almost immediately after this picture he walked up to his room and fell asleep for 4 hours.  Ethan hasn't napped since he was two years old, so this was his first nap for a long time.  He said he didn't sleep well because the chaperone's snored :)  Ethan got to go fishing, canoeing, archery, a night hike, treasure hunt and a large bonfire with smores.  They played a lot of games, ate good food and had a lot of fun.  Ethan had a great time and said he would definitely do it again. 

We also did Ethan's traditional birthday piñata this weekend.  

Missing Ethan

Here is a picture of Ethan as he got ready to leave for camp.  He was excited and nervous.  On a side note, can you see Cole's hair in this picture.  He calls it the "ColeHawk".

While I am sitting her missing him, I thought I should post his 11year old Birthday Video.

Also, a fun video and a few pictures that I found while looking through old files.