Book Houses

I found Jake had made some book houses, and it brought back the sweetest memories of some of my other little ones doing exactly the same thing at just about the same age!

Chicago

Jason got to go on a boat cruise at work (I promise he doesn't just sight-see at work and we sure appreciate him!) It sure is a pretty town we live near!

That Grin

How can you resist? 

Reading!

Over the course of one weekend Logan reread The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, including two books not pictured here! I was amazed!

Ditch Day

Last year my parents came into town only for a few days, which happened to be school days, so I took the kids out of school one day and we went downtown. We had so much fun, and I honestly think part of the fun for my kids was that they got to miss school. So I decided to make ditch day a tradition! From now on, once a year on a day I pick, we skip school and do something fun. This year we decided to hit the aquarium again like last year. 

I love the big tank right in the front; it might be my favorite part of the whole place.

They have all these amazing creations of ocean life made from garbage-bottles, caps, hangers, whatever. They were so cool!

These fish were as big as Jake's head and he loved it!

These jellyfish were so pretty. It's hard to see but they looked like they had pearls all over their top parts.

Gift shops are fun, even when you don't by anything!

We had such a great day. Can't wait for next year!

Joy School

Jake and I are loving Joy School. He has a cute little group of friends he does it with: Andrew, Bridger and Lauren. It's going to be fun! Here we are making letters with our bodies.

Ella Enchanted

When Jason took Eli and Logan to the Father and Son Campout, Ali and I (and Jake) went to get ice cream and then watched the movie Ella Enchanted. I read the book to the kids once a long time ago, and as we watched the movie I kept saying how much I liked the book better than the movie. Ali said she couldn't really remember the book, so she took the rest of the weekend to fix that by reading it:) I love my book-loving girl!

Todd

Jason's brother Todd was in town for a day for work, so the two of them got to meet up for dinner-at Giordano's of course!

Go Carting

The kids asked to try go-carting for Family Fun day, repeatedly, so we decided to be the best parents ever and make that happen. Every time we drive by now, Jake says, "Thank you for the racing cars, Mommy." So worth it.