spring sports

Ky and Kade both decided to play sports that they hadn't played for several years this spring.  Also, the decided for the first time to play different sports, but at the same time.  Which made for a chaotic, crazy, fun spring!

 Ky played soccer, and although he hadn't played since he was 5, he played hard and had a good time.

 (Also, I need a different lens if I'm going to shoot sports photography--hint, hint ;) )

Kade decided to play baseball again this year, after two seasons off.  Watching him brought back tons of memories of all the games we watched when these two were younger and the years they played baseball.

 He spent a lot of time playing catcher, which he enjoyed.  It made my legs and back hurt just watching him.

It was definitely a character building year as both boys were on terrible teams that struggled the entire season.  Hopefully they still enjoyed themselves and learned from the experience.  It will be interesting to see if either of them decided to play soccer or baseball again in the future.

may highlights

Hurray for May!  Here are some funny things that happened in May:

 Crazy Hair Day!

 We took advantage of the downfall of Toys R Us, and their 70% clearance prices!

 We planted our first garden in the house (in planter boxes that Bart built!)

 Memorial Day fun!

 How does my 3 year old have this much hair??  

 And every time we are in Target, she has to style a new look for herself 

 We got to see Ky and Kade at school and see the posters they made about some of their favorite things

happy 15th anniversary to us!

Way back in May, Bart and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Chicago. We spent part of our Honeymoon in Chicago, so it was only fitting that we should go back 15 years later.  Here are some of the highlights of our trip:

We went on a really awesome architectural boat tour on the river.  It was so neat seeing all the awesome buildings and learning some of the history of Chicago.

We had to make a stop to see The Bean, of course.  We actually rented bikes and rode all around seeing some of the awesome sites of the city, and it ended up being a great way to be a tourist!

Just walking around the city is fun, especially when we were out walking around at night.  It was so quiet and felt totally different from the bustling city it is during the day!

We saw Blue Man Group, which honestly was a little disappointing.  Maybe it was because we saw a matinee filled with middle school field trip groups, but we left feeling a little let down.

We walked around Lincoln park, including the zoo, and seeing several statues of Lincoln himself.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was seeing Hamilton!  We were going to get tickets, and then we weren't, and then literally a few hours before the show, we decided we absolutely had to.  And I'm so glad we did.  It lived up to the hype!

The last day we were there, we went up into the Willis Tower and out onto the Skydeck on the 103rd floor, 1,353 feet up above the city!  It was AWESOME!

Bart was not as big of a fan as I was, and he definitely didn't approve of my jumping up and down out on the Skydeck platform :)

And of course, I had to post a picture of the delicious cupcakes we had at Molly's cupcakes, not once, but twice while we were there!

I can't believe we've been married for 15 years!  I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet!

mother's day 2018

 Here's another edition of my favorite mother's day present: photos with me and my kids together.  None of these pictures are perfect, but they represent real life with these awesome kiddos.

 I feel like my connection with each one of them is special and unique, and I have to work hard to see them all as very unique individuals who need me in different ways than their siblings do.

 Even though it can be challenging being a mom, and I often feel like I am failing at it, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  I guess failing is too harsh a term, but I do often feel like they are growing and changing faster than I can adapt my parenting style to meet their ever-changing needs.  I hope that no matter what, they always know that I love them more than anything, and that I always tried to be the best mom I could!

Arent' they all so cute?  I can't believe they are mine!

grandpa's new calf and building a garden

Way back in May, we took the kids to see grandpa's new calf.  The two younger kids simply love animals, so we knew it would be a super fun outing for them.  It did not disappoint!  

 Later that day, Krew was the best helper and helped daddy build garden boxes for our back yard.  It was sun watching them work together, and I envisioned all the different projects that Krew will someday help Bart with.

 I think maybe I have a future in livestock photography.  Ha ha!