The Cottage is Done

Fishing fun, a photo by tracyg00 on Flickr.

After a year and a half of construction - the cottage is ready for use! We headed up there to get it furnished before Darin's big golf outing and found some time to play. The kids love to fish. Jake is particularly fond of worms.



Geesh, he is such a boy. Here's one of my favorites. Jake and Dad, perfecting his cast:



And finally, my photo contest entry (not really) I call it Foggy Morning on Pleasant Lake:

Sports

Ready Stance, a photo by tracyg00 on Flickr.

I told the kids to choose their sport for the summer. Megan chose soccer and Jake chose t-ball (well, I probably chose it for him because he said he didn't want to play soccer). It worked out well because he really does like it and he has two friends on his team. And, he's pretty good. Check out his natural athleticism in his swing:



I also like that tongue sticking out while concentrating (a trait he gets from his dad):



And giving "5" to the best 3rd base coach:



Megan got onto a team with my friend's daughter, whom she had met and played with before. This is good for the shy kid who isn't very into "joining" activities. She's a natural athlete too. Just not as confident.



But, she does like her team!



I have tons of sports photos from this season (many of which are still on my camera). So be on the lookout for more posts with active pix!

Easter in Orlando

Easter Egg Hunt, a photo by tracyg00 on Flickr.

We went to sunny Orlando for spring break this year. We stayed at a Sheraton resort that was really close to the Disney theme parks. We arrived on Saturday evening. The Easter Bunny visited our room while we were sleeping and the kids got up for a fun little egg hunt. We then ventured over to the resort's big Easter Egg Hunt! They each filled up a bag of treats. Mimi and Papa drove up from West Palm Beach to join us. We headed to Epcot later that day. to meet the Cleavelands.



When we were near "Italy" at Epcot, Darin became part of the show. He didn't disappoint (he's always up for stuff like that).



After a bit to eat, we made all four kids take a quick photo together. Obviously, Jake was not into my little photo shoot!



I took Megan and Lili on the Test Track ride. Jake went earlier with Pierce and Darin (otherwise I would have had a photo of him, too). The line was really long, but we made it up to the front (looking just a little nervous):



This ride got going REALLY fast right out of the gate:



Even though she looks a little scared, Megan loved it and wanted to immediately go on again. If the line wasn't so long, I would have let her ride again and again!

We ended up staying at the park until the fireworks ended and then everyone slept well that night!

On Monday, Jimmy drove down to join us and brought along Michele and Dane (who got to ditch school that day). We went to the Magic Kindgdom.

Here's a pic of the kids waiting in line for the Pirates of the Carribean ride:



And the Jungle Boat ride:



We took a break to eat and I snuck in a photo of myself (hee hee):



And then one parting family shot on our way out of the park (note how exhausted Jake appears):



The Cleavelands were heading back to Chicago on Tuesday, so we took advantage of their awesome pool while they were still there:



We headed back to our resort for a quick rest and then headed to Downtown Disney to see Circque du Soleil. The show was great (a little long for Jake).



Then we walked around downtown for a bit and got some ice cream before calling it a night:





Now that's good stuff!

Mimi and Papa headed back to WPB on Wednesday, Darin played golf and the kids and I just hung out at the pool. It was actually nice to not have anything to do that day! I think Thursday was the same deal, but now I can't remember! On Friday, Darin took the kids to a character breakfast at Disney's Polynesian Resort.







Then, we drove to Daytona Beach to meet Jimmy, Michele and Dane (who got to ditch school AGAIN!) It was a little chilly with the wind, but the sun sure felt good!



I think Jake was just happy to have a boy to play with!



And Megan was just lounging and enjoying the day (my little beach bum!):



The Space Shuttle was supposed to have launched that afternoon and we would have been able to see it from Daytona Beach, but it was postponed. Boo!

We got back at around dinner time, and headed over to the pool restaurant. The kids played a bit and then we visited our lagoon one last time to bid farewell to Jake's Duck Buddy. He had been feeding these guys bread and one little duck followed him around each time we went out there. He wanted to bring it home. Some final feeding pics:







We headed home bright and early Saturday morning. The kids were great travelers!

Children's Museum

Potbelly Sandwich Makers, a photo by tracyg00 on Flickr.

Megan and Jake love going to the Children's Museum in Glenview. I took them there on one gloomy day and we stayed for over 3 hours. This was one of their favorite exhibits - The Potbelly Sandwich Shop. They "served" me at least a half dozen sandwiches that day.

Megan loves to do the face painting because they use these little wax crayons and can write on themselves with a mirror. She gave herself glasses and a mustache, but insisted on washing it off once I chuckled. I was able to get half of a photo before she wiped it off. Hilarious.

April updates?

Apparently I have issues with trying to update this thing in chronological order. Then, so much time goes by and it gets overwhelming and then I do nothing. Ugh. So, here goes:

Over the winter (beginning in Feb.), I coached a group of gals from the neighborhood for the Shamrock Shuffle 8k. They also raised quite a bit of money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - Chicago Chapter. Many of them had never run before, so it was quite an accomplishment for them to finish the 4.9 mile race. I'm happy to say, I still see some of them out running in the hood and pat myself on the back just a little bit for getting them there. I know they could have done it on their own, but a friendly push never hurt anyone!

We visited Jenny on her birthday - April 2nd. Megan liked this picture and wanted me to add it to the blog.



We had an impromptu playdate with the Swanson girls one nice afternoon. You'll notice that Jake is nowhere to be found in this photo. He is bummed that there are too many girls in our neighborhood. A couple of weeks ago, Megan was in Francesca's front yard with her and her friend, Ashley. They had water balloons and had invited Jake to come over and play too. He came home (almost crying) because "THERE ARE NO BOYS IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD". Poor guy.



Here's my token Easter Egg coloring photo: