travels

Couple of busy weeks for us. As summer is quickly winding down and Zach starts school in a few weeks we are trying to make the most of the time we have left before heading to full time Kindergarten...First we spent a long weekend in Wisconsin with some of the Leys' cousins. We seem to only see each other every few years so we had a great time visiting with them and all the 2nd cousins had fun playing together.












Then we had just over 24 hours at home before my Mom, the boys and I headed up to Grand Rapids for a visit with some friends and my sister. We spent two days with Bradi and her two girls. We packed a lot in our time together, including a beautiful morning at Millennium Park as you can see here in these pictures. This is Raegan & Zach












Sydney, Zach & Cam eating numerous snacks of course.














Then we moved over to my Sisters for some time with her kids. We too had a great time together and enjoyed a visit to Fredrick Meijer Gardens. We also were able to watch my oldest niece perform at GR Christian's Summer production of Aristocats. She did a great job and it was fun to be able to be there to support her.



These are the few and only pictures I took of the kids together, Cam & Kiera at FM Gardens











Dirk, Dayna, Cam, Kiera & Zach

Our 4th in Wisconsin

We were up in Wisconsin for the 4th with Mark's whole family. We had a great time with his two brothers and our niece & nephew. We had some mixed weather, but we made the most of the time on the beach when the sun did warm things up, as well hitting the local parade & fireworks.














cousins
















family photo op at the fireworks


















Nana & Grandpa Leys



















Ahhhh, Camers

A SafetyTown Graduate!

Zach graduated from Naperville's Safety Town Camp today. He has been at camp all week, which is geared for kids going into Kindergarten & 1st grade. The information, facts and tips they learn will hopefully help save their lives if a situation where to arise. They teach about a range of safety issues: How to call 911, Animal safety, Bus safety, Water safety, Railroad safety, Personal safety, etc.... He has learned a ton and hopefully is a step closer to being ready for Kindergarten.







Zach with Mayor of Naperville, Mr. George Pradel. The Mayor originated Safety Town and was instrumental in making it what it is today.

finally summer!

Just as summer has finally arrived, so did our first summer cold, Zach woke up with a fever and cough yesterday. Perfect timing! So instead of hitting the pool on this almost 90 degree day, we made our own fun in the yard.

Oh well, the boys had a ton of fun!

week with the cousins

My sisters kids where here all week and we had a great week together. We packed in the activities like Arboretum, Shedd Aquarium, & swimming.

The highlight of the week was seeing Mary Poppins, downtown Chicago in the theater. It was absolutely fabulous and all the kids loved it. We borrowed the movie from the library ahead of time and watched it several times, so Zach could follow along with the story and was mesmerized by the live performance. Mary Poppins was also one of my favorite movies growing up so I too loved it!

The kids had a lot of fun together and we are thankful that they now live closer so we can have more opportunities like this.

















A visit to the Morton Arboretum
















Naperville's Band concert

first haircut

Cameron endured his first haircut yesterday. I loved his long golden locks but it was just turning into a shaggy mess. So now instead of a mop, he has a 'cool surfer haircut' or at least that's what the hairstylist called it.

Today I am still not so sure that I made the right decision to cut it off, as I feel it has aged him by a couple of years.

You be the judge.

















After (last night at our first Naperville Band Concert of the summer)

a week at Nana & Grandpa's in Wisconsin

My boys had a blast at Mark's parents house last week. Despite the chillier then normal weather, they made the most of their time and completed a jam packed schedule. They also took tons of pictures and sent them home on a cd for me to see. I had a hard time choosing which ones to post as they were all so good.
Thanks again for having them and taking such great care of them!! They are already looking forward to their next stay :-)










visit to the Marina to see the boats














taking in the view with Grandpa













a hike to the top of Parnell Tower


















lots of baking with Nana