A visit to Chi-town

A few weeks ago, Richard and I took a trip to Chicago to celebrate our 11th Anniversary.  Richard went to Chicago several years ago for a conference, but I'd never been there.  He always talked about what a neat place it was to visit and I will say...it definitely lived up to Richards description.  We traveled with our friends, Katy and Jeff who were celebrating their 10th anniversary.  We were there 3 days and packed each of them full of super fun things.  We started out with a Segway tour of Chicago's main attractions.  I'd always wanted to ride and Segway and it was soooo much fun.  We looked like super dorky tourists, but had a blast!  We also got to catch a show at Second City (the comedy club/show where tons of Saturday Night Live stars got their starts.  It was a hilarious show!  One evening, we took a boat ride on Lake Michigan and saw the sun set over the city.  Gorgeous!  Probably my most favorite part of the trip was getting to go to a Cubs game.  I'm not a huge baseball fan, but this experience definitely made me a fan! We had so much fun watching the game and the Cubs and Redsoxs fans! :)
It was a wonderful trip for us, but we were ready to get home and see the kids.  I can't wait to take them to Chicago someday!

Growing Kids

A few weeks ago, I took the kids for their well-child checkups.  The doctor gave them the once over and everything was perfect.  Best part of all...NO SHOTS for either one of them!  Woohoo!!!
Harper (at 7 years old) is
52 inches tall (off the charts)
57 lbs. (95%)
Owen (at 3 years old) is
38 inches tall (75%...he has really gotten tall)
28 lbs. (10%)

Floatin' Down the River

At the beginning of June, we loaded up the kids and headed to the Illinois River with our friends.  Neither of us had ever floated the river and frankly I was skeptical.  I wasn't sure what kind of "boat" we would be floating in...I don't know what I had pictured.  Also, the only other "float trips" I have ever been on were whitewater rafting trips...so I was hoping that it wasn't quite that adventurous since it was the kids first time.  Everything turned out great!  We were in a large 10 person (really nice) raft and the river was about knee deep most of the way and was just a steady slow flow.  Wheww!
All of us had an absolute blast!  The water was chilly at first, but the day was so hot...it felt refreshing.  The current was just strong enough in some places that we could lay on our backs and float for a ways down the river.  So relaxing!  The kids jumped in and out of the raft, ate snacks and tons of fruit and loved every minute of our four hour adventure.  We will definitely have to float down the river again!

Softball Season Comes to an End!

Harper's softball season has come to an end...after many rainouts and rescheduled games, she finally had her last game.  She has finally started to really enjoy t-ball.  I think it was a little slow for her at first, but she really seems to love it now.  Our league is pretty competitive, but we still try to always stress the FUN of playing.  Most of the time the girls don't even know if we win or lose! (but we have won a good handful of games!)
Harper has improved on her hitting and definitely runs fast.  She loves scoring runs and cheering for her team from the dugout.  She told me that she likes to be catcher and first base...but she has made the most outs from third base and pitcher.  We have really enjoyed being with our teammates and their families. 
And during the last game...Harper hit a HOME RUN!!!  The ball went past second base and they other team almost tagged her at second, but she wasn't having any of that.  She dodged the ball, girl, and glove and ran for all she was worth...the girl on her heels the entire time.  She was so pumped when she made it home...and so were we!
A great end to a great season!

The Biggest Mall in the World!

...or so Harper said.  Over Memorial Day weekend, we went with my parents to Minneapolis for a visit to the Mall of America.  The last time we had been there was when Harper was just one, so there were lots of new and exciting things to do.  We did some shopping (of course), but got to do a ton of other fun things too.  Harper brought along McKenna, her American Girl doll, to get her hair fixed at the American Girl Salon.  She shopped around and got McKenna a new outfit and book set while were waiting to pick her up from her beauty appointment.

We also got to spend one evening riding the rides at the amusement park inside the mall.  I can't believe how many rides they have in there and how much fun we had.  Owen was so excited to ride the little train and carousel, but he was pumped when he saw the "little kids" roller coaster.  I think he must have ridden it 4-5 times in a row.  Harper took me on a ride that was a blast and I got so tickled on it that I couldn't stop laughing.  She then informed me that she was "braver" than me on that ride.  Richard and I sat out to ride one of the roller coasters and it was a thrill ride for sure.  Who would have thought a ride inside a mall could be that fun!

We had a really relaxing and fun time in Minnesota and can't wait to go back!