4th of July Week-end

The Wissinks came to spend the 4th of July week-end with us.  It was a beautiful week-end and we had a great time. They arrived on Thursday, and Jeremiah had  Wirth Park Pool on his agenda for Friday.  He wanted his Daddy to see what a cool place it is.  So we packed a picnic lunch and spent some time at Tot Lot first for some playground fun.  And then we headed for the pool, and they all had a great time! (no  pool pictures this time, though)

Jeremiah loves to help Grandpa with any yard work he might have. And sometimes they just do some snipping even when it's not really necessary. And it's always a good idea to wear Grandma's gardening gloves.

That evening Adam and Rachel took advantage of the free babysitting and went out for dinner.  We had Papa Murphy's Pizza at home with Jeremiah.  We had ordered a pizza with sausage on just half of it, because Jeremiah said he didn't like sausage.  Well---he took one look at that pizza and he changed his mind!  And now he loves sausage pizza!!

Saturday was the 4th of July, and in Brookfield that means PARADE!!  It's not a huge parade or anything, but people put out their blankets and lawn chairs along the parade route the night before.  We've always sort of poked fun of that, but this year we joined in that craziness.  Adam and Rachel staked out a spot when they went out for dinner Friday evening. We wanted  to be sure that we'd have a good spot for watching the parade with the kids--and you have to be right on the curb in order to get the candy that they throw out. :)

Ready for the parade!

  Not only candy--tennis balls!

And what is the 4th of July without fireworks?  We went to watch the Elm Grove fireworks and met the Brassers there.  We watched from a school, so there was even a playground for Jeremiah while we waited for the fireworks to begin. 

                                           Showing off his glow sticks

Jeremiah thought that the 4th of July activities in Brookfield were---GREAT!! He is a fun kid to do these things with, because he gets so excited about everything. The fireworks were beautiful and LOUD and I think he sat on the blanket and clapped his hands through the whole thing.  Hope, on the other hand, fell asleep and slept right through all the bangs and booms! 

Grandpa and Hope relaxing on the porch

On Sunday, the 5th, we had to head down to Chicago to pick up Matt at Midway airport.  He was coming for his 2-week class at Calvin.  So we left before the Wissinks did, and then we all met over at Roger and Sheryl's house.  We had a nice lunch there with Ben, Nate's family, and Adam's family. The only ones missing from this family gathering were Aaron's family,  Abby and Neil, and Cheryl and the kids.  Somehow I didn't get any pictures of all the cute cousins playing together.  This is the only picture that I took that day. 

Hope getting re-acquainted with Uncle Matt

Summer Visitors

Since summer is rapidly drawing to a close, I think I'd better finish up my summer blog posts. And since my bad foot is keeping me from doing all the stuff around the house that I SHOULD be doing, I'll take advantage of the time and do some blogging.

Just the week after our time at the lake, Rachel and the kids came for a few days while Adam had to be out of town for work. We found some fun things to do. The pool at Wirth Park was a big hit with both Jeremiah and Hope!

                                          Jeremiah loved the sand area.

Sand and water--a great combination!

We also went to Mayfair Mall to see a big Lego exhibit that was there at the time. All the major buildings from Washington DC were made out of Legos, and it was pretty impressive to see. 

Miller Park made out of Legos

(not part of the official traveling exhibit)

There was a place where kids could build their own Lego vehicles. We saved this part for last, and Jeremiah couldn't wait to get there!

                                             A test run down the track

Jeremiah also had fun playing in the sprinkler.

                                           Bath time in the pink bath tub

Hope's morning hairdo :)

Getting all prettied up!

Hope's favorite spot--under the coffee table!

Watching Grandpa mow the lawn--this may

have been the highlight for Jeremiah. :)

No summer visit would be complete 

without a stop at Kopps!

Summer 2015---Lake House, Part 6

Our time went by all too fast, and before we knew it, Friday had arrived and it was time to pack up and leave.  A family vacation would not be complete without some of Grandpa's pancakes, so we got that in yet on Friday.

The pancake master...

....and his apprentice

I think we all lingered over breakfast,

hoping to delay the inevitable.

One last pic of G'ma and G'pa with the grandkids.

(I don't know why we always wait until the last day to do this.)

Saying good-bye  :(

Ben left in the morning, Abby and Neil didn't leave because they were going to be there with friends for the week-end.  The rest of us left after lunch and went to a hotel near Midway airport.  So we had some time together at the hotel and dinner at Portillo's.  Matt and Cheryl had an early flight the next morning out of Midway, and after breakfast at the hotel the Wissinks left for Michigan and we headed to Wisconsin.

Watching some TV--we also had popcorn!

A sad good-bye hug  :(  :(

A fist bump for the guys

And to close out my final installment, here are a few pictures of the beautiful place where we were blessed to spend our family vacation. 

It was an absolutely wonderful week!!!  There is nothing better than having the whole family together!!!

Summer 2015---Lake House, Part 5

This post is just going to be a bunch or random pictures---mostly of the kids---of what was going on when we weren't out by the lake or on the boat, etc.  There was lots of game-playing and lots of time spent playing with Hope. (The quality of some of these pictures is not great--sometimes due to the photographer and sometimes due to children who move quickly.)

Evan and I were the early risers of the group. Most days I was the first one up, and Evan would join me quite soon.  But one morning I got up and he was just sitting by himself in the living room. So he had some quality time with Grandma....

...and sometimes with Grandpa.

 Aunt Abby is reading the directions.

Looks like they figured it out.

Hope learned to crawl while we were at the lake house, and she could not have had a more enthusiastic audience for this achievement!!

                                              A little enticement helps,

like a cell phone...

...or a water bottle.

Silly kids with slinkies

I have no idea why all the pictures are centered except for that one. It happened when I was doing some editing, and I could not figure out how to get it back in position.  Oh, well.....