No more slacking.....

Jake on the beach at sunset
Dolphin show at Brookfield Zoo
Jake's last soccer game
Gardening with Grandma Young
Catching a fish at scout camp

For whatever reasons ( Jay graduating, us moving, settling in, new callings, etc..) I have put off updating our blog. So today, on this momentous occasion (10-10-10) I have decided to post again! As I have already said, we have been busy so I think I'll just post some pictures to show what we have been up to the last few months.

The latest happenings

Jake's baptism was great! We had lots of family and friends come for the special event. The talks were fantastic and the spirit was strong!



Medieval Times was AWESOME! The kids were mesmerized with the horses and sword fighting. They gave us crowns when we walked in the door that signified what color knight we should cheer for. We were cheering on the blue knight. The food was pretty good and way more then we could eat. I would definitely go again!



Jake and Jay were able to go to a Chicago Steel hockey game with the Scouts. The Steel won against the Ice by one point. Jake's scout ticket included a hot dog, a drink, a patch and three shots on the ice with the team after the game. They had a great time!

Birthday Boy

Today is Jake's 8th birthday! We celebrated his birthday yesterday by having a party with his friends. We had a castle/knight theme and six boys came to sword fight and prove themselves worthy of the rank of knight. Jay organized and ran the activities and I made the cake, took pictures and played with Olivia. Olivia was excited about the party and can't wait until it's her turn for a birthday! Overall, it was a fun time and Jake loved hanging out with his friends! Jake is a sweet boy who loves being active and creative. We love him very much and wish him a very happy birthday!

Snowshoeing

Jake and Jason didn't have school today so we decided to make the most of a snowy day and go snowshoeing. This is our first time and the kids thought it was pretty fun. Olivia only lasted about an hour but Jake and Jason kept going for a couple of hours.

pirate/ spider-girl

Olivia really wanted to put on this spider-man costume and then she started doing these poses... I had to take pictures!

Disney on Ice

What a fun time! The kids loved seeing all the Disney characters playing and having fun. Jay and I also had fun and were surprised at how much we enjoyed ourselves! I would definitely do it again!

Christmas in Indiana

We were able to go back to Indiana and visit all the family for Christmas. We had a great time catching up on everyone's busy lives and just having fun with brothers, sisters, moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas and cousins. We baked cookies (to add to the mounds that grandma Gibson already made) and frosted them with the little girls and the boys played in the snow either sledding and snowboarding down the little hill behind grandma Gibson's house or being pulled on a sled behind the 4-wheeler. Aunt Leslie had a tea party with the girls and Uncles Adam and Joe played with the kids as much as they could. We all enjoyed good talks and lots of laughs with everyone. It really was a great time!

Snow Fort

Jay and the kids had fun making a snow fort over the weekend. We had wet snow that is great for packing although not a lot as you can see from all the dirt and leaves in the walls.

Making Cookies & Going Sledding

Sledding is always the best thing to do in the snow. The first real snow we had was last Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, Jake didn't have school (teacher in-service) so as soon as Jay got home, we went sledding. We only stayed outside for about an hour (it was 4 degrees) and then we came home and had hot chocolate and played games.

Last week the kids and I made candy cane cookies. They loved rolling the dough and twisting the colors to make the candy cane shape. They were so proud of themselves when the cookies were finished baking that they ate several as soon as they could!

Star Wars

Right before Thanksgiving there was a star wars extravaganza at our public library and Jake couldn't wait to go. He wanted to wear his storm trooper costume so bad! He loved posing with the "actors" for this picture.

Gibson Family Pictures

We went back to Indiana last weekend for the funeral of Jason's grandpa Gibson and as it happened, all the family was able to come in to town for the event. It was a sad occasion but it was great to see everyone. We got some pictures of the gang before we all had to leave again.

A visit to Grandma's house

We went to grandma's house a couple of weekends ago and the kids had a great time. We were able to go to a pumpkin place that had a corn maze, pony rides, feeding animals (deer, goats & turkeys) and mining for gold not to mention the pumpkins, gourds and mums that you could buy. The kid had lots of fun as they ran around playing with their cousins and feeding the animals. Uncle Adam gave the kids rides on the four-wheeler and Olivia made biscuits with grandma. The whole weekend was great and we are looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Plane Ride

Jake and I got to do something pretty awesome today, we went on a small plane ride around the city! We have some friends that own their own plane and they invited us to go up with them. We started out by flying over our apartments then headed to the city. We flew over lake Michigan to see the view of the city from that angle and it was gorgeous! The sky was clear and sunny. We couldn't have asked for better weather. We flew back to the airport after flying by the city a couple of times and Todd (he owns the plane) dropped Natalie (his wife) and I back off and took Jake up by himself. They were gone for about a half hour and Todd let Jake fly the plane. Jake even did a 360! Jake thought it was the coolest thing ever!!! Our whole trip (before Jake and Todd went by themselves) took a couple of hours and it was AWESOME! I have to say that this experience ranks pretty high on my list of coolest things that I've ever done.

Soccer starts

Last Saturday was Jake's first soccer game of the season. It was kinda foggy and the field was pretty wet but they had a great game. Jake is wearing a neon green shirt in the last picture and that just means he played goalie that quarter. That was him throwing in the ball. Today's game was alright. It seemed like a lot of the players kept falling on the ground, which does nothing for steady ball movement towards the goal. But they usually seem to have fun no matter the outcome of the game.

Starved Rock and Warren Dunes

Here are a few fun things that we did right before school started. Starved rock is a state park that we heard about and thought we'd check out. The hiking trails got to be a little much for Olivia but she did great the first half of the day. The Warren dunes are always a fun place to visit. Our kids have enjoyed the times we've gone and this time was no different.

Route 66

We took a short vacation this past weekend. We followed the old Route 66 from Chicago to St. Louis. We tried to see as many of the historic sites as we could. It was fun to pass through all of the little towns and stop at the museums and restored gas stations. In the video you'll see the Rich & Creamy ice cream stand (where soft serve was invented), 1933 Texaco Station (the longest operating gas station along Route 66), the Gemini Giant (27 foot tall mascot of the Launching Pad Drive-In), 1932 Standard Oil Station, Cozy Dog Drive-In (where the corn dog was invented, originally called the "crusty cur"), the Ariston Cafe (built in 1935 and kind of smelled like it, too, but the deserts were delicious) and the 1926 Soulsby's Service Station (one of the oldest on Route 66).

We spent a night in Springfield and stayed right down town. All of the sites were within walking distance of the hotel. We toured Lincoln's law office, the old capitol building, the Lincoln Presidential Museum and Lincoln's home. The sites were fun and educational, especially since this year is the bicentennial of his birth. We learned a lot about who he was as a person, not just the myths and legends we're all familiar with. Lincoln built his career there, left for the White House from there and is buried there. It was well worth the time we spent to learn more about this American icon.


We also spent one night in St. Louis. We went up in the arch and the view was magnificent. We also visited Camp River Dubois, the departure site of the Lewis and Clark expedition at the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri and Dubois rivers. Jake loved the 55-foot full-scale replica of the expedition's keel boat. Then we headed over to Cahokia Mounds State Park which is considered the largest historic Native American settlement north of Mexico. We finally rolled back into town late at night and worn out from the trip but having a greater appreciation of our not so distant past.

First Day

Jake started second grade today. We went yesterday to meet his teacher and see the classroom. His teacher seems nice and I'm sure he'll have a great year.

Peck Farm Park

The kids and I went to peck farm this morning to have a little adventure before lunch. We were able to climb to the top to the observation silo and view the whole park. We looked at the animals and artifacts on display in the farm house and walked through the garden. But the best part was going in the butterfly house. There were lots of butterflies to see and it's easy to get real close to them. We weren't lucky enough to have one land on us but Jake had lots of fun taking pictures of the many butterflies.