A little getaway...

Sunday we went to Lake Geneva for a little family vacation. We celebrated Father's Day and our 4th wedding anniversary. We had such a great time! It was so nice to get away for a little bit.

We saw this turtle outside our hotel.

Owen is eating "Scooby Snacks." They are graham crackers shaped like dog bones. Mike thought it was really funny that I gave him the dog bone shaped crackers from a bowl on the floor.

These pictures were taken at "The Elegant Farmer" apple orchard and country store. They had these giant rocking horses, which Owen loved.


We bought some tomato and pepper plants, as well as some herbs. I'll keep you posted on how they're growing. We also bought some frozen pies and brats, as well as some other delicious treats like applesauce and summer sausage. This trip made us very excited to go apple picking at Apple Holler in the fall!

Here is a video of the boys swimming. Thank goodness the pool opened at 7 am. Owen didn't sleep very well at the hotel, so he and Mike were the first ones at the pool both mornings (my wonderful husband let me get a little extra sleep!) We also took him swimming right before bed in hopes he would sleep extra well. It helped him to get to sleep, but unfortunately didn't keep him asleep. I wish that pool would have been open at 3 am!

These pictures are from our outing to the playground behind our hotel. The weather was a little chilly for the beach, but perfect for the playground. We all had a lot of fun!

Playing by the lake on Tuesday. The weather was beautiful but a little cool when the sun went behind a cloud.

Owen, throwing his first penny in a fountain. I think he thought we were crazy when we told him to throw it in!

Owen loved the "hot dog man." We originally just wanted a photo, but he loved him so much, we decided that a hot dog by the beach would be a great lunch!


Another family took our picture. I'm not sure if Owen is fake coughing or blowing a kiss! We had such a great time in Lake Geneva. I think it is important to get away by ourselves each year, whether it is a huge fancy vacation (that is probably quite a few years off) or a little getaway! A very big thanks to my parents for the wonderful anniversary present!

A spiritual moment?

Last week, Owen wanted to sit on these 2 pillows while wearing his rosary around. I don't really know what this is about...

Casual Dining

Is our child the only one who has this nice of table manners?
Owen's legs are getting kind of long, aren't they?!

A little visit from the Schieber's...

Last Thursday Emily and my Mom came to Chicago. They decided that I was in need of a girl's night out, so we made sure Mike could be home to stay with Owen. We went out for sushi and martinis, followed by the Sex and the City movie. We had so much fun!!! The movie was perfect for a girl's night out. A little raunchy, but very fun!
Friday, we packed Owen up and drove out to our favorite outlet mall in Aroura. We found some good bargains. Mom got a cute top at Polo and some matching flip flops at j. crew. I found some shorts at the Gap outlet, and Em got a cute swimsuit and dress at Juicy. Of course Grammy found a few things Owen could not live without, too! After we left, we picked up Alex at the airport. By the time we got back to Evanston, my Dad was here. He drove up from Kansas City Friday morning with a very special delivery. His birthday gift to Owen was a handmade toybox, which he has been working on since March. It is big and beautiful and it couldn't have gotten here at a better time! The toys were truly starting to overtake our living room! Owen checked it out thoroughly and it apparently passed his inspection :o)

It will grow nicely with him, too. The top is an inlaid wood checkerboard.

Underneath it, there is a little drawer with a spot for each checker to fit in. It is really cool! Thank you so much, Grandpa!

Friday night, we ate at Nevin's and then took Owen to the park. He loved all of the attention! Saturday morning we met Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Frank, and my cousin Leah and her boyfriend Matt at the Printer's Row bookfair. It is always a good time. Owen went to his first concert, Justin Roberts.

I think he was a little young, but he enjoyed watching the band and all of the kids.

We browsed and found a few books. After the rainstorm, we met up with the Conklins at the Berghoff House. Then everyone came back to Evanston for some delicious triple chocolate (homemade) ice cream. Like we hadn't eaten enough already!

Everyone left pretty early on Sunday so Mike, Owen, and I cleaned the house and filled the toybox. The weather was crummy, so we had a pretty lazy day. We had lots of fun with our company. We just wish Sam would have joined us! Thanks so much for coming!

Fun times...

Because we needed to pick something up at Northbrook mall, and because it was a rainy cold day in late May, we just had to stop at the children's museum!

We also started giving Owen an occasional bubble bath. He loves it! Who knew Mr. Bubble makes a sensitive skin formula?!

Last week, we went to the zoo with our friends Katie, Abbie, and Isabel.

The kids had lots of fun! I think their favorite things were the Polar bear, the cows, and the big red barn. While we were there, we ran into other friends, Maureen and Liam. Unfortunately, our camera battery died so we didn't get all of the pictures we would have liked, but we had a great time!

First company of the summer

It must be June... It may not look like it or feel like it, but summer is company season in Chicago! Our first visitors of the year were Grandma and Grandpa Walsh and Uncle Dan.

They stopped by on their way home to DC from San Diego to meet Owen! We all had a great time. Unfortunately, it was rainy and in the 50's for their trip.

We still got to play and even snuck in a trip to the park in between rain showers. Mike took them to Northwestern for a tour of the lab and we had a lovely dinner at the famous "Dave's Italian Kitchen." We just wish they could have stayed longer :o) Maybe next year we'll make it out east for a visit!

Back home

We made it safely back to Evanston. Just wanted to let you know that these posts start at the end and go backwards...

Fun in OP

After the pomp and circumstance was over, we made sure to do some things Owen would enjoy. Mom, Em, and I took him to the Farmstead, which he obviously loved!

I remember going there when we were little. It is much cooler now than I remember, though :o)

Here he is, checking out the chickens...

and the giant goat!

He loved petting all of the animals and feeding the goats!

This barn was there when we were little, but the slide is much cooler now!

We all had a ball playing on the farm playground! If we lived here, I think I'd bring him once a week! It is only about a mile and a half from Mom and Dad's and it's free! You just can't beat close and free :o)

After a fun-filled few days in Overland Park, we packed up and headed back to St. Louis with Auntie Em. That night, we got together with Jim, Uncle Al, Megan and Tito, too, to watch the Idol finale. Did I mention my brother got a dog? He is a one year old Puggle named Tito...

Here is a photo of Tito and his "parents." Alex is so smart to get a one-year-old dog. Tito is potty trained, he likes to sleep in, he already knows tricks and has already been fixed.
For Owen and I, it's back to Evanston... wish us luck as we finish up the great graduation extravaganza of '08!

Sam's Graduation

Back to KC for Sam's graduation from Rockhurst High School. Many congrats to Sam for his 4.5 (that's right) GPA and wonderful attendance record!!! Also, congrats to Mom and Dad for getting their 4th and final child through high school! I'm sure it was a day filled with many emotions for them. Thankfully, they will be able to delay becoming empty-nesters, as Emily and Alex and their 2 dogs will be moving back in soon!

Sam's graduation is very nicely organized... the morning starts with baccalaureate, followed by a brunch, followed by the actual graduation ceremony. And, it's all in the same place. It makes for a long day, but it is nice because everyone is already there. Here he is receiving his diploma.

Also, the boys wear tuxedos. Doesn't Sam look handsome?! His entourage obviously thinks so!

We actually skipped out on baccalaureate because we thought we'd put Owen through enough ceremonies! We met up with everyone for brunch. Aunt Dee and Uncle Rick came, too. It was nice to catch up with them!

Owen did pretty well during graduation, but spent the majority of it out in the hall with Dad playing ball.

Alex's college graduation

Later Thursday night, we went out to dinner with Alex and some of his friends and their parents. We ate at a great seafood restaurant. It was so nice to go out for dinner with my family and have a glass of wine. I put Owen to bed before we left and the little sweetie didn't make a peep while we were gone. Em's boyfriend, Jim, babysat for him, which was so nice. He was a little nervous, but he did a great job! Pretty impressive! One other highlight of dinner was seeing Bob Costas at the resturaunt. He was surprisingly short in person.

Friday morning, we got up and went to brunch with Megan's family. Megan is Alex's girlfriend of 2.5 years. This was only the second time I'd met Megan, but it was so nice to meet her family.

Later in the afternoon, we went Alex's engineering graduation. It was very nice. The people in front of us kept cheering way too loud and scaring Owen, though. Then he'd start screaming, which prompted them to give us dirty looks. Apparently, they even stopped reading names for a minute or so at one point. Oops! Oh, well! Alex is the one in the yellow shirt. It was great because it made it pretty easy to pick him out.

Alex with his proud sisters and nephew...

Mike actually arrived during the engineering graduation, so it was good to have a little reinforcement. Afterwards, we got a tour of the engineering school and got to see Al's final project, a rainwater filtering and storage system. It was very cool. They are even working on getting it patented.

I swear he's in there somewhere!

Proud parents...

The triplets...

Very cute!

Saturday, we went to graduation and then to a swanky party at Al's friend's aunt's house. Owen slept for the entire graduation. Mike stayed out in the back with him. It was great. The party was so nice. The hosts had a pool, which made it kind of exciting! Owen wanted to jump in so badly! Somehow, we made it through with a dry boy. After the party, we packed up to head back to KC for Sam's graduation. Busy weekend!!!