A week away from home

Well, it finally happened - our little girl ventured away from her home and spent 5 nights with Gran and Beep Beep. We're still not sure who we're more impressed with - Kari for making it at camp and in Indy for a week, or the grandparents for surviving our darling daughter's presence for that long of a stint.

Needless to say, both parties had a wonderful time together. There were many terrific experiences for Kari at the Nature Camp at Eagle Creek. While the first few days (camp went from 9-10:30 a.m.) featured some hesitation of leaving Gran, the final two couldn't have gone more smoothly. Kari quickly warmed up to her new friends and environment and thoroughly enjoyed the different projects camp had to offer.

She came home with a caterpillar, homemade necklace, styrofoam cup of stuff and a seemingly new and improved vocabulary. She quickly rattled off a sentence telling us how she looked at robins and a gold finch through binoculars. HUH? We were definitely taken aback.

When Kari wasn't at camp, Gran and Beep Beep had plenty of activities planned. This is a necessity thesedays, as Kari continues to ask "What are we going to do now?" as soon as the most recent activity is completed. Kari ventured to see Beep Beep and his co-workers at the hospital, a trip to the Children's Museum, a tea party with her cousin Ella Robinson and play time with a new friend named Lyla.


There were indoor smores being made, outdoor time in the back yard on the swing and countless other fantastic memories she'll remember for a long time. Meanwhile, mom, dad and Bryce rather enjoyed the serendipitous surroundings we had in West Lafayette (who thought two kids was a good idea???).

Bryce got to take a few bike rides on Dad's new bike (great Father's Day present). The seat attached behind Dad's is quite the hit, as the little man lets his brown locks flow through the air while we cruise through the neighborhood.

Bryce was definitely happy to have all the attention, but we're pretty sure he missed his sister, too. The weekend was spent in Chicago as we (adults) attended the Cubs-Phillies game at Wrigley Field on Saturday. We had a very nice day sans kids, as Grandma Haugstad played babysitter.

Kari and Bryce got to play with one of the Haugstad's neighbors - Olivia, and we all took walks and went for ice cream in downtown Glen Ellyn. It was a fantastic week for everyone and we're very thankful that our parents had it in them to watch the grandkids.

This weekend will be a first for Holly - leaving her little Bryce alone. We're heading to Las Vegas for a 10th wedding anniversary celebration. More than 20 friends have graciously said they'll attend our vow renewal at the Little White Wedding Chapel. It should be a fun 4 days away but I'm betting everything I come home from Vegas with that we'll both be more than ready to return to normal, every day parenting duties after this brief vacation.

Until next week...

Weekend at the Beach

Usually around this time of year we try to take a quick 1 or 2 day trip to South Haven, Michigan to enjoy the beach and the little shops in town. However, this year we decided to try a neighboring beach town to the south - New Buffalo, MI. Joining us on the 2-hour trek north was the Clawson family, with whom we're quite familiar on these beachy-type trips.

We arrived Friday in time to have a picnic lunch near the beach. Kari and Nolan were particularly wound up and ready to play in the sand and lake water. Bryce and Taylor were eager to put sand in every possible part of their body.

The water temperature was surprisingly tolerable and there were some nice sized waves rolling in to jump against and do a bit of body surfing. The weather was fantastic and the beach was not crowded. We couldn't have been more pleased. We rounded out the evening with a dinner out and ice cream. Saturday was much of the same-sand, water and dinner. At the recommendation of a neighbor, we ate at a local hotspot- Redamacks- and marveled at the size of the place.

Blue Moon ice cream tasted like Fruit Loops. Kari and Nolan loved it. Watching a movie before bed.

Enjoying a little of Michigan's finest micro-brews: Bells Oberon. Yes, indeed, we all stayed smarter.

Sunday we headed home, only for Kari to pack back up again and head down to Gran and Beep Beep's house for the upcoming week. She's attending a daily nature camp at Eagle Creek, and then Gran has several plans for the rest of the week too. We know Kari is having a great time right now. Although she has stayed overnight down there before, this will be her first multi-night stay away from home.

In other household news, my birthday gift from Kevin arrived in the mail over the weekend. I'm proud to be sporting my native Chicago flag now. Last night we took Bryce out for his first bike ride. He did quite well. We're looking forward for all four of us to do this upon Kari's return. Also, we hit a new eating milestone last night- Bryce ate the same meal as Kevin and me- salmon with squash and zucchini from the grill. He (Bryce) gobbled up that salmon so fast! This weekend we head up to the Windy City for Kevin's Christmas present - the Cubs vs. Phillies game at Wrigley Field. We'll be sure to report back after our trip to Chi-town.

The Long Holiday Weekend

We had a fabulous July 4th weekend. We spent all of Sunday at the Elks swimming, enjoying a nice outdoor BBQ and watching the fireworks with many of our good friends. Pam and Julie were our guests for the day and it was great to have them join us. While the day was fun, it was hard work too, despite neither Kevin nor I being responsible for Kari or Bryce most of the day. Before we had even entered the pool, someone had scooped Bryce out of my hands and he was passed from one person to the next and there were up to 30 minute spans at a time where we did not see him. The same for Kari too. We knew both kids were in good hands at all times, but it definitely kept Kevin and me on our toes as we were constantly scanning to see who had the kids next.

The Elks probably has the best fireworks displays in the entire county. We're lucky to live so close by and have the opportunity to have such great front row seats to the fireworks as one of my favorite events of the year. (One of my dream jobs is to be a pyrotechnician.)

Monday we headed down to Indy to spend the day with Gran and Beep Beep with the plan in mind to attend a minor league baseball game. Unfortunately the weather was just too hot to reasonably spend the late afternoon at the ballpark. Instead, we mostly stayed inside and enjoyed each others' company.

Again, being too hot to be outside for any length of time, we made an indoor-friendly modified S'Mores. Not a huge hit by daddy, it was, however, a slam dunk for Gran. (We won't divulge how many she ate.)


Tonight we headed over to campus to enjoy the Purdue Memorial Union Summer Concert Series. We've done this for the last couple of summers and it's become a favorite family weeknight outing for us. We forgot the camera, so no pictures this time. The music was fabulous tonight!

Ready for the 4th of July

While the kiddos are taking their naps, I thought I'd post a couple pictures. We'll be heading over to the Elks this afternoon for some fun in the sun, followed by a cookout and kids' games on the lawn, and fireworks over the golf course.

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