happy new year * 2018

2017 was a big year ...

stacey started his new job at wells fargo

drew started PSEO at northwestern

ben started the CEMS program at blaine

alex started middle school (YIKES!)

we got in FOUR trips to disney

we got new siding and all new windows on the back of our house

drew got certified as a lifeguard and joined the staff at TLC

for the ENTIRE summer

ben ran cross country

ben joined nordic skiing ...

even tho he had never skied before!

drew got his drivers license (another YIKES!)

we had a lot of fun

we had a lot of reasons to celebrate a good year

* that didn't last long *

and the night wasn't complete without a few you tube videos ... 

* it's raining tacos *

we're excited to see what 2018 holds ...

hopefully some new fun experiences ...

lots of time together ...

and some warm weather ;)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

a night of pinstripes

one of our nights in chicago we decided to go bowling

troy had made a reservation at pinstripes in downtown chicago

it was a little fancier than your typical bowling alley

and i'm sure they were thrilled when our group walked in ;)

but they definitely made some money off of us!

near the end of our time

the kids started to get creative

my favorite being the barnett curling team ;)

nice job, barnetts

chicago fun * 2017

although it's more fun when it's summer and warm out

we always love being in chicago

i love being able to walk to get my coffee

the kids love spending time with their cousins

one afternoon they took the el downtown to water tower place

they went to ghirardelli to warm up with some hot cocoa 

and then they were going to meet us for lunch

BUT ...

the wait was longer than we expected

and we all decided pequod's sounded better

SO ... 

rather than send them back on the train

we may have all piled into the back of the car

of course we got there to find a 2 hour wait

at 2 o'clock in the afternoon!!

SO ...

we got it to go

and enjoyed it much more than waiting for 2 hours with 7 kids ;)

i wish chicago was closer

so we could visit more often

because the time always goes too quick 

go bulls! ... just for today

within an hour of getting to chicago

we were headed out

and off to a bulls game!

troy found us some great seats

we met up with lenore at troy's house

and we all enjoyed our first time to the united center

stacey and troy even put their best moves out there

and ended up on the awkward dad dance cam

the game was a very close one

so the energy was very high

which stacey loved ;)

in the end the bulls won

a GREAT way to kick off our last stop for the week