SPIDER!!

This work of beauty of was hanging from the trees in our front yard.  Ashley almost walked straight into it on her way to school one morning.

We obviously have quite a hard-working spider living in our front yard.  Just getting a head start on Halloween decorations!

Here is the same web in reverse exposure:

I didn't get a picture to show scale, but take my word for it, this web was huge, three times the size of your head.  (If you have a Smith head, it might just be twice as big :) hee-hee!)

New Addition

It's official, we can now open our car doors and get in and out of our vehicles while said vehicles are parked in the garage!  You see we have a "two car garage."  Obviously, our home builder's idea of a "two car garage" means just enough room to fit exactly two cars, leaving no space to store anything or hardly any space to open your car doors.  It has been a real pain.  We are always trying to squeeze in and out of the garage along with climbing over bikes, lawnmowers, garbage cans, etc.

From day one we have always wanted a backyard shed to store the stuff you would normally keep in a decent-sized garage.  Well, Dave finally had had enough and we went out and bought a new Tuff shed. 

We had to sacrifice our pumpkin patch for the shed.  It certainly changes the appearance of our backyard and will take some time to get used to but it has made a world of difference in the garage.  We can now actually get in and out of our cars while in the garage!  Wow.

DA BEARS!!

We have been in Chicago for 8 years, more than enough time to turn us into Bears fans.  Of course, it has involved a lot of frustration and heartbreak, but hey it's football and it's Chicago, who doesn't love the Bears?!!

I've already told Dave that I don't ever want to live in a place that doesn't have an NFL team, it's just too much fun.  Besides liking the Bears, we also love Soldier Field.  Dave had been to a Bears' game but the girls and I never had...until now.

This was our first NFL game ever and even though the game wasn't much to talk about, the whole experience of being in the crowd with everyone wearing team gear and watching the game live was great.

Now Bears tickets can be hard to come by.  The wait list for season tickets is decades long, like 20 something years, so basically you have to buy resale tickets and of course the better the teams the higher the prices.  For our family, this means that you go with someone you know who is a season ticket holder or else you buy cheap tickets for a game that no one is really interested in.  That is how we ended up at a Thursday night preseason game versus the Cleveland Browns.  That is also why we brought the girls along.

We sat in the north end zone area and had a pretty good view of the field.  Our only bit of bad luck was that after a week of 70 degree temperatures, the day of the game happened to be 90+ degrees with a heat index around 110. 

Do you know what that feels like? 

Do you know how hot you are going to be after the 30 minute walk from your car to the stadium? 

You are going to be HOT and SWEATY.  Your clothes are going to be glued to your body and you will be dripping with sweat.  This also means that everyone around you is going to be in the same gross condition.  Let's just say that it was so hot, I saw enough "manly Bears fans" without their shirts on to last me quite a few seasons.  Although, I can't blame them because going into the tunnels to buy Paige some nachos, where there was absolutely no air movement, left me wishing I could take my shirt off too!

We left Soldier Field around 10pm (on a school night...Yikes!) and the heat index was still over 100 degrees.  Do you remember, we had a half hour walk to the car?  It isn't any shorter on the way back, and to her dismay no one was willing to carry Paige!

But despite all this...we had fun!  We were all glad that we had a chance to go to a game.  Oh ya, the Bears won too!

Wearing our Bears gear, riding the train into the city.  Ashley was still adjusting to waking up early for school in the mornings.  (There were a bunch of other fans on the train on their way to the game too.  It was pretty obvious that this was our first game, because although we had the right clothes, we apparently forgot to bring the beer--if you know what I mean.) 



Follow the crowds to the game

 

"We don't care if we are hot and sweaty,
we got Bears tickets"

 

Game time!  Here come the Bears!





Night shot, sorry for the scary reflective eyes



Farewell, Summer



Pure happiness

 Kids love swimming pools.  No matter the size of the pool or where it is at kids love to swim.  There is just something special about "going to the pool."

Growing up, I didn't have constant access to a pool every summer.  Swimming for our family, was a special event or trip.  My parents had to pay to take us to a pool or waterpark.  It was a planned outing, we had to drive, and were limited on how often we could go. 

For my girls, it is a totally different story.  We have a neighborhood pool that we can go to everyday from Memorial to Labor Day.  We can go on a whim, bring friends, swim all day or for less than an hour depending on how we feel.  That's why I'm sure that when my girls think back on their childhood summers, the swimming pool will be a fond memory.

For the last two summers we have taken month long vacations, so after being away for so long it has been a real pleasure to come back home to the pool.  We have usually had our fill of travel and going places so it's nice to just hang around home and enjoy the "lazy summer days" poolside.




Ashley and her friend



I feel a little melancholy about the pool closing for the season, it really signals the end of summer...fortunately the Fall is so beautiful in the Midwest it helps to ease the transition.

Feed My Starving Children

On the weekend, our whole family went with our church to work at Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit organization that sends food to those in need around the world.  Community members are asked to volunteer their time to pack the food and Feed My Starving Children ships it abroad.

We are very fortunate to have a Feed My Starving Children packing facility in our own community.  It is a great opportunity to actually do something meaningful and a reminder of the abundance and blessings we enjoy in the United States.  We have gone and packed food before, but this was the first time that Paige was old enough to come and help too.



orientation before the packing session



Paige and her packing crew

 

Ashley and her packing crew

We were so happy to give a little bit of our time to help feed those in need.  Looking forward to our next visit, which happens to be the morning of Paige's baptism---what a great day that will be.

1st Day of School

It's official school is back in session!

Ashley 7th Grade



Paige 2nd Grade



Paige and her neighbor friend




waiting at the bus stop

 Man, my girls are growing up fast!  For moms like me, on the first day of school, you can either be a "boo-hoo" or "whoo-hoo" mom.  I think I might be a "whoo-boo," a little of both.  Part of me is happy to get back to a structured routine and have a little quiet time to myself during the day, the other part is going to miss the lazy summer days with no homework or responsibility of rushing from one thing to the next.


I am just as anxious as the girls on the first day of school.  I spend the whole day thinking about them and praying that they will come home happy.  It would just break my heart for them to come home sad or upset.  Kids spend most of their day at school, how terrible would it be to send your child to a place they hate day after day?  Fortunately, they both came home happy as can be.  They love school and are glad to be back.  

Ashley, even got a surprise---two of her friends she wasn't expecting were in one of her classes so she is liking that.  She also learned that having lunch at 10:30 am!!!! is not too bad.

As for Paige, so far she loves her teacher.  Her best friend was not in her class this year but they played together at recess and she has already "made new friends in my class."  So I think she will be okay too!

Mom's first day went well too.  I even did great on the second day, but noticed I kept hugging and kissing the girls after they got home...I guess I just missed them!

Now we are preparing for the real storm to hit...HOMEWORK, coupled with soccer and piano for both girls, Young Women's, Activity Days, and Brownies, oh my!   

Back to School Dinner

On the Sunday before school started we had a special "Back-to-School Dinner."  Dave and I talked with the girls about starting school this year and the importance of remembering who they are, the values they stand for, and the blessings they have been given.  Dave then gave both of them a father's blessing.

We had the missionaries as dinner guests and on the menu was: pork soulvaki, salad-on-a-stick, lemon rice, peanut butter blossom cookies, and strawberry lemonade.

Good luck in school Ashley and Paige!  Have a wonderful year and REMEMBER, O' REMEMBER!