4th of July!

4th of July was a lot of fun this year!  We took the kids to Joe's Crab Shack in Peoria and ate on the deck overlooking the river.  After lunch we took the kids for a walk along the riverfront.  Things were starting to get busy there so we headed to my brother in law's family farm in Hopedale to hang out there for a while before going to the Hopedale 4th of July festival.  It was great weather only about 78 and sunny, you really can't beat that for July in Illinois! 

Tractor ride with Uncle John

Tired out kiddos after a long day!

Silly Boy!

My little Colin sure is getting big!  It's really hard to believe that my last baby will be 2 in August!  He is quite the rough and tumble little boy, but he is a sweetheart too! 

12th Wedding Anniversary

Rob and I celebrated 12 years on marriage today!  Our kids had recently had the stomach flu, so we didn't feel it was fair to ask anyone to babysit, so we went on a family date, you know basically like any other Saturday night out for us. haha.  We went out to Chilli's, Colin was really in rare form that night throwing a fit almost the whole time, and banging his head off of the table.  Finally he settled down a little, and we enjoyed our dinner.  I love hanging out with our three awesome kids, so it was a great night, even with stares from strangers. ha.  The next day was our actual anniversary which we celebrated by giving each other cards and having yummy steaks on the grill, baked potatoes and salad.  It was a great meal!  Life is a little crazy these days, but I wouldn't have it any other way, and I wouldn't want to spend it with anyone else! 

Sleepover!

Luke had his first sleepover party last weekend!  He got to invite his 3 best friends!  They boys were all great, we grilled out, played video games, ran around and played guns, lots of fun boy stuff. 

Easter

We had a great Easter!  We woke up early with the kids and saw what the Easter bunny brought, then we headed to Krispy Kreme for donuts!  After breakfast we headed to church, and then to Adam and Megan's for lunch and an Easter egg hunt!  The kids had so much fun!  

Luke Stephen is 7!

My oldest turned 7 on April 13th!  He is such an awesome kid!  He is a sensitive, compassionate kid.  I really see his personality shining through right now!  He loves to be with friends, play video games and board games with Daddy.  He joined Boy Scouts this past year and loved it, played basketball, and is soon to be starting up with baseball again soon.  He is a huge Chicago Bulls fan!  For his birthday we went up to Schaumburg, and stayed in a hotel there.  Luke choose to eat at Cheeseburger in Paradise for dinner the night we got up there, then we swam in the pool for the rest of the night.  The next day we got up early to head to Lego Land.  Luke and Gabby loved Lego Land, especially the 4D theater.  On the way home we headed to Portillo's for lunch, it was a great getaway to celebrate Luke turning 7! 

Gabrielle Susan is 4!

My beautiful daughter Gabrielle is 4! She has been such a joy these past four years for our family!  She has the sweetest, yet sassy personality!  This year is going to be a very exciting one for Gabby!  She just started Ballet classes, and will start preschool this fall!  It is such fun watching her grow, learn, and change everyday!  Thank you God for the blessing that my daughter is to me!