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! 

Happy Halloween from Bane, Princess Tiana, and Elmo!

Spaghetti Night!

Colin has really been eating A LOT lately!  I'm sure he will be hitting a big growth spurt soon with all he has been eating!!  Look at those baby blues too, he will be a real ladies man someday!

Luke's First Day of 1st Grade!

Luke is now a big 1st grader!!  He was excited to start school, and see his friends every day again!  Last year he had a big adjustment with leaving home for the whole day for the first time, and having a baby brother born right before school started!  I think this year is going to be a whole lot smoother for Luke!  I'm excited to see all he will learn this year!! Gabby sure wishes she was going to school this year, but I am keeping her home one more year with me!  She will start preschool next year!

Colin Jeffrey is 1!

My baby boy is 1 year old!  What a beautiful day we had for his 1st birthday!  After last summer being the hottest I can remember on record, his birthday was a beautiful, breezy, perfect day!  We had lots of family over to the park for his party!  He LOVED his cake!  Colin is such a wonderful blessing to our family!  He is the most laid back, sweet, loving baby!  Colin was a surprise blessing to us, but now I can't ever imagine my life without him in it! 

Happy 6th Birthday Luke Stephen!

Happy Birthday Luke!!!  We love you so much!!!  Thank you for bringing so much love and light into our lives!  You've been a blessing far greater than we could have ever imagined! 

Gabby's 3rd Birthday Party!

Gabby wanted to have a birthday party at McDonald's like Luke had for his birthday, so we did!  She invited her cousins and Luke's friend Ryan and his little brother Kevin who is Gabby's friend!  She had a great time at her Princess Party! 

Gabby's special egg free cupcakes from Naturally Yours

Waiting patiently for her guests to arrive while keeping an eye on her special cupcakes!

Gabby and Kevin

Excited about her presents!

Hugging her cousin Lauryn!

party guests

Gabrielle Susan is 3!!

Gabrielle Susan turned 3 on January 11th!!  Since she got so many gifts for Christmas, we decided to go to downtown Chicago and go to the American Girl Store to get a Bitty Baby for her main present!  She loved getting her Bitty Baby, and last year they came out with a red head baby with blue eyes!  Of course that is the one Gabby picked!  We also went to the Disney Store and got lots of princess stuff for really great prices!  Luke had a great time at the Lego Store.  Yes, it was a bit of an interesting trip with 3 small children, a little different than when we used to go before kids!  The important thing is the kids had a great time!  Even Colin enjoyed looking around at all of the buildings and people!  Gabrielle is such an independent, bright, and funny little girl.  She is a bit sassy at times, but still the sweetest little girl I have ever met!  She loves dancing, playing with baby dolls, copying everything her big brother does, and singing pop and country songs!  I look forward to her being 3 this year, and all she will learn, and how she will change!  I love you so much Gabs! 

Colin Jeffrey's Baptism

Colin Jeffrey was baptized November 11th at our church.  My sister Melissa and her husband John are his God Parents, they are for all three of our children!  We had a wonderful church service with all of our in town family, and then met for lunch at Famous Dave's.  We are so thankful for our beautiful baby boy, and thankful for our family that love him so much.  I pray that Colin will grow up loving and knowing Jesus as his Lord and Savior.  May God bless him always! 

CJ wearing the Baptismal gown that is 100 years old this year, sewn by his Great Great Grandmother, for his Great Grandmother's baptism, worn also by his Grandmother, his Mommy, aunts, Uncle, and most all of his cousins on my side!  Such a special tradition!

before the Baptism!

The whole crew

Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Melissa and Uncle John

Colin Jeffrey's 1st Halloween!!

This Halloween was Colin's first Halloween!!  We put him in a glow in the dark skeleton costume!  He isn't even three months yet, so we went for comfort, plus Luke thought it was cool!!  Luke was Batman again this year, last year he was the Dark Knight Batman, so this year he was more the 1960's Batman.  Gabby was Princess Merida from Brave.  Rob thought it was the perfect costume to go with her red curly hair!  This year cousin William was able to come with which was really cool for the kids since he lives in Aurora!