First Day....

I can't believe it is back to school already. We had such a busy and fun summer! Getting back into the routine is a little tough, but Aidan was excited to see his friends and be in a new class. He is now going three days a week, full days. It is weird for me having him gone for so much of the day!

It was fun to watch the kids play and see how much they have grown and matured since last year. I'm so proud of him and am just trying to enjoy this time because I know it goes fast.

These are two of Aidan's best buddies, Charlie (above) and Anthony (below). We sometimes pick up Anthony for school in the morning. They both love this.

Great job buddy on your first week of school - I am so proud of you! To the moon and back baby!

Lazy summer days are ending...and a big catch!

Aidan is completely exhausted every night at the cottage...that is one of the reasons I love going there - they play hard and they sleep good!

I'm hoping the above picture is a "before" shot and next summer we have an "after" with the landscaping and new decks.

I think Aidan and Nate's happiest moments are fishing at the cottage...Nate caught a huge fish this weekend...can't believe I swim in this lake with fish that size..

Mom's good friend Shirley came down for a few days...we always have lots of laughs when Shirley is around!

Sometimes I think Mom and Kris are running their own dog shelter....

We spent 11 days down at the cottage and had a great time relaxing prior to the craziness of all of our Fall activities.

The Proposal....

Last night my brother Kevin invited us all out to dinner to celebrate how great his business has been doing this year....he had something else in mind to celebrate....

In Stefanie's champagne glass was an engagement ring!

She said yes! Her sister was a little surprised....

We were at a wonderful restaurant in Orland Park - Osteria Ottimo on LaGrange. If you are in the area I highly recommend it....the food was fantastic and they did a great job helping pull off the surprise.

Congrats Kevin and Stefanie!
We are so excited to have you as part of our family Stef - tho it seems you already are!

Soccer boy and his cheerleader....

Every week we take Aidan to his soccer class and Lucas looks on wanting to badly to join...the video shows Aidan playing...and Lucas cheering him on...he does this the entire 45 minutes of class - it's so cute!

He's a walker!!!

Going back in time....

I'm usually pretty happy and content with where life has brought me to this point...very few regrets...but last weekend I really wished I was a kid again! We went up to Mears, Michigan for the weekend. On Saturday Nate, Anna and Jeff joined me and the boys in Union Pier, Michigan to hang out at the beach and to also break up my drive 4 hours North into Michigan. We had a great time at the beach. Then it was off to my friend Sandy's cottage...which happens to be across the lake from the camp I went to in my pre-teens. It was such a nostalgic journey...

Lucas and Aidan enjoying the beach in Union Pier, Michigan

Hanging out with Sam and Bella

Upper Silver Lake

The new chapel at Grace Adventures (formerly Grace Youth Camp)

The Mess Hall

The beach at GYC

The path to the boys' cabins

My old cabin - #3!

Kids playing 4-square

We had such a great time walking down memory lane - I can't wait until my boys are old enough to go there for camp! Aidan loved checking out the zipline and paint ball (none of which they had back in my day...). It is such a beautiful place and I have such great memories. Thanks Sam, for having us to the cottage - we had a great time!

Fingers Crossed....

If all goes as planned, we may be moving into a new house the end of October!

With a little TLC (okay, maybe a lot of TLC) this may be where we call home in a few months. We have to rehab basically the entire house and are looking forward to doing the project. I will make sure to show before/after pictures along the way!

So just to show that it is sometimes good to have a photographer in the family...I asked Nate to get a picture of the front of the house...below is what he gave me....

Nice try baby! xoxo