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Happy Birthday Grandma!!

We love you lots!

Bring Me Your Crap!

Okay, not literally (gross!)...but my mom & I are having a garage sale Thursday & Friday. If you want to bring over your unwanted treasures we will try to pawn them off on unsuspecting strangers for whatever money we can get. I'll be around most of the week getting ready for it, feel free to call/comment and I'll find a spot to add your stuff.

Dogs Love...

 Cheerios.

Thank goodness,

 'cause Lucy dumped an entire box out on the floor for Otis to enjoy!

In Case You Were Wondering...

Yes, ink is fun to play with.

No, ink is not toxic, even if you lick the ink pad.

(Called poison control to get that answer.)

Yes, it is difficult to SCRUB ink off your child's face.

No, even if you scrub you will not be able to get it all off.

I (Heart) Long Weekends

Don't you just love those long holiday weekends where you cram so much fun and excitement into every minute you feel like you could sit at home for the next year and still enjoy the highs of those perfect few days? Me too!

Friday Turbo & I got a call from his BFF to go out on their pontoon boat with a couple of friends to see the sights of the Chain (Aww sh*t...). We went out at dusk (...on a boat...), spent the next few hours bar hopping (...on a boat...) and dancing (...everybody look at me...), and finally made it home just before 3 am (...cause we're sailing on a boat...). Our only disappointment was we stayed out too late to make it to Taco Bell.

Saturday we headed to Wisconsin for a grad party for a friend of Turbo's family. We had a blast swimming and hanging out all afternoon. Of course, seeing the grad made me all sad in a sentimental mommy sort of way...I met Melissa when she was a sweet little 6 year old, to see her as a beautiful high school grad talking about college in the fall made me want to freeze my own kids in time.

Sunday we spent the way we've spent the 4th for the last several years, grilling and playing with our friends. Lucy and I were up early making awesome smiley face cookies and cheesecake for the evening BBQ. Then, while she stayed home to nap, Rex & I went to a big parade with all of our friends (Turbo & Nate opted to stay with Lucy and take in the Nathan's hot dog eating contest on tv). Later in the afternoon we headed to the party and played and ate until everyone was brimming with excitement over the upcoming fireworks. We took in all of the booms and sparkles with tons of 'ooohhs' and 'aaahhs' and a whole lot of Lucy saying 'LOOK!' (she was really diggin' her first trip to see fireworks!). It was truly a spectacular day!

Monday we took it easy. Turbo & the kids stayed home and relaxed all afternoon, while I snuck out to do some relaxing of my own...shopping and lunch with a friend.

Really, could the weekend have been any better?
 (Um, no...the answer is definitely no.) 

Have you heard...

Yum-O!

In our neck of the woods it is customary for all of the summer's coolest festivals to be crammed into the two weeks before the 4th of July. (You know, that lazy time in the middle of summer when no sane person makes any plans...) Since I am a glutton for punishment, I force my kids to participate in all of the festivals as well as the weekend full of BBQs we already have planned for the big holiday. (As if they don't LOVE me for it.)

So, yesterday we took the train to the city for the Taste of Chicago. I started to realize I am pretty much nuts when the kids were whining and taunting each other with a good 20 minutes left to Union Station. Ah, the joys of parenting. Fighting because 'his foot touched my seat' and 'he's staring at me' and just because Lucy feels like it. (I'm sure the sight made my aunt, who got to enjoy this lovely display of my well behaved children first hand, miss the days when her own girls were young!)

Thankfully, the TOC did not disappoint. Booth after booth of delicious food, Nate and I alone could put our family in the poor house in a matter of hours. We consumed samplings of hot dogs, cheesecake, potstickers, meatball subs, pizza, sweet potato fries, veggie tacos, fried ravioli, hot links, ice cream, cheese filled breadsticks, tater tots, chicken fingers, hush puppies, and watermelon in about 2 hours. (That doesn't even count the things our co-conspirators, Patti & Linda, had!)

For a group of foodies like us, this is by far the best fest Chicago offers!

Free trolley from the train to the taste...AWESOME!

Front row seat, of course.

E kids takin' a break...I enjoyed all 30 seconds of it!

Need I say more.

Watermelon, again.

My hard work paid off!