From Jami:
So… back in February (cough cough), we had a dinner to welcome the Hudsons to IL. I finally got around to downloading my memory card this weekend. Oops.
Owen was the photographer on the group shot!
Category Archives: Friends & Family
Day 2 of playgrounds with Grannie and Papa
Date night while the kids are at parents night out!
We took Papa and Grannie out for dinner and then they went home to pick up the kids!
Playgrounds with Grannie and Papa!
Grannie decided it would be fun to have a mini adventure with the kids and take them to a bunch of the local parks and playgrounds that we haven’t been to. So they made a list of all the parks then drew numbers to decide where to go! The kids LOVED it!!
What clowns.
Oh yeah! Papa and Grannie are here on their way back from Florida…and they brought the kids clown noses. I love their serious faces in the first pic.
Blueberry muffin helpers!
Grannie brought a bunch of hand-picked blueberries from Florida so they made muffins! Grannie definitely has more patience in the kitchen with them than I do!!
Owen made new friends!
We have new neighbors moving in across the street but they haven’t officially moved in yet—and we haven’t even met them. But today I looked out and saw two boys about Owen’s age playing catch. So I told him he should go over and introduce himself. He was so excited he couldn’t get out of the house fast enough, saying “I feel really good about this!” 🙂
Of course I spied from the living room. 🙂
He ended up playing with them for hours and they were back and forth between yards and Katie even got involved for a little bit.
Owen reported their names, that they are in 4th and 5th grades, they will be moving in this summer, and they also have one more younger brother in 2nd grade.
It was great to see him so excited!
Walking home from a battle.
Owen was at a playdate and the mom sent me this pic. Yep, that’s my boy.
A weekend with Uncle Rob and Miss Dee!
They came to visit us for the first time and to take the kids out for their Christmas presents—they had given them certificates for dinner and a movie!!
They also decided to take them bowling on base! The kids had a blast (they also got to play some video games and air hockey plus have lunch at McDonald’s).
On Saturday Katie monopolized Miss Dee doing puzzles and playing kitchen. That afternoon they went to a movie then to Unos for pizza!
Sunday we went out for breakfast and then it was time to say goodbye.
Owen’s class had a guest today.
Owen came home from school excited to tell us they had a guest in their class today who was a sports reporter (that was a family member of friends). Later I saw this Facebook post.
Can you spot him?
Have you ever heard of a box maze?
This is the most insane box maze. When I first heard about it I thought it would be something simple like boxes taped together. Not even close. This is an annual event with a week-long prep with computer drawings and major construction and tons of volunteers and it’s amazing and so well worth a visit. There are slides and tunnels and stairs and rooms and moving parts and fireworks (LEDs on the ceiling) and people throwing “rocks” in certain rooms… They provide knee pads (soccer there’s a lot of crawling) and flashlights (which I laughed off but it gets pitch black in areas). I just wish it was easier to get pics inside (there are lots of kids and people and you follow each other through so if you stop you hold everyone up). Tom and I went through twice and didn’t even see half of it. We let the kids play for over an hour (we saw lots of friends there) and they would have stayed longer.
These two pics are grabbed from the Facebook event page.
And the computer layout they had posted on the wall.
Sticks make perfect fishing poles.
Jumping again!
A friend invited us to the local jump place and the kids needed to get rid of some energy on their day off…
Reading Dick and Jane
Gramma gave Katie this book for Christmas—it was the same book she learned to read on. We finally got it out and she is blasting through it!
Owen was alao reading at the same time.
Welcome to Illinois Axe Murderer Dinner
Our Tivo friends Jami and David prepared a dinner in our honor to welcome us to Illinois. It was originally going to be our first dinner there…until we ended up going last-minute to one of their previous dinners. As usual, everything was DIVINE…and we came home with leftovers once again. 🙂
I wanted to try my infamous selfie shot but we went the easy route since the kids were with us—Owen was our group photographer.
The Menu
Searing the sous vide prime rib.
Checking on the kids who were being amazing in the living room. They had their iPad, Netflix, and pizza…the kid trifecta.
Part of the aftermath.
I hate when they get off their sleep schedule but I have good memories of sleeping in the car on the way home from family events (and being carried into the house by my dad) that I feel it’s only fair they get to experience it, too. 💗 Katie was out within five minutes; Owen took about 10.
Owen’s 9th birthday sleepover!
We decided to do a big summer party again so Owen invited two friends to spend the night.
Katie was thrilled to be able to play Xbox with the boys.
Pizza!
Katie helping get the cake ready. (Owen picked it out at Sam’s Club yesterday.)
Oliver and Brandon
Everything went really well. They were crazy loud at times but they were all really well-behaved and were in bed by 11 and had stopped chatting by 11:30…
Internet axe murderer friends are the very best.
We have some foodie friends who always make the most incredible-looking meals and we are always jealous when we see the pics on Facebook. But tonight our wishes came true and we were invited to a dinner! (It was last-minute as fill-ins but we didn’t care—if Jami and David ever invite you to dinner, you do whatever you need to do to make it happen!! In our case it was get a last-minute sitter to pick up the kids from Parents Night Out at the rec center and take them home and put them to bed.)
Holy shitballs was that an amazing multi-course meal. Here are just a few pics…and yes, I missed a few courses because wine. We might not need to eat at all tomorrow, though the leftovers will be tempting. Totally worth the 2.5 hours of drive time. Internet axe murderer friends are the very best. 💗
Sesame butter and radish chive tea sandwiches. Aged Gouda. Chorizo foam and goat cheese chantilly with bread sticks. Prosciutto-wrapped artichokes.
The first bottle of delicious wine…
Sous vide pork belly on smoked gouda mac and cheese
Sous vide potatoes and filet mignon (missing bearnaise in the pic)
We then ended the evening with a super fun game and were on the road home by 9:30. A great time was had by all…and we can’t wait to do it again!
We make our own sidewalks.
Our side of the street doesn’t have sidewalks so our neighbors both snow blow paths.
Owen’s first friend birthday party!
Sports at the rec center was a great party!
This puzzle needs to be a drinking game.
My friend Heidi and I worked on this stupid puzzle for three hours and this is all we got done.
We joked that it should be a drinking game: take one drink if you try a piece and it’s wrong and take two drinks if you actually find a piece!
Waiting for friends…
They were both super excited to have Sophia and Enzo over today after not having seen them for almost two weeks.
Welcome to today’s hell.
A gift to Katie from a well-meaning aunt. While Katie does love puzzles, of course she doesn’t have the attention span for this (hell, I barely do) but she really wants to color it. If it was up to me I’d just throw it in the trash (well I’m not an idiot, I’d give it away). But guess who will end up doing it all?? Her face just about sums it up for me too. 😂
#whowantstohelp
#idonthavetimeforthis
#puzzleparty
#ihavewineandmargaritas
#whendotheygobacktoschool
#thisauntisonmyshitlist
A friend is going to come help Friday.
Then and now—GJ and the kids
2013 and 2017
Christmas with the Schwalms
Santa found us in Grayling!
As is tradition, we set the kids’ phones outside their rooms so when they get up in the morning they have something to do until we get up and are ready (which is always by 7). This morning Katie was still sleeping at 7 and Owen had already had enough of his phone and was laying by the door just waiting… So Tom woke Katie up!
Katie got a note from Santa telling her he left a big present at home since he knew she was at Gramma’s—a Barbie power wheels!!
Then the kids opened their gifts from each other… Owen loved his sword, yoyo, and Lego Ninjago stuff and Katie was happy he was happy. Awwwww.
And then it was her turn to open and she LOVED what Owen got her (a Belle doll and matching Belle dress)!
And Gramma’s picture of the same scene from a different angle! So cute and so thrilled! 🙂
And then they put together their Lego figures they got each other.
Tom said Katie saw this wine key when they were out and about and she had to get it for me. So now whenever I want wine, I show her the key and she will bring me some. 🙂
And she also picked out this painted stone at a favorite store of mine in Grayling—Tip’n the Mitten!
The one thing she repeatedly asked for—a Sparty cheerleader outfit. She used to have a hand-me-down from the Besons but it is too small. This one should fit for a few years (Gramma had to take in the skirt because she’s so tiny).
Gramma Marsha had all these Barbies packed away so we held on to them until this Christmas. She loved them.
Green bean cleaners!
Grandpa and Katie were cleaning green beans for dinner tonight—not quite sure who the instigator was!
Land’s End might need to hear about this.
I had this coat when I was in high school—I think maybe my junior/senior years. Then I gave it to my Aunt Marge and she wore it forever. She just gave it back to us for Owen…and it’s a bit big but he doesn’t care. He LOVES it. I might need to write Land’s End about this one. (I also know I have one picture of me in it, but it’s black and white in a yearbook…and I have to find it. Stay tuned.)
Decorating Christmas cookies at the gallery!
Why I was using 1990s mousse.
When you’re away from home and didn’t pack any hair product because you were planning on getting a blowout at the beauty school but they were closed for the holidays so you have to wash your hair at home and it’s not convenient to go to town so you have to rely on the hair products that are already here and all there is is mousse from high school. 😂
So then you post it to Facebook and a friend jokes:
And I was compelled to respond with this:
Playing in the snow at Gramma’s!
Owen wanted to be buried!
