Owen wanted to be buried!
Category Archives: Travel
Greetings from the Great White Snowy North!
Yes it’s pretty…I’ll give you that. ❄️
The look of a sister.
We stopped to eat dinner at Culver’s. I simply asked for a pic and this is what I got. I love it.
Relaxing by the fire…
Grandpa build a fire downstairs to take some of the humidity and chill out of the air and Katie desperately wanted to be down by it. So I went down and sat with her and relaxed…for about five whole minutes until she got bored.
Katie’s fan-talking
Helping Gramma make soup!
Thanksgiving 2017
Our turkey chef tonight! #infraredfryer #17pounds #50degreesinmichigan #thanksgiving
I thoroughly enjoyed drinking my first wine in two weeks tonight with Dee (Rob’s girlfriend)… But it gave me a headache. Maybe we should have stopped after the first bottle! 😂
And all the leftovers!!
Potato Helper
Gramma wanted Katie to check with me if we had enough potatoes for our Thanksgiving Dinner. I said no. I mean really, you can never have too many mashed potatoes.
Pink hair!
I had bought Katie some light pink shampoo at the same time I bought my dark blue shampoo, and I had Tom bring it back with him so we could do Katie’s hair. And boy was she excited!
Katie’s first manicure & Owen’s Brian Lewerke haircut!
Grayling has a beauty school where my mom gets her hair permed and cut so I went earlier this week for a blow out (it’s a treat for me since I suck at it—plus it was the first wash post-color and I thought why not let someone else deal with it?). Then I decided since everything was so cheap, I’d take Katie for her first basic manicure to see how she did (before I drop $$$ on a real manicure or pedicure). She was all about it. 🙂
Owen needed a haircut, too. He had decided to get the same cut as Brian Lewerke, an MSU Spartan player.
This is literally how Maggie spent the majority of her vacation.Â
Last night:
This morning:
The kids on the time out tree stump
There’s a stump in the back yard that we joke is the perfect time-out spot. Of course we’ve never had to use it, but that’s still what we call it. Katie is finally big enough to get up there by herself so this happened.
The kids doing pysanky with Gramma Jean for the first time!
They’re a bit behind—I started at age 3! They were both excited to sit down and do it. Gramma gave them a quick lesson on how to hold the egg and kistka, but unfortunately both of them forgot and ended up grabbing the hot metal end…which is why you see tears on some of Katie’s close up pics. They both had fun and enjoyed doing two eggs—I was only going to watch but then couldn’t help myself and had to jump in and “do a quick egg” which of course turned into more time than I planned and I ended up sitting there finishing mine while the kids were done and outside playing. 🙂 (Note: The eggs are done but are still at Gramma’s house being varnished so the finished product photo will come later.)
Two kids and a dog
Leftovers for lunch!
Lots of good stuff to choose from!
A walk with Grandpa
It’s deer season and 25° so he had to bundle up in orange.
A Katie in the window
Then and now with Uncle Jim
Playing in the snow with cousins!
Apparently shoveling is fun if you’re doing it with cousins and not because a parent asked you to do it.
We didn’t bring snow pants so jammies have to suffice. She didn’t care one bit.
Attack on the living room window!
Cousins Gabby and Robert!
Wheelbarrow Dab
The kids love to dab an this is one Katie came up with tonight.
Then and now—me and Tim 26 years later…
Then, my neighbor and high school classmate. Now, my cousin (well, since 1998).
Cousins on the Schwalm side
Everyone was gathered for Aunt Florence’s memorial—and it was the first time our kids met the Hough side of the Schwalm clan. They are lined up by age, with Katie being the youngest at 5 and Gabrielle the oldest at 14.
Then we took a selfie because we haven’t done so in awhile.
Katie’s new antique doll
This doll used to be Gramma Jean’s when she was little, and then I played with her, and now she belongs to Katie.
Braving Chicago, Day 2: Shedd Aquarium
Starting the day with bear hugs.
Going into the pool (aka basement) for breakfast.
Arriving at Soldier Field after parking in the garage (it’s kitty corner from the aquarium).
Waiting patiently while we get our free (!!) tickets!
Getting ready for a 4-D movie short.
Do you know what these are?
How about now?
Shark eggs!
We got a stranger to take our group pic…
But of course I had to do a selfie!
After a somewhat agonizing drive home through rush hour traffic, we arrived to this:
I’m glad we got to see our friends, but after two full days in Chicago I cannot understand how people there don’t go postal. Between traffic, bikers, and congestion, I had a headache almost the entire time I was in a car plus I got stuck in rush hour coming home today so that made it a sucky ending. I understand there is a crap ton to do there but it’s just not for me. So I was right, I will be visiting even less then I visited DC because at least DC was only 20 minutes away. Caitlin, I love you, but next year you’re coming to the ‘burbs. 🙂 :heart:
I wouldn’t brave Chicago traffic for just anyone.
My good friend Caitlin (that I just had to leave in Virginia) and her kids came to Chicago (they were already in Indianapolis) so we drove down to explore some touristy stuff with them. I hate traffic and congestion so it was a mini nightmare for me… But I did it.
Our first stop was the Museum of Science and Industry…where we spent seven hours (egads, I know). The kids had fun but it was a long day.
At the Toy Maker area, it cost $5 to get your own personalized gravitron—and you could watch as it passed through each station. It was cooler than we thought it would be.
There was a Fault (you can’t see the red light on in the photo) so the human operator had to come in and fix it.
And I was thinking it was just a top but it’s a gyroscope—so much cooler than a top. They had a little station to test it out so we all played with it. Then it was back to the exhibits.
Katie got to create her own fireworks display!
Wind tunnel! Owen wanted no part of it (even though he had to do it at the $2 machine in Virginia at swim lessons).
I should have recorded more of this—the kids had an absolute blast with it:
Ice cream for lunch because why not?!
The kids loved the big tractors SOOO much.
If you stood still, butterflies would land on your shadow.
Then it was finally time to head to the hotel… The drive was a bit precarious with all the traffic and insane bikers…but we all made it in one piece. The hotel was really neat—it was all sports-themed and the rooms were like dorms.
And then after a brief rest, it was off to Navy Pier! The kids really wanted to do the Ferris wheel (like we did at National Harbor).
After we walked around a bit, it was time for dinner—and we wanted to sit down and waste time since we had to wait until the fireworks at 9:30. I figured I deserved this:
The traffic wasn’t actually that bad getting out after the fireworks (thank heavens for small favors) and soon we were back at the hotel, where the kids were all super excited to sleep on the top bunks!!
The kids finally quieted down around 11 and Caitlin and I stayed up chatting until almost 12:30.
She almost made it home…
This was about 20 minutes from home.
It pays to know the owner.Â
Shopping before the store opens…the benefits of being related to the owner. We brought home 18 packs of brats!!
Len Christmas in July, Year 4
Nick and Gracie making Christmas M&Ms (the rest went into Lisa’s monster cookies).
Just a few brats to cook…
All the kids like to fish but they say Aubrey is the one who loves it the most and is the best at it. She apparently gives lessons to other kids at their house!
Katie caught a fish!
Someone took an unplanned jump into the river (learning you can’t walk on lily pads):
Drying off…
I think this picture is a tradition.
And the mandatory annual family Christmas photo! Every year they give us grief about taking it… And this year with the craziness of the move I didn’t post it immediately and they were all asking about it!! So there. :p
And the annual kid comparison—Katie is getting closer to Aubrey but Aubrey is still ahead (which should be the case, as she’s almost 9). And as usual, Owen is definitely taller than Gracie…
But I think he beats Nick this year!!
Last year:
More fishing!
After a campfire and s’mores it was time for bed. The kids decided to all sleep in the living room… Poor Timmy. 🙂
The smell and taste of my childhood.
We made plans to pick up some of our favorite sausage before the Len Summer Christmas started. My family has been getting the amazing smoked and fresh sausage here for 60 years! It’s the smell and taste of my childhood! 💕
Owen’s treat with Gramma!
Owen was bummed that Katie got a small present from Gramma at the art fair but there weren’t any “boy things” for him to get so Gramma promised to take him out to buy something at the store. I jumped in to suggest an experience instead of a thing and they were both good with that. We ended up getting ice cream at a shop downtown and eating it in the gazebo. And he told Gramma he wanted a day with her for his birthday like Katie had!!
Own patiently waiting at the wine store.
