Chicago Interviews

august 13, 2010

sam had some interviews scheduled in chicago, and we decided to make a family trip of it. here's a picture journal. it was a pretty sweet trip to end our summer!

we got a pretty rad deal at the hilton. the kids loved it. they thought it was so FANCY! ;) 

we ate deep dish chicago style pizza at the place where al capone used to eat. and here is the hotel lounge area where frank sinatra used to perform. pretty awesome.   

after sam's morning interviews, we hit the town and made our way to millennium park. they had a huge splash tower where we all cooled off and splashed around in the water. 

 walking around millenium park. there are some pretty cool things here. 

listened to some outdoor symphony rehearsals. loved this!

being silly at "the bean." 

walking, walking, walking, and getting some pretty cool shots along the way. after walking for most of the morning, we stopped at a little mexican place in downtown chicago and had some yummy food before taking the taxi back to our hotel parking garage to pick up our car.

before leaving chicago, sam dropped me off at the temple and i got so much work done. while i was busy, he took the kids out to watch 'ramona and beezus.' i was extremely thankful, and the kids and sam loved the movie. :) it was a great weekend in chicago. thanks for taking us along, babe. 

Random August...

Zayah loved going to the parks with daddy, he especially loved having daddy there to play basketball with. :)

he also found a random friend to play with. 

i finally finished making this dress for makayah. it was a summer dress, and i'm hoping for some warm days so she'll be able to wear it for a good two months at least. 

so this is pretty funny. we were all goofing around and makayah comes out with isaiah's storm trooper gun yelling out, "DA FUTCHA IS MINE!" we couldn't stop cracking up. she is hilarious!

Summer Stuff

summer in madison turned out to be super great fun. makayah was enrolled in ballet, isaiah was part of our neighborhood coach-pitch team with his best friend from preschool. they LOVED it. daddy was gone for the months of june and july and we got to see him on the weekends. it really wasn't too bad, and i tried to fill our days with fun things to do so the week would go by quickly. mondays, wednesdays, and fridays were swimming days at the YMCA. tuesdays were library days. thursdays were park days. and everyday we did go to the Y and the kids would play at the child center while i got some gym time in. ;) and fridays, of course, we waited anxiously for daddy to come home, eat pizza and watch movies.

at the end of june, sam's internship was done and we got to have daddy back for the entire month of august. it ended up to be one big party month with our routine and schedule thrown out the window. we spent most of our time out and about, at the splash park, at our new garden plot, and everywhere else. :) it was fun having him back. at the end of the month we moved out of our old apt and into our new apt across the street. bigger, less rent, and all around better. we have the best neighbors, a backyard for the kids to play in, and a basement play area. it was a tedious move, but we are all settled in now, and we love it! 

4th of july in governor dodge

our wonderful friends from church invited us to governor dodge park to eat, laugh, hang out, swim, and canoe. we had the best time with them, and they are fun people. they were extremely nice and allowed sam and the kids to use their canoes. :)

the weather was absolutely perfect for swimming. it was warm, but not too hot, and the water was nice and cool...not too cold. makayah and isaiah did not want to get out of the water. 

time to eat and clean up after swimming in the lake. 

the boys, being boys. :)

makayah loves playing in the dirt. she found a couple friends on the beach and they went to work building sand castles and mud pies. 

just before we actually left the park, the kids and sam went on a mini hike (while i took a mini nap) to the waterfall and caves. 

we came home from the bbq, took potty breaks, and headed back out to menona lake to watch the fireworks with some of our other friends. it was a fun-packed day!

mango curry

since sam has been away during the weekdays this summer, we've really tried to pack in a ton of quality time with each other and with the kids. one thing we love doing when he comes home for the weekend, is cooking together. this particular day, we cranked up the cooking music, and went to work throwing ingredients together for our mango curry dinner. we made the curry, couscous, naan bread, and a rice milk smoothie. it was incredibly yummy, and incredibly fun to dance around the kitchen with my man. :)