More Fun Family Time

Oh my goodness, this has been such a fun weekend. After the sleepover with the girls, Jack and I went out to Susie's. We went with her to the farm stand where she gets the best tomatoes and corn. Jack also scored some homemade pickled beets which by all reports are outstanding (not into beets, but may have to try them). We also went out to lunch at Olympic Star and had so much fun with lots of great conversation. It was just a nice leisurely meal, no one had to be in a rush. We don't take the time to do that often enough.
We got home mid-afternoon, in time to say good bye to Sally. She is a chaperone on a Habitat for Humanity trip. They have 6 vehicles loaded with high schoolers and chaperones heading to West Virginia for the week. I am sure Sal will have lots of good stories to tell. Saying a prayer for all of them for safe travels.
Jack and I went to 5 o'clock mass and received a voice mail from Sue. She found a pair of the girls' goggles from the night before and wanted to drop them off. She and Lauren were headed to Oak Brook so they were going to swing by. We got home right as they arrived and it was the perfect opportunity to have a glass of wine together! (when is it not for me?!) we were having such a great time, next thing you know, we talked them into bagging the shopping trip and we threw together some dinner, including corn and tomatoes from the farm stand.
Another super fun family day! So blessed.

Payback is a ...

Growing up, Sally was famous for being an "aerobic sleeper". She moved all over the bed, flailing her arms and legs. Sally always woke up facing a different direction and on the opposite side of the bed from where she had begun the night. Woe to the relative that was her sleeping buddy that particular night. Last night, Abbie and Nina slept with Sally. Here was the scene at 7 am this morning.

Swimming and a Sleepover

We had the most fun last night! We volunteered to keep Abbie and Nina overnight while Arne and Beth went to a wedding and boy, did we have a blast! Earlier in the week, I asked Sue if we could bring the girls over for a swim in her pool. She graciously said yes and suggested we order some pizza and hang out. Matt and Sally decided to come along too which was awesome as they spent most of the evening in the pool with Abbie and Nina :). One of my favorite parts of the night was pulling into Sue's driveway and Nina saying, "first let's go to the pool, THEN we can come to this house". I told her that the pool was in the backyard of this house and I don't think she believed me. When the girls looked out the kitchen window and saw the pool, their eyes popped out of their heads. So cute! Mike would have loved it!!! It was the perfect environment for Abbie to learn to put her head under the water (Sally being a very seasoned swim lesson teacher/lifeguard/swim coach). Attached is a video of the first time she did and by the end of the night, Abbie was a pro!
We carried out some Home Run Inn pizza and sat by the pool and ate. We all enjoyed catching up with Sue and rehashing Brendan's fun graduation party. Sue told the girls about when she was a flower girl in a wedding and now Abbie wants a yellow dress like Sue had.
Such a great night! Lots of wonderfully good karma family time. Perfect way to spend a summer Friday night. Thanks, Sue!

Good timing

We had one of those summer storms blow in this morning while Jean and I were walking. Jean and I have a deep respect for the mercurial nature of weather in the Midwest. After all of these years of early morning walking, we know that we can't take unnecessary risks. Today we watched as the sky darkened and then the wind kicked up. Luckily, we had just stopped in Starbucks and so we decided to wait for Mike, Jean's husband to come rescue us. Because he always does. Actually, Mike was driving Michael, their son, to the train so they swung by and picked us up. By the time we dropped Michael
off at the station, it was pitch black and pouring rain but everyone got to where they needed to be safely. God has perfect timing.

Happy graduation to Brendan!

Yesterday, we celebrated our nephew/my godson Brendan's graduation from Indiana University. We are so proud of Brendan and what a great guy he is...and his many accomplishments are just icing on the cake. Sue did an outstanding job of throwing the party. Everything was perfect. I know how much work it is throwing a party and we were all super impressed. It was the first big celebration since Mike died, and this party was held four days after what would have been Mike's 53rd birthday and two days after the 7 month anniversary of his death.Kinda bittersweet in many ways.  As Jack said after we got home last night, Mike's presence was very much felt throughout the party. Several of Mike's fraternity brothers came from all over the country in support of Sue, Lauren and Brendan and that was so touching. Mike had many good friends from his Rollins College days. And at the party last night, it was fun to see Brendan's good friends, from high school, college as well as some new coworkers, come together to keep that kind of legacy going.

Brendan, Sue and Lauren

Tony, Eric, Greg and Ted with Sue

Sam and Brendan share a laugh

There is still so much healing taking place. The folks most impacted by Mike's death are Sue, Lauren and Brendan... and of course, Bill and Marie.  Sometimes I forget that Jack is grieving, too, as well as Paul and Downtown Sue. It was nice to be together yesterday to celebrate one of life's many happy moments as Brendan begins his career. God bless Brendan and thank God for family.

Barry Manilow!!!

I attended my first Barry Manilow concert last night, courtesy of Christy and Steve. Steve gave 4 tickets to Christy as a gift and she invited Mary Kay, Karen R and me. They were incredible seats for a very entertaining concert. As in front row in temporary chairs. Wow. Barry is getting older but is still quite the entertainer. He wrote and performed so many great songs that I have enjoyed over the years. It was also great to be in the city. I don't get there nearly as often as I would like.
Another awesome summer night.

Grand Beach, summer style

Our Birthday Club celebration was held at Carol's place in Grand Beach. I loved seeing GB in the summer. It was the first time for that for me, after 15 years plus of our winter sleepovers there. Most of the crew went up on Tuesday morning, but Jean, Mary B and I couldn't leave til 1 pm Chicago time. I did a team eval at work from 10:30 til 12:30, then picked up Jean and Mary. We were on the lake Michigan beach by 3 Chicago time. It was so relaxing, reading magazines and enjoying appetizers and beverages and each other's company. We headed up to the house for a delicious dinner prepared by Carol and Jean. The next morning we went for a long walk, then went back down to the beach for a few hours before heading back to reality. I was gone just over 24 hours, but it felt like a true vacation. So blessed!

Vacation Sunday

It has felt like vacation today. I love that relaxed feeling. Part of the reason must be the break in our 100 degree weather...about a week of it and it was literally sickening. Kinda zaps ya. For lunch today, we met Susie and Jenny at Egg Harbor. We had not been there for months and I had a hankering for a Sir Dugan. Delicious as always. And there was a cute WWII vet that stopped by our table to flirt and have some companionship. See picture below. :) Came home and read, took a nap and then got a quick manicure. At the nail salon, their big screen tv was showing the Kardashians and I had never really watched an episode before. Very entertaining!

Happy Fourth!

I had a lovely Fourth of July. Hot and sweaty but lovely. Wayne, Sally and Matt all came to the parade and we stood in our traditional spot with our friends. Steve and Christy were there and Chuck, Teri, Caylen and Joe, Keegan and Chas and Julie. We really missed Britt (who just moved to Nashville) and Grace (who is working in Columbia MO this summer). We did our BBQ at 1 instead of the evening because Teri had to leave on a business trip tonight...her birthday eve. Extremely fun day. Jack and I drove Wayne back to the city tonight and enjoyed watching all the fireworks off either side of the Eisenhower. It was quite a show. So blessed to live in this wonderful country of ours. God bless the USA!

Second Lt Jack (not my Jack!)

Last weekend we celebrated the graduation of our friend, Jack, from West Point. What an accomplishment. It was not easy, but Jack did it and we are all so proud of him. My Jack had a fantastic time hanging around with 2nd Lt Jack and hearing stories about his experiences.