Jam Packed Weekend!

What a super busy, fun and productive weekend! It started with a fun Friday night in the city. I looked forward to it all day on Friday. I left work at 4, hustled home to change and freshen up before we picked up Cath at 5. We met Mark, Susan and Don at the restaurant, Q, right on time at 6. I had such a fun time! Great conversations and lots of laughs...and the food was awesome, too.
We had Matt and his parents, Bob and Mary, over for homemade pizza on Saturday night. Another exceptional night. We ended up having an "around the world" kind of meal. We had sushi and hummus for appetizers, guacamole salad and pizza for dinner, Texas sheet cake for dessert and Spanish wine to drink! We are so lucky and blessed that our families are going to be so connected through Matt and Sally. They are awesome people. No picture from that night here because Matt and Bob don't like to have their pictures taken. Though I did sneak one or two shots!
This afternoon, we had Abbie and Nina for a few hours while Arne and Beth went to a 70th birthday party for one of Beth's relatives. We headed out to Susie's for a visit. The girls have adjusted pretty well to the fact that Marmar isn't there anymore. They wanted to see her room. When Marmar was alive, they loved looking through the things on her dresser because she would always let them keep something. And she would paint their nails with whatever polish was there at the time. Abbie and Nina wanted to paint their own toenails today and of course we said yes (sorry, Beth!😳). They loved spending time with Susie and Bella. They wanted to love on Bella the whole time! Fun family time!
Tonight I have been putting the finishing touch on the materials for a class I am facilitating at work. It's called "iPads: Apps and Applications". Tomorrow is the first session of the 7 hour and half classes.
Tomorrow is also my first day with my students! Can't wait. I do love the beginning of the school year. It never gets old.

the boys..Jack, Don and Mark

me, Cath and Susan

Checking out Marmar's things

the girls, loving on Bella

Happy Birthday, Abbie!

Abbie turned six years old last Sunday, August 12th and we helped her celebrate. Arne and Beth hosted a party for both sides of the family. There's nothing like a toothless six year old's smile on her birthday!

Jack's mother taught him the A.A. Milne poem, Now We are Six, when he was six. It was a favorite of Wayne and Sally's when they turned six and so Jack said it for Abbie. Here is a video of it. I love how attentive she is and that sweet smile. It's hard to hear, but at the end, Abbie said, "I love that".

Great America revisited

We had a sweet little family outing yesterday...a visit to Six Flags Great America. I think it was Arne's idea to resurrect the old family tradition. When the kids, meaning Arne, Dane, Kjell, Wayne and Sally, were growing up, my dad would take all of us there every summer. Such great memories! Not all the adults could come every year, but that didn't matter because the day was all about the kids. This year, it was Arne, Beth, Abbie, Nina, Kjell, Jenny, Jay, Wayne, Sally and me. Susie, Jack and Matt all had to work. We felt badly about that, but went anyway :). We had such a great time. Arne, Kjell, Wayne and Sally did some of the crazy roller coasters together. They didn't even mind waiting in line (none of the lines were over 45 minute waits) because they had fun catching up on news and reminiscing too. Abbie and Nina went on their first big girl roller coaster, The Whizzer. They also played some games and won some prizes. The highlight of the day was riding Roaring Rapids. It was my dad's FAVORITE! It's a ride that the whole family can go on together and that makes it so fun. Also, you get wet. Very wet. You have no idea when you will get splashed or how badly. The facial expressions and reactions yesterday were just as entertaining as the ones 20 some years ago. We could almost hear Pawp cackling! As Kjell tweeted last night, #newtradish...new tradition. For sure. Even though I came home and slept for two hours and still haven't quite recovered today, it was worth it!

Abbie wins! Love the expression

Abbie and Nina and their prizes

just off of Roaring Rapids...very wet

Nina loved holding hands with Wayne

Dipping my feet into the water of a new school year

Institute Day is next Wednesday, August 15th. It's about time I started wrapping my brain around the start of school, so I went into my classroom this morning to soak in the vibes. I did the important things first. Plugged in the fridge and microwave. I also set up my computer and printer. (side note: It wasn't that many years ago that I had to wait for our tech guy to come out to my classroom and connect all the wires for me. That cracks me up.)
Looking forward to getting my room set up and getting things ready for my kiddos. The kids are the best part of my gig.

Happy Anniversary!

We had our annual anniversary dinner with Teri and Chuck last night. It's one of our many valued traditions with them. We were celebrating their 30th and our 29th. ( side note: Originally, their kids were planning a surprise party for them and I was honored to be on the advisory committee. The party was supposed to be on July 28th, but sometime earlier this year, it became clear that a big party was not what they wanted. Instead they took a family trip to NYC and the Baseball Hall of Fame. It sounded fabulous.)
For our couples celebration, Teri suggested a restaurant named L Woods up in Lincolnwood. It's based on a Wisconsin supper club format. It did not disappoint. It was a really fun, relaxing night, sitting there in our red leatherette booth. There's nothing better than spending an evening with friends with whom we share so much history.

Lunch with the Ladies

I love to spend time with my friends and there's nothing like a summer afternoon lunch. Yesterday I met Cathy, Christy, Susan and Audrey at Gibson's. I was really in the mood to dine outdoors and they have one of the best spots for that. It was a bit warm but we made it work. There is such narrow window of opportunity to be outdoors in Chicago. Our lunch time conversation was fun. We pretty much caught up on each person's family news. We all met when our sons went to grade school together....20 years ago!

Celebrating with my guys

My birthday and anniversary were on Monday. Wayne came over and took Jack and me out to dinner. It was lovely and so thoughtful. We missed Sally and Matt, of course.
I am so blessed. I know where these gifts came from. Grace of God.