Boat Day

Dave and Amy invited our small group to enjoy a day on Dave's family's boat. What...a...treat!!

It was a clear day, so we got to enjoy some great views of the city from the water.

The small group girls - Lindsay, me, Amy and Kristin.

A few of us braved the frigid cold water. Above, Marc and Eric are getting their first taste of what the temperature really feels like. Marc kept saying, "It feels like the bottom of my bare feet are walking on snow." When I got in, I understood exactly what he was talking about. It...was...cold.

Kyler did some diving routines for us. J/k. But he was the only one to jump off the top.

Our hosts Dave and Amy.

"My First Baseball Game" - A Narration By Dylan

"This is where we're going? You gotta be kidding me. I am so bored. I could not be any more dis-interested in this idea. Somebody please get me out of here."

"Hmm - actually, this is pretty cool. Let me check out the whole scene here."

"A picture? Yeah, yeah -in just a sec. I gotta watch this play first."

"This is awesome. I love this. I love life. Go Sox!"

Party x2

My friend Tersha and her husband Hans' twins celebrated their birthdays on Friday with a pool party in the backyard. Such a fun morning for the kiddos! Shylah and Koen turned 2.

Dylan LOVED the slide (in photo, upper right), but hated landing in the water, which led to a bit of dilemma and confusion for him.

Koen and Dylan, helping to mow the lawn.

Split Lip

Dylan got his first split lip this past week. He was just walking - on flat ground - and fell. :(

Celebrating Baby Shanks

Baby Boy Shanks is due in October, so Mom and I co-hosted a girls' luncheon to celebrate and help Nic get stocked up on some boy things, while I was out there.

Nicole and me with six of her closest girlfriends.

A few blue items have now entered the Shanks household.

Outside of Newcastle Golf Club, where the luncheon was. It was a gorgeous day (and week) out there.

Check out the view we had of Seattle!

Seattle

Marc, Dylan and I traveled to Seattle this past week to visit my (pregnant!) sister Nicole, her husband Craig, and 4 yr.-old daughter Olivia. We had a fabulous time. I always love it out there. And there was so much answered prayer in regard to this trip. We are just praising God for such a great time.

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A DAY (OR TWO) AT THE PARK

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BUDDIES

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KEEPING THE KIDS ENTERTAINED

I got to watch Olivia (blonde, in white shoes) in her dance class while there. A highlight of my summer! There are few things in life more precious than 4 yr. old little girls dressed up in tu-tus.

Dylan met his first horse. The boys took the kids to Craig's mom's place, where they have a horse and dog.

OE and Dylan petting the "goggy," as Dylan calls him.

D loved Olivia's ball pit.

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KEEPING THE ADULTS ENTERTAINED

We visited a coupe of wineries in the Seattle area.

At Columbia Winery.

Doing a tasting at Chateau St. Michelle. (My sister only had a sip.) :)

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Outside of Eastlake Church.

Out to dinner in Bellview.

Packing

I had luggage out, getting ready for our trip to Seattle, and Dylan decided to pack himself.

New Red Truck

Blog update: a few people have asked me if Marc has a pink truck, and I realized I left everyone hanging! We are happy to report that it is not pink, but fire engine red. On the Sunday after he got it, around 6 at night, he said "Can we go for a family drive in the new truck?" We moved Dylan's carseat, and piled into the new vehicle. Marc told me while we drove around that his dad always took the family for a drive whenever they got a new vehicle. So that's what we did. I thought it was cute.

We drove Marc's truck down to the Grant Park movie last week.

Marc is standing on the "sea of pavers" that got installed at Buckingham Fountain over the winter.

Those of you that know me, know that I LOVE Grant Park movies in the summertime. I was one happy camper Tuesday night.

Girls And Their Boys

A couple of shots from time with my girlfriends Jen and Amy, and their boys Connor and Bennett. It seems like sooooo many people in my life have recently had, or are pregnant with, boys!!

Rainy Ravinia

We went to Ravinia this weekend, and unfortunately got rained on a bit. Marc and Ross didn't seem to mind. :)

Things A Toddler Does

Farewell, Truck

Marc got a "good news, bad news" phone call today. Good news: he gets a new work vehicle! (His died on him last week, stranding him in the suburbs for a day and forcing him to take the train into the city.) Bad news: Town & Country supposedly got a good deal on a new pink/fuschia colored Ford truck. A pink truck? Isn't that an oxymoron? We think they're trying to pull a practical joke on him, but we'll see.....Above, he's cleaning out his truck, getting ready for the new one.

Elton John/Billy Joel Concert

Marc accompanied his mom to the Elton John/Billy Joel concert at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night. Marc said it was in the "top ten" for concerts he's been to. They had a blast.

Waterboy

A couple of shots from our "water events" this past week....

Our church had an all-Mom's group beach day at Foster Ave. beach (right next door!) Above is Dylan getting ready to go, visibly excited about the day.

My good friend Jen and her cute little guy, Connor, hanging with Dylan. This was one of the few moments poor Dylan wasn't in tears. The combination of a short night's sleep, sunscreen in his eyes, and sand in his mouth did not fare well for him.

This brought much more happiness - a $6 kiddie pool from Babies R Us.

The British Open

Last weekend, D must have known it was The British Open because he found his daddy's golf club and decided it was a pretty cool toy.