SMORGS!

"Thanks for letting us make smorgs, Dad! They are the best thing in the world!" said Trevor.


"Yeah! We love smorgs!" says Tyson.


What do you mean they are not called smorgs?


They will always be smorgs to me and you, Tyson.

Ty's First Date

Ty had his friend, Ellie, over for a play date.


They had so much fun playing dress up!


The tale of two dragons...

Piano Man!

Trevor had his very first piano lesson with Mrs. Lundgren on Tues! We are so excited for him to learn some new songs! Ha! He is really excited to be taking lessons!


Michael Phelps continues to grow bigger and bigger!


He really does look prehistoric, doesn't he? Freaky!


These are my sweet neighbors and my best friends here in Chicago. Pat (in the hat) is 82 yrs. old and is undergoing chemo. She lives directly behind me and adores my boys! She is always making them treats and sending them home with goodies! Katie is the black top. Her son, Jimmy, is Tyson's dearest best friend! Joyce is in the glasses. She lives right next door and is so good about keeping an eye out on things for us. She is 80 yrs. old and is the orignal owner of her house! She has lived there for over 44 years! She is a wonderful neighbor! I'm blessed.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

It has rained all weekend! A huge branch fell from our tree. There are puddles EVERYWHERE!... Even in our basement.


We're bored! I know! Let's build boats out of popsicle sticks and have a race!


Our neighbor, Mr. Nelson, even got in the rigotta! He made a really good boat!


It turned out to be a pretty fun day after all!

Meet Michael Phelps

Meet the newest pet in our family, Michael Phelps (or as Tyson calls him, Swimmer). It's a triops. (Don't ask...we really don't know what it is either.) The package explains it them as "crustaceans that look like miniture horsehoe crabs". They have three compound eyes and are constantly swimming around really fast...thus the name Michael Phelps.


They are said to have been alive at the time of the dinosaurs, so Trevor and Ty think he is super cool!


The crazy thing hatched from a microscopic egg and seems to double in size daily! The picture above was taken one day before this one! He molted off his exoskeleton today. He's fascinating to watch! They have a life span of about 30 days.

PS- In case you are wondering about Hannibal, our toad, Adam and Trevor set him free by a pond in the forest preserve. Mommy and Daddy got tired of hunting for bugs for him to eat. Ha!

Sock it to me!

Tyson started soccer this week! He is by far the youngest in his class, but he holds his own! He even made a goal! Way to go, Ty!


No, it's not a garage sale!
The boys love to roll their trucks down the driveway. In order to stop them from going in the street, they got the bright idea to make a barricade.


They took all the shoes and boots off the shelf in the garage and lined them up past the sidewalk!


It then turned into a bowling game for the most part!

Ty's 1st Day of School

Here is my little cubbie going off to his first day of 4 yr. old preschool! We have been counting down to this big day!


This is Tyson's fabulous teacher, Mrs. Kurtz. We LOVE Mrs. Kurtz! Tyson actually cried this summer for her because he missed her so much! We wrote her a letter and she wrote back to Ty! Sweet! Trevor had her for pre-k and Ty had her last year in his 3 yr. old class. (And Tyson will most likely have her again next year for pre-k.)


This is a picture Tyson drew of his new friend Ashley.

Putt Putt n putt n putt n putt

We had a fun Sunday! We went to church and then we went to Fuddruckers for lunch! It was a beautiful day! We took the boys to play putt putt for the very first time this afternoon!


Forget the "one at a time rule"! We would have been there all day! The boys had a blast! They would putt, and putt, and putt, and putt... Luckily, we didn't even try to keep score! Mom was the only person to get a hole in one!!! (Unfortunately, she didn't even know because she was too busy helping Trevor who fell on the sidewalk and got a bloody knee! Thank goodness mom always carries band aids with her!)


Brotherly love!


Popsicles!!!

Don't look, Lori!

This summer the boys have enjoyed collecting cicada shells! They divide them up into armies and make them battle. How fun...and gross! BOYS!


As you can see, we have HUNDREDS of shells!


Does anyone know the difference between a cicada and a locust?