Jack plays in the White Sox VIP Fantasy Game!!

August 29, 2012

Because Jack is such an amazing employee at US Cellular, he was selected by his manager to play in the White Sox VIP Fantasy game.  This game is only held once every two years, and the White Sox went all out!  There were about 250 people in attendance to watch the game, and we were all treated to free food and beverages throughout the night.  We got to walk around under the stadium to get to our seats, and the players parked in the players lot and used the visitor's locker room.

Jack with his teammates in the dugout.

Jack chose #10 to honor legendary Cub, Ron Santo.

Here is Jack being introduced to the cheering crowd!


He looks like a natural out there in the dugout!

Jack did great on defense as a second basemen.

Jack caught a pop fly...which knocked him off his feet.  I missed the picture in real time, but was so fortunate to get a picture of Jack's bottom up on the jumbo-tron!

Jack batted great, too.  He went 2 for 2 with a double in the 3rd and a single in the 7th.

Here is a great video of the double!

Jack's name in lights!

I was so proud of Jack!  His team won, and everyone had a fantastic time!

First Day of Saplings Nature Preschool

August 28, 2012

Elsie started preschool at Saplings Nature Preschool this year.  She goes two days each week, 2 hours on each day.  The 3 and 4 year olds are mixed into one program, and Elsie has two male teachers, Mr. John and Mr. Nick.  They spend a lot of time outdoors exploring nature, and Elsie seems to be enjoying it.

Elsie was very excited for her first day as a preschooler!

Vacation in the Wisconsin Dells

August 25 - 27, 2012

This summer we took our first vacation to the Wisconsin Dells.  We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge and enjoyed lots of water park fun at the lodge.  Unfortunately, cameras and water park and kids don't mix, so there are no pictures of the actual water park.   But, we did get some great pictures when we visited the Wisconsin Deer Park!

We were joined on our vacation by the Gaeto family.  They stayed in the next room over and Elsie and Ava loved being on vacation together!  The adults enjoyed meeting up on the balcony after bedtime!

Elsie the flower and Ava the deer.

Coolest trashcan ever!  Roar!

We started our deer park adventure with the goats.

They were some pretty talented goats, standing on top of all sorts of structures in their yard.

Smart Elsie is keeping her hand away from that goat!

Duncan is a big fan, of course!

Then we entered the deer park, where the deer just roam free!!  You can touch them, feed them, and apparently  hug them!

Hugging is OK, but don't touch the face!

We bought these crackers to feed the deer, and they were very excited to eat them.  I am trying to get a cracker out of the bag and hold Duncan back at the same time.  Duncan was not so sure.

Elsie loved feeding the deer.  I had to break up the crackers pretty small to make it all the way around the huge park!

Hi deer!!

When Duncan wasn't eating the crackers himself, he fed a few deer/  I was shocked that these deer just came right up to a crazy toddler in a stroller!

Our handsome boy!

Did you see that Dad?  I just climbed up the chair!

Moosejaw was a great restaurant for the kids and adults alike.  Check out that cool highchair!  Duncan Moose!

Cheese!

Elsie decided to give herself a fork mustache!  So cute!

Ava was not impressed!

The last day of our trip, we went horseback riding on a trail for about 45 minutes!  Elsie went with Daddy while Duncan and I went for a walk and hung out in the petting zoo.  Elsie and Ava both had a lot of fun!

Have fun guys!

Fun at home in August

August, 2012

We play outside as much as possible.  And for Duncan, this means playing with balls.  In the matter of a few minutes, he played with the small basketball,

the golf ball,

and then the big basketball.

He went back to the golf ball and tried to shoot it into our neighbors' basketball hoop.  We have one, too, but Duncan likes to try to shoot into everybody's hoops.  Its like he is a dog marking his territory.

So, since he couldn't reach from our yard, he crept around to the Kramer's driveway to take a shot.  Whenever I can't find Duncan out back, I just look over into the Kramer's driveway, and there is is under the basketball hoop!

Hmm.  I think that bike may be just a bit too big.

That looks better!

Take a look at Elsie on her bike!  We ride our bikes a lot, especially after dinner.  Each night, we go for a walk around the block, which includes crossing the street twice.  Elsie rides her bike, Duncan gets a push in his bike, and Jack and I walk.  

Duncan and Elsie play really well together most of the time at home.  They find fun little spots to play, like in the closet!  They were just sitting quietly, putting blocks together!  So cute!

Duncan and Elsie really like to read together.  Elsie has many of our board books memorized.  And when she doesn't she just makes up the words.  We are so fortunate to have two children that like playing with each other (most of the time)!!

Brookfield Zoo

August 10, 2012

We took a trip to the zoo with Kenzie and Maria.  We had a lot of fun hanging out with the goats!

Duncan's favorite thing to do is to get licks from the goats, which is just so gross!  I was finally able to get Duncan interested in brushing the goats this time.

Talk to the brush Kenzie!

It was so great to have Kenzie as our photographer, so we could actually have a few photos of our outings!  Look at the camera Duncan!

Hmm.  I am pretty sure there was a sign near this frog saying "Do not climb on the frog."  Where was Elsie's mom?!

Shedd Aquarium

August 9, 2012

Mackenzie and Maria stayed at our house for a few days.

Out first adventure was to the Shedd Aquarium!

Elsie loved being able to hang out with teenagers all day.

Elsie, Mackenzie, and Maria watched the aquatic show...

...while Duncan and I played down in the lower level of the aquarium.  Here is Duncan Penguin!

 The Jellies exhibit is awesome.  We got to watch them clean out one of the tanks.

It looks like there is a jellyfish on Elsie's head in this picture!

After lunch, we went for a walk around the museum campus.  Duncan took a nap...and Elsie pretended to sleep!

We hung out at the beach for a bit.

Elsie was soaked and sandy at the end of our excursion.  We tried to rinse off and change in the little bathroom at the beach.  Elsie even got to wear a pair of Duncan's shorts, since I had failed to pack her an extra pair!

We played for a bit at the small children's park nearby.  They had a great climber for Elsie and Maria.

And Duncan loved the big ball.  Eww!  Don't drink that water!

We had a great day downtown, and even beat the traffic home!