Playing in Paw Paw.....

We were able to get away for a few days at an old family friends cottage again this year. It is always so nice to have time on the lake and play with the toys. The Jet ski is always a crowd favorite although it was also our demise on our second day as we dealt with a tow rope debacle.....Still it was a great way to spend the last few days with Grandma and Grandpa before they head back to the Desert! Here are some pix of our trip.

Brooke and Mom riding the jet ski....

Brooke and Grandma working on their tan....


He complied this year and even used the throttle.....


Mom and Bugs....


Brooke ventured out and tried tubing this year...before we left I taught her some hand signals...cut/faster/slower etc.....well this prompted her to do a hand signal every 1.4 seconds to adjust her speed.......it was as if she was doing sign language the whole time....can you back seat driver....

Calgon or Corona.....take me away....either will work.

We enjoyed plenty of water fights.....

Grandpa and Grandma relaxing......

Brady thinking he is Big Al getting mom.

Apparently we need to feed Brady a meal since I can seriously count each and every rib on his body......

Grandpa and his girl....

We have officially perfected the smore.....ummm yep that is right a peanut butter cup, can't beat it.

Chris and Brady enjoying the view......My dad loves that the Sox flag is hanging directly over Chris' head......

Brady and his duckie friends....

The men in red......

Novacek clan I have some very entertaining video of mom and dad on the jet ski but having trouble uploading.....stay tuned......

This is a video where Brady made great strides in the "water department" he just started diving under water, a big step forward!

This was mom and dad riding the jet ski ....as you can imagine there were a lot of "screams" and "Jaaaayyyys"

Forever Turning Four......

So because July has been such a blur....this is a bit untimely. However, our little man has turned 4 recently and has been celebrating for seriously the entire month it seems. This little guy had four separate celebrations that made it feel like he was being honored for the Nobel Peace Prize. He got to have a special beach party at Grandmas, a solo camping trip P&P, a pool party at our old stomping grounds in the "ville" with his Illinois family, and finally his little boy party at a bowling alley no less. So as you can see this guy was all smiles as he continually stuffed his face with cakes and got to be the center of attention (for once.....) Here are some pix of his many affairs.....

Homemade ice cream cake after a long day on the beach at Grandmas!

Then wearing his new Iron Man suit from the moment he opened it until well every day since...

His Illinois party was doubled with a family reunion of sorts.....My brother, Atom & Ivy were in town from Seattle so we all thought we would gather at our old stomping grounds Centennial Beach......It hasn't changed much and the kids loved it!

Cousins soaking up some rays...

Thanks Les and Coco for an adorable cake for the Brady Man!

Coco and Johnny....

Brooke and Syd.....

Next was the bowling party..... The pin cake turned out a bit falic......

Grandma and Brookie coordinated and set up the event.....

Let's get this party started......

The Older kids stayed to "help" the younger ones.....hahaha.....

Ahhh the infamous Maxx.... Brady's little pal from school that he was SOOO excited to have there....

The friend choke hold........

The rowdy gang......

The birthday boy in action....all in all the kids did great. They did loose interest during the second game and I thought it was funny that all the other patrons were watching us play duck duck goose in the corner to fill up some time.......

So my sweet little man you continue to make me smile and sometimes cringe on a daily basis. You have done a lot this past year and grown up in so many ways but will always remain my baby! I hope you take hold of every opportunity that comes your way and try as many new things as you are willing........(even if you are constantly being pushed out of your tiny tiny comfort zone) Whatever you do and at whatever speed you do it in.....you will always make me proud and I look forward to smiling at you during your next year......... keep being you and acting as if no one is watching you........

Happy Birthday Brady!

The Windy City.....

The two of us were able to enjoy and share down-town Chicago with the kids. Brooke has been asking since we showed her the Sears Tower in a drive by a few years ago, and Brady really wanted to ride a Subway (sorry but NYC is a bit far off yet...) Chris and I had been wanting to take the kids for quite sometime, every time we have been down there and seen kid friendly things...we would say....awh I wish we had the kids.....Funny enough this time when we did have the kids and we were pushing a double stroller in the heat past the beer tents on Navy pier.....we went awh.....I wish we didn't have the kids.......Ironic huh? But truly we had a great time, it was work pushing 100+ pounds in a stroller, but with out it we wouldn't have been able to do half of what we did do. We had a great hotel overlooking the river and Lake Michigan, the kids loved watching all the tour boats, we had a chance to go to Millennium Park, do the fountain, the bean (Brady's favorite he called it the biggest crystal ball), ate deep dish pie, swam in the pool, perused Navy pier, rode the 150 ft Ferris wheel (not a fan favorite - see below), catch a glimpse of Transformers 3 being filmed..... and arrived back at the hotel at 10:30 to put one whipped boy to bed and try to convince Brooke that nite life isn't usually for 6 year olds.........It was good, we will do it again soon!

The famous squirting face fountain......Brooke kept getting boxed out by all the older kids, but she still got wet!

Brady was a bit intimidated by all the random people splashing about....imagine that!Brooke and the big city.....everyone hangs out in their bikini, no??


The bean, us, and the city....

The kids could have laid there all day.......

Chris and I tried to estimate how many pictures have been taken at this one spot ....probably billions.....

Getting artsy.....

Poor Brady's legs were hardly long enough....

Out on Navy Pier enjoying the sights and the boats!

Dad and his girl.....

watching the sunset....

And then the Ferris wheel, Brooke was too small to go on the swing ride so she settled on the "wheel" which I knew Chris wouldn't step foot on, so mom had to step up.......it's large, that isn't the main problem, the speed...yup that was my problem....it goes sooooooo stinking slow, which is nice so it isn't a quick ride and you get to enjoy the sites......but it's at a rate where you constantly think that you aren't even moving but rather just stuck because the thing possibly just broke down......I would much rather have that thing whip us around like a hamster in heat......

150 feet tall.....and it feels like it......

The hotel had a pool overlooking the river....so Brooke couldn't pass up a dip in the goodness...

This was Brady from the moment we got on the Ferris Wheel until we arrived at the hotel......

And then FINALLY BOTH our nuggets plum tuckered out from a big day in SWEET HOME CHICAGO!!