Diana Krall at Ravinia

Julie Roper treated me, Sarah, Charity, Julie, Heidi, and Charity to a fun evening at Ravinia.  We enjoyed a yummy picnic and good conversation.  I found my parents and visited with them for short while.  I also ran into Jordyn's sisters, Alyssa and Megan.  I have fond memories of going to Ravinia with my family and yesterday I got to enjoy it with my friends.

Ravinia in the Rain

...and then it started to rain.  We took cover under a couple umbrellas and a tarp.  It was a comical situation which some found funnier than others.  The rain added an adventurous feel to the evening, but distracted us from the music which was so good.  It was a memorable evening with friends.  Thanks Julie!

Krista's New Baby

On Friday morning I got a call that Krista was on her way to the hospital and about an hour later I got a call that the baby had been born.  They had waited to find out the sex, so Krista informed me that it was a boy and they named him Micah Dane.  Yesterday I visited them in the hospital.  Micah was the spitting image of Brecken when he was a baby- so adorable!  Brecken kept running over to Micah saying, "I want to give my baby a kiss."  How sweet!  We are so excited for our dear friends!  (These are Krista's pics from her Facebook announcement.)

Little Heroes' Teatime

Krista was due on Father's Day, so we are anxiously waiting to hear when she goes in labor.  In the meantime, she and Brecken came over this morning for a little playtime. The kids had fun playing dress-up and putting out pretend fires.  Jadon was hilarious as he ran around shouting, "I'm Fatman!"  All that running must have made them thirsty because when I returned from switching the laundry, they were setting up a "tea party".  I guess our little heroes aren't too manly to have tea parties.  

Along the Canal

This past Friday night, newlyweds Sarah and Greg, and our good friend Julie came out for a weekend visit.  It was great to debrief the wedding and hear about the Gunderson's honeymoon in Italy.  Brian and Greg spent Saturday morning working on a house with Habitat for Humanity.  Us girls took the kids in the jogging stroller and got a little exercise.  I took them on one of my favorite running routes across the pedestrian bridge and along the canal.  Brian and I always enjoy hanging out with this group and I appreciate how attentive and fun they are with the kids.    

Bottling Beer

OK, these look like some incriminating photos, but I can assure you we were having good clean fun.  Brian enjoys making beer and involving his friends in the process.  As far as consuming goes, it's about quality- not quantity.  Jeff and Charity came down for the evening to join the rest of the group.  After bottling the beer we hung out in the backyard.  The kids enjoyed the "beach"experience- playing in both the pools and the sandbox.  Then we had a yummy BBQ dinner.  What a great weekend with friends!

Picnic with the Attigs

If you asked Jadon, "What do you want to do today?", a likely response would be, "Go to Eli's house!"  Eli and the rest of the Attig family live in Walnut, about 20 minutes south of Sterling. Lori is one of my good friends in this area and we enjoy getting our kids together for playdates.  Jadon particularly likes going to their house because of their extensive car collection.  This past Friday we had a picnic in their backyard and enjoyed playing outside on the swingset, in the sandbox, and on the trampoline.  Lori was getting little Alex to giggle quite a bit in his swing.  It was so cute!