Chicago Date

For his birthday, I got Brian tickets to see a live taping of the NPR news quiz show, "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me".  We headed in on a Thursday morning, had lunch, and went to Linclon Park Zoo.  Then we ate dinner at an Indian restaurant and went to the taping.  It was a fun and relaxing day to spend together.

Sels Family Cookout

We have 2 new babies in the Sels family.  Brant and Amie's son, Tyler, and Jeff and Charity's son, Isaiah.  They were born just 2 days apart and are second cousins.  Aunt Carol hosted a family get-together to meet the babies.  It was a beautiful day to spend in her big backyard.  The kids enjoyed playing on the playground, chasing the neighbors chickens, catching fireflies, and roasting marshmallows.  It was a magical summer evening.

 Jim and Grandma Betty with Isaiah Rouse.

 Brian meeting his nephew Tyler for the first time.

 Big sister Kylie with Tyler.

 The Sels Clan

The 2 new moms with their little guys.  Tyler, not so happy.

Touch-a-Truck 2012

Once again I took the kids to explore all different types of trucks and vehicles at Sterling's "Touch-a-Truck" Day.  Leah was more into it than Jadon.  He's just not as awestruck by trucks as he used to be.  He did have the honor of dressing up as a firefighter, though.

Brad Onken 2012

Larry came to Sterling to race the Brad Onken 5K.  We each took 2nd in our age groups and had a lot of fun.  It was a beautiful day.  Brian let the kids run/walk/ride the course and afterwards they had fun playing on the playground.

Me with some of my friends, Jen, Anita, and Brenda.

Meeting the New Babies

This past Thursday, the kids and I went in to Bettendorf to meet Brant and Amie's new baby, Tyler.  I forgot my camera :( but we had a great day together.  Deb took the older kids to the museum and I got to hold my new nephew for a few hours.  He's so precious!  Then on Saturday we headed up to Galena to meet Jeff and Charity's new baby Isaiah, born just 2 days after Tyler.  It was kind of mind blowing to see them with a baby, but they are already wonderful parents.  We got to hang out with the Gundersons too, who are expecting their first baby.  

 Meet the Rouse "Family"!

 Sarah is starting to show a baby bump.  She's due around Thanksgiving.  We are so excited for our friends having their first babies!

 I loved holding Isaiah.

Jadon (and Greg) had a blast playing legos.

Steph's 38th Birthday

 My mom and her grandchildren, Woolfe, Rachel (6), Claire (8), Charlie (1), Leah (4), and Jadon (6).
Rachel is very into animals, especially her dalmation "Licky".  I thought it was cute that her dress looked like a dalmation pattern.

 We had a spaghetti dinner and gift opening.  When the kids went to bed, Brian made chocolate martinis and we played the "Things" game which always brings lots of laughter.

Bay to Breakers

 On Sunday we ran the Bay to Breakers, a 12K (app.7 1/2) mile race across San Francisco.  It was a fun course with one huge hill and a lot of downhill action.  There were a lot of people in costumes and even naked runners.  Watching people cross the finish line was another highlight of the weekend.

 Here is one of the neat costumes we saw, the Lorax with a tree.

 Here are some miscellaneous shots.  Jessica got a massage stick at the expo and we joked that sticking was going to become the new planking.

 Julie and I really enjoyed all the flowers in San Francisco.

Here is Jessica walking in front of a First Republic Bank.  She works for them and oversees property management.  As you can see by the weather sign, we had gorgeous weather all weekend- low 70s and sunny.  The last night we went out for Burmese food and the next morning I went for a run through Presidio Park and on the Golden Gate bridge.  It was a great weekend.  The best part was bonding with my 2 wonderful friends!