Fun at Westmoreland with the grandparents!

Pets!

We took our first (and last) journey into pet ownership. We bought three goldfish that the kids named "Goldie", "Splashy Nemo", and "Dreamsicle".  The kids were SO excited! We lovingly fed them once a day, changed their water, and checked on them frequently. Alas, it was not to be and the three fish were floating sideways three days later.  Caroline and Austin seemed relatively unaffected, but poor Clayton cried his eyes out.

Fairs!

The kids had their fill of summer fairs in June. They got to go to both the Winnetka Childrens Fair (because I went there as a child every year, so we've continued the tradition) and the Libertyville Days Carnival (because we live in Libertyville and have to support our town's fair too).  They just happen to fall within a week of each other!
They are all old enough to enjoy the rides (as long as they're not too high or fast), so they had a blast!

Red Rose Children's Choir

Caroline had her Red Rose Childrens' Choir performance last weekend. She did such a wonderful job and I loved hearing her sing with the choir.  Here are a few snippets.

Here is prelude choir.

 

Here is prelude choir singing with concert choir

 

And here they are singing together with all of the choirs.

 

 

Colorado Trip part 2

After the wedding festivities, Kevin and I headed to Vail to spend an extra day and celebrate our tenth anniversary.
We drove the "long way" through Independence Pass and across the Continental Divide.

 

We saw some rock-climbers on the way.  Can you spot them? It's amazing what these guys can climb!

After arriving in Vail, we attempted the Berrypicker hike. Wow. We realized how out-of-shape we are!

View from the top - (as far as we got anyway!)

We ended the day with a delicious fancy dinner at Kelly Liken.

 

The next day, we lounged by the pool...

 

and then did my cousin Betsy's favorite Booth falls hike.

 

It was a fantastic trip!

 

 

 

Colorado Trip

To celebrate my cousin Susan and David's wedding, Kevin and I travelled to Colorado for the first weekend in June.  (Both sets of grandparents very graciously watched the kids while we were away. THANK YOU a million times over for that!)
We spent Friday and Saturday in Aspen and Snowmass with my parents, my sister and her husband, and my brother and his wife.  It was the first time the 8 of us got to spend a weekend together sans children!

Hiking by the Maroon Bells



 

The rehearsal dinner was a western theme at the top of a mountain reached only by gondola. How cool is that!?!

 

Views from the gondola

View from the top

The Wood family!

 The bride Susan and her beautiful sisters

 

 The parents of the bride - Aunt Liz and Uncle Jim

 

The wedding!

 Beautiful bride and handsome groom