Monday, June 27, 2011

Father's Day at Cantigny

Father's Day is a bit of a bittersweet holiday.  It's hard since my dad is not around, but I also feel fortunate to be able to celebrate what a good dad Cort is to our kids, to celebrate my grandpa who is a wonderful father, grandpa, and great-grandpa, as well as Cort's dad who is a great dad and grandpa.  This year we headed to Cantigny to celebrate.  They had an art show going on as well as all the typical neat things to see there-the beautiful gardens, the tanks, and the museum.  Here are some pictures from the day. 

Mia participating in an art project

Cole checking out a fountain
Noah on one of the tanks
Mia's turn
Cousins!
Cole and Dad
Papa B. and Cole checking out a tank
Mia giving her best "Miss America" wave
Claire
The cousins again
Brushing up on some history
We spent a good amount of time in the First Division Museum.  The kids were suprisingly interested in a lot of the artifacts there.

I'm not sure if it was the information that was so interesting or the fact they were holding these unusual things called "phones with cords," but the kids were entranced during this part of the museum.

And a beautiful flower to end the post!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Fishing with Great-Grandpa

This past June Mia and Noah had their 2nd annual fishing trip with Papa B.  How amazing is it that they have an opportunity to spend such quality time with their Great-Grandpa!  The dads (Cort and Mike) went along as well.  The kids had a great time fishing and Mia even caught a blue gill.  I have fond memories of fishing with both my dad and grandpa growing up and I am happy that my kids will have the same.  :)

So proud!

Mia and Papa B.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Hello, Hello? Anyone Still Out There?

So I have fallen off the face of the Earth with my blogging.  I really have no excuse other than life is busy!  I've pretty much been absent all summer and some time before that, but I am hoping to do some catch-up. The thing I love about a blog is being able to look back at things we did, watching the kids grow, and having those memories.  I need to get back on track with that!  So I am slowly going to do some catch up and highlight some of the fun things that have been going on in our lives over the past 6 months or so.  So start checking back in because over the next couple of weeks there should be lots of updates, starting with the ones below...

Mia's Dance Recital

Like I mentioned previously, Mia had been taking dance for around 10 months and finally had a chance to showcase her hard work at her recital. Mia's class danced tap to a song called "Wake Up." The performance was at the local high school on the auditorium stage in the BIG auditorium. I wasn't sure how she would react and I wondered if she would be nervous. Well, if she was, you couldn't tell! She seemed to love being on stage and did a great job with her class. It was definitely a proud mommy moment! When the recital was done she was already asking what song she would be dancing to next year. :) We were not able to take pictures at the actual recital, so the ones of her on stage are from the dress rehearsal. They aren't the best since the lights were so bright, but you can get an idea.  












Mia in the "waiting room" with Pam where all the girls waited until it was their turn to dance 
Mia and Erica 
Sammy and Mia 
Final bow after the show
Venessa had the idea to get the girls flowers that matched their costumes.  The bouquets turned out beautiful! 

So proud of my girl! 
Family pic 
Mia and Daddy 
Cole congratulating Mia 


Congratulations Mia on your first dance recital! We are so proud of you!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Indiana Dunes

Last summer Cort and I took the kids to the Warren Dunes and had an amazing time.  After talking with my Mom and Jen, we were reminded how my Mom used to go to the Dunes ever summer with her family, bringing fried chicken that my Grandma would make and spending the day in the sun.  We thought it would be fun to bring my mom there (fried chicken and all!) since it had been a long time since she had visited.  The original plan was to go to the Warren Dunes in Michigan, but the weather forecast was looking a little sketchy.  We decided to go to the Indiana Dunes instead in case the weather turned we wouldn't have driven as far. 

Just like last year, the Dunes didn't disappoint.  The kids and adults all had a great time!  My only complaint is the water was quite cold, although it didn't seem to bother my water babies!  Here are a ton of pictures from the day....

Cole enjoying the sand
Mia doing her best Baywatch run  :)
I cannot begin to explain how cold the water was-it hurt my legs, but apparently Mia didn't notice
Diving in-Mia became much more comfortable in the water this summer


Cole got in on the water action, but my little skinny bones got cold a lot quicker
Love how happy he looks here!


Enjoying the waves

A view of the whole family enjoying the beach
Claire-bear putting her toes in the water
Mia and Mommy building a castle
Cole and Cort pondering life :)
Grammy and Mia!
Mike working on his super-cool sand castle
Cole and Aunt Jen
Time for a break!
Lunchtime-fried chicken and birthday cupcakes for my mom

And of course, we had to conquer the dunes (click to see larger)!
Proud to be at the top!
Cole making his way up
Cousins 
Cole and Daddy at the top
The kids chose a variety of ways to get down-rolling, running, taking breaks, etc....











Sandy face after rolling part-way down
Pulins Fam
Where's Mia's body?
Brave Cort-did I mention the water was cold??
Cole
Family Pic
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