Chicago

Greetings, friends and family. One of the things Craig wanted to do this summer was go to Chicago and visit the Sears Tower..which is now the Willis Tower. So we headed west and stayed with my Aunt Cindy for a couple nights. Of course my camera lost power mid-way through the tower visit, so we didn't capture all the images we wanted...but here are a couple....

Overall the trip to the tower was fine...the 2 hour wait to get to the top...not so much. I am not sure, but I think my boys forgot why we were there....my suggestion- don't visit on a Saturday at 10:30......

After our trip up 103 floors...we went to Rain Forest Cafe, which is what the boys wanted to do. Then we walked 11 blocks to the H&M store and did a little school clothes shopping for Jack. For those of you not familiar with H&M...think Old Navy, 'cept European. The boys were real troopers. They never complained once...not up in the tower not while trying on clothes. Little angels.

I HAVE to mention, we did not fund this weekend. My Aunt footed the entire bill....from parking to the tower fee....to all our meals, plus sent us home with a weeks worth of groceries!!! Thanks again, Aunt Cindy!

I can hardly believe summer is almost over. We are headed north to the Lakehouse for Labor Day weekend. Our last hoorah! I'll take pictures and post them next week.

Love to you all.

Dog days of summer

The weather has been hot this week, so a friend and I took our boys to a splash pad near us. Here are a couple pictures of the boys there and then swimming at a little lake, also in the park. We are enjoying warm sticky days with slip and slide and popsicles. The boys spend their days playing with the neighborhood boys and their evenings playing with daddy...and the neighborhood boys. 3 weeks of summer left. A trip to Chicago is in our near future and another trip up north for beach and boating fun will be fit into the schedule as well. We think our September will be warm, so maybe we'll be able to extend these activities.



















My garden is producing some nice tomatoes, cukes and....actually that's about it.....the beans are slow coming and carrots too.....it's fun to watch it all grow though....

Michigan is beautiful in the summer, so for those of you who don't already live here, come visit! Love you all!

Boys' weekend (+ Nana)

Hello, friends and family. It's been awhile. Not that we haven't been up to anything, quite the contrary.... 2 weeks ago we had (as most of you were in attendance) the Balyo family reunion. Then the Balyo boys stayed a couple extra days at the Lake House, and they passed through GR on their way home. My boys loved it and wished their cousins could stay longer. (Maybe next summer)
This weekend, because it wouldn't be a weekend in my house without plans....Craig took the boys up to Traverse City to visit his brother (Renee was out of town) and his parents, who were able to come later on Saturday and stay Sunday. They went to this fun park, that apparently we had never heard of.....Pirates Cove...yes, that's right, the place you pass on your way into TC....we've passed it probably 20 times in my life, but never checked it out. Yikes! It was super fun I guess.
I wanted to make a point to thank both Jim and Sue and Chris for paying for the weekend. The boys had an absolute blast and I am grateful for that. Thank you! (for taking care of my boys this weekend) I am sorry I missed the fun, but was grateful for a relaxing weekend, and productive weekend as well.

We are enjoying our summer. We have about 4 weeks left. I'll keep you posted.