Molly T-ball

Molly wanted to give t-ball a try this summer.  The weather did not cooperate at all, between that and our Disney trip I think we missed a handful of games and another handful or more had to be rescheduled well into July.  By mid July the kids were already getting pitched to and not using the tee at all.  Much to our surprise Molly did great, she managed to have a little fun too, and got really dirty!

California Cousins

My brother Eric made his usual summer trip just last week.  He does so every year with his family and splits time between here and the city where my sister in laws family lives.  We are always trying to squeeze in as much brother/cousin time as we can since this is normally the one time we see them.  We managed to do this twice before they headed off to Jamaica with my mom! (so jealous!!)

Galena Getaway

It has kind of been our tradition the last few summers to go to Galena right around Andy's birthday.  It is the perfect little getaway.  Not to far from home so its an easy trip, but far enough away to feel like you have gone somewhere and done something to get away and relax.  The girls love it there in the summer time mainly because of the pool.  They would spend the entire day there if we let them!  We headed out about the time Malory would need to lay down for a morning nap to try to get her to sleep most of the way.  (This was her actual first road trip.)  It worked out perfectly.  We kept it pretty low key the first day, but did head into town to get popcorn and hit the candy store, the usual favorites!

The next day was a perfect pool day so we let Malory take her morning nap, packed up some snacks and lunch and then headed to the pool for as long as she would last.  The girls had a blast and spent most of their time on the drop slides.  We headed back for an afternoon nap and early dinner and then went back into town to our favorite ice cream spot!

 

We headed back the next day.  The car ride was not as smooth heading home as going, but it was still a perfect little getaway!

Brookfield Zoo

As usual each summer I try to get in at least one trip to the zoo.  We were able to squeeze one in, but it was much later than when we normally go.  I headed out with the girls as soon as possible and we did some exploring on our own to our usual favorite places. 

Chrissy met us there with the kids in time for the first dolphin show.  Then we had lunch and did some more animal visits altogether.  (Somehow I missed getting a picture of the four of them together!) The girls and I were done so we made our last stop the carousel and headed home! 

Malory 7 months

Today Malory is 7 months old.  She is fun!  She is happy.  And she is usually pretty relaxed and laid back.  She is loving the pool.  Starting to clap.  Rolling to get anywhere.  Sitting up on her own.  Trying anything and everything she can get into her mouth and loving it.  Picking up cheerios and putting them in her mouth.  Drinking from a sippy cup (at least trying to).  Watching and observing everyone and everything.  She laughs, talks, yells and does a whole lot of babbling. 

4th of July

Oswego had their fireworks on the 3rd this year so our 4th of July celebrations were a little more spread out, but it made it more fun and let the celebration last a little bit longer.

So as usual, minus a few differences since we have Malory, we headed to the Ensign's for fireworks.  Well, actually I got Malory to bed and then the girls wanted to go down and play.  I put it off as long as a could and then we headed down.  Andy stayed back this year to be home with Malory.  Kids played, there were plenty of smores eaten, sparklers sparkled and then of course fireworks.

 

Saturday morning of the 4th I picked up Dave, Chrissy, Lucas and Layla; along with Maggie and Molly and went to the Yorkville parade, as usual.  Andy stayed back again with Miss Malory who will be able to join in all the fun soon enough.  Because of some construction we had a find a different spot, but it was a great spot.  There was plenty of candy thrown to fill the bags and of course Jimmy Johns arrived at just the right time for a morning snack!

We headed home to get the rest of our things prepared for the afternoon festivities at our house.  I absolutely love the 4th of July and love having our friends get together, eat some good food, watch the kids play and just catch up!  And we did just that!  We squeezed in PopIts, more sparklers, and more smores too.

Disney World

A few weeks ago we were fortunate enough to go to Disney World with Andy's whole family thanks to Grandma and Grandpa.  (Thanks a billion!!)  It was absolutely amazing.  I was a little stressed before leaving because we were obviously taking Malory, only 6 months, with us.  Maggie and Molly were at a perfect age to do just about everything, but we had Malory to worry about too.  She was fantastic from the plane ride, to the parks, pool, meals, all of it just great.

Day 1 was a travel day so things were pretty low key.
Day 2 we headed to Epcot.  We originally planned to spend the afternoon there, but last minute was able to get a late morning fast pass for Test Trek so we went for it.  It was hot, record breaking hot, but we toughed it out and spent the day there.  We found a spot to regularly cool off at.  We managed to find Mulan and a few other characters in between some rides.  The entire family met up at Biergarten for dinner...all 19 of us...so much fun!

 

 

Day 3 This day we realized we had over done it a bit too much.  Although Malory was a total trooper, she had a really rough night sleeping and with all of us together in one room that meant a rough night for everyone.  We had a great breakfast at Tusker House with Andy's brother, conquered Expedition Everest, found Pocahontas and then had to call it a day.  After the rough night we decided Malory needed at least one nap in the air condition so we skipped the Safari and headed back to the hotel for a nap and pool time.  That evening we went to Askerhaus Royal Banquet Hall, just the five of us.  So much fun there!

Day 4 We had fast passes for Magic Kingdom in the afternoon so we stuck to the plan and it worked out perfectly.  The big disappointment was that the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train kept breaking down, but we waited it out and the girls finally got their ride.  Malory even got to conquer her first ride, the Dumbo ride.  We all joined together at Tony's for dinner and then Grandma and Grandpa took the 6 big cousins to dessert and the fireworks while we headed back to get Malory to bed.

Day 5 We spend the morning in Magic Kingdom wrapping up the things on our to do list including breakfast at Be Our Guest, Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain.  After that we were hot, sweaty and tired so it was time for an afternoon nap and the pool.

On our last day we had breakfast altogether at Ohana in our hotel.  We had had breakfast there before and it was one of our favorites so we were excited to get back there!  Then we had to get back to reality.  The plane ride home was not the greatest...but we survived and powered through.  We had an absolute fabulous time and made lots and lots of memories!