Corn!!

Gotta enjoy the summer sweet corn while it lasts...

4th of july fun

This 4th of July, we stayed a little closer to our home and didn't make any big travel plans. We enjoyed relaxing at home, cooking out with some friends, playing at the Lake Zurich park, and one of the other days we hit up the Ribfest in Naperville with some friends. The Ribfest was really yummy, by the way, despite the hot temperatures there. The Ford family and some other friends that joined us there managed to find just a perfect spot that day and were were able to stay in the shade for most of it. Alicia and Kaylee really had a fun time in the kids play areas and getting to touch and feed all the animals in the petting zoo there. I think the favorites were the homemade lemonade drinks and the Italian ice treats. I really liked the arrange of different bbq vendors there, as we had pulled pork, ribs, and corn on the cob! hmmm..

Over the holiday weekend, we attempted to watch some fireworks, however, Alicia really does NOT like them yet. It was too loud for her to handle. :( We even tried to bring along some headphones and an ipod for her to listen to and hopefully distract from the loud noises, but it still didn't fool her. She opted to stay in the car with daddy, while mommy and the Suttmann family enjoyed watching the fireworks from the back of their van in our mini-tailgate party :) Lucas and Megan however, really seemed to like the fireworks show.

Sam's 4th birthday party

For Samantha's 4th birthday, she had a Build-A-Bear party! It was our first time at a Build-A-Bear birthday party and I think it was a big hit for all the kids! They all did such a great job listening and picking and choosing their own animal to make. I think the most popular animal was a puppy, but the bears and monkeys came in as a top favorite too. After stuffing their own animal, each kid got to pick out some accessories for their new pal. They even had some themed outfits, like Disney princesses, pro athletes, Star Wars, and many more. After taking one pass to look at all the animals, I think Alicia knew what animal she wanted pretty much wanted. Alicia ended up picking a brownish puppy, that she dressed in a Sleeping Beauty outfit, named "Princess P." Happy birthday Sam, we all had a great time!!!

Grandma and Grandpa Kluesner visit me!

Last month, Grandma Karen and Papa Mike came in for a weekend to visit! We had a lot of fun during their stay. Alicia enjoyed showing them Brookfield Zoo the one day, while the other day we were watching the ponies at Arlington Race Park. One of the nights that Grandma and Grandpa stayed over, we stayed a night at the same hotel as them and got to enjoy the pool time together and was able to sleep in the next morning! Alicia loved showing them how she liked to paddle in the pool with her vest on, and of course, the big treat was getting to sleep in the same big bed as mommy and daddy that night at the hotel. I think Alicia got a kick out of the fact that Grandma and Grandpa were right across the hallway in their room when we woke up in the morning! She was so excited and was asking to see them right away in the morning.

One of the afternoons, we went to Arlington Park for some betting fun and watching the horses run. Alicia did fairly well when I asked her different names of the ponies to bet on, and I think Alicia and I covered our spread, however, we managed to keep picking favorites. While I think daddy picked some more less favorable odds, and didn't do as well as us. We all had a nice relaxing afternoon, and by the end of that warm day outside, Alicia had enough and was out sleeping in the stroller by like the 5th race.

The other day we went to the Brookfield Zoo. It was a tad rainy on and off, but we managed to duck inside for most of the worst parts. When we were in the Tropics, aka "visiting monkeys," we missed the biggest downpour of the day. We really lucked out. While inside we heard the rain and thunder and thought it was part of the atmosphere sound effects there, until we looked outside and saw the pouring rain and the puddles of water everywhere. So we waited and enjoyed visiting the monkeys a bit longer until the rain let up enough to walk around some more. It was the first time for us also to see the new Great Bear Wilderness exhibit area too. We saw Hudson, the youngest (yet, very large) polar bear, playing, but most of the other bears were sleeping and hiding out from the rain. I don't blame them, as it was kinda yucky outside. The other fun activity we did at the zoo was to watch the Dolphin show! I think it had been atleast 2 years or so since the last Dolphin show we attended there, so it was a nice treat for all, plus it was dry and inside :)

Thanks for coming in and visiting us, it was a lot of fun showing you some Chicago area fun!

Papa Mike and Grandma Karen with Alicia at the zoo

"Look at my ticket!! Lets go watch some horsies!"

cutie pie

Here's a professional picture taken at Alicia's daycare school the other day. They did such a good job, and since I felt guilty for not taking her somewhere for her 4-year old shots, I decided this would fit the bill. :)
Plus, Alicia looked sooo darn cute and older in the picture, I had to buy one.
Doesn't she look sweet. :)



Plus, why can't I ever get her to wear hats and pose so darling when I try taking her pictures??! oh well..