New shades for vacay!

We picked up a few new things to take on our upcoming vacation to NC.

Morgan got these shades and this "Dog Person" hat (she loves it!)

Milo

Milo knows he's not supposed to be on the couch... but sometimes he'll jump up there and just look at me like "whatcha gonna do?" Or maybe he's giving me the sad eyes like "you're not really going to kick me off, are you?"

Here he is at daycare... all the dogs were running towards the door for outdoor time and Milo is perched on the tiniest little cot just looking at them like "hey, where y'all going?"

Sunday

We ended up with an extra bag of dog food, so we donated it to the Hinsdale Humane Society. While there dropping it off, we walked around and looked at the animals up for adoption. The girls loved the cat room! They wanted to bring home a kitten so bad! Too bad Daddy and Mommy are allergic to cats!

After lunch, the girls had a birthday party at a water park. Morgan loved the huge water slides and Avery loved the whirlpool.

When we got home, Avery wanted to chillax, so Morgan and I headed to the Rotary Fest to check out the rides. It was SO packed and the lines were ridiculous. We spent most of our time in lines. Once we met up with Aunt Erin, we took turns waiting in lines and timed it so we could go quicker from one ride to the next.

Family Reunion

My cousin arranged another family reunion and it happened to be right in our neighborhood this time!

Friday night, we had a pizza party at Erin's house. We celebrated my mom and Uncle Dave's birthdays.

On Saturday, after soccer, we headed to a park for a cookout. It was pouring for the first half of the cookout, so we all just hung out under the shelter. We celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. We also played a game with white elephant prizes. Morgan won a hat and gloves!

Last soccer game of the season

It was kind of a crazy season... lots of bad weather, cancellations and reschedules! In last week's game, both Avery and Morgan scored a goal! The game got cut short due to lightning. This week, we played the full game and took a team photo at the end! We've had a fun time playing on the park district team with some of their classmates. Next season, we are switching to Roadrunners, which is a little more intense and competitive. We'll see how it goes!

Happy 1st Birthday, Milo!

Milo turned 1 year old on June 24th! We celebrated with a grooming session and then a doggy ice cream treat (peanut butter flavored, of course!) He loved it!

He still is a crazy pup with lots of energy and hasn't calmed down too much yet! He keeps us entertained and we can't imagine not having him around!

Do you really need ALL those stuffies?

Yes, Avery is in there somewhere! She falls asleep hugging them all, then they all just fall on top of her!

 

Happy Father's Day!

We celebrated Father's Day with lunch outside at the Cheesecake Factory.

Then, we enjoyed the nice weather with some swimming and fun snacks at the pool!

Dance Recital

Avery had her dance recital on Saturday afternoon. She had quite a cheering section! The recital was reaaallly long! She danced in the opening, her song and the closing. She loves being on stage and did a great job!

More pool time!

Enjoying the gorgeous weather!

 

Pool time!

We joined a local pool with the Wilkens and checked it out for a bit Sunday afternoon. It was actually cooler outside than the pool water, so it wasn't very crowded. The kids had fun and finished off with some ice cream!

 

Piano competition

Avery participated in a piano competition on Sunday, along with the Wilken boys. It was through the Illinois Music Association. Their piano teacher arranged everything. Avery played the same song she had played at the recital. She wasn't nervous until we pulled into the parking lot! The kids are broken up into groups based on their level and age. Each group has about 8 people. They award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trophies and then ribbons - superior, excellent and very good. So, everyone at least will get a very good ribbon.

She played really well, just a few small issues that the judges pointed out. She did go a bit fast, but I think that may have been the nerves. She ended up with a 3rd place trophy and she was so happy!

 

Zoo

We decided to visit the zoo on Friday morning to catch the weather while it was still decent. The butterfly house is now open, so we were really excited to walk through that. And we finally got to feed the giraffes! There's usually such a long line when we've tried to before! We even finished off with Icees!

The zoo keeper showed us the giraffe's tongue. See how it's lighter in the back? She said they think that is from the sun, kind of like a tan on the front part. Interesting.

 Videos of the giraffe feeding...