A chapter closed

RESIGNED
Author unknown

Do you have to be reminded that you are not a slave? That this is no plantation, nor your desk, an unmarked grave?

They paid you lots of money for your work and for your time; but you helped the business prosper and you earned your every dime.

They could fire you at any moment, as they did to many friends, but now you fire the company and you choose just when it ends.

You owe these people nothing, and for bosses — never grieve. You made the choice to work here and you make the choice to leave.

So you find you have the power: depart the building, close the door. But in that mighty gesture you have opened many more.

Makin' a splash...

at Turtle Splash!

Turtle Splash is an outdoor waterpark within 20 minutes from us associated with the park district. We rolled the dice and headed over there on Sunday afternoon despite the chance of showers and temps that were a bit on the cool side.

I was really impressed with how nice the place was and how much there was to do! Kylie and even little Peyton had an absolute blast! After a few hours, the downpour did come and we were forced to take cover and eventually head home :(.

Next time we'll pick a really hot, sunny day to be able to enjoy it a bit more and longer!

Sneak Preview

Although you'll all be receiving your very own copies of Peyton's 6 month pictures shortly, here is a sneak preview of some of the shots.

Mommy finally gave into the hospital photo company's 6 months of harrassment to take advantage of our "free" home photo shoot.

They turned out really great and you can't beat the convenience of staying home and using your own props!

Say cheese!

All in a Sunday morning's work

We headed out for breakfast at the crack of dawn this morning. We wanted to try a place that had been voted the best for breakfast in the area this year. The place is Mothers and it was about a 15 minute drive from us. It was pretty much your average pancake house in my opinion but it was a good find to add another breakfast option to the list apart from IHOP and Cracker Barrel.


Daddy, "Now where is that waitress with the coffee pot?!"
Kylie, "Mommy can I please eat my pancakes in peace and no cameras? No? Then I guess I'll force a smile for you to make that darn camera go away!"

Peyton, "Maybe if I just dream about a pancake..."

After breakfast we went across the street to Home Depot and then to Lowes as Daddy is installing a new ceiling fan in our family room and needed a few more things for the project.
Daddy must have been bored riding in the back with the little ones because he encouraged Kylie to to pull out all of her silly tricks and do her standup act for the video and was taking random pictures of Peyton smiling also.

Here are the fruits of his labor as I was chauferring!

Check out me and my dessert of Swedish fish!

This extreme close up let's you not only get a peek at my cute smile but my first tooth too!

And last but not least, here's Kylie sharing some of her best material:

Great season Royal Blue team!

Kylie's first t-ball season wrapped up on Saturday. I think overall she had a great time but I also think it ended at just the right time. All of the kids on both teams weren't quite as enthusiatic at the end of the season as they had started out of the gate being!

After the final match, Royal Blues vs Greens, there was a trophy ceremony complete with cupcakes and drinks! It was very special for us to see how proud and excited Kylie was when she received her trophy! It was a great season and I know she made some new friends that are also neighbors and learned a thing or 2 about sportsmanship and teamwork. Not to mention it was nice to have a reason to get outside bright and early on Saturday mornings!

Here are some pictures from the last day of Stonebridge Sandlot 2008- see ya again next year?!

Team Royal Blue (yes that's Kylie in the pink Cubbies skirt!)

Kylie and proud Daddy (ya gotta love the purple mitt!)

Go Kylie Go! Can we go watch the Cubs game after this?

Good game, good game...

The trophy

Hangin' with Chloe

Chloe next door invited Kylie over to her little pool and to play outside for a little while before the storms hit this afternoon.

As you can see these 2 are quite a pair!

Taste of Chicago 2008

Little did Daddy know but after Mommy got home from work yesterday the secret b-day plan was to pick up the little ones from school and catch the 5:00 train downtown! Going to the Taste of Chicago has become a family tradition since Kylie was born- we've gone every year since!

The train ride downtown is half the fun! Kylie of course loves riding "Thomas" and Peyton was so excited I could barely pull her from the window the whole time!

We had a great time at the Taste. Daddy had his traditional breaded steak sandwich from Ricobene's and cheesecake from Eli's. Kylie and Mommy enjoyed things together like corn on the cob, Chicago style dogs, a cup of rainbow ice cream and a sampler of a chocolate covered strawberry, piece of fudge, and chocolate covered frozen banana - yum! Peyton had a few tastes of things here and there, including trying as hard as she could to eat our tickets :), but for the most part stuck to her normal fare.

Kylie rode the merry-go-round and had a great time playing in Milennium Park in the water fountain displays. She was a huge hit as she had her Disney Princess umbrella to protect her from the fountains and looked as cute as can be in front of the huge water structures. Tons of random people were taking pictures of her as she was such a little sight! Good thing Old Navy was still open on the walk back to the train b/c Kylie was soaked after having so much fun in the water!

Unfortunately my camera batteries died shortly after we arrived downtown but here are a few shots for you...

The gang was still wide awake on the 10pm train ride home. That didn't last for long though as an hour or so later everyone was home and tucked snug in bed. Peyton slept until 6AM!!! and we had to wake Kylie up around 7:30 to get going for t-ball! It was a much needed restful night for Mommy and Daddy too.

We hope you had a great birthday Daddy!