The fourth

I've said it before, and anyone who really knows me knows that I really don't like fireworks. Jorge on the other hand, LOVES them. So far, gabe is with me. He was seriously shaking when Jorge lit a sparkler fire truck thing.



Wednesday, the third, the country club behind our house does a show. Last year we had a few people over. We really didn't know how it would be. Thins year, since gabe's not having a huge party for his birthday, we decided to go kinda big for the 3rd. We had 17.5 pounds of carne asada, rice, guacamole, kabobs and tons of kids.

*side note* almost all of my friends are married with kids. When did this happen?

Anyway, it was a blast! Tons of friends, tons of beer, tons of food and most important to most, tons of fireworks. Javi, gabe and I were inside during the fireworks so I'm not sure if they were awesome or not. However, I'm super excited that Alli, Todd and Mia were able to make it all of the way from Frankfort to hang out! And Megan finally made it to a party!

Alas, I took not a single picture (Alli if you read this and have some can I have them too?) I did take some the next night when we went to Liz and Devon's. The girls were so cute! Gabe slept thru the fireworks if you can believe it!














I forget what Devon and gabe were saying to each other, but they were cracking each other up!
-jen

Long overdue update on mom

My mom has been through a lot since november, blood clots, lung cancer, quitting work. The second Monday of June however signaled then end (at least for now) of her radiation and chemo treatments. She goes for a CT scan on the 11th of this month, and we have been given the go-ahead to plan a vacation to Florida in August.



She was able to make it to my cousins wedding with no problems. She is pretty much symptom free except for some tiredness some days. I hope that the scan brings good news. Thank you everyone for your prayers and good wishes. They mean a lot to her and me.

One of the best things that has come from this has been her ability to make Beans. If she were still smoking, not a whole lot of people would have wanted one, so really it was kinda like a blessing in disguise. Don't hesitate to ask for a Bean of your own to love! She really loves making them!






-jen

Going to the zoo (again!)

Sunday was the perfect day for the zoo! Unfortunately, every one else thought so too. Gabe and I were going to meet Alli and Mia at Brookfield. It's between both of our homes, and really the only thing that's in between Chicago and orland park.



The kratt brothers had two shows at Brookfield on Sunday. I really didn't think it would be as crowded as it was. It took me about 30 minutes to get into the parking lot. It took Alli about an hour. They were parking cars in the grass and on the hills! I couldn't believe how packed it was!


Once we finally got in it didn't seem so bad. Gabe and Mia were so excited to see each other! I swear, gabe doesn't get this excited about other friends, except Molly (sorry Maggie, Lucy and lilah). He wanted to hold her hand and he gave her "boo boo" a kiss when she fell. *awe* I just wished that we lived closer so we could spend more time together.












-jen

My cousin's wedding

June first is Jorge's birthday. This year, it was also my cousin Sarah's wedding. She married this awesome guy, Adam. We are so glad to have him as part of our family!

My cousins and I never miss an opportunity to take a ton of pictures! At my cousin colleen's wedding almost 8 years ago, we took the disposable camera on our table and took the goofiest pictures of ourselves. It was hilarious! We didn't disappoint this time around either.









Of course we took some nicer ones too....















But, goofy ones are the best!






-jen

Summer vacation

For me, summer vacation has always meant more work. No school equals finding things to do with two (sometimes grumpy) teenagers. Molly has a foreign exchange student in town until next week. The two of them have been all over downtown. Yesterday, we all (including conor) went to Lincoln park zoo and north avenue beach. The weather sure made up for all of the rain yesterday, it was HOT. But, we had fun, even if we are exhausted today.




















-jen