Summer 2016 Recap

A couple of days ago I was running some errands out in Wilmette when we happened upon a SnipIts. Liesel and Brigitta's hair was looking scraggly and I'd told myself I'd take them in for a cut just before school starts. Then it hit me, school is just about to start. Summer is winding down, and as I sit by a stack of school forms begging to be completed in time for Meet the Teacher, I can't believe all we've done these past few months. 

Oh how I love me a list! Most of the remaining items on this list are being saved for the very last day of summer.

 I was able to take Liesel to The Cheesecake Factory on a little date. S'mores cheesecake is a revelation.

There were play dates at play places. 

We finally made it to the Lincoln Park Zoo. 

We discovered an ice cream pavilion with "Superman" flavor. 

I've always had some trepidation about the rickety play structure in the backyard. Lately, I've had an increasingly bad premonition about it and I told Brent we needed to tear it down immediately before someone was hurt. As you can see, that was a good move. The wood was completely infested with termites and snapped like a toothpick. Sooo glad we took care of that!

 I took the girls to Finding Dory with enough movie snacks to feed an elephant... or one Sydney.

For the first time in years, we went to see fireworks on the 4th. We've skipped out because of the crowds, the late hour, and the booming noises. The girls had ice cream for dinner and as we hoped, the sugar rush kept them awake into the late hours. We ran into friends from our ward and it was actually a pretty great night.

This sweet lady invited all these kids over to make their own wands. Here they are all doing a "swish and flick".  

They love their wands! 

 We had a surprise visit from Uncle Joey who quickly became a favorite with the girls.

 Joey's hugs really are the best.

 I'm sure the pediatric dental office has to brace themselves for our crazy crew. We schedule them all at once and it's a bit of a circus.

 There were studies at the University of Chicago which meant visits to the Museum of Science and Industry.

I know I've said it before, but we really love this place. 

The girls especially enjoy watching the Tesla rings fire. We tried a place down the street called Medici that we drive by en route and always catches my attention. Oh man, thinking about the mexicana shake is making me drool. We will definitely be back for more! 

We stopped at YUMZ for some froyo after a pool party. There were pool parties and beach parties and birthday parties galore this summer!

Liesel really enjoyed Activity Days (here they made their own pillowcases) and made serious progress on her Faith in God.

Every day the girls had time to read books from their extensive summer reading list, and to work on workbooks. Ireland was extra motivated and finished her thick workbook early. That sucker is supposed to last a year and she did it in about 2 months!

Aside from reading, the bulk of this summer was spent swimming. The girls had lessons in Iowa City and here in Crystal Lake. 

They really worked hard on their swimming and each of them leveled up. I spent a lot of time washing chlorine out of their blonde hair to keep it from turning green. They swam so much, other swimmers naturally gravitated to them... just kidding ;)

The girls played with sidewalk chalk and bubbles, they dressed up for talent shows and plays they created, they rode bikes and razor scooters in the driveway, they played with the neighborhood kids and shot some hoops with Dad, and they got sun-kissed and bitten by mosquitoes from all their time outside. Sometimes they napped for hours out of exhaustion and sometimes they snuck out of bed to get into trouble downstairs.

Aside from basic cleaning and laundry, household projects were put on hold so I could completely focus on the girls. I lived in my messy mom bun and yoga pants. It's been a whirlwind, but as I look back at these photos I'm really proud of what we accomplished. I hope we made some memories in there somewhere.