Brex - 1st day of 1st grade!

We are so lucky to have found a parish and school community that we all love. Brex has always been a little bit nervous before entering a new environment, but not today.  He jumped right out of the car, plowed through the crowd of parents and kids taking photos in front of St. Clement and ran right inside for his 1st day of 1st grade!

Brex reading:

Brex reading and Radley being crazy:

Brex conquers the HIGH dive!

The BEST decision we made in a long time was joining the Lincolnwood pool club this summer.  Many of our neighbors and classmates also belong, so it was a great place to catch up with friends all summer long. The boys made so much progress with their swimming skills and overall level of comfort in water. Brex took lessons and started swimming like a fish after a few short weeks. He must have climbed the steps and slid down the water slides a thousand times too.  We were all very proud when our cautious 1st born got up the courage to jump off of the HIGH diving board.  All it took was 1 thrilling jump and Brex was hooked!  Much to our surprise, daredevil Radley did not follow in big bros. footsteps...next summer for sure!!  

HIGH DIVE:

LOW DIVE:

Jersey Shore - VACATION!!!

We took our 1st full week of vacation as a family of 4 this week in Ocean City, NJ. It was so much fun to spend time with the Schwalm's and the house they rented was just perfect for the 9 of us!  We were the 1st house on the beach, so it made running back and forth simple and it made it a little bit easier on Scott to lug all of beach stuff they so graciously brought (in their Uhaul) for all of us. It was also an easy walk to the boardwalk and the boys had a blast at the Wonderland amusement park and the water park. We spent an entire day climbing up stairs and sliding down water slides, with a few breaks on the lazy river mixed in to recharge. Brandon is 6, Finley is 4 and Avery is 1...perfect playmates for Brex and Radley. It is a dry town, which turned out to be a perfect excuse to avoid dragging 5 kids to a restaurant. We had plenty of great meals and enjoyed a few beverages in the comfort of our awesome home on the beach! Perfect weather and an easy 90 minute direct flight from Chicago...we'll be back...