Hanging with Audrey & Jillian

On Tuesday Eli and I met one of my old college friends and one of her daughters (she has 5 kids!) in Michigan City. Audrey was my best friend at Valparaiso University (the first college I went to). I hadn't seen her since graduation in 1994! It was so nice to reconnect. She lives in Valparaiso now, so we decided to meet half way at the Lighthouse Outlets. We did a little shopping and then had lunch at Applebee's. Eli and Jillian got along great! It was such a nice day and hope we can get together again soon....definitely not wait another 15 years!

A Morning with Grandma and Paw Paw

Last Saturday Grandma and Paw Paw picked Eli up to go to the Lowe's Kids Clinic. They were building a helicopter. Eli was very excited to also see his friend, Drew Krause, there.


After Lowe's they headed to Hubbard Hill to visit Great-Grandma Jean. Eli had lots of fun entertaining Grandma Jean. She even gave Eli a dog stuffed animal, which he named Coupon (don't have any idea where that came from).
They then ended their morning by having lunch at Wendy's....one of Eli's favorite places. Eli came home so happy and excited from his morning. Thank you Grandma and Paw Paw!

An Evening at the Fair

We went to the 4-H Fair this past Saturday hoping to go see the Demolition Derby, however, we didn't get their early enough....they weren't letting anyone else into the stands. We ended up just walking around and, of course, eating all the food. Eli got to ride some of the kiddie rides, too. It really hit me this year how grown up Eli is now, watching him get on the rides and buckle himself in. Time goes so fast! Eli also played a fishing game and won a little motorcycle (pretty much junk, but he loves it). Also, Eli got to ride the toddler cars around a course and he earned a driver's license....so cute! (Daddy wasn't too thrilled that he picked the pink car though.) We finished off the night by letting Eli take a pony ride, which he loves. Next year we'll definitely go on a different night so we can see all the animals and enjoy it a little more.

Eli's First Date

On Friday night we met Scott, Micki and Grace Kidder for dinner and a movie. We went to Logan's Steakhouse, then headed over to the theater to watch "G-Force". Another couple that are friends with the Kidders met up with us, too, with their daughter, Lilly and son, Caden. Eli loved hanging with the girls....he's a big flirt. (Uh oh....please say we won't have another Scott Coryn on our hands!) We then ended the evening with some yummy ice cream from Culvers. Fun time with friends!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

This Thursday was Grandma's birthday! We celebrated by going to Heinnies for dinner. Scott and both of his brothers went together to buy Grandma a laptop computer for her birthday. Also, Eli picked out some pretty flowers for Grandma. It was a very nice evening.

Happy Birthday Grandma! We love you!

Poor Riley

Last week our dog Riley tore her ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament), so on Monday we had to take her in to get surgery. Today we picked her up.....poor girl. She came home with a cone on her head, but it didn't stay on for long. She hated it and whined all day. We decided to put one of Eli's shirts on her leg so she couldn't lick her sore. So glad it worked. She's pretty drugged up and is pretty much living in our closet for the next 6 to 8 weeks. This is going to be a long recovery (could be up to 8 months)....breaks my heart seeing my baby like this.

South Bend Silver Hawks Game

Monday night we went to the Silver Hawks game with Paw Paw and Grandma. Many of their friends also met us there. Eli enjoyed watching the baseball players, but enjoyed eating all the stadium food even more. Mommy even caught a hot dog (was thrown into the stands)!!! Eli also really enjoyed watching Swoop, the mascot. It was a fun night!




Eli is trying to catch a hot dog.








Hanging with Grandma.





Looking at Shelley's cell phone.

Cole's 3rd Birthday Bash

On Saturday one of Eli's best buddies, Cole Good, had his 3rd birthday party. He had a Mickey Mouse theme which Eli loved. The kids spent time playing on the swing set and with Cole's toys, especially Cole's new birthday John Deere Gator. Eli loved it! It was definitely a huge hit with all the kids. After eating, Cole opened all his gifts, and then we sang and had cupcakes...yum! The party was lots of fun. Eli (and we) had a great time!


Happy Birthday Cole!!!

An Evening with the Krauses

On Tuesday we went over to the Andy, Laura, Drew, Abby and Ellie Krause's house for dinner. Was a nice evening of good food (yummy ribs) and fun! Eli and Drew love playing together (check out the video below of the Belly Bump...love the giggles)! And the twins were SO good (and adorable)! Thanks Krauses for a nice evening! Love you guys!

It's A Boy!!!

Water Bug

On Friday Eli and I went to Grandpa and Grandma Joey's condo on Lake Wawasee. My sister and the boys all came, too. We had a fun time swimming in the pool and just hanging out together. The weather was beautiful! Eli is doing so well with swimming...he loves to be in the water. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for having us! We had a blast!

Wakarusa Splash Pad

On Thursday we met Lindsay & Cole Good at the Wakarusa Splash Pad. This was our first time there and was really impressed on how nice it is. Eli and Cole had such a fun time splashing around in the water, even though it was very cold.

They are just too cute together!

Bye Bye Murano

On Monday we finally turned in the Murano. Think I even shed a tear. I loved that car! I like the new van, too, but it's just not the same. The Murano will be greatly missed.

Lovin' Some Five Guys

While Mommy was out with a friend, Daddy and Eli took an adventure to Mishawaka. They went to Best Buy (Scott's favorite store), had dinner at Five Guys, and then played at the mall. Eli loves Five Guys! He'll eat a whole burger on his own! Mommy is a little jealous she didn't get to go, too!

July 4th

This July 4th we spent the evening at Lake Wawasee with Grandpa, Grandma Joey, Pablo, Keli and the boys. Even though the weather wasn't the greatest, we enjoyed a delicious steak dinner followed by an evening boat ride to watch the fireworks. It ended up being a late night for Eli, but lots of fun!

Vacation 2009

We just recently returned home from our family vacation. Usually every year we get to go to Florida (Scott has to work some days at the Miami boat show, so we make a vacation out of it), but this year we were unable to do it. We decided to stay a little closer to home. We ended up going to Toledo, OH and Pittsburgh, PA.

The first day we went to the Toledo Zoo before driving to Pittsburgh. Beautiful zoo with an awesome kids area. That night we ate at Joe's Crab Shack. Eli loved it and even got to dance with the servers!

The second day was Sandcastle Water Park. Loved it! Wish the weather would have been a little better so we could have enjoyed more time there. That evening was dinner at Bucco de Beppo....yummy, but huge meals!


The third day was the Pittsburgh Children's Museum. Eli had fun, but we were a little disappointed....nothing like the Children's Museum in Chicago. As we were driving past the Pittsburgh Pirates stadium Scott noticed that the Cubs were playing that evening. Scott immediately got tickets for us. Eli had a ball and Cubs won! He's been singing, "Go Cubs Go" ever since.


Even though it was a shorter vacation, we had lots of fun. Eli really did well staying in the hotels and loved swimming in the hotel pools. We just may need to make a trip back to Pittsburgh again!