Audrey Lately~Lazy Days of Summer Edition

Date Weekend in Chicago

Neal was in Chicago for a conference for this past week so I flew out on Friday to have some mommy/daddy time.  All great trips start with a selfie.

When I arrived at the airport bright and early on Friday, I ran into this guy.  We don't see Justin often since they live on the other side of town but fancy running into him at the airport.  They were headed to Cozumel which made me slightly jealous.  

The buildings in Chicago are breathtaking.  Makes the Houston skyline look like little buildings on a Monopoly board. 

One of the highlights of our trip was the architecture boat tour along the Chicago River which runs straight through downtown.  It was so interesting learning about the history of all the buildings.  

Obligatory trip to the "Bean" sculpture.  This might be the happiest place in Chicago.  It was awesome to see the joy in everyone who was taking pictures and making silly faces.  That little girl in the bottom of the picture cracks me up.

  

A "must do" on our list was to have deep dish Chicago pizza. This monstrosity did not disappoint.  It took about an hour to cook but was well worth it.  Basically the whole inside of the pizza is filled with cheese.  

We also tooted around town on these bikes that we rented.  It was all fun and games until we were stuck about 3 miles from downtown with a thunderstorm rolling in.  We made it about half way back and then threw in the towel and caught a cab.  

These "talking heads" were really cool too.

We'll definitely be back to visit Chicago.  Next time with Audrey since there's actually a lot for kids to do too.  As much fun as we had, we missed Audrey like crazy.  It was priceless when we got back and she said "mommy!" when she saw us. 

Father's Day in Corpus

Summer Selfies

Vacation Bible School

Since we've joined Foundry, I thought a fun way to start getting involved with the church would be to volunteer for VBS.   When I was filling out my volunteer registration form, I didn't specify which age group I'd like to work with.  I ended up with 20 5th/6th grade boys!  I'm not going to lie.  I was scared out of my  mind when I learned my assignment and almost asked to be reassigned. But then I heard God speaking to me, telling me to get out of my comfort zone and go for it.  So I did!  

Here are my goofballs that I actually had a good time hanging out with.  

Our group was assigned to go out to the Hope Centers a few days to do volunteer work.  

Little Mommy

Audrey has turned into our "little mommy" in our house.  She's really in to taking care of her babies lately.  

She makes sure they have a good breakfast.  

Sometimes they even get an afternoon snack.  One bite for you, one bite for me.  

She likes to play "house".  

Babies get tired too and need a nap.  She rocks the baby and pats her back saying, "rock, rock" and "night, night baby".  

Welcome Summer!

Another school year is behind me and another summer is ahead.  I must say it was satisfying when my alarm went off on that last day to completely turn the alarm off for good.  We had a to work a few extra days this year because of the "no snow" snow days we had back in January.  As I was sitting in my empty room waiting for the "ok" that we could leave, I was already brainstorming ideas for next school year.  I feel like I finally found "the one" when it comes to my school.  I feel blessed to have met all the people I have along the way, but my new little school feels like home.  It's on the "short list" for Audrey to attend when she gets ready for kindergarten.  

Before our super fun summer could get started, Audrey had to say good-bye to her fabulous teachers.  She has blossomed so much this year with Ms. Liz and Ms. Nadia.  She even still talks about her infant teacher,  Ms. Ana.  Those ladies make me feel like Audrey is their favorite.  I'm sure they make every parent feel that way, but it's such a relief that I don't have to worry about her there.   One day this week, when I went to pick her up, Audrey waved at me and said, "bye mommy" and then ran into the playhouse on the playground.  

I can't think of a better way to start summer than a visit to a sno-cone stand.  The owner gave the kids some ice to play with while we were waiting for our sno-cones.  

Miss Independent was not happy that we had to share a sno-cone.  I kept holding the cup to prevent it from spilling and she kept swatting my hand away saying "no, mine".  

Here's to a great summer!