June

The month kicked off with some birthday celebrations for me! Some highlights were a Dairy Queen ice cream cake with Nate and the girls, a day in Chicago with my friends, and getting tickets to a Cubs game!

The seemingly never-ending school year finally ended on June 9th! What a weird school year to say the least, but I'm so proud of the girls for handling all the changes as seamlessly as they did! They were troopers for sure!

We started our summer fun with our annual strawberry picking day with Grammy! We all agreed the selection of berries was way better than last year, which made picking a little more enjoyable as we didn't have to hunt too hard for good ones. 

No surprise here, we spent lots of time at the park!

 

We recently got a Crumbl Cookie in Naperville. We had to see what all the hype was about, so we went during their grand opening week. We had to wait in line about 20 minutes, but it was worth it! We tried one of each flavor cookie they had that week! (Their flavors change weekly)

We heard Auntie Anne's was at a food truck event at nearby Whalon Lake, so on a whim we decided to check it out. Since we were already there I figured I would try the empanadas from Grumpy Gaucho! Afterward, the girls spent quite a bit of time "skipping" rocks and wading around in the lake!

We got to celebrate our #1 girl dad with a yummy Father's Day Breakfast at Honey Jam Cafe!

Also this month, the girls were busy with new camps and activities! 

Jemma began her first week of swimming lessons. I'm so proud of her bravery and the fact that she tried SO hard at each lesson. She also did a little 3 day Art Camp at our local art studio, which she absolutely loved. 

In 4th grade, students are able to learn to play an instrument and join band if they would like to. Jade expressed interest in learning to play the flute, and wanted to participate in a summer music program through school to get a jump start on learning how to play! She had a 30 minute lesson M-F for about 3 weeks! She also did a week long soccer camp, which she enjoyed a lot!

May

 Jade played her way through May with spring soccer! She's still really enjoying the sport, and it's so fun to watch her play! She was so excited that Grammy and Grampy were able to come watch one of her games, too!

We had a fun Mother's Day celebration with my parents and Grandma at her house! It was so special to spend extended time with her for the first time since Covid!

We snuck in a quick visit with my sister's family on their layover at O'Hare airport! Mom and dad took us all to Portillo's for lunch, the park and bowling! It was such a fun day, and special bonus time with the Baums!

April: Easter and Jade's Birthday

 We got back from Puerto Rico just in time for Easter! We had a quiet celebration at home filled with Easter baskets, church, egg hunts and crafts!

We tried to make Jade's birthday extra special this year, since last year's festivities were quite abbreviated due to Covid.

After school she opened her presents from us (including a new bike not pictured)! We had Culvers for dinner and cookie cake for dessert, Jade's picks!

Jade was so excited to be able to have a family celebration this year! We're so thankful so many of our family members were able to come and celebrate Jade! She was definitely spoiled by their company and generous gifts!

She capped off the Birthday celebration with party with her friends. We decided on a Private Watch Party at a local movie theater. The girls each got popcorn, fruit snacks and drinks and watched the movie The Croods: A New Age. They all had such a good time, and certainly loved having the theater to themselves! :)