TBD is 34

Cake: white on funfetti with sprinkles 

Made his wish. Now blow Daddy!

Dinner was pizza outdoors and then hitting golf balls at Diversey Harbor. A beautiful night. 

Blaise's best art ever 

Opening presents 

Love you our TBD

Blaise's card

Dear Dad,

Happy birthday! Ready to go hit balls?

Just so you know I might have put some eggshell in your cake!

Love,

Blaise

The week

We went to MI for a couple of days. 

Steph and I walked the girls to Water Street for treats. Brought back sweet memories. The espresso of the day was Rosebud Blend. :)

The boys shared a bed and snuggled. 

We visited Bridget and her crew. It was heaven. Blaise caught a fish. 

But Owen's fish was biggest!

Rosie and the fish. 

Darling Mary Cate. 

On our way home we stopped at the outlets to shop for tommys birthday. The kids were good so they could choose one ride. 

And here's Rosie at Snippets. Girl got bangs! 

The end

Pool day

Snack break

Splash! 

Bed heads

Things that happened at the zoo

Our little house seems even littler in summer. Most days we get to the point when I realize we need to get out, now! Today that moment came early. So, we escaped to the zoo. 

Fed some cows...

Also, in the farm area we watched a mother pig simultaneously nurse 9 piglets. Wow. 

Rode the carousel. Boys both chose to ride on the chimps. 

Rosie clung to the giraffe. 

As we ate lunch there was a bunch of seagulls trying to steal food. Rosie kept running up to them and trying to touch them. A man sitting nearby said "You better watch that one. She has no fear. When she's 18 she's going to be doing flips on her motorcycle for the X Games." 

Oh my!

Still in pjs. Of course. 

On our way to the car we talked to this nice policeman and petted his horse "Bub."

Burger & Blaise

While the littles napped, Blaise and I took in the Roscoe Village Burger Fest. Behold. 

He chose a massive blue Powerade and a BBQ burger. I don't have many moments alone with just Blaise, and it was nice to chat with him. He still held my hand while we walked through the crowds. Some days he seems grown up so that was precious to me. Attack that burger, Blaiser. 

Road trip

We went to see our sweet God-Sister, Mary Francis. We ate Bruno's pizza and bomb pops. 

We also explored our favorite coed campus while we were there  (St Mary's is our fave non-coed campus, naturally)

Meanwhile, the ladies bonded over chalk and matching hats

Rosie practiced her sassy face

We love that Mary

While the girls did dinner out, the boys went to a South Bend Cubs game with John Paul. They were stoked. 

Favorite parts?

Blaise: "The big slide and the gift shop"

Gus: "Watching the game"

Gus why do you look 16 all the sudden

Thank you for a special visit 

Rosebud eats.

America the Beautiful

And Pure Michigan!!!

Blaise loves little babies. Especially Cece. He was so patient with her.

Cece smooches Nana. Do you like that Nana?

G-Pops loaded the girls in the trailer and took them for a ride. 

This picture makes me laugh. :) The boys made G-Pops take them next. 

We started the 4th at the Richland Parade. Here's an attempt at a cousin picture. 

Rosie took a turn sitting on the tractor. 

Somebody in the parade yelled "Go Blackhawks!" To Blaise which made his day. 

This was our favorite part of the parade. A front end loader filled with candy. Boom. 

Cece slept through it all. 

Next we went to "Jake's Lake."

Trying to squirt Dad and Blaise. Gus squirted this toy for hours on end. It was his favorite part. 

This baby. Sigh. 

It was a special fourth.