One big ol' catch up post

We have been rockin' since before Christmas which is why I am just now catching up on the blog! We went to the Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier on December 20th and the boys loved it. It was perfect for their ages...lots of inflatables, play areas, a few rides Dane could go on....I actually don't think it would be all that fun for kids over age 12, but I've never had a 12 year old so I don't know that for sure.

This ride was Dane's favorite. I went on him with it the first time and in the middle of the ride, he looked up at me giggling and said "can I ride this again all by myself?" And with all the dignity I could muster when I really wanted to cry, I said "of course!" And with that, I got off the ride and left my man child on it to ride all by himself.

A giant rocking horse with Cameron...

 Many kiddie vehicles to drive, Kale was too short to drive so he had to ride with Dane...

 One of many inflatables:

 While waiting in line for the ferris wheel. I was white knuckling it while they were loading the thing and at the very top Dane said "I'm just a little bit scared." But believe me when I say if Dane breathed too hard, I told him to stop moving!

 And poor Kale...I think we wore him out. Sleeping face down...of course I laid him back after I took the picture!

 On the train ride home...

On Friday, December 21st Cameron and I jumped on the train again to head into Chi-town for dinner and a Christmas party. 

No idea what Cameron found so funny...

On Christmas eve, we headed over to Gma and Gpa Hatten's house to open a couple gifts and eat. Again. Pretty sure that all we did is eat for 2 consecutive weeks.

 Watching a little Christmas movie before heading home to set out cookies & milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

And of course...Christmas day. Santa was good to us this year. Blessed.

 M&m's for breakfast? Sure! It's Christmas!

                                                

I hope that you all had an amazing Christmas...wonderful time spent with family & friends!

RIP Old Friend

We received some very devastating news yesterday. Our dear sweet Barley has passed away. I realize it's been a year and a half since he has lived with us but he will forever be remembered as our "first born" and I will always think of both of them as our dogs. We were incredibly lucky to find such an amazing person to take them both and to take such great care of them when we felt we couldn't. I am thankful that I do not have to have a conversation about death with 2 little boys. Dane remembers our dogs but since we've moved into this house, the questions about them have been less frequent. I am sad that we weren't able to say goodbye but again so incredibly thankful that Joy was with him until the end. She spared us the news before Christmas...he got very sick and his body shut down within a week so Joy had to make the hard decision to take his pain away last Saturday. In Joy's words...

"Jen - I did all I could do for him. His disease appeared to be rapidly closing down his body and spreading fast and furious.He was in wonderful care with vets that have cared for my family dogs for years and years. I was holding him until the very end and I believe he passed peacefully.

I am so sorry for this email. I did not want to share this news during the holiday season but felt you must know. This was a very unexpected event and I did everything in my power as I love that dog dearly. Please know Roscoe is being showered with love and attention and we do not see any sign of Barley's disease or symptoms affecting him."

Thankful for her. Sad that Barley's end came too quickly. RIP Btown!! 

Christmastime Fun!

We have had a lot of fun so far this December and today we're heading to Navy Pier's winter wonderland. Cameron took the day off so we all get to go! For the rest of our activities, I will let the pictures do the talking....

Our little drummer boys at Kohls Childrens museum:

Our old favorite playplace closed...good thing a new one opened! Yu Kids Island...

 

 They call it a water bed, I call it a silicone implant...

Of course, finding Gooey Shoe every morning...

At the Wonderland Express at Chicago Botanic Garden, 

getting our tickets from the conductor:

 Best I could do on pictures!

 Kale's running stance...because he ran the entire time. ENTIRE TIME!

 See Kale is blurry...did I mention he ran the entire time?

 Checking out the trains...Soldier Field in picture above. 

 Best we could do:

 Mean mama strapped him in the stroller...I was sweating!

And it snowed! Hopefully we get the real stuff soon!

We made cookies and decorated...2, only 2 of them.

 Clearly dumping the sprinkles was way more fun! Look how hard and fast he's shaking them!

 Our sprinkle pile...

 Hot chocolate at the chocolate shop (it was the weekend and Kale was napping so since Daddy was home, Dane and I ran into town):

 Playing in things that are obviously dangerous:

 Making our gingerbread house...he wasn't as interested as he was last year (except for eating the candy):

 The picture Dane snapped of me while working on the house...pretty, I know:

 Our finished product (do you see a theme in our house? That Kale is never in pictures of things that might be messy? We wait until Kale's napping):

 Playing in Santa's sleigh in the town square:

 Walking into town all bundled up:

 Visiting our favorite Santa...

 Opening presents with Grandma Pam...can you tell he's excited about John Deere tractors??

 And Kale with his new little barn...those fisher price barns sure have been upgraded since I was a kid:

 And hugging, lots of hugging (or tackling, however you want to look at it):

Congratulations Cameron!!

A huge congratulations to my hubby on his well deserved promotion! Cameron has worked incredibly hard for Intercall for almost 13 years...he has been handed many challenges in the form of struggling offices and he has always turned them around quickly. He continues to be a top performer and has kept his Chicago office in the top 5 of all offices nationwide. His hard work has allowed me the luxury of giving up my job and raising our kiddos. Thank you Cameron...we are all very proud of all you have accomplished!