VaCaTiON!

A Day at The Shed

First stop, Chicago.  We got there just in time for lunch.  We'd packed a picnic lunch and headed to the park to eat and play.  Full, we made our way to the Shed Aquarium.  Lucky for us, a coworker of Justin's had bought our entire family tickets as a thank you for Justin's kindness to them.  It was a fun, packed day.  We then set off to our hotel in Buffalo Grove to enjoy the pool and some down time before setting off the following day for some Wisconsin Camping.  

Playing in the Spider's Web

At the Shed

jumping pose :)

Wisconsin Camping

Off to Ottawa Lake/Kettle Moraine Forrest State Park.  We spent a few days camping and hiking and then  finished our vacation with a bang...Ethan's Triathlon.

Enjoying some Naked juice, Mango Tango...a family fave, as you can see.

Enjoying the park playground

They love their trailmix, or should i just say M&M's.

Not sure what's going on in this pic.  Something to do with Daddy's knife, but they look adorable so I had to share :)

Off for a walk and some bike practice

He did it!

Family fun after Ethan's Tri

Friday Family Faves...Pesto Chicken Pizza

Pesto Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

1 slice of fresh lemon (optional)

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Crust of your choice

8oz package fresh mozarella

Pesto- we make ours, but you can easily buy a jar and use that

1/2c-1c. cherry tomatoes, sliced

*Preheat oven 450 degrees

*Cook chicken breast in skillet with EVOO and slice of lemon, add salt and pepper to taste.  Cook through, no pink, and cut into chunks.

*make crust, or you can use a store-bought crust if you prefer

*spread with pesto

*top with Chicken chunks

*Slice mozzarella into 7 even slices and top pizza

*top with sliced cherry tomatoes 

*Bake until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

 Enjoy!

You never Know unless you TRI! Ethan's first Triathlon!

We signed Ethan up for his first Triathlon.  He had to swim 25y, bike 1/4 mi, and run 0.10 miles.  He's been talking about it for weeks and we'd been "training" with him for weeks, so he was really pumped on race day.  The race was at Ottawa Lake State Park in Dousman, Wisconsin.  We went camping there on a Thursday and stayed through race day, Saturday.  Ethan had a BLAST!  Unfortunately, race day weather was in the 50's and he had to swim in the freezing cold lake :(  So he did shed a few tears when he came out of the water, until he warmed up and got dressed at the transition area.  But when it was all over, he kept asking me if he could do the race again:)  I had to explain that he could only do it once, but we could cheer on the next age groups.  He wore his bib number all day and has worn is race medal everyday since...yep even has it on right now :)    Thanks to Justin's family for making the drive and standing in the freezing cold to cheer him on.  We did all get a chance to head back to our campsite for some warming up by the fire and some post-race smore's :)    It was a wonderful experience that we will definitely do next year, especially since it's a charity event for their local children's hospital.

Ready to race!  The race provided all the children with "Ironman" swimcaps.

Look at the cheering section

Freezing!

Off the 3 and 4 year olds go

FINISHED!

Post Race Reese's Cup...He earned it!

Post Race campfire warmth, lunch, and smore's

Claire giving Cousin Gavin knuckles

MMMmmmm Smores

Cousin fun

Ethan with his Cousins

Grandma and Grandpa P and Aunt B with the big Triathlete 

July 4th

Well our little town is CRAZY for July 4th.  They literally take the entire month leading up to the 4th to celebrate, so you can imagine the day-of festivities.  We decided to have a little cookout for lunch with Pappy & Gma Kathy, and Grandma and Grandpa P.  We then headed off to the parade that Ethan and I walked in for the YMCA, and then off to Ice Cream Paradise for some ice cream and playground fun.  Last but not least, we set off some fireworks in the driveway before putting the kids to bed.  It was a wonderful, fun filled family day.

Cookout fun

My American flag cake attempt.  It was delicious.

Waiting to see Ethan & Mommy at the Parade

Waiting by the YMCA float.

We were right next to the tractors in the parade waiting area

Here we come

Heading to get icecream.  What a dad!

Ice Cream Paradise


On the playground at Ice Cream Paradise

Underdog anyone?

Watching fireworks



Thanks for the visit everyone!!!!