Addy's First Day of Second Year Pre-K

Addy began her second year of pre-K on August 23rd.  She has the same teachers and classroom as last year and was so excited to go back.  She was a little sad that some of her friends from last hear had moved on to Kindergarten, but we reassured her that she would meet many new fun friends.  The first day of school this year was much more low key than last year mainly because Addy was so comfortable with her teachers and surroundings.  The teachers had visited our house a few days before and we went into the classroom for open house they day before school started, so she got to get back into the swing of things before school even started.  There were no tears from Addy (or her mom) this year, only lots and lots of smiles.  She had a great first day and was excited to come home and tell us all about what they did and about the new kids in her class.  We are looking forward to a wonderful year in second year pre-K! 

Ready for her 2nd Year of Pre-K

Backpack Shot

Carter REALLY wants to go to school too!

Cousin Camp and a Family Trip to St. Louis

Our second annual Freihaut Cousin Camp was held at our house during the last full week of July.  Derek's mom and our nephew Cameron came to stay for a few days to partake in the fun.  We packed a lot of outings and activities into three days and the kids were very worn out by the end.  The cousins made Cousin Camp shirts and wore them on our outing to the Children's Museum.  Addy still had t-ball and swim lessons, so Cameron and Carter played together while she did her activities.  We also went to a local nature center where there is a creek for the kids to play in.  Unfortunately due to the drought, the creek was bone dry.  There were a lot of other things to play on, including a super fun horse tire swing, so the kids had a great time anyway.  The kids also had a ton of fun playing together in the pool, on the bounce house, and in the yard.  It was so much fun watching them play together.  I am so glad we can provide them with these opportunities to play and bond for extended periods of time.  Cameron and Grandma Freihaut headed home on July 28th.  Addy and Carter were definitely sad to see them go and immediately asked if we could have another Cousin Camp very soon.

Modeling the shirts they made

Cameron and Carter hanging out at Addy's T-ball game

Working together on a puzzle

Singing on stage

Cameron dancing on stage

I managed to get a pic of them them all jumping in the air

Enjoying the awesome swing!

The weekend after Cousin Camp we packed up the car and headed to St. Louis to meet Derek's family for a fun weekend.  We stayed in a hotel in Illinois about 20 minutes away from the city.  The kids were so excited to be staying in a hotel with adjoining rooms with their cousins.  They had a lot of fun swimming in the pool on Friday night and playing together in the rooms.  Saturday we headed for the Zoo and Science Center later in the afternoon.  It was a pretty hot day, but the kids did very well and loved seeing all of the animals and exhibits at the Science Center. 

Petting the sting rays

Cousins!

A picture on the gorilla is a must on every zoo trip!

We built the arch!

Cory, Courtney, and Kerrigan headed home Saturday evening, but Cameron and Grandma Freihaut stayed to go to the Magic House on Sunday.  We got to the Magic House very early and before the crowds, so the kids had the exhibits to themselves for the first hour or so, which was wonderful!  The kids really enjoyed the kid sized town where they got to work as mechanics, cook pizza in a restaurant, go grocery shopping, and work in a hospital nursery.  After a few hours of play, we headed to a restaurant we had seen on the Food Network called Fitz's.  The restaurant bottles and distributes its own soda and you can watch the process as you eat.  The food was good and the soda was yummy.  We finished up our meal by splitting giant floats, which the kids loved.

 

 

Cameron the mechanic

Static Hair

Grandma and Cameron  (no one took of picture of me and Addy:)

Playing at the construction site

Our trip to St. Louis was a great time.  It was so wonderful watching the kids experience some of the sights of the city together.  It is definitely a trip they will remember for a very long time!

One Very Busy Girl

 

Addy certainly stayed busy with extracurricular activities this summer.  For eight weeks she played t-ball on Monday and Wednesday mornings and had two evening games. She really enjoyed her time on the field and loved to bat off the tee.  She also really enjoyed all of the fun games they played during practice.  It was a lot of fun watching her experience t-ball for the first time.  I laughed a lot watching her.  She wasn't always the most attentive in the field, drew a lot of great pictures in the dirt, and had a lot of very "important" conversations on the bench while waiting for her turn to hit. During the games she did have several good hits off the tee and fielded a few grounders.  The most important thing was that she obviously had a lot of fun and wants to play again next year. 

Hey Batter Batter!

All smiles while running the bases

Addy also went to a gymnastics class on Friday mornings during the summer.  We switched gyms this summer because she had been to a friend's birthday party at this articular gym in the spring and loved all of the equipment.  So she begged me to let her take classes there.  The schedule actually worked out better for us, so I let her make the switch for the summer.  She really enjoyed her class and loved the fact that Ella who is friend from school and lives in our neighborhood was in class with her.  Carter loved the fact that Ella had a little sister that came to watch as well.  Her name is Ava and she is Carter's new crush.  Every time we walk by their house Carter asks about the next time he will get to see her.  It was really cute watching them play together. 

Practicing on the bar

During the last week of July and first week of August Addy took swim lessons with the town's parks and rec program.  She loves the water and looked forward to going each morning, even though her lessons were at 9 o'clock and the water was always a bit on the chilly side.  During this session she learned to float on her belly and back and learned to push off the wall.  She also took her big leap of the diving board, which is always a moment of excitement for her!

Practicing back glides

Taking her big jump off the diving board

All in all, it is safe to say that Addy had her share of summertime fun and this post doesn't even mention all of the things we did around the lessons and practices.  I must also mention how proud I am of Carter.  During all of these lessons and practices he was a model spectator (most of the time.)  It wasn't always easy for him to sit back and watch his big sis having all the fun, especially during t-ball! He was a true sports through it all and he just kept reminding me that next year he'll get to play t-ball and take swim lessons.  Oh my, two kids t-balling and swimming may be quite the challenge!



Carter was a good sport all summer

Multiple Trips to Chicago

In mid-July we made two trips to Chicago in the same week.  On Sunday, July 8th we headed to the Southside to take in a White Sox game with the kids.  There was a break in our super hot weather over the weekend and it was Kids' Day at the park, so it was the perfect day to make our way to the ball park.  We stopped for breakfast at a diner we love to stop at on our trips to Chicago and the kids insisted on taking their picture with the Blues Brothers and Betty Boop statues. 

Addy, Carter & Betty

Posing with the Blues Brothers

We got to the ballpark early and were there when the gates were opened because there was going to be a player autograph session before the game and we wanted to try to get a few autographs on the kids' baseballs that we had brought from home.  We raced up the stairs and jumped in an autograph line not knowing whose autograph we were waiting for or if we would even get to the front of the line in time.  It just so happens that we chose a good line with starting White Sox players Gordon Beckham, Addison Reed, Matt Thornton, and Jose Quintana.  Carter and Addy each got signatures from all four players and were really excited to get to interact with them.  They were almost as excited as their Dad who was smiling from ear to ear.  Gordon Beckham even joked around with Addy and told her that she could come closer because he didn't bite and then proceeded to growl at her as she inched closer.  She has talked about that interaction ever since and always cheers for Beckham when the White Sox are playing.

Getting autographs from the White Sox

Chatting with Gordan Beckham (black shirt)

We had outfield seats and the kids did a great job throughout the entire game.  The weather was beautiful; the game on the other hand, wasn't so pretty on either side.  The White Sox ended up losing, but we still has a wonderful family outing to the ballpark! 

Windy family photo

Later in the week we headed back up to the Chicago suburbs for Derek's Consultants Meeting which was being held at a golf resort.  Since it was trip that was close to home and I feel comfortable toting the kids around the Chicago suburbs on my own, we decided to take the whole family.  We headed up on Thursday morning so that Derek could make it to the company outing held at the Arlington horse track.  I elected to hangout with the kids at the hotel and check out the pool.  Later that evening we had a dinner at the hotel complete with white tablecloths on which Carter managed to spill a full glass of wine.  About halfway through the dinner I realized the reason we don't always bring the kids on these trips.  As our kids were treating the dining space  as a race track and Carter was chasing all of the kids around all fours and declaring himself as a monster, I realized that these dinners aren't made for toddlers and preschoolers.  We did make it through the night with only one spilled wine glass and a few scrapes on the knees; so all in all we survived, but just barely!

The next day we had a big dinner scheduled at the Brookfield Zoo, so I knew that whatever I planned for the kids had to be low key and allow for a nap time (for the kids and their momma!).  So as Derek headed to his meeting, the kids and I stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for a yummy breakfast and then to a small kiddie amusement park called Pirate's Cove.  It was very close to the hotel and a perfect fit for our busy day.  The park had several kiddie rides and playground structures for the kids to explores.  Carter loved the hand powered train cars, paddle boats, and train.  Addy enjoyed climbing the rock wall, bouncy house, and the boats.  It was a cute park and a great way to spend the morning.  As we headed back to the hotel we grabbed lunch and then the kids went down for a nap. 

Riding on the train

Addy and Carter loved the boats!

Carter was a big fan of the hand crank train



Trying out the climbing wall

Later that evening we met up with Derek and then boarded the charter bus to travel to the Zoo.  Pinnacle had booked the dinner after the zoo was closed to the public, so it was neat to see what it looks like after hours.  Cocktail hour was held in the underwater bear viewing area, which was really cool.  We got to see large grizzly bears swimming in the water up close. It was so neat, that I was kicking myself for not committing to bring my camera to the dinner!   The kids did more running and chasing during cocktail hour, but no wine was spilled this time--thank goodness!  After cocktail hour we headed to the banquet area for dinner.  The kids were actually very well behaved and were obviously wearing down by this time.  They were good sports about the whole thing, as formal dinners obviously aren't their cup of tea.

Addy was so excited to have the zoo to ourselves

Derek had more meetings on Saturday morning.  When he finished, I high tailed it to the resort's spa for my massage.  It was awesome!  Then we swam and went to dinner at a local pizza place.  We stayed one more evening in the hotel and were planning to head to the aquarium the next day.  However, Carter came down with a fever late Saturday night and was obviously feeling pretty crummy, so we headed home Sunday morning after having breakfast. 

We had a lot of fun at the consultant's meeting and are so thankful that families are included in the fun.  Overall, the kids were good sports about everything and did very well.  They aren't used to eating dinner at 8:00, so I am proud of them for being flexible.  They were very popular with the Pinnacle crowd and were definitely a great source of entertainment for on several occasions.

Carter's 2 Year Pictures

I was a huge procrastinator in taking Carter's 2 year pictures. I finally got them taken on a Sunday in late July. We took them at a park before church and then headed to a children's garden after church to finish them up. Carter was very cooperative and eager to give lots of smiles. As I was editing these, I realized just how grown up our little boy has become. He certainly isn't my baby boy any more!

 

 

 

July 4th Visitors

During the first week of July my parents came to town for an extended visit.  Their factory shuts down each year around this time and they added a few more vacation days so that they could depend the week with us.  Who wouldn't want to vacation in lovely Bloomington, Illinois?  The kids were so happy to have Grandma and Grandpa visiting for so many days.  Unfortunately the oppressive heat continued and we were limited to a lot of indoor activities and hanging out at the house. They arrived on the Sunday before the Fourth of July ready for a fun week. Addy had t-ball practice on Monday, so Grandma and Grandpa got to watch her on the field. 



On Tuesday we headed to Peoria to go to Bass Pro Shop.   Addy and Carter were so excited to show their Grandparents around the store.  It was definitely a good indoor activity to avoid the heat of the day.  On Tuesday evening our little town had their fireworks display at the city park so we headed there after dinner to stake out a spot for our lawn chairs.  Addy and Carter had a blast playing on the playground and with friends from the neighborhood before the fireworks.  We all really enjoyed the fireworks.  The town of Downs puts on a great event and we love the fact that we can go to our small town fireworks and not fight the crowds in the larger cities to celebrate the 4th.

Addy on the carousel at Bass Pro

Having fun on the school lawn before the fireworks

On Wednesday, we headed to a 4th of July parade in a nearby town and then went home to grill out and let the kids swim in the pool. It was great to hang out at home and spend time together without any real plans or itinerary for the day.  I am one that loves to go, go, go, but even I enjoy a holiday at home once in a while:) 

Papaw really loves to get into the 4th of July spirit!

Mom and Dad headed home on Friday.  We were all sad to see the go but we were so happy that they got to stay longer than usual.  It was a great week and the kids really enjoyed having so much time with their grandparents at their own house.  Although Bloomington, Illinois doesn't seem like a premiere vacation destination for most people, we are thrilled that Grandma and Grandpa think it's a great place to visit:)