4th of July in the 'Brook, Part II

While we were in Bolingbrook, we made our way over to Grandpa Gary & Grandma Linda's house to hang out with them and Uncle Jesse, Aunt Abbie, Luca, and their newest addition, Cole, for a bit.  Cameron stayed behind with Grandma Lynn because we thought it might just be too much stress for him. 

Luca brought his 4-wheeler along and I, reluctantly, allowed Cody to take Owen for a (slow) spin on it.  As you can see, they both loved it!

He got that feather at a parade that he and Cody went to earlier in the day.  Again, we thought it was too much stress for Cameron so he didn't go.  I had planned to go but somehow got roped into making a 2-tiered princess castle birthday cake for Lynn's neighbor's daughter.  I won't go into how that transpired but it was quite an interesting experience, to say the least.  The only photo I have of said cake is on my phone so I can't show it to you.  I was pretty proud of my work, seeing as how I had very little tools to work with, as well as limited time. 

But back to 4-wheeling.  Not only did they convince me to let Owen ride it, they also somehow convinced me to ride it.

I enjoyed it, but I did go frighteningly slow.  It's amazing how much fear you acquire when you become a mother.  Or maybe not so much fear but caution. 

After a bit of riding, I headed inside to catch this:

There's just something about a man covered in tattoos and piercings giving a baby a bottle that is just too difficult to pass up photographing.  Of course, Grandma had to get in on the action and asked me to take a photo of her "looking matronly."

Before we left we went back outside to get a few photos of the Muhs men.  I was just bummed that our Cammer Jams wasn't there to be a part of it, but we did get some pretty good shots.

We topped the night off by heading to the Bolingbrook Golf Course to watch the most spectacular fireworks show I've ever seen.  We sat right on the golf course surrounded by great friends and we were right up front to see the whole show.  It was a great weekend!

4th of July in the 'Brook, Part I

You know how I love to stretch out the holidays for you!  I have so many great photos of so many things that we've done in the past few months but finding the time to get them posted here has been difficult for me!  Since I am one day hoping to print this blog out in book form to preserve these family memories, I've decided I'll just post them all no matter what!  Of course, this means you'll probably be looking at photos of us swimming when there's snow on the ground and getting a recap of Christmas in July, but such is life.  I keep making promises to myself that I'm going to get some sort of every-other-day schedule established here but I also keep promising myself that I'm going to lose 50 lbs.  When either of those things happens, I will let you know.  So, without further ado, check out what we did over the 4th this year!

We made our way to Bolingbrook this year for a mini-vacation.  Cody's mom's street has a huge block party every year.  Owen and Cody got to experience it last year and they had so much fun that they wanted to go back this year.  Lucky for us, they scheduled it in the same weekend as the 4th.

There was lots of food, a little train ride, a rock climbing wall, a bounce house (which is pretty much where Owen spent the majority of his day), and the Fire Department even showed up for a while!

He looks a little too happy to be holding an axe, don't you think?

Cameron and I spent the majority of the morning inside because all the people and the bright sun were just a little too much for him.  Then Daddy decided to throw our water boy's trunks on and see if he'd like to get in the little pool.  We had to drag him out of it!

Toward the end of the evening, they rigged up a huge pinata (it's the Stanley Cup, in case you're wondering) in the street and gave each kid a few chances to take a whack at it.

Proudly displaying his loot!

All in all, it was an awesome day.  Until, of course, we had to drag Owen out of the bounce house kicking and screaming at nearly 10pm.  Stay tuned to check out the fun we had when we headed over to Grandpa's house!

Wrigley and Soldier Field in the same weekend?!?!

Yes, my husband was, indeed, in sports fan heaven. Not only did he and Owen get to watch the Bears practice at Soldier Field, it just so happened that the Iowa Cubs were playing a game at Wrigley Field that weekend, too. I, of course, thought this was too much to pack into one weekend but what do I know? Cody really wanted to take advantage of this because, like the Bears game, it was a cheap way to take Owen to Wrigley Field.

Ginna got to join in on the fun this time around.

Are they cute or what?

The next couple of pictures are a prime example of what we are going through these days in trying to get a good picture of Owen. Kid will not look at the freaking camera to save his life. Drives me nuts!

Oh well, at least that's a good one of Matt and Gianna! The real reason Cody wanted to go to this game was because after the game was over, all the kids in attendance got to run the bases. Yeah, Owen was excited about it but Cody was over the moon.

"I got to touch the ivy," was all he kept telling me. I'm surprised he was able to concentrate long enough to get pictures of the kids running the bases. I'm also surprised he didn't just take off and run with them!

The kids were allowed to run from first to home and then they were done. Come on, do you think that stopped our Owen? Of course not! He kept right on running, rounding home and making his way back to first! Here he is being instructed to go back to his father, that man over there who is drooling over the ivy and trying to think of a way to take some of it home, too busy to collect his son once he got to home base.

Once again, a good time was had by all. I'm just not sure who had more fun--the die-hard-Cubs-fans Daddies or the kids!

Grandma's Block Party

Grandma Lynn's neighborhood throws a kickin' block party every summer. We didn't realize just how kickin' it was until Cody and Owen were there to join in on the fun. Cody came home and told me it is worth planning a trip to Grandma's house just for the block party! Not that going just to see Grandma isn't worth it. ;) Owen had a grand time as is evidenced by the pictures:

He rode this train once with Grandma but then said he wanted to ride it by himself. Cody said he kept commenting on how this was his first time riding on a "real train!" I'm not quite sure why we spend so much money doing this every year if the above train qualifies as a "real" train. But I digress.




Owen has quite a love for inflatables so I'm certain he was in heaven on this thing!




Apparently he borrowed this from one of the neighbor kids.

Thanks to Grandma and her neighborhood for showing our boy a great time! Count us in for next year!

Bears Family Day

A few weekends ago, Daddy and Owen headed to Bolingbrook/Chicago for a Big Boys Only weekend. They had a weekend packed with fun that started with a day with the Bears!



Every year the Bears have a Family Day where you can pay about 7 bucks to go to Soldier Field, participate in some fun activities, and watch the Bears play a scrimmage game. We thought this was a good start for Owen since it was so cheap and didn't require him to sit still for a long period of time like a real game would. Uncle Matt, Dominic, Matt's brother, Dave, and his son, Jake joined them and a good time was had by all!

You know me, I have to include a picture of the band!

Look how close their seats were!

Look closely and you can spot Brian Urlacher!

We are looking forward to a time when Cameron is old enough to go so we can experience this as a family. Or maybe Daddy and the boys go and Mommy gets a shopping day all to herself? Stay tuned for more Chicago fun!

The Wait is Over!

Ok, so I finally made my way down to the basement to put up a post with pictures. However, I forgot to bring the camera down with me to upload the current ones I have. Then I remembered that I never posted pictures of our trip to visit the fam in Bolingbrook, which is nice for me because now I don't have to go back up to find the camera!

Gramma Lynn reading to Owen and Luca, one of their favorite things to do together. I'm not sure where Cameron will sit when he is ready to join in on the fun but I'm certain Gramma will find room! I can't get over how old Luca looks in this pic!

Look closely at Owen's left ear. Only at Grampa Gary's. (don't worry, it's not real.)

Cam checking out his crazy Grampa. He never knows what to think of him, but he is never scared of him. He just kind of stares at him in wonder. Which, really, is not that much different than how most people look at him. ;)

Grampa and Gramma Linda with the kiddos. Yes, Owen did take off his coat while we were there! We just took these right before we were heading out the door.

Cody doing his best Elton John impersonation. "C-C-C Cody and the jets!"

I am excited to report that we are headed back east in just a few weeks. They are having a benefit for Joey, our good friend who was injured in a car accident in October. I am also excited to report that Joey is doing well and just moved to an awesome rehab center. He has a long road ahead of him but he seems like he is motivated and up for the challenge. Way to go, Joey! Until next time, folks...

Our Trip to Bolingbrook

We got home last night after another hectic weekend in Bolingbrook. Our weekends there are usually crazy as we are trying to pack a week's worth of events into 2 and a half days! While it was very sad having to say goodbye to Grandpa and go through all the funeral services, it was nice to see some family that we very rarely get to see. I was finally able to meet Cody's cousin, Christopher and his wife, Angela, who live in Phoenix. I couldn't believe we've gone 8 years without ever meeting each other! Owen had a good time playing with the other kids there. The service was very nice. Afterward, there was a dinner at a Bohemian restaurant where we ate all of Grandpa's favorite kind of food. He was a real "meat and potatoes" kind of guy. Or as Cody's mom likes to call it, "food that swims (in gravy)."

On Saturday evening we went to Matt and Susie's house for a barbecue. The picture above is of Owen playing in the sandbox there. Alas, this is the ONLY picture I got all weekend! I had planned to take more of all the kids but I just ran out of steam and ended up eating lots of food and just sat around talking! Owen had a great time running around with all the kids there. He even got a couple of kisses from some of the little girls! He was one sweaty, dirty boy when we got home that night! I had a little trouble getting all the sand out of his hair! I am trying to resign myself to the fact that he is a boy and he is going to live for getting dirty. I think I am starting to deal with it a little better. Although I would have never let him get in the sandbox, I didn't yell at Cody when he let him get in there! I really think that's progress! I guess Owen should be thankful he has his father, otherwise I might put him in a plastic bubble and never let him out! Nevertheless, we had a great time seeing everyone and hope we get to go back very soon.

Now I have 4 days to unpack, do laundry, clean up the house, and pack all over again! We are leaving on Friday to go to Tennesse with my family. It's always a hectic trip as we have about 15 people going, but we LOVE going and spending time with everyone. The guys play golf while the girls go shopping. This year I'm hoping to squeeze a pedicure and a massage in there somewhere. We'll see how that goes! I can't believe summer is almost over! Where does the time go?!

Grandpa Muhs

It is with a heavy heart that I publish this post. Cody's grandpa, Owen, passed away this morning at home. We knew it was coming, as he has been very sick with cancer. Hospice had been coming in the house and making things as easy as possible for both he and Grandma. We are heading home this weekend for the services.

We are thankful that there is another Owen Muhs in the world to carry on his legacy. We hope he grows up to be as good a man as the first Owen.

Here is a picture taken of them over the 2005 holiday season. Big Owen loved seeing Little Owen. He will be greatly missed.