Spring Break 2023

Marty

We escaped the Chicago cold and migrated south to the land of sunshine for spring break. Like most of our previous visits, we spent a lot of time in the pool which is right next to Grandma and Grandpa’s place. We got out of the pool to do a few excursions. The Pirates were still in town so one of the days we caught a spring training game. One morning I had a crazy idea to rent some jet skis. Amazingly everyone was in so we rented 3 jet skis and scooted around Palma Sola Bay.

I was missing my F3 crew so one morning at 4:45 AM I went out and ran with F3 SunCoast. It was extremely nice to be able to run without 3 layers of clothes to keep me warm!

 

Daddy Daughter Dance

Marty

Emery and I got to break out our fancy clothes for a night out on the town. Her Girl Scout troop hosted their annual daddy-daughter dance. The past years were always super fun and this year didn’t disappoint. Emery and I went out to eat with some friends to have some pre-party fun. At the dance, the girls had a bunch of activities they could do but most of the time was spent on the dance floor. I might have made an appearance out there too! Carter and Julie were not going to be outdone so they headed out for a nice dinner and night out too.

Welcome Charly!

Marty

After a couple of years since Ali passed away, we finally decided to get another dog. We welcomed Charly into our family 2 weeks ago. Of course, she is a Jack Russel Terrier! We have a soft spot for that furry little face and persistent attitude. She is 6 months old and has a passion for all socks. She will help you find any sock that is left around the house and make sure to let you know if you have them on your feet.

Everyone is loving having a dog around again. It adds a little bit of chaos to the house but is super nice when you need a warm friend on the couch. It is also awesome to have a work-from-home office buddy to keep me company all day.

Happy Bday Emery

Marty

Emery turned 9! One thing she really wanted this year was to get her hair colored. I wasn’t too eager because I was thinking it was going to be an obnoxious crazy full head of color. After much negotiation, Julie talked her into doing a peek-a-boo color fade that turned out pretty amazing.

Her passion these days is mostly gymnastics, she loves contorting her body into different shapes and flipping around the house. We are starting to get a good collection of gymnastics equipment in the basement to give her plenty of opportunities to make me cringe in pain. So it made sense that for her party we did it at the Forthill gym. Emery and her friends had a whole room to run around, jump, flip, and bounce.

Christmas 2022

Marty

Time has really been flying by the past few months! I am only now getting around to posting some Christmas pics.

For the holidays we did all of our typical activities: we hung out with family, opened tons of presents, and cursed at the -20F cold weather. We mostly hung around Naperville but did make it back to Davenport to see the Wassmer clan.

Party weekend

Marty

Emery and I stayed home this weekend while Julie and Carter went to Indy for a Soccer tournament. Carter had tons of fun hanging with his teamates all weekend and then to top it off his team got second place. I hear they played hard and it paid off!

Emery had 2 birthday parties and a Halloween party so we were busy running around on both days. One of those birthday parties was at iFly which is a skydiving simulator. I thought the thing would scare her but she got in there and flew like a champ! Video below.

 

 

Pumpkin time

Julie Wassmer

The temperature is coming down so that means it is time for pumpkins and pumpkin spice lattes. The kids aren’t quite into lattes yet so they do just fine with pumpkins. Julie took the kids to Keller’s Pumpkin Patch and picked up 3 huge bags of apples. I was privileged enough to escort Emery to another Pumpkin Patch for a Girl Scout outing.

 

Naperville Tri 2022

Marty

I didn’t PR this year but came pretty close. The Naperville Tri is always a fun race though!

2022 2021 2017 2015 2012 2010 2009
Overall Place 62 71 147 158 270 263 602
Age Group M 40-44 M 40-44 M 35-39 30-34 30-34 30-34 25-29
Group Place 11 11 26 25 44 35 48
Swim 6:08 5:51 5:25 7:02 7:40 6:58 6:18
Transition 1 2:27 2:35 2:44 3:12 2:57 2:34 3:29
Bike 35:01:00 35:29:00 37:10:00 39:33:00 38:09:00 38:58:00 46:52:00
Transition 2 1:34 1:23 1:21 1:21 2:02 1:32 1:54
Run 25:22:00 24:27:00 25:16:00 25:23:00 28:00:00 26:47:00 28:09:00
Total Time 1:10:30 1:09:43 1:11:54 1:16:28 1:18:47 1:16:47 1:26:41

Gatlinburg Family Vacation

Marty

We just got back from a great trip to Gatlinburg. We were with most of my side of the family. Unfortunately, my parents came down with covid and had to miss all the fun.

Other than a crappy Airbnb experience, we had a great time. We did all the tourist things… mountain coasters, mini-golf, white water rafting, and a bunch of exploring the area. We ended up seeing 3 bears during the stay. The very first day there was one trotting down the street right in front of our rental, another one was walking under our ski lift, and the final one I ran into while I was out for a mountain run.

Summer fun with a little surgery

Marty

We took the kids to the Dude perfect tour at the United Center. The Dudes brought their A-game and kept the kids smiling the entire time. It was the biggest venue either kid had gone to so that helped make it even more amazing.

Carter continued with his summer of surgeries by getting his tongue and upper/lower lips released. He has one more mouth surgery this year and then that will hopefully wrap it all up and completely free that tongue.

Emery wrapped up another great season of softball. The girls are getting much better, they are hitting and catching way more consistently than last year.