I hope everyone had an awesome holiday break! With the incredibly nice weather the few days around Christmas, we spent a bunch of time outside. It was hard to keep the kids outside with all of their presents inside but we managed to get to a few parks. Santa brought some excellent toys for the kids, Emery got some ice skates with ice skating lessons and Carter got an Ipad controlled Star Wars Lego set.
Last week Wednesday and this past weekend, we visited both of the grandparent’s houses. We hung with family and, of course, the kids came home with toys to keep them busy for the entire winter break. The time was short but always good to see family and celebrate Christmas!
It was a busy weekend a few weekends ago. Friday, Emery’s Daisy troop made ornaments at the YMCA for the Ronald McDonald house. They got to customize a clear ornament with all sorts of sparkles and paint. Emery’s first one didn’t turn out very good but by the second one, we had the process down pat.
Saturday before Carter’s basketball game we all went to see Santa at the clubhouse. The kids got to tell him what they wanted and we stayed for a little breakfast. That night we went downtown Naperville and had an awesome dinner with grandma and grandpa Stubler.
We decided to do something out of the ordinary and popped into Color Me Mine for some fun pottery painting. Carter and Emery (with a little help) did an awesome job painting their pottery. We can’t wait to get it back from the kiln.
Aunt Shelly sent Ali a nice little care package with some medicine and a new toy. As you can see from the picture below, Ali was vveeerrrryyy excited.
For most of last week, it was VERY stressful to have a wiggly tooth but finally, on Saturday, Emery lost her first tooth!
Friday we did Trunk or Treat at the Ashbury clubhouse. Mom took Carter to a birthday party, so it was just Emery and I. The weather was much better than what it looks like it is going to be on Halloween. This might be the only trick or treat we get to do if it is too cold on the 31st.
Saturday was Emery’s final soccer game. It was another awesome season coaching the girls. It is great to see how much they are improving over the past seasons.
A busy weekend because Emery had a Girl Scout outing, Carter had Cub Scouts, and I went back to Iowa for a Hawkeye game.
Julie wanted the bathroom painted for her birthday so the kids and I (mostly just me) made it happen.
It was a little cold and cloudy but we made it to school before the rain came.
Carter’s Cub Scout Pack got up close and personal with some reptiles. The conservationist came with a huge turtle, huge snake, and a ginormous alligator.
The rest of the weekend was full of soccer. Emery had a soccer game and Carter had his first tournament of the year. Carter’s team won all their games and won the tournament!
The school year has officially started! Our baby is now in Kindergarten and big-man Carter advanced to 4th grade.
School is about to start so we did a quick visit this week to meet the teachers and have some ice cream. Carter is excited to go back but Emery is beyond excited to start Kindergarten this year. To top it off, she got the same teacher that Carter had.
Emery stole my phone and caught me doing some manual labor. The new mailbox turned out pretty good!
Carter is finally old enough to come and hang out with me for Take Your Child to Work Day at TransUnion. The TU staff did a an awesome job with the event and Carter had a blast. All the kids got a robot to build in the morning and then played games in the afternoon. Top that all off with a cool train ride and now Carter wants to go to work every day.
It was a 4th of July weekend full of fireworks, swimming pool, roller coasters, a parade, friends, and roasting marshmallows.
Grandpa Stubler received a lifetime achievement award this week at the national bowling convention, in Las Vegas. Julie and the rest of the Stubler gang went with to celebrate. The award he received was the V.A. Wapensky Award which recognizes an individual whose overall major contribution to the bowling industry involves endless good nature, remarkable business savvy, love for bowling and continual promotion of the game both locally and nationally.
My girls are dancing superstars! Emery is a seasoned pro, making her 2nd debut with Midwest Edge Dance. Julie, on the other hand, made her rookie appearance this year with other parents for the first act of the recital. Both did super awesome, couldn’t be prouder.
To celebrate my mom’s 30th birthday we did some Wassmer family fun in Davenport for the weekend. My dad spent months converting their old VHS tapes to digital videos so we started the weekend by watching some old home videos. Looking back on days from long ago is quite entertaining. The girl’s tall bangs and my baggy pants were just cracking me up. Saturday’s activities included the Bustout Escape Room in Davenport, dinner in LeClaire, and then a fire and smores at the house.
Carter, Emery, and I joined the Cub Scouts and went to the Naperville Kite Fest. The weather couldn’t have been better and, as usual, there were a bunch of people out there flying all sorts of crazy kites. Emery’s Spiderman kite didn’t hold up very well but Carter’s did great.
On Sunday I did a 1.2 mile swim in Lake Zurich. The water was 70 degrees which was perfect for a long swim. I got to try out my new wetsuit and crushed my last year’s time.
We kicked off the holiday weekend by helping our Cub Scouts Pack put flags on fallen soldiers graves. There were a bunch of different groups that all did different sections of the graveyard. It was great to be out there celebrating all the contributions of our military.
Luckily we got some good patio time with friends before the big storm. On Memorial Day a huge stormed ripped through Ashbury. There were enormous amounts of rain, wind, and hail that left a huge mess. We have a destroyed roof, skylights, and some siding. I never thought I would have to shovel in June but I had to get it out to move all the debris and hail off of the driveway!
