Raise the Roof!

I had a minor freak out today.  Okay, maybe a shade more than minor. 

Even though I knew that when I walked in my house today, the roof would be gone, (so that we could build new joists to support the master bedroom above the family room), NOTHING could have prepared me for this.  And yes, that is Jason's brand new "fall of flame".  I couldn't even take a picture of the bathroom because it made me too sad.  Luckily, everything will be put back together, and we actually will gain a little more head room in the family room.  But oh boy... until that day...

Memorial Day Weekend!

We had a great Memorial Day weekend together!  Friday night we went to our neighbor's house for dinner.  Emilie fell asleep in the pack n play, and Marin stayed up way past her bedtime with Finn and played for hours.  A great kick off to the weekend!

Saturday morning we headed to Granger, IN to visit Jason's brother and sister-in-law.  The girls were so excited to see their cousins!!!  Marin kept shouting "WE'RE GOING TO BRADY AND CAMMI'S TODAY!!!"  We had a great time!  They made a delicious lunch for us all when we arrived, and the the kids jumped and played in their giant bounce house pool.  Even Emilie got in and loved it.  My sister-in-law, Holly, makes cakes, and made this adorbs cake for Emilie, (it even sparkled) and we had a little celebration for her.  Deeee-licious! She also made homemade chocolate peanut butter ice cream, my favorite!  After the kids had baths and dinner, a babysitter swooped in and the adults when hit the town.

We had a delicious dinner at a cool Tapas restaurant- the best way to eat with a group.  Then we went to a private wine tasting that Holly set up just for our group.  We sampled a ton of great wines, and since it was all for us, we took our time and asked a billion questions.  And in the end, went home with a ton of wine.  After the wine tasting we went to a brewery in the area and sampled some good beers.   And after that we went home, made a bonfire, and slept hard that night.

The next morning we went out for a delicious breakfast together.  When we got back to their house, the kids were all set to swim some more, but Marin was dog tired and started to alert the whole neighborhood with a tantrum, so we decided to pack it up and head home.  Both girls were asleep as soon as we hit the road.  Such a great time and so fun to be together!

After a good long nap on Sunday, we headed to the pool for a little bit before heading to a neighborhood party where all of the kids played in the backyard.  More than a few people made mention of how fun it was to see all of our kids playing in the backyard, everyone so happy and having such a great time.  We are so very, very lucky to have the great neighbors that we do.  And then Emilie walked across the yard for the first time, and walked the rest of the party, and the whole thing got me so emotional, that I organized a group picture with the kids.  We decided we're going to take a big group shot every summer.  It was tricky to get all of the kids to sit and look at the same time, but when Kristy gave the tip of singing happy birthday, all of the kids perked up and most of them smiled.  It wasn't anyone's birthday, but it worked.

Monday morning we headed to a parade and pancake breakfast downtown Geneva, just down the street from our house.  We met the Mammingas at the parade and the girls all collected candy and waved their flags.  Marin was SO excited when the marching band came!

After the parade, Marin took a nap, and Emilie, Jason and I went to the pool.  After a quick dip by all of us - Emilie LOVED it, and tried to jump off the side- we headed home to shower up and go to Jason's Aunt and Uncle's house for a BBQ.  Grandma Aunt Jean and Grandpa Uncle Don, as Marin calls them, were kind enough to invite my parents along as well, and we all had a great time chatting on their shaded back deck.  We celebrated Jason's Uncle Jim's birthday as well, which meant we got to have cake one last time for the weekend.

It was a great weekend spend with so many friends and family.  We feel so blessed and lucky to have had the time together that we did.

WALKING!! For Reals!

Emilie is for reals walking now.  On Sunday, at a neighborhood party at the Wahlins, Emilie just got up and walked across the grass.  And then she walked the rest of the day.  Once she figured out exactly how to string more than four steps together she just went to town.  And she hasn't stopped since!

It's so fun, and so exciting for her- and so sad, too.  She doesn't seem like a baby anymore.  She's a toddler.

Addition Update: Full Speed Ahead!

We've been busy.  We moved out of our house on Mother's Day weekend, and the next day, Emilie's First Birthday, we started the major renovation.  Plus, we hosted Emilie's big First Birthday Party, and wrapped up Marin's school year.  Now we breathe and think about what's next.

The project is coming along great!  I can't believe how much has happened in two weeks- hole dug, footings poured, foundation poured, foundation set, framing started, survey completed, windows ordered... the list goes on and on.  We made the crew brownies last week, and it's a hot one this week, so we brought the crew some ice cream.  They seemed to like it.  I'm all about buttering them up, since they are responsible for building my home.  

We could never in a million years have lived there during all of this reno.  And we couldn't ask for a better spot than my parents house.  We are so grateful to have been welcomed wi