Slammer's Game

July 10th:  We love hanging out with our Life Group from church.  The kids always have a blast as well as us adults!  This summer we planned to meet up at a Slammer's Game (Joliet's minor league team).  We went on "Lego Movie Night".  The kids got a free soda coupon for dressing up as their favorite character.  We love going to Slammer's games because they have lawn seating for $5 and tons of fun stuff to keep the kids entertained.  Besides the normal bounce house and in between inning games, they had lego movie music and themed fireworks after the game.  We had a blast!

Wild Style & Batman

We were sitting behind the visiting team dugout and they kept giving our kiddos signed balls!

  

 

 

Carver made friends with these two random brothers who were also watching the game.  They entertained him for over 30 minutes!

 

2014 Top Ten

It seems to be becoming a trend that I am WAY late in posting things... but better late then never, right?!?  On New Year's Day we made a big breakfast with a sparkling juice toast to the new year.  We also had fun talking about our favorite memories of the past year.  After lots of discussion and hearing what the kids thought, we put together a "Top Ten" list:

#10--4th of July Slammer's Game

#9--Celebrating Great-Grandma Gorsch's Life

#8--Hawkeye Spring Season Practice 

(Kinnick, Macey, & Carver's first time at Kinnick Stadium!) 

#7--Roseland "Good News" Daycare Center Grand Opening

The daycare is a huge part of our lives.  We go once a week to volunteer.  This is the only pre-school that Macey & Kinnick attended.  We were so excited to watch this brand new building being built and are fortunate to continue serving inside of it!

#6--Lego Land Discovery Center/Christmas

We surprised the kids with a trip to LEGOLAND on Christmas Eve.  We had such a great time and an awesome Christmas day following!

#5--Hancock County Fair

Every summer the kids look forward to spending a week with Grandpa & Grandma and attending the fair.  They talk about it ALL year long!

#4--Wisconsin Dells Christmas Trip

#3--Birthday Celebrations...

We had to call a 3-way tie for this one.  Each of the kids got to do something cool for their birthdays... Macey had a family FUN day--packed full with fun things for #4; Kinnick had a cowboy-themed friend party at Ellis House Equestrian Center for #6; Sadie got her ears pierced for #7

#2--Colorado Family Vacation

This was hands-down the most talked about memory of the year.  We had such a fun trip--our first "big" family vacation!

 #1--Carver's 1st Birthday

So maybe not everyone agreed ranking this #1 but mom pulls trump on this decision.  My baby's first birthday is a REALLY big deal!  We all adored watching our big boy eat his smash cake.

And I must note that we got to celebrate THREE first birthdays this year...my nephew Henry: 

and my niece Jersy both celebrated in November:

In making our top 10 selection we had to make some hard cuts; therefore, I am including two honorable mentions:

Beach Day with the Downings:

Trick-or-Treating

~We had an awesome 2014~

Happy Father's Day

For Father's Day this year we went to our first family baseball game.  We've been wanting to take the kids but hesitant to spend much money knowing they are still so little.  For Father's Day we decided to check out the Joliet Slammers.  The kids had fun, spent time with friends, wasn't too hot, ate peanuts at the ballpark... all in all a good day!

In the out field area there is a small playground--perfect for when the kids get antsy.  We enjoyed some time playing during the middle of the game.

Each kid got to pick one treat--Sadie and Macey decided on cotton candy and Kinnick chose to go into the bouncy house.  The kids also love eating peanuts our of the shell so they all enjoyed those with their dad!

The game started at 6 so it wasn't too hot and we got to sit in the shade.

We went with another family from our small group.  The kids loved playing together and we enjoyed the company.

After Sunday games they let kids run the bases and meet the players.  Our kids enjoyed walking down to the field and taking a turn to run around the bases.  We have plans to attend another game with our small group. I'm sure the Slammers will be a part of many summers to come!