On Sunday, Liz and I trekked down to Frankfort to hang out with Tricia and the kids (who are in town for a week, visiting from Georgia).
Shortly after we arrived, the girls got changed into their bathing suits and a mini-pool was filled up in the backyard. Despite the warm weather, the water from the hose was pretty icy cold. Despite several pitchers of hot water from the kitchen, it was still a pretty icy in there.
On Saturday, we were invited over to Ben and Allison’s place to hang out, sink some beers, and a little game we like to call Ballsdurdash.
For much of the weekend, Jake would throw sticks into the water for Tus to fetch. At first, she was hesitant to get in the water… but once she realized it was ok (after Jake tossed her in), she started diving in on her own. According to Jake, this was the first time she had ever jumped into a lake totally on her own – you could tell he was really proud of Tus.
Lisa and James are back in Chicago for a few days, and originally Jake, Liz and I were going to go out for a weekend of camping. Given the heat and the storms predicted, we ended up heading to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where we were able to stay at the lakehouse that belongs to Jake’s dad.
Over the weekend, Liz and I traveled with Julie and Bob to Iowa. This weekend was a surprise birthday party for her great uncle Bruce, and several Denlers (including Uncle David, Aunt Beth, cousins Lauren and Brandon) made their way out to help celebrate.
This photo probably gives the best view of the sheer size of the dune. Every other photo I took makes it seem like an easy hill. It was super steep, and I had to stop several times to catch my breath.
I should say this at the start: my family never, ever goes on vacation. We did a bit in the past, but our vacations always seemed to include a trip out to visit relatives. Or a wedding. Early “vacations” to me were always events that pulled us out of town. I think of my family as one that rarely travelled just to travel together, for the sheer sake of taking a trip.
Which is why it was great that my sister, on a whim, decided to rent a house for a few days in Sawyer, MI and invited my parents, me and Liz up for a few days. No agenda, no relatives to visit, no events to attend… just show up, relax, and hang out.
After a pretty eventful morning (I went to go take photos at Warrior Dash, Liz went to the Frankfort Flea)… we met up in Frankfort, to hang out with Julie and Bob for Father’s day.
Sharing this for the impressive/cool factor: inspired by a few examples she saw online, Liz spent part of her Saturday afternoon going to Home Depot, gathering a few items… and piecing together her very own DYI lightbox.
I walked up near the starting area to snap a few pics. This is the registration area, where you sign your name, get your map, and get your red and blue ribbons. The blue ribbon goes immediately around your arm, to signal that you’re a runner. Throughout the game, as you’re trying to get to each checkpoint on your map, you’ll be trying to avoid people with red armbands (chasers). If you’re caught, you give your blue arm band to the person who caught you, put on your red arm band… and become a chaser yourself.
For Mother’s Day, Liz and I woke up early and made our way to the I-80 Flea Market in Tinley Park. This is the flea that Liz’s mom goes to, but it’s a bit of a hike for us (as we typically go to Wolff’s Flea Market, up in Rosemont).
Last week, Leslie and Chris swung by to hang out a bit after work. Leslie was working on some sewing projects, and Chris was going to swing by as well (to play videogames with me).
I’ve got a Netflix account in my name, but Liz and I share it. Though we do the bulk of our viewing now using Netflix Streaming, we still have a 2-disc subscription.
Liz and I each have our own queue, where we list up the movies we want to see. It’s divided evenly – she gets one DVD, I get the other.
Saturday evening, Liz and I headed over to Rob and Gretchen’s place to celebrate Rob’s birthday. On arriving, we found the place completely decked out – Valentine’s day decorations aplenty, with a lot of red lighting.
I walked in to the dining sewing room a few days ago and found Liz working on a new project. I was surprised to see fabric strewn across the table, and looping on the floor behind her.