Loud family dinner, forest preserve, and goofy children.

I was hoping to sum up the post in the title. We shall see how well I do. 


On Saturday I got to steal away for some child and husband-less time with my BFF Dana. I love her and she's amazing. She's the momma to the redheaded kids you will see on here from time to time. 
Our husbands play Wiffleball ALL summer long-we refer to ourselves as Wiffleball widows. 
So. 
We claimed a Saturday (before the season starts) for ourselves. We left the kids with their papas and had a girls day. We went to have our toenails painted (ew I just tried to take a pic of my toes b/c the color I got is really pretty but...ew...feet...not cute.) then we went to lunch at Benihana (yummmmmmy), THEN we were gonna go to the Coach outlet store but we ran out of time, so we went to the Family Christian bookstore and looked around. 
It was so nice to have some time to catch up and be leisurely. We don't get much time to just ourselves now, and it really makes us appreciate our friendship more. I love my Dana!!!!


Okay-then after that we had a family dinner at Buca Di Beppo. Brian's brother's family was all in town. My sister-in-law had a birthday last week and mine is coming up so we went for a big loud family dinner. Not too many pics, but here are a couple.

I tried to get a shot down the table, but people kept moving. It was crazy but it was fun. The Shrimp Fra Diavolo was REALLY GOOD but it gave me a tummyache the next day. LOTS of crushed red pepper. 
The guy in the very back right is my father in law, Ken, and the one sitting next to him is my brother in law, Scott. 

That's Milo playing with his Nana's water. She introduced him to straws. Milo spent much of the evening either playing with her straw, or under the table with his cousin Kayann. Or...now that I think about it...he tried to escape a few times also...hmmm




















Yesterday (tuesday)  our family friend Caroline (she belongs to Dana) came over to hang out with Milo and I while she is on Spring Break. I always loved spring break as a kid...my birthday usually followed and the weather was getting warm. Caroline got dropped off by her dad in the morning and then we went to the Deer Grove forest preserve. 
Anyways, I love these kids and I think they had a ton of fun-they were cracking me up all day. 

It was a beautiful day. We were looking for trees with buds on them, but only saw a few. I can't wait for the green to come! You can bet on some photos from this same preserve soon with MORE GREEN! We wanted to see some deer also, but no dice. Saw a few squirrels though. 

There is a creek running through the Groves (that's what I call this preserve) and we crossed it a couple times. We started off on the big paved path and crossed a bridge. Caroline kept calling it a moat. She's a goofy person. She amuses me because I know her mother very well (and she knows me...read my '50 things about me' post), and its funny to see how alike they are. More on that later. 

To the left...nature...to the right...(my hair) nothing natural at all...

We started off on the paved path you see above. After awhile we came across this little footpath that went off into the woods. I knew that we would be safe on this footpath, as they all interconnect and there was only 1/4 of the place open for us to wander. No danger of getting lost. The Groves is a huge place, but unfortunately much of it is closed due to erosion. People take mountain bikes back in the woods and they aren't supposed to, but I am sure they aren't the only reason for the environmental damage. 


This red post told us where we needed to turn back to return to the car. Caroline sees the 'no bikes' and says , 'But we saw bike tracks! You gotta take a picture of those.'

So I did. Caroline is a rule-follower like her mommy, so this made me laugh. 

Milo really wanted to walk on this log, but his balance is not quite there yet. So he inched along and hugged Caroline. 

My attempt at an arty shot. I like how the kids are moving behind me. 

After we left the Groves we got into the car to go get some lunch and go to Home Depot. I needed to return a 15 pound bag of plant food I accidentally bought and I wanted to take advantage of the extra pair of hands. 

Now, as everyone knows, I am a rookie mom. I don't babysit other people's children during the day. It is usually just Milo and I. So I really REALLY had no idea what I was in for. 

Especially them being REALLY GOOFY in the car. 

Milo kept flipping his bottom lip out like that, and Caroline couldn't get the hang of it right away...oh my it was FUNNY. Lots of laughing. And YES I took these in the car. With the camera over my shoulder without looking, really. I am pleased I got some decent shots. 

Back at home. Milo is pantsless because he sat in the mud. Caroline is laughing at Milo because he is gnawing on a plastic chicken breast and drooling. 

After Milo went down for his nap, we made cookies, then went back to Caroline's house for family dinner. Where I WHOMPED at Trivial Pursuit...we didn't finish the game because children started to melt down, but hopefully we'll be able to continue it. 

Smell you later!!!!