Summer Hodgepodge - 2022

I don't know how it happens, but the summer just flies by! We wrapped up school in late May - Alex graduated and all of the kids started working summer hours (as close to full time as they were allowed by their employers!)

We were able to figure out a shopping date for Maddie & I (the other part of her 16th birthday gift). We hit a few Goodwill Stores and ended our day at one of our favorite Italian restaurants - Tyroni's! The day of road-tripping was great! 

Will worked hard saving up his money. He had a huge goal he had set for himself - saving up enough to join the Music Department on a trip to Disney World.

Will met his goal and headed to Orlando with the Moline Music Department. He really enjoyed his time there! 

Will returned home on the Friday evening before Father's Day. On Sunday (Father's Day), we invited my parents over for lunch to celebrate Matt & my dad.

It was a little bright out. LOL 

The next morning (Monday), we said goodbye to the twins as they headed off to church camp for the week.

The last Saturday of June, Matt & Alex headed north into Wisconsin to attend the Great Lakes Gathering (annual event) for Letterboxing. It was a cruddy day of overcast and rain, but they made the most of their time - finding a few boxes, catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones! They stopped in Platteville to shop at the Goodwill and eat pizza at Pizzeria Uno.

On June 28, 2022 (IL midterm primaries), Alex voted for the first time! 

She is also a local celebrity, lol! We found her picture on the front of the brochure for the YMCA Daycare.

We moved the two older girls upstairs - to the upper duplex - in early July (just before vacation). Once we got back from vacation, all 4 of us girls took a day to head to Chicago to hit IKEA and some of our favorite food places!

We entered August with the promise of school on the horizon. Band camp would be starting for Will within 2 weeks and school soon after. 

The kids asked if they could do a day trip on their own - driving to Des Moines, IA (a 3 hour drive) - and go to Adventureland. They figured out a day that worked for all 4 of them and had a great time!

While they played in Des Moines, Matt & I hopped in the car and headed north along The Great River Road. We drove through Bellevue and Dubuque and ended our day in Platteville. We stopped at a few Goodwill stores along the way, ate Five Guys for lunch and Pizzeria Uno for dinner. We enjoyed a quick hike at the Bellevue State Park too. The day was wonderful - all the way around!

Purely placed on the blog to embarrass the kids!

Of course, there is always lots of eating out and driving dates with the twins (gotta get those 50 hours in before November!)

Youth Group held their annual Color Wars - what a mess! The twins had a lot of fun though and that is truly what counts (and remembering towels so my van doesn't get messy, ha!)

Matt's Birthday typically marks the end of Summer and the beginning of school/school activities.

Check out Matt's selfie skills. LOL

And so, here we are...the end of August. Time for school to start back again, time for the calendar to fill up with band commitments, sporting events, assignments/tests, early mornings and late nights. It's crazy how quickly time is moving!