Warm Days and Cousin Time

These past couple weeks have been unusually warm for us here in Chicago!  Ever since we moved back from New York actually the winters have been really nice- definitely not what we remember from our time here before (as seen here) And the kids and I definitely get a little stir crazy being inside all day so ANY time we can head outside in 40 degree weather (heck even a 35 with some sun warrants a walk!) we do it.  It really is the little things that can make a difference with kiddos these days :)  

And I've been pretty bad about celebrating holidays.  My mom was so good with us- she always bought those window clings and had cute little Valentine's baskets set up for us in the morning.  This year- I went out to Target the morning of Valentine's day (my mom was actually here to help me haha) to get the kids a couple little things. #momfail  I actually just started this thing called bullet journaling that I am hoping will help me to plan better!  My friend mentioned it to me the other week and ever since I've been looking into it and organizing some things I hope to do- mainly long term goals.  Anyone who knows me knows I am super detail oriented, but usually I just have a weekly mindset, not monthly.  Hence the last minute gifts lol

Speaking of gifts, we decided with my brother and his family not to get any Christmas gifts for the kids but get together instead and do something fun!  And it was such a great idea!  They drove up to Chicago and hung out with us for a couple days and we went to a place called the Tree House in Lake Zurich and then Chic fil A for dinner :)  It definitely is a blessing that we live close enough to do these short trips - we were able to see our cousins a couple times a year growing up and it was so fun!  Here's some pictures from the last couple weeks :)

Oh and I forgot to mention that Cole is SUPER into books right now!  It's so cute and fun to cuddle with him while he hands me book after book.  I'm hoping this interest keeps up until we are on a plane for 20 hours in the next couple weeks!

Winter at the Lake house

We always LOVE our time with our friends at the lake house.  We feel so privileged that twice a year we get to get a mini vacation away to enjoy time with friends that we don't get to see as often (because of distance) and our kids always love hanging out with each other.  We blow up a bounce house in the basement, they run around with the dads, watch movies, have story time, and eat good lake house treats :)  This past year had some added excitement when three kids (including Jake- eek!) accidentally locked themselves in one of the rooms with a 2 month old baby!  After trying to explain to the kids how to open the door for almost 45 minutes Luke climbed on the roof and got in through the balcony.  It was quite the fiasco and thankfully the little baby was ok even though he was crying most of the time :/ lesson learned- the doors at the lake house are super lock proof and we told the kids to never ever close the door behind them!  Other than that, it was pretty chill and relaxed :)  And we spent an extra night in Indy with our dear friends Jamie and Cory to see their new place AND celebrate the fact that they are pregnant!  We can't wait to meet their little guy or girl this summer!!

Here are some photos from the week!

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