Da Basement

Whew! Sorry it's been a while since I've updated this! We have been busy..... One of the things we have been busy with is this: the basement. Fabio is totally finishing it! It is not mostly framed, and all the drywall is purchased, but not yet hung. Here are a few before pictures, showing just a shell. It was finished at one time, but gutted out before we moved in because of some mildew problems, from what I understand.

So, anyway, I didnt post this for a while becuase I was waiting for some more pics of the framed version, which are in the other camera which

Fabio keeps in the car. I finally decided to just post, and someday I will post before, during and AFTER pics.... that's what I'm really looking forward to!












Fabio has been working so hard! I'm so proud of him. He has been working longer hours at his job, then comes home and goes straight to the basement to work some more.
He has put a lot of thought into how to do it down there, and he has such a creative flare that I know it will be really cool when it's done! :)








The kids have gotten in on a lot of the action too! Home Depot is their new favorite playground, and they think that these nifty carts are better than a jungle gym! They are learning to do all kinds of new acrobatic tricks during our many late night excursions. hehe.
Joshua also thinks these tubes of liquid nails are really "shooter guns". :)








You can see my growing belly in this shot too. :)













Dominique likes to just "hang around" here.











They also have great fun playing in the basement. They love to "help" Daddy. :) As you can see here, Joshua is into "posing" for pictures these days....
One of their favorite activities is playing with the "salt dust" (saw dust). They collect it in cups, sweep it in piles, etc. One day Dominique's hair was CAKED full of saw dust! That was fun to clean out! I wasnt there right then, but I have a strong feeling big brother helped her out on that one.....

Navy Pier

My wonderfully spontaneous husband called me last night on his way home from work and said, "Let's eat something real quick, get dressed up, and go downtown!"
I said, "Okay!" :)
So, we wolfed down some leftovers, changed into nicer clothes and we were on our way.
We didnt really know where we were going, and the traffic into the city with all the construction on the Dan Ryan was *horrible*, but we talked and laughed in the car and made the ride fun too. (I feel sorry for all of you who drive it to and from work daily.)


So, we got downtown and found a spot to park. We started walking, not really knowing where to, and realized we weren't far from Navy Pier! So, we went there. :)

As you can see in the first picture, we were hungry again by the time we got there, and we couldn't settle for less than the very most gourmet for our special night out. We had a McWonderful time! ;-)

A picture with the WHOLE family! :)


I have always wanted to ride the ferris wheel at Navy Pier, but never wanted to pay for it, but that was the one thing we decided we would splurge on last night. It was fun and the kids loved it!

Incidentally, the last time we were on a ferris wheel was nearly seven years ago, on one of our first dates, in Osaka. So, it stirred some good old fashioned romantic feelings up too. :)




There was so much excitement, the kids barely even noticed that it was so far past their bedtime! They held up great.












By the time we got back to the car, however, they were about done for! Joshua couldn't walk any more, so we let him ride in the stroller and Fabio carried Dominique... for a while. Then when she got too heavy, we crammed them both in the stroller. hehe. Ya do what ya gotta do! :)

We didn't get home until 11:00, but it was well worth it for the family fun and memories made.

The Park and a Campout

Here are a few pics. Finally it is letting me upload them! I'm sure you are all tired of Dominique's words by now! hehe

These first pics are at a park near our home. It is really beautiful by the little river that runs through it. We took some Mexican ice cream bars and bubbles and had a little family fun. :)






Joshua finally is getting the hang of blowing bubbles by himself! Up until recently, he would try to blow making more of an "f" sound, so all the air would get stopped by his teeth!











There were people fishing in this river, and Joshua was dying to try! We dont have any fishing rods, however, but he has been talking about how much he wants a one. Yesterday I had and idea: he has some change and pennies that he has gotten or found and we have saved ~ why not use that? So, we counted it all up together (that was math class for homeschooling!) and he is still one dollar short. So, we will see how long it takes him to earn one more dollar. :)



Dominique was happy to just run after the bubbles and pop them, but it was kinda windy, so she had to be quick to catch any!
How sweet is this little kiss for mama??










She loved swinging with Daddy too, even if it wasnt a very modest activity for her. :)















These next few pictures are from a campout we did a couple of weeks ago with my brother and their families and my mom. Aaron was home for his last leave before the actual deployment, so we tried to get as much fun family time in as we could. This campout was at Aaron's house.



I'm sure my mom will appreciate me posting this picture, but it was too funny not to. My sil Amanda made a chocolate chip cheesecake, but upon her arrival, the door blew open on it and shattered the dish it was in all over it! So, she put it in the trash by the side of the garage, while crying over the loss! After dinner, however, we decided it was too good a thing to waste and it couldn't be ALL full of glass shards, so we got it out of the dumpster and salvaged a few bites!




Joshua and Levi in the pop-up camper. Joshua thought it was great fun at first, but later decided it was a little scary, and ended up sleeping in the house!










AJ, Dillon and Colton in the pop-up camper.














Aaron, Anthony and Mom by the fire.











Cheyenne, Levi, Dominique, Gabriel and Jessica.













Well, other than the pictures, we also have some news to post about! We have made our final decision: We ARE going to Wales this year!!!!!!!!! YAY! Now that it is final, I have made the mental adjustments and am busy thinking of everything I need to prepare for. Little by little. :) Woo Hoo!