4th of July 2008

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STARS & STRIPES
4th of JULY

with our cousins!

The week of 4th of July we spent in Chicago visiting our grandma and cousins. Dad and mom spent some time before our week putting together a list of things we should do and we worked hard to get it all in :)

Saturday- we arrived at Grandma's, dropped off the dogs and drove to Wisconsin for Mason's birthday party. We had lots of fun playing on the trampoline, eating, and having a campfire.

Sunday-We met Dana and the kids at the Monkey Dish, where Aunt Dorie works. We enjoyed great service and food. Mason and Joey showed off their muscles while the girls were showing off their dresses and accessories. Right after lunch we headed to watch Andrew's baseball game. We enjoyed the game while munching on concession stand snacks!

Monday- We all met at the Splash Pad in Mundelein for a picnic lunch, fun in the water and play time in the sand. The water bugs were Clare, Maya and Paul and Timmy. I think Jacob headed right to the sand and never came out. That night we enjoyed Taco night at Emil's with Papa and Grandma.

Tuesday- Dorie called a bit frazzled as she found her kids playing barber....Clare's hair on the left side was cut to about an inch in length...so off to the hairdresser they went to try to fix it. We met everyone at the beach by Dorie's house for the second year in a row. See Ella's photoshoot on the way to the beach. The kids had a blast. A picnic lunch with fun in the sun and water. We tried to get a picture again this year...trying to get 11 kids to sit still and smile all at once is quit a challenge. After the beach I went to Dede's with her and watched her kids. Mike and grandma made a stop with Joey and Ella to Dorie's. There was a moment when the kids were unsupervised and when found they discovered Ella was spraying shaving cream at Joey, Jacob and Clare...Dorie had to get a carpet cleaner. Mike and the kids came over to Dede around 4:30 and Mike made a great dinner for us all. We headed to Andrew's baseball game and that night Mike, Dede and I took the some of the kids to the drive in movie to see Wall-E. That night we had a sleepover in Dede's basement :)

Wednesday- We stayed at Dede's and watched her kids. The kids played a lot!

Thursday- We met Dorie and Dana at the farm to pick eggs from the hen's and see Dorie and grandma's garden. We had lots of fun. After the farm we went downtown Libertyville with the kids and had lunch in the park and played at the playground. That night Ella had another moment of getting into something...this time grandma's nail polish.

Friday-All the Hertel sisters, Mike, and Rob participated in a 5K. Mike made his best time 24.24 and Rob wasn't too far behind. I was just happy that I made it under an hour :) Joey, Andrew and Timmy took part in the kids 1 mile race. We were not planning on Joey running so he was wearing his jeans...on his own without telling us he ran to the starting line. There was a moment of fear when we couldn't find him, but happy to see how eager he was to join in the race. He made it to end and happily accepted his medal. We spent that afternoon playing at Grandma's and then went down to the carnival! We had lots of fun going on rides and eating at the munch. Our clan of 11 kids took over. That night we watched the fireworks and played with sparklers!

On Saturday grandpa made a great breakfast, we packed up, Aunt Dana brought over stuff for lunch and gave hugs and kisses good-bye and headed back to Michigan.

When we arrived in Jenison, Joey said "we are in our world now".

Enjoy the many photos.... and videos.