One of my boys of fall....

John started practicing with his pads on this week. This proud mama thinks he looks so cute in his uniform!!  Is it odd that I took my camera to practice?

Here he is practicing in the center position...one of his favorite position.  He also like playing guard. And I am learning exactly which positions these all are....

First Day of school

Well, I am only a little late on this.  School started here last Wednesday.  It has been a huge jump from relaxing summer to "oh my, we need to move a little quicker and be a little more scheduled" for some reason this year.  I am sure it has nothing to do with football practice, my daycare starting up again, youth stuff (since Joe is interim youth pastor), a funeral last week, and a CRAZY weekend schedule.  And on top of that, all of my tomatoes are ripening so my counter is full of tomatoes and peppers to can and freeze.  This week we are finally hitting our stride and feeling a little more normal.  We are adding open gym for basketball this week and in a few weeks we start speech team, swim team practice and scouts.    A typical life of a family of six....  Here are some pics from the first day of school:

I love how you can always see my kids' personalities whenever we do a group shot.

My ladies

My gentlemen

Guess who lost his top two teeth right before school started?! 1st Grader

3rd grader

5th grader

6th grader

I love being able to watch the girls wait for the bus.

Eager anticipation

The first of many embarkments this year

Camp!

The closing session of camp.  This is where they had there chapel sessions each morning and each evening.  If you see them, you need to have them sing you the "M I L K" song that they sang together as a cabin every  morning before breakfast and chapel.  They could also sing FANATIC for you which is a fun song.

Their home for the week...Juniper Lodge #2.  They were very blessed to be in one of the air conditioned cabins.  They really appreciated that.  Now the showers really smelled,but according to their aunt who also went to Camp Timber-lee that is fairly normal.  All in all it was a pretty deluxe camp experience.  So glad they had so much fun.

Chicago pictures!

Here are some pics from Sara and I's trip to Chicago.....

On the train headed for Chicago.  We surprised her with the train tickets.  We had so much fun!  And I really appreciated not having to drive home after two days of walking around the city.

Streets of Chicago  (I was playing with my camera)

At Millennium Park..it was warm, but, fortunately, it was actually one of the cooler weekends of the summer.  I can't get over how grown up she looks in this picture.

Her first Mac and Cheese of the day.  Corner Bakery does make a rockin' Mac & Cheese.

The Hard Rock Cafe makes a rockin' mac & cheese as well.  It is actually more of an italian pasta dish than what you generally think of as Mac & Cheese...it had roasted red peppers, bacon (at the waiter's recommendation) and chicken.  Super good!

Waiting on the subway.  This was second only to the train on Sara's enjoyment list. (Although shopping ranked pretty high too!)  Unfortunately, they were working on the "L" while we were there so we rode the subway more than we did it.

After a yummy breakfast at Fox and Oble on Sunday morning.

Catching Up...

Well, I have obviously gotten behind in my blogging this summer.  I have had many good intentions on posting and I have pictures to go with each post.  However, I tend to post in the evenings and the kids are usually watching Netflix then.  My internet can't seem to handle live streaming and posting pictures. Soooo we are just going to have to go with words for now before my memory fails me on what we have been doing for the last few weeks.

The girls had their first experience with camp.  They traveled up to Wisconsin to Camp Timber-lee a couple of weeks ago.  It was such a good week for them.  I think it was one of the only weeks of the last month that the temperatures were below 90 for a couple of days.  They stayed in the same cabin together and had the same counselor this year.  We may split them up next year so they have more of an individual experience. 

After the girls got back from Wisconsin I traveled to Iowa for my annual trip.  It was such a good time catching up with old friends.  The next time I go I will get to meet some new babies :).

Then when I returned from Iowa, Sara and I headed to Chicago for a girls' weekend.  We had so much fun taking the train and eating our way through Chicago.  Sara can probably tell you the best place to eat Macaroni and Cheese in Chicago.

And, of course, the last few days we have been sitting in front of the TV watching the Olympics.

And that is the fast summary of what has been going on in the Horn house the last few weeks.

I love my boys!

The girls have been out of town this last week so I've gotten to hang out with just my boys.  I have had so much fun with them!

This is pretty much the constant state of Nathan's feet in the summer...even if he has tennis shoes on somehow they look like this.  And while I don't enjoy much tracks on my floors when they get wet I have come to love these feet.

Joe took us out to shoot the 22 rifle.  So. much. fun.

John's target

Nate's target

My cowboy on his horse.

Future army ranger?

Growing pains

Well, I am not sure exactly how painful it has been for them (except for a little in the gums) but my kids have definitely been doing some growing lately.  Sara lost her last baby tooth this last week.  It was one of those bittersweet moments for me.  It wasn't for her.  She was really pumped about it. Nathan lost his first top tooth last night.  He just looks so darn cute without that top tooth.  And the girls had a big moment...I let them go by themselves on their first shopping trip.  They have been doing a lot of cooking and baking this summer.  Sara needed an additional ingredient for one of her recipes.  So I decided they were ready to take the plunge and they rode their bikes by themselves to the local grocery and got what they needed.  It was a pretty great feeling for them and for me!

This picture has nothing to do with my post, but had to share the kids enjoying a long awaited summer rain.  Unfortunately, it only did this for about 5 minutes....sprinkles for the rest of the day.  Praying for more rain...

Chore time

I tend to focus on teaching the kids how to do different chores in the summer.  During the school year I find it is just too difficult to teach them new things.  We are behind this summer as we were gone on vacation and then the kids were gone at their grandparents and at various activities.  We were able to get some in this week.

And there, future wives of my boys, is proof that they know how to clean windows and fold clothes. ;)

It's what we do when it is hot....

At the beginning of the week it was cooler in the evenings so that is when we were outside.  Firefly catching was on the to-do list.  It was also fun to practice using my camera in the dark.

Splashpad?  Um, yes please!  I am so thankful that we have a free splashpad to enjoy this year.










Watching squirrels.  I know, sounds kind of boring, right?  You would be surprised how much entertainment a couple of squirrels can provide when you hang a pine cone coated in shortening, peanut butter and bird seed on a shepherd's hook.  Here they are chilling out in the heat.

 We also hit a local state park that focuses on animals local to Illinois.  We found several years ago that if you go right before the park closes, most of the animals are active.  Here are a few shots from when we were there this past week.

Submerged...A Book Review

I recently received a book from Bethany House to read and review.  The book is Submerged by Dani Pettrey.

The book is the first in the Alaskan Courage Series.  So it takes place in....Alaska!  I am typically not a huge fan of Christian fiction.  For some reason, I just find some of them poorly written and cheesy.  This was a pleasant surprise.  It is a mystery and has a good plot line.  I really liked the fact that the storyline was not predictable.  The author also wove some Russian history into the story and I enjoyed that as I am not that familiar with Russian history.  I definitely recommend this book for someone looking for an easy, light read on a weekend getaway or an afternoon at the beach.