Cousin Shelby's Wedding

This past weekend we attended cousin Shelby's wedding. What a beautiful event it was! The reception was held at the gorgeous and historic Temple Theater in Saginaw and was lots of fun.


Lauren and the beautiful bride, cousin Shelby after the ceremony.


A photo with Lauren Grace Hanson and Lauren Grace Klump, the flower girl and relative on my Dad's side. They almost look like sisters!

Summer Fun

Lauren and I went grocery shopping last Saturday afternoon while Geoff worked in the yard. While on the way into the store we found this cute, little, red chair for less than $2. I quickly snatched it up and we proceeded to walk around the store and get all of our groceries with this little chair in the front of our cart. Toward the end of the trip, it was difficult to find a place for the milk and garlic bread, but I figured it out and now Lauren has her own deck chair.

I just love the photo of Lauren and Geoff. It really shows how little she is, even though she has graduated to a sippy cup now for most meals.


Last Friday we joined our friends Laura, Katie, and Dhruba at Arlington Race Track for the afternoon horse races. Even though the weather was very chilly, we had a blast and I think we came home $3 ahead of when we left. Way to go, Geoff!


Last Thursday, while Geoff and I went to Wrigley Field to see Elton John and Billy Joel (amazing concert), Lauren stayed with Aunt Stephie and Uncle Jon. I just love this photo of Lauren. She looks so cute with her new pigtail hairdo, yet you can tell Aunt Stephie was taking many, many photos. It's as if Lauren is saying, "Do you really need to take 6 photos of me sitting in this stroller?" :)

Snowmass Vacation

Family photo on the top of the mountain in Aspen

My Dad's cousins were kind enough to let us use their home in Snowmass, CO for the past week. The weather was beautiful, as was the scenery. We had a great time exploring the area and taking part in many of the outdoor activities. Geoff and I went hiking on the mountain and took a 3 hour long amazing and very difficult mountain bike adventure, while Grammie and Grandpa watched Lauren. What a great trip!



Last Friday was my parent's 33rd wedding anniversary and we celebrated by going on a sunset jeep cruise, dinner, and bonfire. The photo above is us getting ready to eat. Lauren discovered real cooked corn, carrots, and peas and could not get enough. The cook was kind enough to fish all of these out of the soup for Lauren to enjoy.

Below is Lauren at the end of the night. She was so tired from all of the sightseeing that she couldn't even keep her eyes open for her last bottle of the night. There was a man playing the guitar, which I'm sure helped lull her to sleep. Lauren was fascinated by him and loved listening to the music.




Swinging after a long day of swimming at the pool. We stopped to get this photo on the way to dinner at The Woody Creek Tavern. If you are ever in the Aspen area, be sure to check that place out! Great margaritas and chicken enchiladas.

Busy, Busy

Between playing with her new puzzle from the Hillary family and scooting around, Lauren is keeping all of us very busy.

Summer Days

Now more than ever am I glad to be a teacher! Lauren and I have really been enjoying these long summer days together.


After Father's Day weekend, Grammie Sue stayed a few extra days with us. She and Lauren had so much fun playing in our backyard. We also went shopping and to a Carillon concert at the Chicago Botanic Garden.



After Lauren and I dropped Grammie Sue off at the train station, we had dinner with Gus and Susan and spent some time downtown in Millennium Park. It was really hot and humid that day, so dipping our toes in the fountain was very refreshing.



Lauren was so excited to have her first "ride" in Grandpa's Mustang. She didn't go anywhere, but was able to sit in the car with Grandpa. Of course, Grandpa picked up a Tigers t-shirt for Lauren too!


Daddy and Lauren swinging together at the beach. Geoff was able to use some more paternity leave, so we spent some more time up at the cabin. The weather wasn't too good, but it was nice just to be together.


This past weekend we spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma Hanson. Lauren just loved playing with them. We celebrated the 4th by going to two family parties. Our day started at the Voltz' lake party and ended at the Hillarys' farmhouse. It was wonderful to see everyone and catch up.

Quick Lauren update - Lauren has started waving when people say hi and bye. At first it was just a floppy arm movement, but she now includes wrist action. Scooting all around the place is another new accomplishment of Lauren's. She hasn't figured out how to get her belly off the floor yet, but between rolling and scooting, she sure can move around quickly and get what she wants. Lauren has also just started to figure out how to pick up her own food pieces and put them in her mouth. It seems like more pieces still end up on the floor, but she is really trying to feed herself.