It's been quite a month...

Well, I have failed miserably on the blogging thing this month. Too much going on!

Hollin Reunion was nice. So many people were missing tho - very sad. I love talking with Darryl and Robert Bruce. They have always been the 'real' cousins that I could really understand. The kids had a blast in the pool and as always, our family went overboard with our theme attire. It's almost a challenge to me now!

The roadtrip to Alabama and Tennessee went very well. Kiel now has three "major" colleges to compare (USC is the third). Each has some positives and negatives. I certainly know where I want him to go now - barring any new candidates. One just stood out to me as far as academics and the coaching staff's honesty and eagerness to treat my son as a human rather than a piece of flesh. I hope he picks the right school for the right reasons. We will do officials in the fall with the signing in November.

The drive itself was long but not bad. I was very annoyed with Illinois. The roads are horrible all over but Illinois - who is broke and can't pay for schools, etc - has the only road construction going on. Now, I know that story - we are creating jobs - blah blah blah. BUT - they are laying off teachers left and right. I really would rather have students get the education that they need and deserve and let us deal with the potholes! Oh - we rented a car for the trip. Pleasantly surprised when Enterprise upgraded us to a Cadillac! Lots of bells and whistles and plenty of buttons to play with. We never could figure out how the air really worked - but it did work!

Lovely trip to Chicago for Alyx's birthday. We met Lee & Phil at the Science & Industry Museum - that was very cool. The guards were kicking us out in fact! We had to find the Fairy Tale Castle room (which was a slight disappointment). The girls are getting older so we can do some of the museums finally - the zoos were getting routine. We went to dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant - specifically for Chris as they have lots of vegetarian choices. Of course, he didn't like anything but I loved it! I was proud of the girls - they tried everything and actually ate quite a bit. The waitress brought baklava with a candle for Alyx's birthday. Lovely evening. I did tell Chris that it is not fair to be a vegetarian and a picky eater!!! Lee & Phil have the cutest flat. Very old building - very fun neighborhood. They are within walking distance of anything that they could ever need... Sunday - we headed to Navy Pier. We saw Toy Story 3 in 3D on Imax. My old eyes/glasses had a bit of a time with the screen but it was still cool and it made me cry...

Meesie is home from Florida. She went with her bff Sarah and her family. This is the second time they have made this trip. And, they go first class all the way!

Hoping that July slows down a bit. Kiel flies to Oklahoma for the Mullens Invitational Camp on the 9th - so he will be looked at by several more D1 schools. Other than that - I need to catch up on my gardening - it looks like a jungle!

My lovely hubby can cook too!!!

Aunt Janet brags about her gourmet chef (Uncle Marty) regularly - and some of the pictures are just mouthwatering! Well, kudos to my hubby last night. He made the most fantastic, flavorful dinner - and he should get extra credit as he could only eat/taste portions of the meal!

Grilled peppers - with balsamic marinade chicken - served with dilled corn, shallots and fresh basil...

Wonderful!!!!