The July happenings

Hi there-
Long time, no blog.  I've got a few things here to share, among them Sylvie's first dance class and our trip home to Chicago.  I'll start with the dance class first.

 

 All suited up and ready to go.

 

Henri, who I affectionately refer to at times as my little leech.

Just in case you can't pick her out, Sylvie is the super-tall one (with the ill-fitting tights).

 Gotta love the 3-year olds.  So cute.

 

Looking through the pictures I have from Chicago, I realize they are a bit spotty.  I didn't always have my camera on hand, so I have some things here and there.  Here we are on the 4th of July, enjoying some snow cones before swimming.  We didn't see any fireworks, but had a great time at the Crystal Lake CC out by my Mom's house and a delicious and festive BBQ dinner after some pool time.

 

Henri's first snow cone.  Yummy.

 

Post-swim, waiting for the BBQ to start.

 The next morning, on the driveway at my mom's house.

 Henri loved this airplane.

On another day, back at Jenny's house.

A huge hit with our kids was the super-cool race car that Patrick has.  Sylvie is still learning.  She's no Mario Andretti...yet.  Hilarious. Fortunately, no people or small animals were injured.  Just a slide.
 

 

And here, the master shows how it's done.

Lily and Patrick have two new hamsters, which were a huge hit with our kids, as Sylvie has been asking and asking for guinea pigs (as well as dogs and ponies).  I couldn't keep my kids away from them.  Here Sylvie is, saying her last goodbyes to her beloved little furry friends. 

As an aside, Sylvie last night was saying how much she missed and wanted to see Lily, Patrick and the guinea pigs (hamsters).  Alas, our visits are few and far between, but the cousins seemed to all have a great time together in our short visit there.