Dinner with Natalie & Bert

We had dinner with my best friend Allison's younger sis Natalie and Craig's friend Bert. We had a lot of fun with them.

Lunch Date with the Dwyer's

Craig, the kids, and I had a lunch date with one of my best friend's from college, Beth Dwyer, and her kids. We went to Uncle Julio's for Mexican food. It was great catching up with her and meeting her son for the first time (he's 5 months). Her kids are so cute!

Ethan's Homecoming Football Game

Ethan had his football homecoming game and they went all out with decorations, etc. All the parents and kids met at a nearby store and the boys drove over to the field in the back of the coach's truck (it was only a few blocks). All the parents decorated their cars and drove behind the truck honking their horns all the way to the field. The picture below is of Bob's car (their step-dad). Unfortunately, Ethan's team lost, but they played a great game and had fun so that's all that matters. Ethan had some great tackles. Great job, Ethan!

Union League Club Homecoming

Craig just joined the Union League Club in Chicago so we went to their Homecoming Party. We actually went last year with a friend of Craig's. The party is amazing - they have a different theme on each floor/room. Some of the themes were Wizzard of Oz, Jersey Boys, Thriller. They have either a band or some form of music as well as food and drinks for each theme. In the first picture we were at the Wizard of Oz so Glenda the good witch is behind us. The second picture is of Michael Jackson/Thriller impersonators and they were really good. The third picture is with Monica. We went with two couples, Monica and John and Aileen and Peter. They are all very nice people and we had a great time with them.

Me and Monica

Craig and John

Our 5 Year Anniversay

Happy 5 Year Anniversary to the love of my life! Thanks for an amazing 5 years. You are the best husband I could ever have asked for. My soulmate.

We went to dinner at Spring in Wicker Park and the food was amazing! Allison and Scott got engaged there so that's how I found the place and they had great things to say about it. I got the chicken with parmesan gnocci and butternut squash and he got new york strip steak with smoked potatoes and green beans. One of Craig's clients ordered two glasses of a dessert wine and it was really good. I wasn't sure if I would like sweet wine, but it was really good. After dinner we went out for one more drink and then called it a night.

Bottle of Justus with Mom & Dad

Craig, my parents, and I went to Bottle of Justus at Hog Head McDunnas. They played from 10pm - 1am and then we stayed and hung out with Chris & Joey until 2:45am. Yes, you read that right, 2:45am. My parents were rock stars dancing with girls from a bachelorette party. We all had such a great time.

Ethan's Football Game

Ethan started playing football this year and is having a great time. He is playing center and defensive tackle. I didn't get any pictures of him playing this time, but did at his last game and will post those later. He did not want me to take any pictures of him so he is hiding his face.

Dinner at Luxbar with Mom, Dad, & Bryan

My parents are in town this weekend (they went to Breckenridge for a week so they stayed with us the weekend before and after their trip). We had dinner at Luxbar and then had a few drinks at Hugo's Frog Bar in the Gold Coast.

Happy Belated Anniversary, Mom & Dad.

They celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary Aug 19 and went to Breckenridge to celebrate.

Thomas John Beurskens...the newest Beurskens!

Meet the newest member of the Beurskens Family...Thomas John Beurskens. He was born on 9/10/09 at 1:27am (EST), weighed 6 lbs, and was 19.5 inches long. To check out her story visit her blog...http://beurskensbaby.blogspot.com. It's so hard for my family in IL because we are dying to meet him, but they live in New Jersey. My Mom, Dad, and I are going to visit them in October. We can't wait!! Congrats, John and Sue! Love you all so much!

Tim, Mindy, Emma, & Alli in Chicago (Navy Pier)

Tim, Mindy, Emma, & Alli came to Chicago to visit us for the weekend. Julia and Ethan were with us for the weekend as well so they had a great time with the girls. The first night we grilled out cheeseburgers and hotdogs and hung out at home. My brother Bryan also came over and the boys went out for some drinks while Mindy and I hung out at home. On Sun we went to the American Girl store and Emma and Alli had a great time! That place is so cute and filled with everything you can think of for dolls. We went to Navy Pier afterwards and the kids went on the merry go round, ferris wheel and Ethan went on the swings. We love when Tim, Mindy and the girls come to Chicago!!!

I ran into a girl that lives in the same town as the kids and she has a yorkie puppy name Bella as well so we had to take a picture with her. Bella looked exactly like that when we first got her...so cute!

Ethan's Football Game

Here is Ethan's first football game. He is number 24 (4th from the left in the black jersey kneeling). This is his first season and he is having a great time.

Again, number 24 (second from left)

He is next to the guy in jersey # 16.

Drinks at Flatwater

Craig and I went out to dinner at Hugo's Frog Bar and sat at the bar and had appetizers and drinks. Then we went to Flatwater Grill (on the Chicago River) and had some drinks. Here are some pictures...