Happy Birthday, Dad!

On Sunday my dad celebrated his birthday and I won't say which one, but you might notice by looking at the candles. It was the same day as the anniversary celebration so we were able to have a full house of family to celebrate together.


We had multiple pies, which my dad greatly enjoyed.

Matthew, Aunt Jane, Aunt Ann, and my dad enjoyed their dessert and time together.

My mom baked this blueberry pie from scratch. It was so good.

Hannah, Alex, and Stephanie all had a great time playing out in the yard together.

Logan really loved spending time with Sophia. They loved sitting on the stones and watching the kids play a game of kickball involving swords.

Stephanie and Alex had a good time seeing each other again. Alex is so fun to talk to about all the things he has learned from his parents.

Happy Early 50th!

On Sunday, September 21, First Baptist Church of Troy threw an anniversary party for eight couples in the church who have already or will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Each couple gave a testimony describing how they met, how God has blessed them, and how much they are still in love.

The eight couples included Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin, Mr. and Mrs. Nash, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald, Mr. and Mrs. Tremper, my Uncle Jim and Aunt Karen, Mr. and Mrs. Vickers, Mr. and Mrs. Michales, and my Mom and Dad.

My dad was really nervous, but it was fun listening to both of them give testimonies about their years together.

After the service we headed into the gym where the church put together a reception. Everything was gold to commemorate the 50th.

My dad, Logan, my mom, Aunt Ann and Aunt Jane had a good time enjoying the pasta.

Here Hannah, Gwendolyn, Edy, and Logan are also enjoying their meal.
My Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Karen will be celebrating their 50th in February.

The Verville/Booth clan had a good time spending time together.

The gym looked really good.

Each of the couples brought pictures of themselves and their families.
My dad was enjoying spending time with Logan. Logan loves his Grandpa whom he calls "Vroom, vroom."

Downtown Fun

On Saturday we went downtown for the Red Bull Flugtag. "Red Bull Flugtag challenges teams of everyday people to build homemade, human-powered flying machines and pilot them off a 30-foot high deck in hopes of achieving flight! Flugtag may mean "flying day" in German, but all these crafts ultimately splash into the waters below. They are judged not only on their flight's distance, but creativity and showmanship as well." (From Red Bull's website)

It was quite the event and we just wanted to see some of it. We drove to a train station and took the el train into the city. (It made us feel like real Chicagoans.) Logan loved being on the "choo, choo" and tried to make friends with the passengers, but soon discovered this really isn't the visiting crowd.
I think he enjoys the train so much because he doesn't have to be buckled in or sit in his car seat. He loves sitting and standing and looking out the windows. (There was a little smudge on the camera lense just in case you were wondering; no we didn't take these pictures with a soft focus lense.)

Jason and I took our usual self portrait. I'm not sure why but taking your own picture is always more fun than posing for someone.

Logan was enjoying hanging out with us and Jill, but he really, really wanted to get down and run. That was little difficult though because we were standing on a sandy beach with one million other people.

People were everywhere for this event! It was totally crazy!!! As you can see there are people all down the shore line and this is the side of the platform that couldn't see anything. The event was in the opposite direction.
One of the flying machines was Red Wings themed. They followed a Blackhawk's flyer which most of the crowd liked, but Jason and I cheered as loud as we could for the Red Wings team.

As well as running and pushing the aircraft the teams all put on little skits. These guys have Stanley Cups on their head. (No it didn't fly.)

After the fun down by the water we decided to head over to the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Logan is working on his smile. I think he still has a long way to go!

Jason took Logan in to pet the goats. Logan thought it was great.

I have heard the lion on occasional visits to the zoo, but never like this. This lionness was perched on this rock making a barking sound. It was so loud. Apparently something was upsetting her. The more she did it the more a large crowd gathered. We were all very thankful that there was a large moat between us and her.

After spending so much time in the stroller Logan was grateful for any chance to get out play.


Everytime we go downtown we do something different. This time we went shopping in the Lincoln Park area after the zoo. It was fun and once again we gained a deeper appreciation for the city of Chicago.