pumpkins, pancakes, and pool

We had the very special treat of being visited by my whole family this past weekend! It was so fun to have them here and get to spend time all together.

On Saturday night we went to the Highwood Pumpkin Fest. There were 38,000 carved pumpkins. Pretty impressive. There were also 38,000 people (slight exaggeration) so we didn't stay long. But, we were there long enough to get a few good pictures!

At the festival, there were two bands playing at once and lot of vendors and food. But, it was way too crowded to enjoy any of that. I really did enjoy seeing this cutie! He melts my heart!

Nephew Ethan - 9 months

Sunday morning we got together for breakfast. Ethan loves to put his feet up and relax.

Then it was off to the pool. The water was so warm. I had a great time swimming around with Ethan. He is so much fun to be around. As is the rest of the family :)

It was so great to have a visit from family. Dave felt so refreshed after having some down time. Thanks everyone for coming and enduring the long car ride with an infant. It meant so much to us.

Now, we get to look forward to another visit from family this week....so stay tuned!

nascar

We are so blessed to have been gifted some really fun things. First, we got the Cubs tickets, then Dave's good friend from school offered to work at a NASCAR race in order to get 4 tickets! As you know, Dave loves car racing so this was a real treat!

Chicagoland Motor Speedway

We had beautiful weather and great seats. But the best part was spending time with our friends, James and Lauren.

Sorry about no shirt...it is NASCAR :)

When we moved here, we found it hard having to start over making friends. I think that you want to have instant friendships, when really they take time to develop. Over the last several months, those relationships have begun to develop into great friendships. We are so happy to be making friends with great people, that will be sure to last a very long time.

Thank you James for getting up early and working at the race so we could go. And more importantly, thank you for serving our country. Lauren, thanks for coming along with a good attitude and putting up with the Jayma-tude. :)

We are blessed!