Crazy Drive + Zoo

So yesterday Riley and I had plans to meet Erika at the zoo. We were going along with the plan until I got a flat, I mean a blowout, on I-55. Luckily Riley and I were able to get to the shoulder without any problems and with Mike's help, roadside assistance was there to change the tire. (I did not have my oh so important Allstate Motor Club card with me.) Riley thank goodness was a trooper through the whole ordeal and thanks to the little tv for making this possible. Riley did not like the idea of canceling our plans and heading home, so we carried on to the zoo. We had a fun time with Auntie Bika and got to see some animals, ride the carousel, and have a picnic. We also got to see Grammy and Papa when they arrived for a bonus day of volunteering. Riley did not get a nap and by 7, she was snoozing while sitting up on the couch. It was a great day, minus the adventure we had on the way. Could have done without that. Oh and today I went and got the tire replaced. We also found out what caused our blowout...needle nose pliers inside!! Somehow they must have gotten run over by another car and catapulted into our tire. Thank goodness we were all right and it was the tire and not a window. (it was the tire right by Riley!) Thank you to whoever was watching out for us yesterday!!

Water Fun

Since last summer we have been trying to go swimming with Chrissy and Lucas at their subdivision's pool. No matter when we planned it either rained, had severe warnings of some sort, or the power was out. Well yesterday, we finally had luck on our sides and were able to go to the pool and had a great day. Riley and Lucas had a great time playing in the big pool and the kiddie pool. There was a brief break for our picnic lunch, but all the rest of the time there was spent in the water. They were so busy that I did not have chance to snap any pictures. I was able to cpature just 2 quick ones as they walked back to the car hand in hand. They were just too cute together. Thanks for the great pool day.


Today we put Riley's crazy sprinkler out. She has been asking to do something outside, but kept picking the kiddie pool. This morning she asked if we could put it out. She was a little timid to really run through it, but thought it was a great drinking fountain. She also was having lots of fun turning the pressure up and down, as well as squirting mommy and daddy. She is also just too darn cute in her little bikini. How would we spend our time without her??

Weekend Fun

We had a very busy weekend. Mike's friend's daughter turned 4 and they had a pool party and the ice cream man. This was Riley's first time getting something from the truck and sampled many things. You can see her enjoying her 3rd attempt...the snow cone... in the pictures. After a lot of swimming by Riley, who by the way is a fish and swims all by herself with just her water wings, Riley went to my parent's and Mike and I had a little grown up partying of our own. There are also some pictures in the show of Riley enjoying the boiled icing that she made with Mom. After dinner yesterday, we had some dessert. Part of it was sherbert (part the cake made by Riley and Grammy) and Riley somehow decided that Grammy was incapable of feeding herself, so she decided she would do it. This was hilarious!!! It had us all laughing uncontrollably. Not only was she feeding her, but she was acting the way that parents do when we feed our children. She made airplne noises, told grammy it was yummy, said good bite, and so much more. She even kept wiping her face with the napkin:) I tried capturing the time the best I could...after a lot of laughter before...but as you will hear we are ALL laughing in the background. Hope you all enjoy our little "mom".

Happy Father's Day!!

Just wanted to say agreat big Happy Father's Day to all the special men in our lives!! Yesterday we spent the day relaxing at Grammy and Papa Bruce's. Riley had spent the night there and Mike and I had gone out and had the reminder that we are not 21 anymore. We had a great dinner prepared by mom...chicken fried steak and fried potatoes...and were able to be with most of the Ukockis family. Riley also had a great day. She baked a cake and made frosting with grammy...pictures to be in another blog...and was so worn out that she even asked to take a nap. When we got home, Mike celebrated the day bu cutting the grass. Thank you to all of our "Father's"!

Cousin Zoo Trip

Yesterday we met, Granny, and Shannon, Mike, Juliet, Jadyn, and Eli at the zoo. We were nervous that the weather was going to be very crummy, but it turned out to be a great day. Riley and Jadyn had so much fun being together and checking everything out. They started their day on the carousel and went 2 times in a row...they wanted to go a 3rd, but the rest of us wanted to see some animals. The big destination of the day were the dinosaurs. Jadyn LOVES dinos and she was in heaven. After the dinosaurs, the girls decided to get some tattoos, which you can see in the pictures. Jadyn chose a dinosaur and for some reason Riley chose a parrot...who knows why she chose this. The rest of the day was spent checking out the animals and just having fun hanging out with the cousins. We all had a great day and Riley was supposed to continue the fun with a sleepover, but chickened out at the last minute. It was a still a great day though and we even ran into Grammy and Papa Bruce. They are volunteers at the zoo on Wednesday afternoons and they were hard at work. It was a nice treat to get to see them as well. Thanks for a great day Granny and the Gurley's!!

Here are few more pictures from Riley's actual birthday too. We clebrated throughout the day with her. First it was a candle on her pancakes and breakfast and these pictures are from her cupcake with candle after dinner. She was enjoying all the candle times. She is getting very good at blowing them out. There are also a few of her on the phone with Kelsey. She looked too grown up on the phone and I just could not resist. I think we are in for it when she becomes a teenager:)

First Sleepover

A few weeks ago, Riley slept over at Jadyn's. Ever since she keeps talking about how Jadyn would sleep here. Last night was the big night and what a blast they had! We brought the tent up and they slept in the tent in her bedroom. They talked and giggled for a long time. (We were getting ready to go to bed oursleves and they were just finally winding down.) But they finally went to sleep and then had a great day playing today before it was time to part ways. It is great for Riley to have a cousin so close in age.

Happy Birthday Riley!!!

Happy Birthday to our little girl, who turns 3 today!!! It seems like just yesterday that we had her. She joined us at 20 inches and just 5 lbs. 9 oz. In case you forgot, here is what she looked like shortly after officially joining the family.

What joy she has brought us over these 3 years. It is hard to imagine what our lives would be like without her. She makes each day so much more fun and exciting. And the things that she says are so amusing! Yesterday, we had a little party for her birthday. With Riley's love of monkeys, we decided to make it a monkey party. There was a monkey cake (made by Grammy herself and oh so fabulous!), a monkey pinata, balloon, and a whole lot of monkey business. It was a great day shared with family and special friends. The kids had a blast all playing together. The highlight may have been watching how much fun they had trying to bust the pinata! We figured it would be broken open in no time, but it held on forever. It was a great day for Riley to celebrate with those who are special to her as she turned 3!

Cosley Zoo

On Friday, we headed to a little zoo in Wheaten with Granny (Mike's mom). It was called Cosley Zoo and they had a lot of native animals to the area and some domestic animals as well. Most of the wild animals were rescues that could not live in the wild. We stopped at McDonald's...at Riley's request...and started our time with a picnic lunch. Then we walked around the zoo checking everything out. Yes even Riley walked the whole time. She said she did not need a stroller...she is almost 3 you know! It was a great way to spend the day and it was a nice way to celebrate the first sunny day of the week. Thanks to Granny for the great day!

Rain Rain Go Away....

Anyone living in Illinois knows just how nasty the weather this week has been. With chilly temps and the threat of rain almost everyday, this week has been very yucky. Today started out much the same. When Riley woke me up, she said "Mommy it's raining again! How are we going to take Diesel on his walk?" And rain it did just about all day long. Sorry Diesel, no walk. We made the best of the day though and Riley got the bright idea to do some fingerpainting. Just a few pics to share of her time painting. It never lasts long...she is always ready to be "cleaned up". Such a little princess when it comes to getting messy. She even asked for a paper towel halfway through. She had fun anyway and wrapped up the photo session wearing my sunglasses. I certainly didn't need them today.

Family Bounce

Riley had been asking almost daily to go to Bouncetown, so today she got her wish. It was a great day to go too. It was not too crowded and she had free run of 2 rooms. I am not going to lie, Mom and Dad also had a fun time jumping around and climbing. Mike still wants to get her one for her birthday party:) It was a great way to spend a rainy day as a family. (Great exercise too!)

Shattered by R.I.L.E.Y.

One of the songs that this site plays is Shattered by O.A.R. Riley likes this song and sometimes sings the chorus part. When I was getting the mail, I could hear her singing all the way down by the mailbox. She continued singing, so I figured I would try and capture it. Many of you enjoyed when she sang Katy Perry and the Subway commercial, so I thought you may like to see this rendition too. It is complete with her train horn and wearing her big sparkly rings. I think it will speak for itself when you see it. (Don't forget to pause the music and check out the real song at the bottom if you like too.)

We can fix it right!!

Today we had our very own handy helper....Handy Riley! Mike noticed that 2 of the stakes for the swingset were a little loose, so he decided to replace them. With any job around the house there always is a little helper. Riley turned out to be a big help on this project. She helped Mike pound in the stakes and was a natural pro with the ratchet. The moment was too cute not to video tape. We hope you enjoy seeing her in action. (Remember to make sure your sound is on. Also before watching, go to the bottom and pause the music, so you can hear the video and not the background music.)

4 Generations at the Zoo

Yesterday, Riley and I spent out first official day of summer vacation at the zoo. We were joined by Grammy, Papa Bruce, Nana, and Papa T. It was a great addition to the trip to have Nana and Papa T with us. We started off our day with a tram ride. It was Riley's first and was a great way for Nana and Papa T to get to see the zoo. Then we took some time to see some of the other animals and enjoy each others company. Riley was in charge of picking what we got to see, so here is what she chose: penguins, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, bears, and the goats. And what would a trip to the zoo be without some souvenirs?! When the grandparents and great grandparents were ready to leave, Riley still was not so we had a little mommy daughter trip to the children's zoo. We got to see all the domestic animals up close and she even pet the goats. She was very interested in knowing what all their names were. What a great day we had and what a wonderful way to start off the summer!

GymQuest with Daddy

As many of you know, Mike has been off on Mondays and Riley stays home with him. Each Monday they do something special, just the two of them. Since it was supposed to rain today Mike wanted to find something inside for them to do. Bouncetown was not open, so luckily GymQuest was. (This is an indoor gymnastics place that I had taken Riley to over Spring Break.) After a relaxing morning they went to the library, lunch, and then headed off to GymQuest. As you will see from the pictures, they had a blast! Riley was much more adventurous this time and there were only two other kids there. (I guess the key is to go to the open gym during nap time.) This time she tried the balance beam and some of the other apparatuses. I have yet to talk to her.....she is still napping after her fun day...but I bet she will say how much fun they had! Lucky for me this is my last Monday of work until August, but I guess I am going to have to make myself scarce on Mondays so this special time they have together can continue....or maybe we will just have more fun family time together.