Late Summer Update...

So much has happened... We joined the Woods at Notre Dame Family Hall for a long weekend.  Of course, we had to meet there to retrieve Annie after her week with Patty's family.    Here is the view of the dome from our window in Carroll Hall - my first time in that dorm ever!  

 

Kyle and Luke, John and a friend Kyle visited the College Football Hall of Fame.  Patty and I took the girls and Dominic to the South Bend Chocolate Factory.  Here Katie demonstrates how to make a chocolate spoon while wearing the fashionable hairnet.  The chocolate was fabulous.  

We all ate lunch at South Dining Hall, enjoying the full offering provided.  Dominic won the eating contest by eating approximately 3 times his weight in food.  

We enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere on campus, riding bikes, praying the rosary at the grotto, swimming at the Rock.  

This is a new statue titled "In Celebration of the Family."  I think that is so appropriate for all that Notre Dame stands for to the Cronley Family.  You might also notice that it is located behind the best dorm on campus - Walsh Hall!  

So then, John went off to Catholic Youth Camp for a week and the girls began 2 weeks of swimming lessons.  Katie & Erin followed that with Spanish Camp at their school, then Living History Farms Day Camp for Erin and Tennis Lessons for Katie.  

Last Thursday, Sally (Goethals) and Darren Smith and their 5 kids stopped in for an overnight on their way from Sturgis to Colorado.  On Friday, Sally and I took our 9 children to the zoo, then we had pizza on our patio and waited for John & Suzanne, Clare & Kate to join us from Chicago.  After a popsicle and a quick Hello, the Smith's headed on to Omaha for the night and we got the Cronley's settled in.  

On Saturday morning, John Cronley, John Greening and I ran a quick (or not so quick) 2 miles and then we headed to the pool.  We all had a great time and rather than choose between hamburgers and tacos, we just made both!!!  

We loved the girls hair so much that Annie & Erin wanted to go short as well...
   

And so today, they got haircuts!!!  Erin wanted to have hers like Clare so we asked for a stacked bob, angled to the front, with bangs.  Aren't they stunning! 

School starts in less than 10 days!  Home & School is sponsoring a Wahoo/Boohoo Party on the first day - for those who want to celebrate and those who want to cry.  I'll be celebrating!   

Beginning of Summer...

We began the summer well by immediately heading up to a Northern Wisconsin cabin.  As you can see, it was a bit larger than "Cronley's WhereIt'sAt" in MFL, but it did leave us longing for certain aspects of Mid-Forest.  

The lake was calm and mostly motor boat free, good for swimming, paddle boating, kayaking...

and FISHING!  

All of the kids caught at least one fish.  

We enjoyed the spacious cabin and the screened in porch.  I read 4 books off of the cabin's bookshelves (no they weren't Dr. Seuss!) and didn't free like I missed out on any lake fun.  The kids made a huge fort in the loft and even slept in it a couple nights.  

On our return to civilization, we celebrated Annie's #11 birthday.  Then, John and I ran in our 1st ever 5K road race.  He walloped me by a good 5 minutes, but my motto was "if I finish, I win!"  

Sara drove in for a visit and again experienced the Crazy Greening Life of running here, there and everywhere!  The hit of the visit was the manicure/pedicure session that she had for all of the girls.  

Mom stayed on to care for the kids while Kyle & I were off to the Cayman Islands!  This is a panoramic shot of the beach at Rum Point.  We had honeymooned on Grand Cayman, so we didn't feel the need to do as many touristy things.  We did kayak in the mangroves one morning and snorkel off the beach of our hotel.  We also saw many interesting creatures - sea stars, iguanas, and a stingray.  Mostly, we relaxed on the beach or at the pool and just enjoyed the sights and sounds of the island life.  Kyle's company spoiled us completely and it was difficult to return to our normal lives.  

Here we are at The Wreck Bar & Grill at Rum Point, lunch on Thursday! 

Erin is 2 wheeling!

Here I am about to ride my two wheeled bike.  It's new...well, to me.  

I'm getting started...

 

Here comes Katie the expert, passing by me.

 

Here I come - beep, beep!

Katie's Locks for Love

In first grade, I decided that I wanted to grow my hair out for Locks of Love.  We found out that Pantene Great Lengths only asks for 8 inches of hair instead of 10 inches for Locks of Love, so we're sending it in to their organization on Monday.  

Here I am for my birthday party so that you can remember my long hair. 

Maggie is cutting my hair.  This is me with half of my back hair gone.  Annie got to hold the hair as it was cut off.  

Here I am with only long front hair!  Now you see it...

Now, you don't!  Tada!  

Just finished.  I can now style my hair behind my ears.

Here are the three girls in front of a crazy blue picture.  

PS - Annie & Erin also recently got hair cuts.  Annie's is about at her shoulders with some layers and Erin cut off about 2 inches and got some long layers as well.  

Here's a bit of catch up blogging...

 

John turned 13 - yes, we have a teenager in the house...

Erin turned 7 - yes, she thinks she's a teenager as well...

John ran track this Spring; 400m and a few relays.  He improved over the short season and now I'm trying to get him to consider Cross Country for the Fall...

Katherine's Big Weekend - 1st Holy Communion

The Woods drove out and Grandma flew in to celebrate her big day.  We did Grandma's traditional Krispy Kreme run in our pj's on Saturday morning.  After we'd recovered, John, Luke, Patty and I ran a few miles on the bike trails near our house while the rest of the kids played at the park under the care of Kyle and Grandma.
 

Everyone enjoyed the swing set in our backyard, though it was interesting to keep up with Dominic and Cece - dangerous!!

We ate very well - surprise, surprise!  Dominic demonstrated how he can take care of corn on the cob very well now that he's a big man.

Finally, her day in the spotlight arrived.  Katherine wore the family heirloom dress and veil (passed down from Heather & Annie).  She read on the altar during the presentation of the gifts.  John & Annie served at the 1st Communion Mass and Erin got to sit with Grandma and the Woods.     

 

   

  

  

We had a wonderful Spring Break trip to Mississippi.  We began our touring with a stop at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN.  The kids were fairly interested and I think it will make Martin Luther King, Jr. Day each January a bit more meaningful.  The museum is in the hotel where he was shot and there is also a portion in the building across the street from where James Earl Ray shot him.  

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with Marin and Tracey in fine style shown here.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Marin and finally warmed up to Muzzy on the last day in Meridian.  

On Wednesday, we drove to Vicksburg, MS to tour a civil war era city plantation house and the Vicksburg National Military Park.  This photo shows a cannonball that is still lodged in the wall of the house.  

Here we are touring the military park, looking at where the Confederates shot at the Union Army from one hill to the next.  

We returned to Meridian and celebrated Katie's #8 birthday and finally getting to see Uncle Boog.  

On Thursday, we toured Uncle Boog's Naval Air Station.  We all got to fly in the simulator and try on his flight suit, along with visiting his office and eating at the base bowling alley.

We were able to hang out and chat with Boog and Tracey and catch the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournament games.  

On Saturday, we hit the road early and visited a former working cotton plantation - Waverly, in West Point, MS.  Then, up the road a bit, we stopped to walk around the campus of Ole Miss, in Oxford, MS.  A grand time and wonderful way to get a flavor of the South.  Only thing that we missed was a true taste of the South - grits, collard greens, and fried chicken.  Maybe next time!

At the end of March, Annie was honored at the University of Iowa for her test scores on the Explore Test, an 8th grade level test.  She also was able to recognize a teacher and she chose her Independent Learning teacher, Mrs. Houseman. 

Last Thursday, the Middle School performed their rendition of Going, Going, Gone with the Breeze.  John was one of the mannequins in a costume department; he was a caveman and one of his friends was a leprechaun.  

Finally, last night, we survived a birthday slumber party for Katie.