PHOTO POTPOURRI

This entry is just something fun. The kids do a lot of strange things and I try to capture it on camera. You know, for future blackmailing. People also seem to get a kick out of the silly things that kids do. I'm not sure if it's normal, but it is for this house. Enjoy... and remember, none of this is staged:

Anthony spreads the word...Say no to crack!

Dominick with his pants on his head: June 2007

Dominick talking on the phone, his favorite thing to do!

Alayna thought Anthony would like to be shoved into a pillowcase!

Devyn's fake fingernails with flowers & jewels that she got for her birthday. She's a diva!

Molly's fake fingernails..with skulls on them!

Anthony was able to rest & get a ride in the laundry basket all at the same time.

The boys were arguing in the bathroom over a brush, so I gave one of them a comb, that seemed to satify them. It was too quiet so I went to see what was going on. This is what I found the boys doing on the girls' bed. They are playing with the American Girls dolls that were put away in the closet.

What a dork! Alayna is playing in the rain with my coat & winter boots on in MAY!

NO MAN'S LAND

Last week we took a road trip (the kids & I) to Warren, IL. It's near Freeport, but still in the middle of nowhere. It was about an hour & 15 min. of nothing but farmland, cow manure, and 2 lane highway. However, the trip was well worth it. We visited the Sperry family.

Jon & his wife Kay, have 4 kids. Andrew-15, Zachary-8, Jacob-6, & Kayden-4 mos. Jon's mom & my dad were married way back when, but when they divorced, Jon was still stuck with me! I spent a lot of time with Andrew when he was little and he called me Aunt Samara. It's been awhile since I have seen him due to distance & our separate lives. I think of him all of the time. He has matured into a young man and wow that make me feel old. He is beginning to drive and I can't quite grasp that concept. Thank god Alayna has a few more year until I have to worry about that.


Anyway, we also had a chance to get to know his brothers a little better other than a wave and an awkward hello. The kids played video games, went on the slip n slide, and chatted non-stop. Zach introduced the girls to a "tasting" of fresh raspberries from the vine. He told me that he & his dad take care of the garden. Jacob is full of energy and reminds me of an older version of Dominick. He's also pretty cool because he has the same birthday as me. Then there's Kayden. The baby girl of the bunch. She's adorable and definitely gets a lot of attention from everyone. Those boys don't know what's in store for them until she starts getting a little older. They'd better be ready to get a makeover with glitter and lipstick and start wearing pink.

We are definitely looking forward to keeping in touch a lot more. The kids seemed to bond well and the kids say that they are now cousins. That's fine since they are practically family anyway. I have a special place in my heart for this family, so it's only fair to call them that.


Here is a picture of the Sperry boys & Bilich girls. Andrew & his dad were playing a serious game of basketball (I think Andrew was throwing some illegal elbows to the head!) & baby Kayden was snoozin', so they weren't available for the photo op.

IT'S ALL FUN & GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE HAS TO BAKE A CAKE!

WE KNOW HOW TO PARTY...

Scene of the crime...a little house on Dixie Drive. The suspect's daughter asked her to make a homemade birthday cake with fresh custard filling and decorated with her favorite colors, pink, orange, & purple. The mother thought it would be a nice gesture to make a cake with love and spend a little quality time with her.

Everything was peaceful and the house was filled with a vanilla-like aroma. Moods were pleasant, the oven was heating at a consistent temperature, and all the decorations for the cake were laid out neatly on the counter. THEN, the disaster began. Homemade custard doesn't taste like bakery custard, the frosting looks way prettier in a can than it does laying all of the counter in 4 bowls with food coloring and knives scattered all around. The sprinkles also look a lot nicer when they manage to stay off of the floor! And who the heck is so talented that they can make a cake that is perfectly even? For sure not me!

I give credit to all those cake decorators and bakers. I guess all that matters is that Devyn got her birthday wish and she was proud of her cake that she helped to make. I had never made a 2 layer cake with homemade filling, nor do I think that I will ever do it again. It did taste just fine, and it looked presentable, but shoot me if I ever decide to attempt that again. This photo will be added to the collection of dessert photos that I made and will never make again.

Because Alayna & Devyn's birthdays are so close together, we had Devyn's party on Father's Day & had a cookout. We had family over and stuffed our faces.

The birthday girl (aka Doodle) with her fancy cake.

Devyn opening one of her many outfits. She is a fashion princess.

The cake was so yummy, Devyn decided to eat it with her face!

This is a "play" Subway pack that we gave to her on her real birthday. She played with it everyday for a week straight and packed it all away neatly in her backpack. I think she fell asleep with on one night.

Since we already had a party, her actual birthday, June 24th was a low-key day. I made her a special dinner and during the day she, her sisters, and 2 friends went to one of the public pool to swim. This is an official picture of Devyn at 7 years old!

That's all for now because we are headed out to swim at a friend's house and it takes quite awhile to pack everyone up. Goodbye for now. Thanks for stopping by.

BIRTHDAY WITH A BANG!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

ALAYNA GRACE!

(She has officially entered into "double digits")

The entire Bilich family...

Jon, Molly, Alayna, Samara, Devyn, Dominick, & Anthony

Forgive me family & friends,

It has been almost a month since my last confession. Can you believe that? Time sure has flown by. It didn't seem like we were busy, but apparently we were when I sit & think of what I would like to catch everyone up on.

As the title stated, we celebrated Alayna's 10th birthday which is the 4th of July. The festivities took place at my sister-in-law's house in Wheaton, IL. It was good food, good company, & a good time. We stayed to watch the fireworks and they were spectacular! The boys sat still in amazement and clapped pretty much after every one. I was kind of worried as to how they would react to the sounds. They slept through them last year so that should have been a sign for what would come for this year.

Since we are only a week into July, I don't feel so far behind on this month yet. The kids have been quite busy. Devyn went to a Riverhawks baseball game (a local pro team) & recently went to lunch with her friend, Ally. She also went on a birthday shopping spree at the mall with her friend Kimmy. More on Devyn in the next entry with her BDay photos.

Molly has gone swimming quite a few times with her friend Sarah. She also went to Volcano Falls (a large park with mini-putting, go-karts, bumper cars, video games, etc.) and sure enough, Molly got hurt. She came home with a black eye from the result of a go-kart crash (not her fault). She is fine and the shiner is going away, but still a little sore. It hasn't seemed to slow her down.

Alayna is at Magic Waters as we speak with her friend Mackenzie. It is a HUGE outdoor water park that's about 5 min. from our house. Hopefully she won't overdo it and get sunburned. She was torn whether she wanted to go or not because she purchased her very own blue IPOD NANO yesterday with $ she has saved since Christmastime. I told her she had to leave that at home. She wanted to stay home to listen to all of the songs she downloaded. It cost about $1.00 per song, so she only has a few. She bought herself a $30 ITunes card for the music. It's really nice and she said that she would let me listen to it. (How kind!) The unit holds 1000 songs and she said she will maybe let me download 1 or 2 songs that I like. What a stinker!

As far as the boys go, they are growing more every day. This is the stage that they are starting to communicate with us a little more and interact with each other too. They have their little quirks that keep us laughing (& guessing), but all in all, they are a joy to be around.

Since I've gotten July out of the way, I will back track and fill you in on June! Sit back, keep reading and enjoy the show!

WELCOME TO THE BILICH RESORT

WELCOME!

We'd like to give you the virtual tour of the luxurious BILICH RESORT:

Our tour begins with our most popular feature...VALET PARKING

(our drivers have many months of experience & probably won't lose your keys!)

We are very proud to announce our

NEW & IMPROVED SUNBATHING AREA

(linen service provided at no charge)

All inclusive EXERCISE PACKAGES with skilled instructors available 24 hrs. a day!

Back by popular demand...Spend your free time with family and friends and experience an exciting game of CROQUET.

A resort MUST!

(all equipment included)

This is by far the most requested feature of our resort...A POOL BOY!
Watch out ladies, he's not even potty trained.

Last, but certainly not least...don't forget to stop by our unbelievably LARGE pool. We will try to accomodate any size party. Please call ahead for reservations, space is limited.

(pool toys sold in gift shop)

There you have it. Don't be jealous! It was a beautiful day today and we spent quite a bit of it outside. We have the sunburns to prove it! I just wanted to share a few cute photos with you and show you how we spend our time in our HUGE back yard. We set up little play areas and the kids go from activity to activity. We invited a friend & her brother over today to play. (She's one of our bathing beauties in the photo above.) It was 7 of them against 1 of me. FUN, FUN!

Don't leak the family secret: you have a hotel heiress in your family (& she's not even in jail)! For anyone who would like to make a reservation and in need of a family get-away, please call... 1-800-USO-CRAZ (YOU SO CRAZY) so I can make sure that the resident maid tidies up your room! Thanks for visiting. Hope you've enjoyed your stay!

HEY BATTER, BATTER, BATTER!

Alayna all decked out in softball gear, waiting to bat!

This is obviously a picture of her batting. I couldn't think of anything clever to add for a comment!

Alayna & Taylor

This is one of her best friends. Her dad is one of the coaches.

For you viewing pleasure, Dominick will display his NEW favorite thing to do without pants during a softball game. I omitted the graphic pictures of him eating rocks and dirt for the sensitive viewers. :)

Anthony shows his disgusts to any strikes called against his sister.

Alayna's game was on Sunday that included an opening ceremony, team photo, and the first official game of the season. We missed the rain and the weather was in our favor. She played 1st base and right field for that game. Their team lost, but they played hard. It was about a 4 hour ordeal and the end to a VERY long weekend. She had another game on Monday (yesterday) and she experienced what it was like to play in the rain. She said it was fun. Her positions for this last game were shortstop and catcher. That was really exciting for her. After

the game, another loss, she practiced pitching. It's nice that she gets to rotate positions. She got 2 outs when she was shortstop, so that was the most exciting position for her. We'll see what the future holds. She's like her dad, she will be able to play any position if she practices. The coaches say that she has a good glove. Here's praying for a win tomorrow to boost the team's spirit. We'll keep you posted, but that's all for now.

HI, HO, A MERRY O, A CAMPIN' WE WILL GO...

After a LONG weekend, we survived! On Friday, Alayna left for White Pines Dude Ranch in Oregon, IL with her Girl Scout Troop. It's about 45 min-1 hr. from Rockford. She stayed until Sunday morning (left a little early for her Opening Day of softball). She did many activities such as hiking, horseback riding, swimming, a fossil dig, a scavenger hunt, and much more. I didn't get any pictures of her since I wasn't there, but I have included the horse that she rode during her trip. She was very proud to show off this horse.

On Friday, Devyn & I also headed out to Camp McCormick. We stayed until about 9:00 pm. on Saturday. There were two troops that stayed together in a log cabin with a loft. It was Devyn's 1st grade troop along with the 3rd grade "sister" troop. That would make about 30 girls total amd 8 chaperones. It was a luxury cabin with mats for sleeping, a kitchen with running water (barely), a trough-like sink for hand washing and brushing teeth. Devyn's favorite part of it all was the latrine that took a little hike to get there. I'm not really sure that Devyn or some of the other girls used the bathroom at all for the 2 days. Thankfully we were the first group of girls for the summer and the smell wasn't too bad. "Roughing it" is not my ideal vacation, but we had a good time. The weather was warm and VERY humid. The girls went swimming which substituted for a shower. I, on the other hand opted to shower when I got home. It was the best shower I've ever taken!

On Saturday, Molly's 2nd grade troop (6 girls & 3 chaperones) joined all of us for the day. We had breakfast, and then the girls played and worked on activites to earn badges. They did sack races and participated in a flag retirement, burning ceremony. That was interesting. There was a lot of hiking and crafts that filled our day. A campfire ended the activities and I was happy to go home.

Molly & Devyn...Best Friends

(yeah, right!) This is a short lived moment. They like each other in spurts. This was a special occasion!

Devyn posed for a quick photo while swimming at camp.

Molly obliged for a photo op too.

These campouts were a great way to start the summer. The kids had a great time and gained valuable skills, along with memories. So, until next year, I'll stick to the flushing kind of toilets!

ONE LAST ENTRY FOR TODAY

For those of you who weren't aware, my mom just graduated with her Associates Degree from Rock Valley. My Aunt & Uncle threw a party for her. It was really a nice time. She worked hard and finished rather quickly. She would probably disagree that it went by quickly. My mom doesn't ask for much, and everyone is always busy, but she got one thing I knew she really wanted...a family picture with all of her children. I'm not up for being in pictures, I'm usually behind the camera. So, here's the famous picture...

(By the way, I don't think I'm related to these people-Ha! Ha!)

Justin, Deb, Samara, & Arthur

NEVER A DULL MOMENT

This is just a short blog to give you a sneek peek into the daily lives of the Bilich clan. If any of you think you may want these sweet, adorable, hilarious, crazy kids, please let me know. I will pack their bags for a week just in case you decide to keep them longer!

Dominick was nowhere to be found. He snuck into the girls' room and I believe he just finished hanging off of the bunk bed. I knew he was in the room because I saw their lights flicking on & off. That is one of his favorite past times.

Thanks to this clown, he has managed to "reset" my desktop, run the virus program, open email, and change settings on the computer. Maybe our next Bill Gates?

After seeing this smile, I am no longer mad about the computer. Isn't he sweet?

Peace out, brother!

Don't mess with the Mollster!

This is Devyn's favorite part of making cookies. She has FINALLY stopped licking the beaters BEFORE the cookies are done. It was very hard to offer guests cookies if Devyn helped.

MOTHER'S DAY

Leave it to Molly & her cousin Tara...they always know how to have a good time. Good thing all bikinis were tied tightly, they had chicken fights shortly after!

Alayna, Devyn, and their cousin Tara goofed around, as always.

As you can see, Dominick LOVED his first time in the pool. He even had his little matching swim shirt and shorts on. Anthony loved it even more so, that I couldn't even get a picture because he was out of the pool before his little butt cheeks even got wet.

My sweet, little, Anthony. He obviously decided that his cup just wasn't quite clean enough, so he rinsed it OVER & OVER & OVER again in the dog's bowl. We figured after the first time, it really wasn't going to matter. He hated the pool water, but loved the dog's! Go figure!

Mother's day was great for me. I had 5 special reasons to celebrate! My day was actually a weekend celebration. On the Friday before, I kissed my family goodbye and sped out of the driveway. No, just kidding! My friend picked me up and we headed for the Hilton (hotel) and got ready for a girls' night out including dinner, jacuzzi, girl talk, and a FULL night's sleep that I haven't had in about 2 years! It was a well needed break from all the daily stresses. We stayed overnight and checked out the next day.


It was an even more glorious stay since we got our room for free due to a housekeeper's oversight. As we checked out, they asked if our stay was perfect and room was clean. As a matter of fact, it was beautiful. We commented that they might want to double check the microwave because we had to wipe it out (to cook our gourmet breakfast of Hot Pockets) but didn't scrub it out. They apologized for the inconvenience, which was no big deal, and said they had a surprise. They ripped our bill in 1/2! So, in the end, it was a relaxing, fun, and FREE weekend.


When I got home on Saturday, I unpacked and repacked for a trip into Chicago. I will mention, that the house was spotless! Everyone must have worked really hard, and quickly. I wasn't even gone 24 hours. I also got all of my beautiful handmade cards from the girls. In Chicago, we had dinner at Jon's parents' house on Saturday evening. On Sunday, we went to his sister's house for a Mom's Day cookout. There's always lots of people and good food. The girls swam with their cousins for about 4 hours and only came out for food and bathroom breaks. The boys kept busy and DID NOT whatsoever like the pool. I think it freaked them out. However, they ate like pigs and got dirty like them too.


This year, Mother's Day was so much fun for me and it was nice to see everyone else having just as much fun. Wouldn't you know it, I didn't even get a picture with any of my kids, my mother, or Jon's mother on Mother's Day. I will have to have Jon take a picture of the kids and myself. Keep your eye out for more photos soon.

FIELD TRIP: MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY

Alayna...our future astronaut!

Inside the "heart": Alayna (R) & her friend Mackenzie (L) give me a quick smile.

This was really cool. Alayna got a chance to experience what a submarine training experience was like. She & her friend had to try to keep the submarine level so they didn't nosedive to the bottom. They failed a few missions, but came back determined to pass...and they did!

This is one of the pictures Alayna didn't want to take, you know, the one with her MOM! Funny thing is that I am not really sure what we're standing in front of because Alayna gave me the OK that we could take a picture, but we had to take it right there because she didn't have time to pose in front of everything! Her infinite patience was in rare form that day.

There you have it! A small glimpse into our exciting day. Our day started with a bus trip beginning at 7:15 am. We arrived at the museum at 9:30am and departed about 2:30. Lucky us, we hit Chicago traffic and didn't get back to the school until about 5:00 pm. It made for a long day, but we had a great time.

Everyone was broken into groups, so it was just Alayna, Mackenzie, & I. Mackenzie is one of her really good friends and lives near us. So, we all knew each other well and goofed off. We saw all exhibits except for the coalmine & the Zephyr train. Maybe next time. The girls made sure that I got my exercise that day. They were in charge of the map and they didn't want to go one floor at a time, just whatever part looked the next coolest thing to do or where they saw some of their friends.

We took a tour of a U-505 German submarine that was captured. I remember seeing it from when I was a kid, but it was even more interesting as an adult. The girls were flabbergasted and just ooooh'd and aaaah'd for awhile after we were finished.

All in all, it was a fun and educational day. It was nice to have a little one on one time with Alayna. She gets mixed up in the shuffle at times and is growing up faster that I can keep up with her. I'm sure that she enjoyed doing some "big kid" stuff. If it were up to her, she & her friend would've liked that I stayed about 20 feet behind them, but I kept bugging them for pictures and assisted in a game plan so we could see a lot of the museum's 3 floors!

That's all for now. Weather's been kind to us lately, so that means many more photo opportunities to come. My quiet time is up, Dominick is banging on the wall. That's how he lets me know that he's awake! Anthony just sits there & smiles until I pick him up.

Happy Mother's Day to all who it may apply...until next time.

P.S.

I'm just checking to see that I did this correctly. I've entered some emails to automatically let you know when I've updated my blogspot. If you receive one, great. If not, and you'd like to, email me and let me know that you would. The email is at the top of the blogspot page. I'll be back soon to post Chicago pictures. Bye for now!

HOLD ON TIGHT, HERE WE GO...

This is how the kids enjoyed one of our 1st nice days of the season. The girls set the playset up as a little waterslide. The boys discovered the hose, with their clothes on, of course! Their diapers weighed more than they did when they were finished.

This was taken on the same day as the water pictures. The boys (L:Dominick & R:Anthony) have been interacting a lot more with each other now. They were sharing drinks and a pacifier. I love this picture!

This is Molly & her Box-a-saurus named Ptara (pronounced Tara) the pterodactyl. She made this mostly out of cardboard and a few accessories. What flying princess wouldn't have zebra sunglasses, a leopard bikini with a sarong, and pink toenails? We went to see the 2nd grade boxasaurus exhibit last weekend that was displayed out at the Rockford Airport. Some even went on a few of the flights. We're hoping that Ptara went to Vegas and will share her winnings! Molly also had to write a story about the flying reptile and if you couldn't guess...she got an A.

Moving on...our next big event was Molly's 1st Communion on April 28th. She looked beautiful! We had a small get together afterwards with family and it was definitely a fun-filled day.

I will also mention that Molly had a life changing event the day before her Communion. She was attempting to grow her hair to donate to Locks of Love, which requires 10 inches in order to donate, but she couldn't stand the really long hair anymore. So, as you'll see in this photo, her hair is 7 inches shorter! No complaints from me because I had to brush and dry her hair.

We're almost done! The day after the Communion was a big day for Devyn. The whole family went to the Rockford Art Museum to see Devyn's artwork that was on display for the 66th Annual Young Artist Show. She was among 4 kids from her school to be chosen. Her best friend was one of the others. Because we were at the musuem, we also looked at the other exhibits. Yeah, not such a great idea. The giggling among the 3 girls echoed through the entire museum. What where they laughing at, you ask? Well, all museums have nude statues and my girls found them. Naked butts and all.

After that, we spent a little time in the Discovery Center which is a children's science museum. Lots of really cool stuff there. The best part about it was the fact that there weren't many other people there.

Last, but certainly not least is Alayna's big day. Alayna & I are going on a field trip tomorrow (May 2nd) to Chicago's Museum of Science & Industry. The entire 4th grade is going and some have never been there before. That includes Alayna. I have not been there in 10+ years. I will download pictures in a few days after I recuperate. We are leaving school at 7:15 am and returning about 4:45 pm. I am grateful that we are taking a charter bus and not a school bus. I think I would've died! After we get back, Alayna will have her 1st softball practice at 6:00pm. I'm guessing that we will be ready to go to bed soon after we get home.

We are definitely keeping busy around here, so feel privileged that you were able to view all of these pictures in one fell swoop. Hope you've enjoyed them! Love to all!

THE END