Do you want to know what I did today?

Well, no, you probably don't. All except a teeny bit of it, maybe.

It was a superbly productive day, actually!

I went on a 30 minute run.

I finished FOUR grad school assignments.

I finished my VBS to-do list (for today, I'm sure more will be added tomorrow).

My kitchen table has looked like this all week as I have been literally sitting there 9:00-5:00 every day working on grad school and lots of VBS: (click to enlarge)

But! Amidst my hours of desk work, I had a fun break!

My friend Julie and her two kids, and our friend Emily and her two kids, came to Deerfield for a playdate.

As you can see from most of my posts, summer really consists of hanging out with my friends and their kids! :)

Julie is done with summer school, so we finally had a chance to hang out.

Emily is in town from Florida and I see her about once a year...

We went to the park across the street...

Avery had a pouty moment...it cracked me up. She just sat in this swing pouting for several minutes. :)

Then, later in the evening Lindsey came over to help me sort through my Scentsy delivery! I've got "Tuscan Garden" warming in the warmer right now and our apartment smells SO good!! I love it!

Now we are about to relax, guilt-free (because I got so much done today!), and watch Coraline with my hubby, my sis, and bro-in-law. :)

What a great Thursday!

Birthday Events

This year it was my Golden Birthday, or Star Birthday, whichever you call it.

I turned 26 on the 26th. I love birthdays, even if I am getting older...

First, on Thursday, I was surprised with cupcakes at small group. Thanks, Esti! :)

Then on Friday, my sis took me to get our nails done by her mother-in-law...

Saturday, I had my party. If any of you know me, you know I love to host parties. The "hosting" kind- you know, like a Tupperware Party or something. I think it's fun to sample the products and buy stuff and earn hostess gifts while helping out consultants and their businesses.

For my Golden Birthday, I decided I would throw the ultimate hosting party. I rented out the party room at the local Potbelly's and rounded up some of my favorite businesses. I had some consultants who were friends and family and some I booked through other people I knew...

There was Gigi Hill...

Scentsy...

Pampered Chef...

Tastefully Simple...

Mary Kay...

and Princess House...

The consultants all had fun and were able to sell some goods and network with each other a bit.

My friends and family got to eat some Potbelly's...

(recognize this cutie from my previous post?)

...and everyone got to shop!

My sis surprised me by bringing cupcakes! Everyone sang and I felt like a little kid! Ha! It was so fun!

Then afterward, my mom and sis came over and we opened presents...

I've always been jealous of my sister's book holder that is shaped like a lawn chair for reading at the beach, so my mom got me one. Also, a White Sox key for our house (Marcus got one for his birthday, too).

Then, for my real birthday, on Sunday, my sis and Dan had us over for dinner...

...as well as a game of Clue and some dessert.

Thanks to everyone who helped make my birthday special! I really love and appreciate all of you!!

Here's to another great year! :) *Cheers!*

Play Date!

Isn't this what summer is really about!?

I spend my days hanging out with my friends and their kiddos. So fun!

Here are my friend Jennifer's cutie-patooties, who I got to play with this week...

Allie

...and big sister Maddie

...I could get used to this life!! I love spending time with my friends and playing with their kids.

School is right around the corner.

Do I have to go??

Chicagoland Andersons

For the past several years, four out of the five Anderson siblings have lived around the Chicago area. It has been very fun, even though we didn't get together as often as we potentially could.

We had our last outing as a Chicago-sibling group.
Scott and Robin, Marcus's brother and sister-in-law, are moving away to New Mexico next week.
Lindsey (next to me in the pic) is moving away to Moline to start her new job in a two weeks.
Becca (in between Scott and Robin) is getting married in November and moving to Northbrook (still Chicagoland, yeah!)
We are moving to Moline...........

........someday........ ;)

Rocking Chairs

Another fun day with some of my favorite kids...

4th Annual Door County Girls' Weekend!

Woohoo!!!

I'm back from a wonderful annual trip with my roomies, Jodi and Megan, from college. Each summer we go to Door County, WI and stay in Megan's parents' cabin...

We eat tons of junk food...

Lounge in the hot tub...

Shop till we drop...

Read...

Watch movies...

Nap on the hammock...

Roast marshmallows at the fire pit...

And of course, do many photo shoots:

Jodi got me this flower hairband and bracelet as part of my birthday gift.

Megan's dog, Buddy, always joins us. :)

For some odd reason we always do this foot pic from the hammock...

There's a little glimpse of the cabin. :)

and just for fun...

Girls Weekend 2006:

Girls' Weekend 2007

Girls' Weekend 2008