My Uncle Mike passed away in early January unexpectedly. My Mom's oldest brother was a Catholic priest and canon lawyer who lived in Rockford, IL. While he had been struggling with his health, nobody would have predicted the end was so near. It had been too long since we had seen him, but he was always generous and kind to the kids, sending them Christmas gifts every year. He showed his love in his own ways, even with his more gruff exterior. He did so much for his parish and will be missed.
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| Iso sent these pictures of sledding at a friend's house |
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| Family Fun Night at Cherokee school |
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| Matt took this pic from the lake house |
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| Polar Vortex! |
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| Matt and Luke spent the weekend at an Indian Guides campout in WI |
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| They stayed in a cabin |
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| Despite the cold, they still had a campfire |
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| The campout is at a facility with tons to do. This slide will slide you into a lake, or in this case, a frozen lake. |
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| Curling |
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| Broom hockey |
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| Chess with friend Will |
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| Tubing |
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| ice skating |
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| Finally, bowling, before heading home |
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| Taking a pic with the drone |
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| Matt took a picture of the lake from our Ring camera. |
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| Claire and I spent some quality time together (eating tacos in this pic) while the boys were up north |
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| Mom and Dad and Kristin and PJ came in for Uncle Mike's funeral |
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| We had a snow day, so the kids were so excited to spend the whole day playing with PJ instead of going to school. |
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| Ready to go to Rockford for the wake and funeral |
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| Matching hairdo's |
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| Keeping busy during the wake |
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| Hot tub and pool at the hotel we stayed at |
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| Watching a movie (Claire fell asleep) |
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| Back in Lake Forest the night before they left - the kids set up this ticket booth for a viewing of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory |
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| Fort! three different sleeping areas |
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| The movie viewing |
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| Last breakfast before everybody headed out. Much worry about not being able to get out because of the Polar Vortex. |
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| Making slime |
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| Matt and I went cross country skiing one afternoon at the Deerpath Golf Course |
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| Matt took the kids to the movies and the place was packed (not!) |
