**My computer has been on the fritz for two weeks, therefore my life has not only been less organized (unanswered emails, forgetting calendar events), but less documented. Let’s see how much I can get on this blog post before the computer dies again…

It was no ordinary day at the Johanik household on July 4. We went a little crazy with fireworks this year.

First, my Mom and Dad came over with homemade apple pie (among other food).

Then the fun began with bottle rockets, firecrackers, and other loud, bright celebratory explosives.

Peter fed Jim each one, naming it as he handed it to him. I’ll be keeping an eye on that one.

I’m already keeping an eye on this one.

I love this shot of Jim lighting the boys’ sparklers with his own already lit one.

One generation shall tell of His goodness to the next…

A sampling of the fun:

Maryknoll Park in Glen Ellyn is a fun park with Baggo, frisbee golf, mini golf, a water park and a bocce ball course. And almost everything is free, which is great when you’re a family of seven.

Jim and I whooped up on Jake and Derek in Bocce ball.

Ruthie was the official jack-thrower, and Peter and Jeremy measured the throws to see who was closer.

The girls took a break for a photo shoot. We are the real queen and the real princess. Really.

Another mini-photo shoot.

The younger ones and I spent some time at the playground while the older ones played Baggo.

Jim, Jake and Derek embarked on a 17 hour drive, leaving at 2:00 Sunday morning, to meet the Neatherys in Westcliffe, Colorado.

They are experiencing another beautiful, majestic slice of the state.

They are pretty remote, so communication is limited. But I am grateful for the window into their experience that I am able to see, thanks to Jim.

They have a physically aggressive schedule–long, rigorous hikes planned every day. Here they are before the first hike:

11 miles, 3000 ft. elevation change…they came home exhausted. And sore. The second day the under-40 group ventured on another trail–15 miles up Humboldt Peak, a 14,000+ ft. elevation, while the dads convalesced at the house.

After that hike, they altered their plans on the third day and opted to fish instead of hike.

A good decision, as they caught 12 fish altogether–enough for dinner that night.

It all started with wrestling in the family room. All four boys along with their dad, straining, biting down on their lips. They all five do it whenever they are doing something physically taxing, and I’m calling it the Johanik lip squeeze.

Don’t be fooled…behind that mask, are lips squeezed together.

Some other scenes from our baseball season thus far…

Thankfully, Ruthie has a friend to play with at each of her brothers’ games.

Even though he is on his way to earning a driver’s license, Jake still prefers the two-wheel mode of transportation. He often rides to his brothers’ games and practices. On this particular day, Jim joined him.

Handsome baseball boys.

Jim had a lunch meeting in Holland, MI last week, so the kids and I tagged along and spend some time on the beach.

We were thankful for the beautiful weather! There were storms back home, but the sky was clear on the other side of the lake.

The chilly water temperature was still recovering from the long, cold winter…but the kids weren’t fazed one bit.

Jake and Derek swam pretty far out there, and later Jake went out even farther. After a while, I wondered if we should just plan to meet up with him in Chicago.

I loved being able to sit and catch up with my Aunt Chris on the sand while the kids played–so relaxing and enjoyable!

Chris fed us lunch, then we made our way to Grandpa and Trudy’s house. The kids fed the hungry goldfish in their backyard pond.

We had an enjoyable visit with them, then made our way back around the lake. We all had such a good time that we’re already looking on the calendar for when we can return! (Be ready, Chris!)

We spent Father’s Day downtown Chicago. It was a verrry windy day–so windy they had to close my parents’ pool due to a table being blown into the water!

But we managed to have fun anyway. The kids played at the park and at the fountains.

The twins enjoyed some wrestle time with Uncle Jim.

Jake ran a 5K with Grandma…what a great bonding activity!

Meanwhile, Grandpa and Ruth bonded over sunglasses.

Find and break off dead branches from the backyard tree.

Stick on marshmallows.

Start a fire and roast those marshmallows.

Taste test marshmallows for roasting quality.

Put together marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker.

Smush together and bite down.

Have the dog come in from swimming in the pond to clean marshmallow residue off sticks.

Burn off those calories on the trampoline.

Ruthie is a girl who loves worms.

She loves to dig for them and talk to them. And to her, the bigger the worm, the cuter it is.

Her brothers have tasked her with finding worms that they may use as fish bait. Here you go Derek.

A catch!

Dave and Judi took us bowling on Saturday.

We used a rainbow assortment of balls.

Everyone had their own style and level of performance. For instance, we learned that Uncle Dave is a closet professional bowler, as he scored strikes or spares in nearly every frame.

Jeremy was by far the highest scorer among all the kids (and some adults. ahem.)

Ruth propelled her bowling ball granny-style.

This did not bode well for speed. One time her ball traveled so slowly down the lane that it came to a complete stop before reaching the pins. We called for help.

The nice young man rescued the pink ball and we bowled on.

My mom and dad took the oldest five grandkids and participated in Bike the Drive. It’s a great event where the city of Chicago shuts down Lakeshore Drive for the morning so bikers can have at it.

It was a first for Peter and Hannah. Apparently, they chatted the entire ride of nearly 30 miles.

Here are the bikers the night before the ride, as the sun was setting.

The non-biking crew made our way downtown later that day. The weather proved perfect for swimming.

My dad and brother were the troupers in the water with the little ones.

A great way to kick off summer!

You gotta have a catcher. If you don’t have a catcher you’ll have all passed balls. –Casey Stengel

Our three baseball players are all trying their hand at catching this season. Peter is the veteran and still going strong.

Derek is a good presence behind the plate, given his size. Ain’t nobody going to mess with him at home plate!

Jeremy began a bit tentative, not too excited about being up close to a swinging bat. But he’s getting the hang of it.

This pic of Jeremy up to bat is one of my faves…a Little Rascal!

Mom, you’ll never guess where we are.

This is how my phone conversation began with Jake on Saturday a few hours after he left to go for a bike ride with his friend. They hadn’t decided where they were going to ride, just that they wanted to do around 50 miles. I took a couple wrong guesses and finally gave up. He was calling from Millenium Park in Chicago.

He was quite proud of himself, having ridden from our house to the city. They took the Prairie Path until it ends in Maywood, so my first (motherly) question was: how did you navigate through the Austin and Garfield Park neighborhoods? He said they just kept riding and didn’t stop til they got to the Loop.

My next question was, “Have you taken a selfie yet?” Here they are at the bean.

There is no rhyme or reason to the following pictures, except that they give a glimpse into the month of May.

Jake now has another seating option in the car: behind the wheel.

We played a rousing game of softball at my brother’s house on Mother’s Day. We ended after just a couple innings due to a fast approaching storm.

One night I brought Derek and Jeremy to baseball practice and came home to this:

Jake had made an apple pie and Peter had made a pumpkin roll.

Baseball season has begun! The boys are totally geared up.

The baseball wannabe is geared up too.

The left-behind canine is not so geared up. You guys are leaving again??

Soon I’ll post some great pictures my mom took from Memorial Day weekend…just hang on.

A friend had some free passes to Brookfield Zoo and invited us to join them for an end-of-the-school-year field trip.

It was great fun! Jake even played hooky from his Metea classes so he could join us and show off his impressive wing span.

The kids really connected with the animals…

Ruthie’s favorite was the polar bear. I think it’s her favorite because it reminds her of her canine best friend, Molly.

Lounging on the river boat.

After a while the little ones got tired of walking, so they tapped the bigger ones for piggy back rides.

All around a great day!

We had one of the worst storms in recent memory blow through last night. I was out with the kids, acting as taxi driver for the evening, and during a three hour span we endured a deluge of rain and hail, and dodged lightning bolts as we ran from various buildings to the car.

We assumed the worst was over when the rain subsided, so as we drove into our neighborhood we breathed a sigh of relief. That is, until we continued on and saw a lake of water at the intersection. I quickly backed up and attempted another route, only to find that water was just as high on the other side. We were 100 yards from our house and unable to pull into the driveway! So close yet so far! Other cars had already stalled attempting to pass through the water. I made a quick decision to just go for it…we all really wanted to get home.

I began praying out loud. I could tell the water was high, as the car was sluggish, but thought I could see higher ground ahead. Instead, as we drove forward, the water became even deeper, and I began to lose steering power while the warning light came on in the car. Uh-oh.

I gunned it, knowing we were too far into the water to back up now. We made it out with a wake behind us and pulled into our driveway a little shaky, but safe.

We could see that tree limbs and leaves had fallen en masse during the storm, and that likely was the cause of the flooding, as the drains were coated with layers of leaves. Derek offered to walk around the neighborhood and clear drains. Jake joined him.

Derek said the water was up to his knees, and he even had to pull up his shorts at times to keep them from getting wet. Once they raked the leaves off the drains, there was such a current of water rushing down that they could feel the water receding on their legs. It was a matter of minutes before the roads went from 2-3 feet of standing water to merely wet.

We all gave many thanks to God for bringing us home safely, as well as for keeping our house safe and dry. By the end of it all, Peter said he was going to have a good story to tell his kids when he’s older.

Jake finished his track season strong, achieving yet another PR for the mile. He worked hard, running both long distances and tough workouts every week. Good job, buddy!

“…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus…” (Hebrews 12)

Jeremy has a new favorite treat: the Going Green Smoothie. He asks for this vitamin-packed drink for breakfast every day.

Here’s how you make it.

1/2 cup water
1 cup green grapes
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
1/2 medium banana, peeled
2 cups fresh spinach, lightly packed
1/2 cup ice cubes

Blend it up and drink it down!

We had a lovely Easter Sunday a few weeks ago. We began the day worshiping at Moody Church with my parents, then headed to their condo for a delicious brunch. Seriously delicious. Sadly, I’ve become either lazy or forgetful when it comes to taking pictures these days, so you are left to picture the scenes in your imagination, and I am left to my memory (which isn’t very promising).

We did manage to get a family picture on the rooftop, though. These kids are getting so big, and I’m feeling bittersweet emotions looking at this picture.

After brunch, Ruthie asked to visit the dog park down the street from my parents’ building. Dogs of all sizes and temperaments run free in this gated area covered in artificial turf…a vet-in-training’s dream! Ruthie provided much entertainment, not only for us but for many of the dog owners in the park. Some were taking pictures of her interacting with the dogs (all of course while wearing a pretty dress–a very pretty dress).

She was like the pied piper of Dogland. The canines followed her everywhere.

The yellow lab in the pictures is not Molly; I thought it was cute that a Molly look-alike especially took to Ruth.

It was a great day in the city!