The Byrnes Family

Out of order

2010-01-24T19:34:00.002-06:00

Cris and I were able to attend my 30th high school reunion (I know....it only feels like 10 at most). We both had a great time...

Sledding

2010-01-24T19:02:00.000-06:00

I don't want to say that it was cold...but...we were the only ones on the hill!

Christmas decorations

2010-01-24T19:00:00.002-06:00

Outside decorations from 2009

2010-01-24T18:55:00.002-06:00

Day downtown before Christmas...went to the Walnut room...saw some Christmas decorations, met Cris for dinner Navy Pier then went to Blue Man Group...it was a long day!

Brahma

2010-01-24T18:50:00.001-06:00

ahhh Brahma----a great Brazil beer!

Lighting of the Square

2010-01-24T18:48:00.002-06:00

We went to the Lighting of the Square, then went to A Christmas Carol in the Opera House.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-01-24T18:46:00.001-06:00

We went up to B and Pops house for Thanksgiving dinner...

CC

2010-01-24T18:43:00.002-06:00

Here are a few pics of our cat CC...one of them is being very curious about a fire in our fireplace...

Bicycle

2010-01-24T18:39:00.001-06:00

Luc riding his bike this fall...

More Cub Scout pictures

2010-01-24T18:35:00.002-06:00

Not sure if Luc is trying the Cub Scout sign or the "Live long and prosper" sign.

Sam's concert and art show--fall 2010

2010-01-24T18:31:00.001-06:00

Sam's school concert and art show---Fall 2010.

2010-01-24T18:18:00.003-06:00

Luc took this picture at The University of Chicago. We were there for Sam's appointment with her SMA specialist.

School Board show

2010-01-24T17:43:00.004-06:00

Lucas went downtown with me to attend a school board show...an architect had his booth filled with orange Leggo's...Luc was busy there for an hour!

Haloween 2010

2010-01-24T17:41:00.002-06:00

Haloween 2010---#2

2010-01-24T17:35:00.003-06:00

Bears game

2010-01-24T17:32:00.004-06:00

Here is me and my dad at a Bears game...it was kind of weird...the Bears beat the Steelers!...and no, I am not storing nuts for the winter!

Misc. pictures of Luc

2010-01-24T15:44:00.002-06:00

Summer is over.

2010-01-24T15:40:00.001-06:00

I took this picture the day we closed the pool for another year...BUMMER!

Westwood Fall Fest

2010-01-24T15:37:00.002-06:00

Fall Fest at Westwood Elem. where face painting is always king!

out of order

2010-01-24T15:34:00.003-06:00

Here is Cris and the kids at the County fair as we were avoiding raindrops while resting indoors.

2010-01-24T15:29:00.002-06:00

Here is Luc playing after a soccer game...he wanted a Green Bay Packer chair...so I made him carry it!...then he went for a ride on a video game motorcycle.

3 generations

2010-01-24T15:27:00.001-06:00

Here is my dad, Luc and I waiting for dinner at the Country Club.

Crazy Eyes

2010-01-24T15:24:00.003-06:00

Here is Cris & Luc at dinner...waiting....waiting...gettin crazy.

MMMMMM!!!!

2010-01-24T15:15:00.002-06:00

We love to grill...here are a couple of our fall meals from the grill!

Cub Scouts

2010-01-24T15:11:00.003-06:00

Lucas has joined Cub Scouts this year. Here he is presenting the flag for the rest of the den. He is the boy holding the flag.

2010-01-24T15:07:00.003-06:00

Lots of catching up to do...I'll try and get the order right!

In September I went to House of Blues with my good friend Jim Layer and saw a great show by ZZ Top!

Samantha's 10th Birthday

2009-09-06T21:50:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures from Sam's 2 day celebration. She had her friends over yesterday for her party...and today is he official birthday...Happy birthday Sammy Jane..I love you!

First Day of School

2009-08-30T17:43:00.001-05:00

Sam just started the 4th grade, and Luc started 2nd grade...they are both very excited to get back to Westwood...the first day it rained a couple of inches...so we had to take the pictures in the garage.

Bears preseason game---more

2009-08-30T17:39:00.002-05:00

Orlando Pace is HUGE...and we finally have a quarterback....JAY CUTLER!!!

Bears preseason game

2009-08-30T17:25:00.001-05:00

I took Sam & Luc along with Sam's best friend Jade to a Bears preseason game...I think they all had fun...I know they ate and drank well!

Marengo Ridge

2009-08-30T17:11:00.002-05:00

Today was sunny, cool, and mosquito free...so Sam & Luc and I went for a hike at Marengo Ridge.

WCC August 09

2009-08-30T17:08:00.001-05:00

We went to the Woodstock Country Club for dinner the other night...when the fog rolled in at sunset.

Chicago Air & Water Show

2009-08-30T17:00:00.002-05:00

We were luckey enough to be invited to a friends house at Lake Pointe Tower to watch this years Air Show...sorry not many pictures of planes...they were too fast for me! Then we went upstairs to his unit on the 52nd floor.

a couple of misc. pics from the summer

2009-08-30T16:51:00.001-05:00

Megan & Mikes Roof top Party

2009-08-30T16:48:00.003-05:00

Here are some shots from a roof top party at Megan & Mikes from early in the summer.

On the Square

2009-06-18T20:24:00.001-05:00

Last night on the Square, there were some calfs for the kids to pet after the music at the bandstand.

Sunday

2009-06-18T20:20:00.002-05:00

Cris had a the neighborhood ladies over for a book club meeting, so Sam, Luc and I got out to the library, did some putt putt golfing, a Dairy Queen treat, and some time at the playground.

Horses part 2

2009-06-18T20:17:00.001-05:00

Horses

2009-06-18T20:04:00.002-05:00

Woodstock has an art exhibition all around town with painted carousel horses. Here are a few of our favorites.

Gardening

2009-06-18T19:56:00.002-05:00

Luc helped me with the mulch...here are a few pics from around the house after the weeds were pulled and the mulch spread...it won't look this good again this year!

Music on the Square

2009-06-18T19:52:00.002-05:00

For 125 years, Woodstock has music on the Square on Wednesday nights during June and July. We usually go and eat pizza in the park...and feed the mosquito's! Here is a picture of Sam and Cris on a cool evening!

End of school party

2009-06-18T19:48:00.001-05:00

We attended a neighborhood party that celebrates the end of the school year for the kids...its always good fun. Here is a picture of Luc on a swing...Sam was too busy playing with her friend Jade for a picture!

Last Day of School

2009-06-18T19:34:00.001-05:00

Luc and Sam finished the school year! Sam and Luc both won some pretty impressive awards too. One boy and one girl in each grade win awards for science and music. Out of 500 students in the school, Sam was awarded 4 awards including one for music. Luc won 2 awards including one for science!

MSI

2009-05-27T21:40:00.002-05:00

Museum trip

2009-05-27T21:36:00.003-05:00

We went to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago....the greatest museum in the World ---according to Luc...and me!

Mother's Day

2009-05-27T21:29:00.002-05:00

On Luc's actual birthday...and Mother's Day...we went to Milwaukee and watched the Cubs win from a luxury box! Cris' sister Michelle was here with her boyfriend too....then the kids were able to run the bases after the game!

Family party

2009-05-27T21:25:00.001-05:00

...then Luc had a "family" birthday party...

Luc's birthday party

2009-05-27T21:18:00.002-05:00

Luc had his party at Pump It Up in Crystal Lake....it's a big warehouse with lots of inflatable "jumpy" things...and then a party room where the staff feeds the kids tons of sugar before sending the kids home...

Luc and Adam

2009-05-27T21:16:00.001-05:00

This is Luc and Adam enjoying the afternoon in the Barbie Corvette...

Spring 2009

2009-05-27T21:13:00.001-05:00

We have had a couple of nice days...here is Sam working on her golf swing.

Spring soccer

2009-05-27T21:10:00.003-05:00

Luc is playing soccer again this spring...here are a couple of pics from the Saturday before Easter...

Easter 2009

2009-05-27T21:05:00.002-05:00

Easter morning egg hunt...

Easter 2009

2009-05-27T21:02:00.001-05:00

Just some random shots of Easter 2009...

Easter 2009

2009-05-27T20:56:00.002-05:00

These were taken at an impromptu Easter egg hunt in the neighborhood...and yes...it was really cold and windy.

April SNOW

2009-05-27T20:54:00.001-05:00

We were home for maybe a week...and this happened...a couple of times!

Brasil 2009

2009-05-27T20:48:00.001-05:00

Brasil 2009

2009-05-27T20:40:00.002-05:00

Brasil 2009

2009-05-27T20:34:00.002-05:00

Brasil 2009

2009-05-27T20:28:00.002-05:00

Brasil 2009

2009-05-27T20:24:00.002-05:00

More Brasil 2009

2009-05-27T20:18:00.002-05:00

Brasil 2009

2009-05-27T20:09:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the long delay between updates....

Here are some pictures from our latest trip to Brasil in March.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-16T21:02:00.001-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day...enjoy the music for a few minutes!

Putt-Putt

2009-03-15T16:06:00.002-05:00

On Saturday we went to the library to play putt putt golf! (It was a fund raiser). We still had time for some computer time too!

Birthday Party

2009-03-15T16:00:00.003-05:00

Sam & Luc were invited to a birthday party at the new Health Bridge in Huntley. It is a magnificent place...here are some shots.

Our Sunday..

2009-03-15T15:56:00.003-05:00

Sam, Luc and I like going to the book store on Sundays when Cris is out of town. Here they are a couple of weeks ago at "Between the Lynes"..

My trip..

2009-03-15T15:14:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I was just north of San Diego...here was my room. The last night I was there, Lance Armstrong was making his return to bike racing, and was staying at the same resort ( I never saw him, but I was looking). On the way home, I was stuck in Denver for a couple of hours, and this was all I saw of the Rockies...

Super Bowl Sunday

2009-02-01T16:29:00.002-06:00

With the kids recovering from their sickness's, I decided not to travel out to the Super bowl parties. So we stayed in, and had our own party complete with cheese & crackers, oranges. apples, wings, and kiddie cocktails...the only thing missing was Cris...she left for Brasil on Saturday night.

Cris

2009-02-01T16:24:00.002-06:00

This is a picture of Cris playing the piano last week with Sam looking on...we are very lucky to hear the piano being played so beautifully.

Finally...

2009-02-01T16:18:00.003-06:00

Our living room project is finally done, and our new TV is plugged in and working. The room looks great...it is the first update in 20 years! The fabric picture is the new valance and the pillows we had made.

Luc's Concert and Art Show

2009-01-23T20:54:00.002-06:00

Lucas had is school concert and art show. All of the groups did great, but Lucas sounded especially good! Here are a couple of pictures---Cris and I are very proud of Luc! He has been doing fantastic at school.

Yes We Can

2009-01-20T09:50:00.004-06:00

In about 1 hour, our country will have a new leader. Actually, I believe we will have a leader for the first time in 8 years. Sam & Lucas have asked many questions on the process, and I believe they are both absorbing the historical days we are all experiencing!

Cold

2009-01-15T20:59:00.003-06:00

Today was / is the coldest day in 13 years....and it is very cold...tonight it is supposed to get down to minus 30 Fahrenheit with the wind! Here is a picture I took from my truck's thermometer...and a picture I took from weather .com this morning....

New living room

2009-01-15T20:54:00.002-06:00

..and here is how it looks now! We get our entertainment unit next week...with the 52" Plasma to follow very soon!

Living room

2009-01-15T20:50:00.003-06:00

Cris and I decided to forgo Christmas presents this year in order to redecorate our living room. Here is the last picture showing the wall papered room...

Lucas relaxing

2009-01-03T19:53:00.002-06:00

It has been a very hectic holiday for everybody, so Luc found a comfortable place to chill out tonight while watching the Disney channel...it's a clear tupper ware stuffed with pillows, on our couch...sounds comfy doesn't it?

New Years Eve

2009-01-03T16:57:00.003-06:00

Samantha, Lucas and Cris and I all went to our friend the Seeger's house for a New Years Eve Party...all the kid's in the basement with a lot of kid food, with the adults upstairs trying to solve a murder mystery / costume party based loosely on the 80's TV show "Dallas". It was a lot of fun...thanks Jen and Bob!

Misc. Christmas, part II

2009-01-03T16:52:00.003-06:00

Kyle and Nicole surfing the web.
We all went to Lou's for some deep dish pizza.
..and I don't want to know what Nicole is doing to her mom, Carol.

Misc. Christmas

2009-01-03T16:45:00.002-06:00

Here are a couple of miscellaneous Christmas photos..

Christmas Animals

2009-01-03T16:36:00.002-06:00

Here are some pictures of some of our favorite animals in our lives...Carbon (our neighbors dog), Bristow (Megan and Mike's dog), Lilly (Katy and OJ's dog) and CC our cat!

Christmas Day 2008

2009-01-03T16:33:00.001-06:00

The "best" presents this year were a new digital camera for Sam, and a Star Wars helmet for Luc...and an I Pod Shuffle...Luc liked them both!

Christmas Day 2008

2009-01-03T16:29:00.002-06:00

...although Uncle Dale liked the helmet too!

Christmas Day 2008

2009-01-03T16:22:00.003-06:00

Christmas evening, we went to "B" and "Pop's" for round two of Christmas presents

Christmas Day 2008

2009-01-03T16:18:00.002-06:00

Here are the carnage shots of Christmas 2008 in Woodstock...

Christmas Eve 2008, part III

2009-01-03T16:12:00.002-06:00

At our house, Sam & Luc get to open some presents on Christmas Eve too. That is the tradition that Cris' family observes in Brasil. Carol, Dale, Nicole and Kyle were here from Gron Massachusetts, Megan and Mike were her from Chicago, Katy and OJ were here from Madison, and "B" and "Pop" were here from 3 houses away! Here are some of the pictures...

Christmas Eve 2008, part II

2009-01-03T16:08:00.003-06:00

Cris always does a great job caring for our home, but during the holiday, she did a spectacular job! Our house has never looked better or smelled better with the tasty food she prepared for us! Here are a couple of shot of the inside of our house on Christmas Eve.I am not including pictures of 2 more tree's for a total of 5!

Christmas Eve 2008

2009-01-03T16:03:00.002-06:00

We had Christmas Eve at our house. Before our 16 guests arrived, we had more snow, so I spent most of the afternoon shoveling since our snow-blower decided not to work! Here are a few outdoor pictures!

Samantha's Art Projects

2009-01-03T15:52:00.001-06:00

Here is the art work that Samantha has been working on during the fall semester, 2008.

Christmas Concert

2008-12-21T07:14:00.003-06:00

Sam had her school Winter Holiday concert...as usual, Sam and her classmates did a great job...Luc's concert is in February. Sorry, the video is too long to download!

Winter

2008-12-21T05:59:00.002-06:00

Right now is the official start of winter....REALLY! We had a foot of snow on Friday morning, a couple of more inches last night, and it is -26 with the wind chill right now, and there is a blizzard warning....thank goodness it's finally winter....there is zero chance that it won't be a white Christmas this year.

Last swim lesson of the year

2008-12-16T20:49:00.005-06:00

Here is Samantha doing the backstroke all the way across the "warm water" pool...both Sam & Luc are great swimmers!

Last swim lesson of the year

2008-12-16T20:32:00.003-06:00

Today was the last swim lesson of the year, and for the second straight week, it was snowing like crazy out! Here is Lucas doing the "Crawl"...although a little bit exaggerated for the camera!

Sam's Winter Concert #2

2008-12-16T09:34:00.002-06:00

This is Sam with the flower that "B" brought for her after her performance. We are all very proud of her!

Sam's winter concert

2008-12-16T08:59:00.004-06:00

Here is a very brief video from Sam's concert on Sunday. She really enjoys the choir and practices and she works very hard at it!

Thansgiving in Chicago

2008-12-03T14:16:00.001-06:00

Megan and Mike had Thansgiving dinner at their brand new house in Chicago! They did a GREAT job and food was great! Mikes mom, and family were there as well, so they had a large group to cook for. Here is the view from there third floor deck...

Thansgiving in Chicago

2008-12-03T14:03:00.003-06:00

You might recognize Brianna from the wedding pictures. Watching Lucas and Brianna play together is just hilarious!

Carol & Dale

2008-12-03T14:00:00.002-06:00

Carol & Dale were lucky enough to get to a New England Patriot game this year, and saw Brett Favre and the "Bretts" They look cold!

Luis

2008-12-03T13:51:00.003-06:00

Our good friend Luis was in Brasil recently and went hang gliding...here are some pretty cool pictures from the wing!

New

2008-12-03T13:39:00.004-06:00

Sam just got a new mattress for her bed(s)...she got new box springs, but they made her bed too tall and she couldn't get in...so if anybody needs some twin sized box springs...we have 2 brand new low profile box springs!

Christmas Parade

2008-12-03T13:12:00.003-06:00

I had a convention to attend in Chicago, so Cris and the kids came down on the train, and we met at the station. We had a nice dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and then on to the parade where we saw nothing of the parade (because of the crowds), but we did see some of the fireworks over the river at Michigan Ave., and Wacker. I love the look of excitement in Sam and Luc's eyes!