Spring Break!

We're sorry, dear readers, if you've waited a long time to see new pictures of Mark... we've been busy enjoying our spring break! Above are some pictures of our recent trip to Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL with the whole Hanley clan.
Mark spent most of his "walk in the woods" yelling that a wolf was coming and looking for Swiper the Fox.

Happy Birthday...Mom(inlaw)!

Well, we've got another birthday to celebrate here at LynneandMattblog. (They're fast and furiousier in April.)
Happy birthday to Diane Hanley - Matt's mom and (as she frequently refers to herself as of late) the Future Mother In Law of Lynne.

When Matt was a kid, he would get to school, open up his green, metal Goofy lunchbox to find cauliflower and a little note from his Mom. The note would be a wish for a good day; or just a message to say she loved him. The cauliflower was tossed; the note was treasured.
Then on St. Patrick's Day she would magically turn all the milk green. (She used her powers for good, never evil.)
Seriously, who thinks of stuff like that?
Only the greatest Mom(inlaw) ever, that's who. She never thinks of herself, always of others. While that's far too often underappreciated, it's never unnoticed.

Currently, Mom(inlaw) has been a great help in getting all the wedding planning done. You can be sure she's looking forward to seeing (or meeting everyone. Matt's told her enough stories about all of you. (Let's see if she can figure which ones are true.)

Happy Birthday Mom(inlaw)! We love you very much and can't wait to see you.


p.s. So, how old is Mom(inlaw)? Well, let's see. Last week, Grandma's birthday was somewhere between her 22nd and 29th... which makes Mom(inlaw) somewhere between 3 and 10...which means Matt hasn't been born yet. Hmm. Math never was Matt's strongpoint.

p.p.s. Drop her a Happy Birthday at diane underscore hanley at hotmail dot com!

Y'all better get your Dale Earnhardt clocks before they run out

We've got some BREAKING WEDDING NEWS.
A recent check by Mr. and Mrs. Hanley noted that a bunch of you have already booked your hotel for the wedding. That's great.
Remember, there are rooms reserved at the Holiday Inn Select (where the reception will be) and also across the street at the Best Western.
However, Mr. and Mrs. Hanley also discovered that many Naperville hotels are filling up because, apparently, there is a NASCAR race in Joliet the same weekend as the wedding. (Which is July 12, don't ya know?)
If you want to learn more about the race click here. It's a pretty good race in the Sprint Championship Circuit and all that. Lynne and Matt may even check it out on Friday (not really).
Even though Joliet is pretty far from Naperville the rooms are filling up.
So, here's a list of hotels near the reception hall:
Homestead Inn
Fairfield Inn (voted 'best deal' by Mark and Diane Hanley)
Country Inn & Suites
Courtyard by Marriott
Hampton Inn
There will be a post soon for the out-of-towners with other ideas on what to do while you're in town.
In the meantime: Get a room!