Recently we had the opportunity to attend the Schmitz family annual summer party. Ray Schmitz was a fraternity brother of mine at Northwestern, and grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago (about 15 min. from DG). His folks began hosting an annual summer party for Ray and his friends while Ray was in college. I began attending this event sporadically over a decade ago. I think the last time we were there was when Kristen was pregnant with Emery.Ray's wife, Patty, and Kristen have become good friends over the years.
Many of the men who attend are my Phi Mu Alpha brothers, or friends from NU's Marching Band, or both. Anyway, what used to be an afternoon and evening of beer consumption has become, over the years, a "family picnic." This year the children actually outnumbered the adults!
