Summer Fun

We have been having fun so far this summer; we spend most days outside...as long as it is not raining or over 100 degrees. Here a few of the things we have done recently.

• Spray park
• Playground
• Bike riding/hiking at Moraine Hills State Park
• Catching frogs in the pond
• Playing with the hose
• BBQ...mmmm

I hope everyone else is enjoying the summer as much as we are!

Drive-In

We went the Drive-In with some friends to see Up (loved it) and Terminator (just okay). Before the movie we stopped and picked up pizza so we could have a little picnic on the lawn in front of the screen. The kids ate pizza, candy and ran around playing until it started to get dark then we went back to the cars and settled in for the show. We brought lawn chairs for us to sit it but were happy to have enough room, next to the kids, in the back of the Tahoe when it started pouring halfway through the second movie. It was tons of fun and brought back fond memories from my childhood. I am sure we will do it again and this time I will be a little better prepared... extra blankets, water bottles and of course lots of popcorn. :)

Lincoln Park Zoo

We took the kids to Zoo about a week ago. We had a fun time and the weather was not too bad. It rained a little but at least we didn't have a major downpour! Lochlan loved looking at the animals although his favorite part was probably chasing the birds. He growled at the big cats, stuck his tongue out at the giraffe (He was copying them as they stuck their tongues out to eat hay) and pointed and gasped at everything else. Anika saw her favorite zoo animal, the giraffes, but we couldn't find the wolves, guess they were hiding, so Celtin was a little bummed.

Black Eyes

We have been meaning to get family pictures taken but something always comes up. Maybe this weekend...assuming Celtin can refrain from getting another black eye. The picture on the left is from a couple months ago when Celtin slipped climbing up the slide and somehow smacked his eye on the edge- he was not happy that I wanted to take a picture. The next picture is the most recent and has just finished healing...the kids were trying out some of the UFC moves Adam has been teaching them and Anika's knee accidentally got him in the eye. He hates getting black eyes even though I told him he looks cool and can tell everyone some awesome story of how he got them. After the last black eye I told him to tell people he got it from jumping out of an airplane or beating up his sister. When he got home from school I asked him what he told his friends, he just replied "I told them Anika kneed me in the eye; I didn't want to lie because that is wrong!" Duh, what was I thinking. ;)

Looking Too Old

Last week Anika asked me to curl her hair...she doesn't let me do this very often so I jumped at the chance. She asked if she could borrow one of my necklaces, I said sure and helped her pick one out. As we were getting ready to leave she comes bouncing down the stairs looking too cute! I could not believe how grown up she looked, so I told her to sit down because I wanted to snap a picture. She is growing into such a beautiful and sweet young woman but I am kinda sad to say goodbye to my little munchkin. She is only 8 but I know the next time I blink she will be 13...then 18...then 23...

Bouncy Creatures

A couple weeks ago some of our friends invited us to a bouncy house to celebrate their sons birthday. The kids all had so much fun climbing, sliding and bouncing. Lochlan could not get enough; as soon as he finished a slide he would run to the next one. After riding with me and the big kids for a while he decided he could go down the slides all by himself. I only let him do the smaller ones alone because it made me nervous.
Anika found this little toad under our deck. The kids thought he was so cute and each of them got a chance to hold it before we released it near the pond. Lochlan loved watching it hop on the grass, but was a little unsure when we put it in his hand.

Traveling Bear Fair

The second grade students sent out traveling bears to help them learn about geography. Anika's bear, Butterscotch, went to Indonesia, Malaysia, Wisconsin, Utah and Nebraska. Thanks to everyone who participated in this fun project, she loved showing off her pictures and things at the Traveling Bear Fair.