Labor Day Weekend Family Activities

Tennis lessons with Daddy, Home Depot make and take, new duel flush toilet, lunch at IKEA with thousands of other people (it pegged Mommy's crowd meter big time), Bike ride in Busse Woods, Forest Preserve of Cook County IL (7miles on a windy day), a last swim at the pool to say good bye for this year. Time for Autumn :-)

Tuesday with Mighty Acorns

Sumac discovery, then lopping off buckthorn and honeysuckle aliens for G#1. All the while, the two other Gs slopped along with me on the forest path. We didn't get to meet the industrious beaver though.

Independence Day Bike rides & more

I love my new bike. It's an old lady Amsterdam bike like I saw on our trip in March. It has 7 gears and I sit up straight on it with a wonderfully comfortable seat. It has a kick stand too. Priceless... AND there is a new lift to park it at the ceiling of the garage. Yep, they don't make garages big enough in Chicagoland, but the ceiling is high enough to park the mommy's and the daddy's bike with pulley mechanisms for easy and quick use/ storage. After lunch on a beautiful July 4th day, my kids and me AND the daddy got to ride over from our home to Mallard Lake Forest Preserve which was a 7 mile round trip. Well, it was fine for everyone except the little girl who is still struggling with training wheels. She got to have her training wheels all the way down on the trip back.



The next day we enjoyed our first visit to Kline Creek Farm, also a section of the DuPage County Forest Preserve. Our tax money is well spent on these activities for the family. We toured most buildings, played children's games from the 1890s, heard the Declaration of Independence read aloud, and watched a home made small hot air balloon fly off into the air. We then enjoyed a drive to the local pump it up business for a friend's birthday party. It was such a good day. The kids also got to put together birdhouses at Home Depot as the first Saturday of the month activity. I love visiting the home store and only buying one thing on our list. I'm getting better at not lusting after all the conclusion of all my house projects.



There are more important things to do with what God gives us. And then the sermon on Sunday had a message on Matthew 16:24-25 which is continuing to challenge me on what I can give up in order to enjoy what God wants for me. That's hard for me to explain though.

Thank you Tax Payers of Our County!

We enjoyed an awesome visit to a preserve in the southern section of our county yesterday!!! It was a nature hike lead by Ranger Kevin up to lookout point with a view of a River. There were over a dozen kids and their folks. We learned about why this preserve existed (as a buffer to a national laboratory next door) and invasive plant species and native plants and so much. The twins did an brilliant job listening and staying behind the Ranger as to not trip the guy up when we hiked. It was at least 3 miles there and back! No kidding... both kids asked when the next hike was and they are quite ready. Here are some pictures of them listening to the Ranger and playing PoohStick at the creek. The last picture is for Grampa, the aficionado of such things.

plans for the pool

shopping for new goggles at that w store where my kids barely survived. It was good to do the library for reading time first where #1 attempted his first word scrambles (which he did quite well and then entered a drawing for a prize).