Friday, May 28, 2010

Chama Gaucha

As usual, we're having more of a birthseason, than a birthday celebration. Between baseball, and fishing trips and everything else that keeps us busy, we just tonight were able to take Charlie for his surprise birthday dinner~
Charlie was thrilled with everything at Chama Gaucha~
Grandma and Mary had fun, too~
Two of my boys~
Happy birthday~


Charlie really loved this place. He said his favorite meat was some sort of sausage (which cracked Scott and me up - he could have had unlimited filet mignon!), but he liked everything, including the extensive salad bar. The service was excellent, and our server generously didn't charge us for the kids, and gave us a coupon to come back for a free lunch!

ROCK Park Days

One of the older boys suggested bringing baseball equipment and having a friendly game at the park today~
The match-up of the century~
Mary just can't get away from the game~

Thursday, May 27, 2010

The Sam and Mary Show

Sam and Mary have a lot of fun playing together (all three kids do, actually, but Sam definitely enjoys his role as older brother/master of ceremonies). Sam called us down tonight to see this~

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Joliet Area Historical Museum

R.O.C.K. had a field trip to the Joliet Area Historical Museum. I didn't decide we were going to attend until about 15 minutes before we had to leave. I'm glad we did, though. The museum is bursting with some really interesting/fun/beautiful stuff~
The menu on Route 66~
The museum is housed in an old Methodist church. The original stained-glass is breathtaking~
The boys got some face time with their friends~
There was a small, but adequate, art/craft/game room~
Mary had to take another spin with her friend Jacqueline~
Brothers~
And an uncooperative sister~
One of my favorite shots is of the backs of my kids looking at something interesting~

The museum has a nice set-up for field trips. They sent the kids in small groups on a scavenger hunt throughout the exhibits. The boys had a lot of fun :)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Kane County Cougars

We had tickets from "Ozzie's Reading program" to check out a Cougars game. Mary is pretty excited~
Charlie had his own game, so we brought Aiden along~
We moved up about halfway through the game. The guy behind Sam was a scout for the Cubs~

Friday, May 21, 2010

Tree Frog

Look closely and see if you can spot Sammy in the tree in Lilacia Park~

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Acts 17:22-33

Today was Charlie's last day of Greenhouse. Here's my handsome, serious boy reciting his passage~

Next year Sammy will be going, too!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Never Cry Wolf

We took another trip to Big Run Wolf Ranch today. This time Mary was old enough to really enjoy all the animals~
John with Wilson, an adorable little groundhog~
Some of our friends from ROCK and LHE joined us~
Mahala, a sweet coyote~
While it's fascinating to just look at all the animals, John does a good job sharing facts, too. Here he's explaining why a wolf's jaw is the way it is, and how it's useful for hunting~

Mary loved the baby chicks~
It's really cool to be able to be this up close~

Showing off her teeth~
The wolves serenaded us a bit~
Kuma~
This time we didn't have anyone brave enough to feed her thin mints~
And everyones favorite, the pups~
Although, climbing on a rock is always fun, too~

I'm not sure what this it, but isn't he homely?
There really is so much to see here. It's worth the drive. And definitely worth setting up a field trip, rather than going to one of the open houses. It's a few dollars more per person, but worth every penny to avoid the hundreds of people that show up for those.
They are checking out Bloo, a Canadian lynx~
I really think the kids could have spent hours with the pups. The pups can't handle all that attention for too long though~
I can't recommend this place enough! The kids can't wait to go back next year.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Field Hockey

We visited the Field Museum with the Merrick's today. We're in the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs and the city is going wild! Sam and Charlie were thrilled to see this~
There is always so much to see~
Mary is a willing student~
Charlie spent some time exploring on his own. I caught up with him and quickly snapped this picture~

We're wrapping up a year of studying the ancients. This exhibit really brought Egypt to life~

There's always more we want to see, but we run out of time (and mom runs out of stamina) every time.