AV Club

I love finding videos and pictures that the kids take without my knowledge. Charlie and Mary had a little photo shoot today. Great subject and great photographer~
"Be the wind" ~





I think she wants to take a picture~

Please forgive me, but this just never gets old~

Favorite word?




I love seeing them have fun together. With an over-8-year age difference, I was worried that they wouldn't "know" each other. Obviously, I had nothing to worry about :)

Arkansas - The Natural State

Finally. They are back! The boys had a great time (with Grandpa and Gene) in Arkansas, this year. Charlie wants to fly down a week early next year.

I love my kids' names, and we love finding them out in the world~
Since I am in the midst of a huge silent auction as a fundraiser for the Greenhouse, Scott thought I would appreciate this~
I talked Scott into stopping at the Funk Prairie Home and Rock Museum (on Tracy's recommendation to me) on their way down. They loved it! Grandpa thought it was great, and everyone got a kick out of the museum curator, Bill Case. They were all so enthralled, they forgot to take pictures once inside~
The museum houses a huge collection of rocks and they are all extremely accessible. Everyone is encouraged to "touch it!", and are entertained and educated by Mr. Case's endless knowledge of all things Funk/history/earth science.
They stopped for lunch at Joe Rogers' Original Recipe Chili Parlor (of Man vs. Food fame)~
Once in Arkansas, the weather was less than stellar, but the boys still got plenty of time outdoors. While playing baseball, Sam chased a fly out to the grassy field, and stumbled upon this sleeping fawn~
Pretty awesome, right?
It's a double rainbow~
Playing catch (Mountain Home, Arkansas really is a boys dream) ~

This year they tried something new - trout fishing~Charlie's a natural (on the White River) ~
It doesn't matter if they don't catch a thing. This time with their dad, grandpa and a great friend (Gene) is priceless~

Two More Days!

Until the boys get home! Mary and I joined our homeschooling friends for our weekly park-day. We can't wait for Sunday!

Create!

As part of "keep Mary busy so she doesn't miss her brothers week - 2011", today we hit the Dupage Children's Museum with Johnny and Kel. We are blessed to be located within close proximity to so many wonderful museums. The DCM, though, has been one of our favorites since Charlie was little. I love how kids get down to work~
We haven't lost an eye yet~
Shop class~
Grandpa would be proud~
She made a cross :)
And here she is hard at work creating a box-car~
Johnny Joe with his masterpiece~
Five days down, four to go!

Maryknoll

We met some friends today at a great little park in Glen Ellyn. It has some awesome climbing structures, a splash pad, miniature golf, and a sweet sand box~
But one of the kids' favorite things to do there is the zip line~
Three days down, six to go!

Painting and Popsicles

The boys left for Arkansas today. This will be their longest trip yet. Mary is keeping busy painting her birdhouse~


And as a reward for all that hard work, a popsicle~
She always has something to say~

We have some fun things planned, but we miss our boys already.

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears."

The boys had their fall performance at the Greenhouse today. It was wonderful. Here they are doing the Renaissance Acrostic~


Grammar 1 students recited The Pied Piper of Hamlin. Here is Sam~

And Charlie impressed us all with his performance of Romeo's monologue from Romeo and Juliet. The video is really bad, but I am so proud of him. He really wanted to do something from Romeo and Juliet, and this was the only piece that really fit the requirements (length, etc..). Someday he is going to win a young lady's heart with this~

How can you not love this kid?Mary's favorite part might be the ice cream afterward~Three of the best people I know~

Kings, Queens, and Courtiers

We visited one of our favorite Chicago Museums today. One can never spend too much time at The Art Institute of Chicago. It was a beautiful day~
We went today to catch the special exhibit Kings, Queens, and Courtiers: Art in Early Renaissance France. It was really interesting, and tied in perfectly with our history studies. What was really helpful was the catalog of the exhibit they had displayed before you entered the galleries. The boys enjoyed looking closely, and for as long as they liked, at each piece. Sadly, no photographs were allowed inside the exhibit~
Oh yes, she is the queen~
We also checked out another special exhibit "Altered and Adorned: Using Renaissance Prints in Daily Life". We are continually amazed at all the beautiful objects that have been preserved. What a blessing to be able to see them hundreds, if not thousands, of years later! We stumbled upon The Ayala Altarpiece (1396). It was stunning~
And this Spanish crucifix from the 13th century also caught our eyes~
Every time we visit one Chicago's world-renowned museums, I am so grateful. What a privilege!

Lilac Parade 2011

We don't usually watch the Lilac Parade - parking's a pain, it's crowded, etc... But our favorite chiropractor invites her patients to watch from her office every year. It's an ideal spot, located just behind the media tent. We had a perfect view~

What made it even better, was the fact that we could watch the parade through the giant picture windows, in the climate controlled office. It was raining, but not on us~Mary's friend Tim was there, too. Tim was born with a very serious heart defect, but he keeps everyone around him laughing. These two were cracking each other up~
The Lilac Parade is actually very good, with all sorts of cool floats, and marching bands - including some bagpipers, acrobats, shriners, the works!