Kindergarten--Here We Come (Again!)

July 29:  I love new school supplies.  I love the start of a new school year.  I love summer and it is always bittersweet to see it end, but there is just something about starting fresh for a new school year.  I always try to make a fun time out of school supply shopping.  I like to let the kids pick out their own things.  This year (being the first time I had TWO(!) school kids with supply lists), we had some date days for school supply shopping. 

 

For Sadie, I took her and gave her a budget--she had to keep track of how much she was spending on each item and decide which things she really wanted to go "fancy" on.  I gave her the incentive that if she stayed under budget, she could have the extra to buy supplies for her VBS program (that she was planning for Kinnick & Macey).  She did very well, and ended up with $4 extra dollars.

 

For Kinnick's date day we had a great time shopping for supplies and ended our date with some ice cream at Baskin Robins.  It was so much fun talking with him and hearing what he was excited about and nervous about.  I can't believe how fast this kid is growing--I am so proud of him!

 

PS--I "might" have set a reminder for myself to get supplies in July this year... Last year we waited until the week before school started and I could not find Crayola crayons ANYWHERE!

Splash Station

July 27:  Splash Station was also on our summer bucket list.  It's a small waterpark in Joliet.  The kids also love it because there is a huge beach area there as well!  I was able to get groupons the last couple years so we could all go without spending too much.  Kinnick loves this waterpark because even though he is too short to go on the big slides, he can take a swim test and get a wristband that still allows him to go.  I didn't get too many pics of Sadie & Kinnick because they  were off doing slides pretty much the whole time!

 



 

Children's Garden

July 25:  Elwood Children's Garden is one of our very favorite places--it's such a hidden gem!  Best of all, it's FREE!  This was one of the things on our summer bucket list.  The day we ended up going was one of those cool July days we had this year.  It was not crowded at all.  I got to enjoy some reading while the kids played in all the different areas.  This was still before Carver started walking so he was very content to sit in the stroller and when he did get out, he stayed right with the big kids.

9th Annviersary

July 14-15:  While my parents had the kids for the week, Marc and I were able to get away for an overnight to celebrate our 9th anniversary.  We picked a little town in Wisconsin called Port Washington.  It is located on the coast of Lake Michigan, including three beaches and a couple light houses.  It was around a 2.5 hour drive for us.  We started our trip with breakfast at a little cafe in Shorewood that we had been wanting to try--it was fabulous!  We purchased a groupon for an overnight stay at the Port Washington Hotel.  Our groupon package included a winery tour and wine tasting in a little town close to where we were staying.  We stopped on our way to do the tour.  We had a bit of time to kill before our tour so we stopped a Starbucks and enjoyed sipping our drinks outside (Starbucks on a Monday in the middle of the day!)  Our tour was fun and interesting and we bought a bottle of our favorite wine. 

When we got into town we checked into our hotel.  It was a very charming place that had more of a bed & breakfast feel to it.  The owner walked us to our room and showed us around to make sure we were situated.  We took our bikes with us (and I was so glad because we rode them EVERYWHERE!)  We rode down to the beach to hang out for the afternoon.  It was actually super chilly for July, but we had a relaxing time walking, reading, and playing some catch.  The beach was very narrow but the lake views were gorgeous!  When we left the beach we rode around town for awhile to do some exploring. 

We went back to our hotel and changed for dinner.  We decided to try a local seafood place.  We ate outside on the patio--it was a great night & yummy food.  When we were done eating, we decided to walk out to one of the light houses.  We had watched people walk back and forth and dedied we were up for the adventure.  We followed a path that was about 6 feet wide and 8 feet above the water (I definitely would not have let my kids make the journey!) We had to walk about 3/4 a mile out to where the light house was located.  I was slightly nervous, but it was also fun (we may have passed a few signs that said not to walk out, but we figured other people were doing it!)  Afterwards we went to a little chocolate shop to buy treats for the kids.  Next, we picked up a redbox and a HUGE bag of popcorn.  We enjoyed our relaxing evening. 

Our room included breakfast in bed--it was a perfect way to start our day.  After that we biked down to the beach and played cards for awhile then biked over to a local coffee shop for coffee.  We also did a little shopping.  We wanted to check out the in-land lighthouse/museum.  It is one of the few functioning Lake Michigan lighthouses left from the 1800's.  I was disappointed to find out that they were not open for tours on week days but we thought it would still be fun to go check it out.  As we were walking around the yard, the front door opened and the keeper asked us if we would like to come in for a tour.  It was very interesting and fun to climb to the top.  I was surprised at how small of an area it was.  After our lighthouse tour, we went out for a late lunch before heading home.  It was a fast trip (I wished that it could have been a few days longer) but it was so perfect.  I loved that we did so much exploring on our bikes and I loved that after 9+ years and 4 kids we can still have so much fun together. 

   

Winery Tour

Our Cute Hotel

The lighthouse walking path!

Breakfast in Bed!

Morning Bike Ride

Light House Tour

Cousin Week

July 11-20:  The kids got to spend a week with Grandma & Grandpa Henry this summer... lots of cousin time, lots of fun memories, and of course--the Hancock County Fair! 

We started our time together with a family wedding reception for my cousin.  The kids and I left Friday morning to head to Bowen.  I stayed with Jason & Trista's kids at their house for the weekend while they were gone on a canoe trip.  Yep--7 kids (2 babies), 2 nights, by myself!  We had fun and the kids were really good.  We played at Grandmas, worked on fair projects, the big girls went swimming, we went for ice cream at the dairy barn, and we had a pizza & movie night.   

On Sunday morning, Sadie & I left to head back.  I dropped her off in Streator to spend the week with Ms. Jennifer.  Kinnick, Macey, and Carver stayed with my parents.  Marc and I got a KID-FREE WEEK!!!  All the kids had a blast.  Sadie got to attend VBS, do some swimming (not as much as she wanted because it ended up being a cold week!), and eat at McDonald & Burger King.  The other 3 got to do lots of fun things also...

Indoor S'More Maker

Visiting Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa

LOTS of playing in the back yard!

Play-Doh (And Lots of Legos!)

Carver--showing off his trick

A trip to the fair for arm-band rides...

And of course some yummy treats!!

On Friday night, Marc & I headed back to Streator to pick up Sadie then went on to my parents.  It was great to see all the kids again.  We stayed for the week and got to enjoy the fair as a family on Saturday.  We went for "Kid's Day" games, $1 rides, checked out the exhibit hall, had some yummy treats, and walked through all the livestock barns...

Kinnick caught a greased pig!

Showing off their trophies:  Macey won the 4 year old tractor pull & Kinnick caught the greased pig!

The kids somehow suckered me into riding this ride with them!

Sadie's FAVORITE ride!

We came home with lots of fun prizes.

Cousins!

And of course... no trip to the fair complete without cotton candy & alien slushies!

Sadie won lots of ribbons.  Here, she's showing off her "Best Overall" for her writing project.

Kinnick, pointing out his zombie drawing.

Sadie even won a bike!!!

 This was the first year the kids entered projects in the fair.  I know it will become an annual tradition.  Sadie made over $40 and Kinnick & Macey both won cash prizes also.  They loved it!