July/August Miscellaneous

July 7:  Park Fun!

July 19:  Cupcake Decorating!

July 19:  Brothers

July 22:  Harry Potter Movie Night

July 28:  Peter Rubi Shopping

August 4:  Raging Waves

August 5:  Children's Museum

August 7:  Village Christian Church "At the Movies"

August 10:  Splash Station

August 10:  Sleepover!

August 10:  What my Kitchen Looks like during Summer Fun...

August 11:  Breakfast in Bed

August 11:  Luke & Sarah at the Country Mansion

August 15:  Macey's Unicorn Ice Cream

August 18:  Big Kids back to school--Carver & Mommy Celebrating!

August 19:  Small Group Ice Cream Sandwich Party

August 21:  Our Garden (aka--Monster Cherry Tomato Plant!)

Pilcher Park

August 14, 2016:  Another item checked off of our Summer Bucket List!  Pilcher Park is a nature center in Joliet.  We enjoyed a Sunday afternoon picnic and hiking...

Kinnick's friend Aiden came with us after church!

Cantigny

June 5, 2016:

Not too long before summer, a friend told me about this park that her family LOVES to visit.  I of course, love checking out new places so I was excited to go.  We picked a Sunday afternoon, packed a picnic and headed to check it out with our friends the Penningtons.  The park is called Cantigny and it did not disappoint!  Robert McCormick, a rich and famous Chicago native donated his home and the surrounding properties to the state of IL so long as they would maintain it and offer it for free to those who want to enjoy it.  Aside from a parking fee, the whole experience is free!  Cantigny sits on 500 acres of land and includes, 2 museums, a visitors center, playground, picnic areas, a tank playground (actual old army tanks that the kids can climb on!), and miles of beautiful gardens.  We spent the entire afternoon exploring the grounds and the "First Division" Museum.  The museum was very interactive and held the kids attention while teaching them about WWI and WWII.  We ended our day by finding a local ice cream parlor in a neighboring town.  I'm sure we will be back again!   

Fun Fact--there have been multiple movie scenes filmed at this mansion/reflecting pool.  Our favorite?--A scene from "League of their Own"