Summer Catch-Up

 Since the power can't be an excuse anymore, and the heat is keeping us inside, I thought I'd play some catch-up. Here are a few things we've been doing this summer. Not necessarily in order....

I took the kids to the Botanic Garden and let them loose with a camera and sketchbooks.  Now we have to get around to letting them do a blog entry with their photos.

 At the beginning of July we were in Iowa City for Jazz Fest. It was extra special this year because so many people were in town to enjoy it.

 There was also a new food booth with these hand-dipped ice cream bars. Amazing.

 We all gathered together for an awesome and loud display of fireworks.

 We had breakfast in Amana.

 Before leaving Iowa we spent a little bit of time with Adelaide, before she became a big sister.

 (Amber has since had her baby...another beautiful girl.)

 From Iowa City we drove up to Minneapolis for one night with Will and Sandy and then from there we went on to Hayward where we were welcomed by this little snake.

 We did lots of fishing.

 Clara spent lots of time communing with worms.

 Henry was trying to figure out what Franklin heard in the water.

 On the way back home we made our usual stop in Osseo at the Norske Nook. Clara and I shared this amazing piece of "moose pie".

 Oops....out of order. Henry caught a huge walleye off the dock. He's still telling people about it.

 

Before the heat got so crazy hot we spent some time playing in the pool in the backyard. We might need to graduate to a larger pool soon.

 

And, finally, we've had a couple of nights at Ravinia this summer. This picture was taken last weekend when the CSO was playing Brahms. Put Henry OUT on the blanket, and then they both fell asleep in the car on the way home.

 

That about brings us up to this week. Mostly we've just been trying to handle the heat this week...going to the pool early in the morning or late at night, grilling instead of turning on the stove, spending time at the library....

Right now we're waiting for Pete to get home so we can go to the pool!

Why I may seem quiet...

I think if you're a reader of this blog you probably already know that we're without power. Today is day 3, and they're saying it may be another couple days at least until our power is back. We had a "derecho" storm Monday morning. It didn't seem too bad from our perspective, and it was quick, but I guess the wind got very powerful for a bit there. Chicagoland had over 800,000 without power. So, we have a long extension cord going across the street to our friend's house and that's powering our fridge. We had also brought some things over to Sharon's house to put in the freezer, just in case. I say "brought" because the kids and I are at Sharon's right now. She's out of town for a while and said that we could move in if we wanted to. We haven't gone that far, but I have spent the morning here, powering my phone, doing laundry, roasting a chicken...
I'm also trying to catch up on email a little bit and take care of other general online things. But I think I'll take the easy way out and just direct you to Dad's blog for pictures from our trip to Wisconsin. There's a link to his blog on the right, if you aren't already familiar with that.
In the meantime, we are remembering to be thankful for all of the things we have. This is just a very, very minor inconvenience in the grander scope of life.

Not So Long Ago

We went up to Wisconsin to spend a few days with Dad and Kathie. We had pretty nice weather and a lovely, relaxing time.
There was fishing.


And s'mores making.


And fishing.
And we went to a wildlife park where you could pet all sorts of animals.



They also had an olde tyme towne with a jail in it. The kids became experts at yelling "Let me outta here!!!"
They also got to pan for gold and sit in a teepee.
We visited the Winter Greenhouse which had this beautiful garden.
We took a little paddle.
And Clara was always very good about wearing her safety gear. Also, note the binoculars.
Thanks for another great week, D&K!

Way Back When...

A couple of weeks ago now we started out our trip to Wisconsin with a stop in William's Bay, basically Lake Geneva. It was a lovely day!
We went to the beach first thing and the kids took to the water like fish.
I was happily surprised that they weren't wary of the lake water.
We were there to visit with Chloe and her family.
Poor Chloe. She's such a lovely girl and Henry, lovely as he is himself, can't be serious for a single photo.
Clara has taken on the same attitude. She doesn't want to pose unless it's with her tongue out. Here she is with Nico, Chloe's little brother.
You may or may not know that Scott is Pete's good friend from way back when. And Henry and Chloe, though due a week apart, were born exactly a month apart.
The two have been distant pals since womb-hood.
After the beach and lunch and some playing around we slathered on more sunblock and went out on the boat.
Gave the kids a couple beers...
And enjoyed the day.
Just kidding about the beers.
We swam off the boat, and again, my kids were fearless! They didn't want to stop, even though we were out in the middle of nowhere. Pete didn't come in the water, so the kids had to take turns with me.
We got them all good and tired.
Then we hit a typical Wisconsin burger place and the kids had a dance party on the deck. I ate fried cheese curds, which Melissa had never had. I'm having trouble believing she grew up in the midwest.
Henry and Chloe spontaneously decided to see who was taller.
Chloe may have a slight edge, but don't tell Henry.
We spent the night at a Super 8 in Madison. This is how I found the kids the next morning. It's a lovely sight.
More to come...