July 31 - The Dunes

So we finally get to the Dunes and the kids couldn't wait to get out of the car to make a run for the water.We spent some time in the Lake (I thought it was really cold) splashing around and playing in the waves.Jared made an awesome sand frog. We got surrounded by 'Lagulls' (Seagulls that are at the lake = lagulls -lol).

Then we climbed up Mt. Tom (a dune close to the water and is about 182ft high). The kids had a blast running up and down it, running might not be the right word more like crawling up it and falling down it.View of Chicago from the top of the dune.After a full day at the beach it was time to drive back home. We were treated to a beautiful sunset and ..... a car accident, so close to the perfect day!

July 31 - Drive to the Dunes

Today we drove to the Dunes State Park and along the way we passed Chalmers that had a bunch of Wind Turbines. On the other side of the highway was a Semi carrying one of the Propellers (?) and they are huge. Come to find out that it is in fact a Wind Farm for clean energy that will be able to generate enough power to keep 60,000 homes running for a year! It will have 121 turbines when they are finished in October. Cool!

July 30

Today was a day for friends and fun. There were kids in the pool, playing basketball, riding the go-kart, riding bikes and others sitting and talking.

July 29

Tonight was Jared's Basketball game and he did really well. He made 2 baskets and had a bunch of assists. He had a really good night even though he forgot to wear his basketball shoes, he ended up playing in his crocs!

July 28

So who knew, I guess I should have known, that school supplies for two children from Target could run $100+. I haven't even gotten to clothes yet. Anyways that's what we did today. Maybe it had something to do with me letting the kids take their lists and find there own stuff?

July 27 - Exotic Feline Rescue Center (EFRC)

Today we went to the EFRC and saw all the AWESOME cats that the EFRC has rescued from different situations. It's a wonderful thing that these people are doing and it gives you a chance to see why these animals are at the top of the food chain. Meet Coo - he is a male Puma and Jared's favorite cat there. They were Jeff's favorite too. Sydney's favorite was Navi - a black leopard, if you look closely you can see his spots! I liked a lot of them. I think King is awesome. Here are pictures of my other favorites Ocelot, Tigers, Lanky the Lynx, George the Leopard and Kiera the lioness.

EFRC - wow

Just wanted to post this cell phone video of the Cats talking. It was amazing. It made us very happy that these amazing animals were behind fences. We could imagine how terrifying it must be to be out in the wild and hear that - they are definitely the top of the food chain. WOW!

July 26

Sydney lost another tooth today. This time a canine and it hurt when it came out. But she was brave and the tooth fairy brought the required compensation, so it's all good.

July 26 - Kid time

When the boys finally tired of football they came back to our house to swim. It's a lot of fun having all the kids here and a lot of snacks to hand out. After swimming came basketball and Go-Kart racing and then it was time for us old adults to pass out from exhaustion while the kids still had energy to spare!

July 26 - Finished painting - Wahoo

Finally finished painting the kids rooms and we also got everything back in place and put some of the new accessories in place. They turned out alright!

July 26 - Football

Jared went over to his friends house and they decided to play football in their pads. A pretty smart thing to do as the season starts in a couple of weeks. It will help them get used to running in all that extra weight.

July 24

Today was a day for going to the store for groceries - the kids least favorite thing to do. Playing with friends, swimming and playing basketball. Just a typical summer day.

July 23 - Playground

So to make the most of our day and to work off some of the cheesecake we took the kids to see the new playground at their school. It's bigger and has more stuff to do. I think the kids will love it at recess.

July 23 - Nascar and Cheesecake

We had a cheesecake craving so we went to Sam's club to buy one and sitting outside was car #26 - Jamie McMurray's car. He wasn't there of course but Jared thought his car was really cool.

July 23 - Dave and Busters and Johnny Rockets

After playing tennis we went to Dave and Busters - basically a grown-up Chuckie Cheese. The kids played a bunch of games and won a bunch of tickets and turned them in a candy and trinkets. It was fun but ........ the best part was leaving to go have dinner at Johnny Rockets. I think the best part at the diner was picking songs on the little Juke Boxes that sit on the tables. Sydney picked 'Don't be cruel' by Elvis, Jeff picked 'Johnny B Good' by Chuck Berry, Jared picked 'Fun, fun, fun' by The Beach Boys and me, I embarrassed Jeff to death and had a good laugh by picking 'Copacabana' by Barry Manilow - lol.

July 23 - Tennis at Sahm

Today we went and played Tennis at Sahm Park. It was hot and sweaty, but it was a lot of fun watching each other totally miss the ball and do crazy moves to try and get the ball. Check out this air time. Is Jeff playing tennis or is he on the dance floor doing that "ride the pony" dance? We think Sydney's racket had a hole in it somewhere!

July 22

Today we went shopping at the mall for accessories for the kids bedrooms. All those stores and not a thing did we find, sigh! Back home we went for dinner and then onto Jared's basketball game. His team did better this week and improved quite a bit, but we still lost by a basket.This is Jared with an interception, not graceful but it got the job done.

July 21

No more Painting! Wahooooooooooo! Now it's just putting the curtains up and the posters and brag board and ......... AAaaargghhh, it's never ending. So you'll never guess what we did today after the painting was done.....went swimming. So as I sit and play lifeguard, I decided to play with the camera and here's what I came up with .....oh well!