1st day of school

It was the first day of school for Teresa.  She started 4th grade and went off to elementary without Timothy for the first time.  She was looking forward to working on her class yearbook, which her teacher is known for doing.  She got to drop off her supplies last week at an open house.  The top picture is from the open house.

It was dreary, rainy day today, but we still got our first day picture!  I even tried to round up the bus stop kids for a picture.  They were not too excited for a group photo.  

Both kids had a good first day.  They seem happy to be 4th and 6th grade students. It is a bit more challenging to have a special breakfast this year...I had to have the baked oatmeal ready by 6:30!  Teresa was up by 7am right before Timothy left and then she had a whole hour to wait for her departure.  It will take some getting used to this new routine.

Middle School

Today is the first day of sixth grade for Timothy.  It is just the 6th graders at the school, so it is sort of like another orientation day.  He was excited and a little nervous.  We think he is ready for the challenges and new responsibilities.  And it is not so bad to start off school with a one day week!  He was in favor of not getting up early tomorrow!

 I am curious how much he will grow this year.  I do not have many inches on him anymore!  We had to watch his bus drive off from the front porch this year.  We were banned from the bus stop!!  Although I think we might be able to sneak down on Monday when other parents take bus stop pictures and the rest of the students start school.  He sure is growing up!

Braces!

My photography does not really show it very clearly, but Timothy got braces this week.  No better time to jump into the world of braces right before the start of middle school!  He has them only on the top four teeth so actually his mouth has not been too sore.  They feel funny to him, but so far he is handling them well and adjusting to the new rules of braces and eating.

Camping and Chicago

This was the third trip to Illinois/ Chicago we have made.  We started out with two nights of camping at Starved Rock State Park.  We had good weather, with only one rain storm in the middle of the night. 

We had a nice campfire one night and worked at perfecting our s'mores.

Teresa looks pretty pleased with her results!!

We did some hiking at the park, going on a 2 hour hike and seeing several canyons.  In the spring there are some neat waterfalls.  By this point in the summer, there was only a trickle of water coming down in most places.  But it was still some pretty views and a good hike.  The kids were a little weary by the end, but they were pretty good at trudging on.

Teresa's favorite...Wildcat Canyon.  We also stopped briefly in Matthieson State Park.  We only walked a short distance to see a little of the park.  The afternoon was warm and the kids were fighting colds, and hanging out at the campsite was not proving much fun, so Troy scouted out a local pool and that kept everyone happy!

After dinner on our second of camping, we changed up the routine and went out for Root Beer Floats (except I had a Sundae.).  It was a fun outing to a cute little drive in root beer stand.

Our next stop in Chicago was the Cubs game.  We rode the bus in with a whole lot of people...so we did not get a seat for the hour long ride.  The kids were once again very patient and made the best of the situation.

It turned out to be a great game to watch.  There was a grand slam and the Cubs won 10 to 1!  It was a fun afternoon, with good seats and interesting Cubs trivia provided by Troy.  The bus ride back was long too, but we found ways to entertain ourselves.

Our second Chicago outing was to the aquarium.  We had been there a couple of years ago, but the kids wanted to see it again.  We enjoyed seeing all the exhibits and the dolphin show.  The 4d movie was also a hit.

The lakefront area is always a fun place to stop and play.  The kids enjoyed splashing around in the water.

Troy really wanted to bring the kids to the Maggie Daly Playground.  We drove around for a good 20 minutes trying to find a place to park without paying a fortune.  Troy, bless his heart, just kept driving around the crazy, busy city and eventually we actually came across a spot on the street.  Teresa actually found this driving around to be very fun...we don't see much a downtown big cities.  I am not sure it was Troy's favorite part!

The playground was very fun.  It had some neat swings, slides and play structures that were different from most playgrounds.  The kids enjoyed it for awhile until it got to be too hot.

And of course a highlight of the whole trip is always the hotel pool.  The one we stayed at this time even had a hot tub to enjoy.  We had a great week together as a family!

Party time!

Teresa chose to have another Star Wars birthday party.  We had some new games this year to keep it exciting.  Her cake is somewhat similar in design to last year, but it was a dirt and worms Oreo cookie cake this year.

 My mom came once again and brought two cousins to join the fun.  Here is Grandma with two of her Star Wars granddaughters!  Grandma even got in on the theme this year!!

Most of the party guests were dressed up too.  This picture is just missing one friend who arrived after the picture.

Some of the games we played included freeing Han Solo from Carbonate, Jedi Tag, and a Life size board game.

There was also a little photo booth fun while some of the kids made the craft which was light sabers with rainbow loom rubber bands.

Another fun game was the shapeshifter game.  Everyone looked pretty funny after picking accessories to acquire a new identity!

And there was some target practice trying to take out the bad guys and the death star.

Then onto presents and lunch and cake.  Teresa got some fun gifts: perfume, earrings, Princess Leia doll, bracelets, and a Mary Poppins costume to name a few.

 A pretty happy nine year old ready to blow out her candles and eat some yummy cake!

And here is a cute picture of Teresa as Mary Poppins.  It was a fun party and a great way to celebrate a special girl!