Our School

I love our school district.  I love our teachers.  I love the community of kids and families that we share the school journey with.  I love that our school board and administration hold the same values that our family does.  That our community does.  I love that the school focuses not only on academics, but also on teaching our kids the importance of responsibility.  Respect.  Perseverance.  Service.  I love the opportunities that the school offers for parent involvement and partnership.  I love the variety of extra activities that are provided.  And I love the way that the teachers invest in my kids.

All 3 of my kids have had a great start to the school year.  They are enjoying their classes, their teachers, their activities, their friends, their learning.  Each day when I ask Briggs how his day was, he always either answers with "Great!" or "Two thumbs up."  And I have no doubt that his teacher making an effort to know him and to affirm him is a big part of that. 

And this is one of the reasons why I love our school!

Labor Day Fun

In celebration of successfully making it through the first 3 weeks of school, we enjoyed a family week-end in Chicago.

We started off with a day at the Museum of Science and Industry.

We spent the entire day exploring the museum.  Everyone had different highlights.  The huge model train exhibit was obviously top of Briggs' list.  We spent lots of time in this area.  And if the girls wanted to go see something that Briggs wasn't interested in, he would request to head straight back to the trains.

The fairy castle dollhouse was Adelie's favorite.  Just like Briggs, she kept asking for another chance to go back and see it again and again.

Staley's favorite was the mirror maze, Zach's favorite was the submarine, and my favorite was either the Lego exhibit or the fact that we found free street parking so we didn't have to pay for parking.

We all enjoyed the special Lego exhibit.  The art that could be created out of Legos was pretty extraordinary.  Other family highlights included the baby chicks, the funny mirrors in the circus area, all the hands-on fun in the weather area, the mirror maze, and the movies about climate change.

We followed up our day at the museum with a visit to Uncle Ethan to see his condo, meet his cat Pip, and eat some yummy pizza at Giordano's.

After a little swimming in the mostly adequate hotel pool, an adequate night's rest, and a less than adequate breakfast at our very adequate hotel, we ventured to Brookfield Zoo.  They were having an Ice Age exhibit, so along with the regular animal viewing, we also got to learn about giants from the Ice Age.

Although we got caught in a little morning rain, we still enjoyed a full day at the zoo.  (Since we hadn't packed for cool weather or rain, the kids all got new long-sleeved shirts from Target on the way to the zoo.)  The abundant okapi at the Brookfield Zoo have been a standing family joke since our last visit.  As we joked about all things okapi at the Brookfield Zoo, Adelie mused about whether or not they had okapi flavored ice cream.

Zach said that he wouldn't go to the zoo unless I could assure him that we'd see a saber-tooth tiger.  I'm glad I could deliver.  The Brookfield Zoo is really big, and we took all day to cover it all.  We especially enjoyed the monkeys and apes, sea otters, pygmy hippopotamus, dolphins, kangaroos, the carousel, and (of course) the okapi.

I always love our little family getaways.  And despite a little rain and Staley's ear infection, it was another winning week-end. 

Brutal Honesty

We were at the zoo over the week-end.  I was teasing Adelie about how the polar bear was looking right at her and thinking about how delicious she must look.  Adelie said, "I don't think I'd taste good.  I'm too skinny.  But I bet he thinks YOU look tasty.

#ouch

I guess only SOME of us are too skinny to be tasty.

My Girls

I had a friend recently send me pictures she took of my girls performing their solos for Rising Stars at the Washington Arts Festival.  She texted them to me, and the pictures were alternated between the two girls with a picture of Adelie followed by a picture of Staley followed by a picture of Adelie...  Scrolling through the pictures just made me laugh as I could enjoy the differences in the girls just based on the pictures.  Enjoy...

Good-bye, August!

August was a busy month.  It started with Beauty and the Beast and the St. Jude Run.  We fit in a few last fun summer activities before school started back up and fall activities resumed.  Apart from those big events, a few of our other August highlights included...

A fun day at the Bloomington Zoo and State Farm Park.

We enjoyed the zoo, went swimming at State Farm pool, played mini-golf at State Farm Park, and then went out for dinner as one last summer hoorah.

The girls performed a few more times with their Rising Stars group, including a scary storm performance at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.

Both girls also got to do their solos when they performed at the Washington Arts Festival.  Staley sang 'Almost There'...

while Adelie performed 'Good Ship Lollipop' again.

We attended a fun patient appreciation event put on by our orthodontist at Tanner's Orchard.

There were lots of fun highlights like pony rides...

face painting (Adelie was the only taker)...

barrel train rides, which Briggs took of advantage of about 5 or 6 times...

a hayrack ride, jumping pillow, mini golf, playground fun, donuts, and apple cider.  It was a really fun family evening.  I guess I should be grateful that two of my kids need expensive orthodontic work if we get "free" family fun like this!

We squeezed in a few last State Farm pool swims with friends.

Adelie enjoyed a cousin sleepover with Caroline at Grammie and Grandpa's house.

Zach's race timing company has been timing some of the local cross country races.

And we've been enjoying the last of our fun summer activities before fall kicks into high gear.

August is always a month of transition as we say good-bye to our summer of leisure and hello to the beginning of a new school year.

Good-bye, August!

It's been fun!

Friends are a Blessing

As I sit here typing, I am listening to Briggs play so nicely with his new friend from school who came over for an afternoon playdate.  The girls were invited over to play with some of their friends this afternoon, leaving the house free for the boys to enjoy.  We have relished some beautifully nice August weather by playing with neighborhood friends, hanging out with friends at sporting events, going swimming with friends, hosting play dates with friends.  As the school year starts and the kids get settled, I am continually thankful for the friendships, both new and old, that fill my life and the lives of my kids.

When the kids were younger, play dates were hard.  Supervising and organizing and cleaning up messes and ensuring everyone was playing nicely together required a lot of time and energy.  Sometimes it just wasn't worth it.

Visiting with other moms during those early playdates was always the goal, but often it was not the reality.  The constant needs and supervision made uninterrupted time to talk very limited.  And sometimes the energy required to begin and foster a new friendship with another mom was a little daunting.

Once kids and their schedules entered the equation, maintaining old friendships was also tricky.  Scheduling times to get together with non-local friends was difficult and opportunities to get together with them was often far less than I desired.

But times change.  Kids grow up.  Priorities shift.  Play dates now become a great way to keep my kids entertained and happy.  They enjoy finding friends to play with at playgrounds and parks and sporting events and school activities.  They can go off to play without constant supervision or concern. 

With the increased ease of my kids' friendships, visiting with other moms and making new mom friends requires less as well.  Visiting on the deck or chatting as kids are dropped off or meeting up for spontaneous outings is easier.  Having the time to get to know one another at school pick up and sporting events and kids activities increases with less immediate child needs.  And as the kids go off together to play, relationships with our kids' friends' parents deepen as well.

All of my kids have found themselves with such sweet friends.  Friends from school.  Friends from church.  Friends from activities.  Friends from the neighborhood.  And many of the kids' friends' families have become our good friends as well.  

I am so thankful for the friends that God has brought into our lives.  We are meant to live together in community and relationship with others.  As Covid eases into the background and time opens up, we are relishing these opportunities to grow in our friendships.

Life is just better with friends!

Question of the Day

Can we credit the start of fall soccer season for the extreme change in Briggs' physique?

Or do we need to start looking into radioactive spiders, genetic mutation, or a science experiment gone awry?