Really, not much to report.

I'm sad to say while our days have been busy, we haven't really done anything new lately. Cooper is still in school, Amelia is in swimming lessons, and both kids are in gymnastics. Most of our mornings are lessons, then we picnic in the park, play on the toys, have reading and schoolwork time, and then head back outside to ride bikes. Yesterday they took a break to run through the sprinkler:


We also visited Lynnli, Jojo and Joey last weekend. Cooper would stop Lynnli's swing from swinging, afraid she'd fall out.

Father's Day Weekend

Last weekend we spent in Blackfoot for Father's Day! We had everyone (minus Joey, Jojo, and Lynnli--who we missed greatly) for dinner. We also celebrated the April, May and June birthdays. Yes, we squeeze alot into these family get-togethers, because its very rare we get everyone together!

A big thanks to my fantastic father, who is also a fantastic "Bompa". He's done so much for me, Amelia and Cooper, and we love him so much! Here's some pictures:

Ben, Amelia and Andy playing some football.


Cooper helped with the game by pulling his red wagon through the middle of it.


Amelia with Ben.


Amelia with Andy.


Cooper with Alpha (Ben) and Omega (Andy). Get it? The beginning and the end? Ha ha!


Most of the family.


Kimberly-Sue and Matthew. He was sooooo good with all the chaos surrounding him!

First Picnic of the Summer and Other Stuff

We had our first picnic of the summer last Wednesday. Most days we are riding bikes, playing at the park, frolicking at the spray park, eating the free lunch at Amelia's school or other endeavors outside. I don't know how many pictures you'll see over the summer because, come on, how many times do you want to see my kids doing the same thing over and over? It should be a fun summer, though, I've purchased our movie pass, bowling pass and carousel pass.







In continuing our trying new things experiment, the kids tried watermelon today. It didn't go over well. More for me!! Next up--honey.

Chillin' in Chicagoland!

Last weekend my 13 year-old dream came true.....I went to CHICAGO!! Now, I'm sure many of you are thinking, "Chicago? Really? Why not Hawaii? Caribbean? Mexico?" To you I say: you just don't understand the unparalleled awesomeness of The Windy City! My dear, sweet, perfect-traveling companion cousin Megan flew down to meet me, and we had a whirlwind two days.

We went on a riverboat tour complete with a harmonica-playing guide singing the blues, the Sky Deck in Willis Tower (I found out I am indeed scared of heights if standing on a glass floor looking over a thousand feet down), ate at world-famous Giordano's, went to the Field Museum, walked along the lake front, visited Buckingham Fountain, went to the zoo, ate a Chicago-style hot dog ( I still don't like them), visited the "the bean", Grant Park, Millennium Park, ate a $5 ice cream, walked N. Michigan Ave--aka the Magnificent Mile, rode the train, (el and subway) and just basked in all that was Chi-town!!

Brace yourself for all the pictures:

Giddy with happiness to be waiting for the Brown Line in Chicago, IL!!


Megan on the riverboat tour.


The river bridges raised. Every Wednesday and Saturday morning they were raised for the sailboats to sail through.


A few important buildings on the tour.



Megan at Navy Pier, home of the most delicious chocolate milkshake on earth. At least when it's 95 degrees and 100% humidity.


These Roman nuns got on our bus. Had to take a picture when we got off.


View from the top of the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower. FYI, they pack you into those elevators like sheep.


Megan at the Sears Tower. I think we picked the least-attractive view of Chicago to take this picture. I blame the heat....we weren't in our right minds most of the time.


Field Museum.


"Sue" the T-rex. Do I look wilted? See above comment on weather. At least the humidity helped my poor voice improve from almost-gone to a nice lifetime smoker quality.


The man-eating lions of Tsavo.


Megan outside of Field Museum.


Cool fountain in Grant Park.


Ah, Buckingham Fountain. One of the top three favorite places there. Could've stayed all night.





The lazy sleeping lions of Lincoln Park Zoo.


Gorillas.


Megan eating a Chicago-style hot dog.


The Chicago Water Tower. Site of many weddings and protests. Sometimes simultaneously.


"The Bean". Pretty cool.


See our reflections?


I had the time of my life, and hopefully can go again some day. I'll post more pictures when Megan sends them to me. I'll leave you with a list of things Megan and I learned in Chicago:

1. The locals were very nice, especially the toothless homeless ones.
2. I really like saying Wabash St., while Megan perfers Wacker Dr.
3. Everything in the Field Museum was real--we're used to replicas.
4. Even if you speak to us in English, if you have a Nigerian accent, we can't understand you.
5. If you're lonley, go to Water Tower Square...they give away free hugs.
6. Chicago bus and cab drivers like to honk.
7. You can pack 40 people in an elevator, plus a stroller.
8. If you're in a hurry, don't take a street with a river bridge, especially on Wednesday or Saturday.
9. 100% humidity is good for laryngitis.
10. Every four years is too long to go not seeing each other!

I had a FABULOUS time, and I wish the pictures could convey the feeling of being there! Thanks to my wonderful cousin for going with me and my family for watching my kids so I could just be Jill for a weekend. And what a weekend it was!

Puddle Fun

Monday was a rainy day, but we had about 25 minutes of sun. I sent the kids out to ride their bikes and get rid of some energy. I heard them laughing so hard I grabbed the Flip and recorded them out my bedroom window (hence the black squares in the shot). They came back in soaked, but happy.

Another Nice Day...Mostly.

Yesterday was another sunny day, so I took the kids outside to run, ride bikes and wear them out good. We started with a bike ride at the park. I need to get my bike fixed because they are so fast now I can't keep up on foot. After the park we ran a few errands and went to lunch. They played on the toy at the restaurant as well, expending even more energy. After lunch we came back and played with the bubble wands Amelia had so generously bought everyone.





Then we moved on to playing on the big toys at Amelia's school. The favorite activity there was picking up the pea gravel, carting up the stairs, dumping it down the slide and then sliding down after it. They were pretty dirty by the time I called them back.







We decided after a quick snack we'd finish off the day with a walk around the nature park. This park has a couple ponds, a small canal, footpaths and ducks. We started down the path parallel to the canal. The sky was blue, the breeze was refreshing and life was good. Until The Incident.

I was holding the kid's hands (hello, water nearby) and Amelia was on my left. I heard a rustling in the dead grass to my left about three feet away. It startled me, so I looked over, thinking I'd see a small furry something. Nope. More like a nasty medium-sized snake. Now, I'm not necessarily AFRAID of snakes, I just don't like to be around them. Ever.

I may have let out a very lady-like yelp and pulled Amelia away from the evil creature. She, alerted by my startle and yelp, looked over and spotted the snake. Her yelp was more of a blood-curdling scream. I pulled her further away, trying to shush her while keeping an eye on the sinister serpent. This was more difficult than it sounds, as she was trying to climb up my body to my shoulders, crying loudly. Added to everything was Cooper trying to go back and FIND the snake so he could say "Rowr!" to it and scare it away. I told him Amelia's screams probably did the job just fine.

Moments before the incident.


This is the face Cooper said he'd use to make the snake laugh if scaring him with the "Rowr!" didn't work.


I finally got Amelia calmed down and we elected to go to a nearby playground, since all the fishermen were now glaring at us. They played for awhile, and I convinced Amelia to go for a quick walk, far away from the previous sighting. I talked myself blue the whole time reassuring her that the horrible little creature was more scared of us, probably soiled his little snake pants when she screamed and was long gone. (However, I did keep a sharp eye on our surrounding area for the remaining time we were there.) She seemed okay, but walked in the middle of the path the rest of the way.

By then we'd all had enough of nature so we came home and watched a movie. You know, where it's safe. Whew. Stupid snake.

Last Day of School!! (For Amelia at least)

Yesterday was Amelia's last day of school. She's officically a second grader! She passed all her end-of-the-year tests with flying colors and is ready for the summer. Cooper has another 9 weeks, but we are all completely fine with that. We celebrated with a picnic in the park and lots of playing outside. Both kids already have a nice farmer's tan, and my lips are burned again. Here's some pictures:

Cooper riding down the "edge".


Amelia writing in her new summer journal.


Happy kids!