Zoo Fun

It turned out to be a beautiful day in the 70's and was a great day for the zoo. We went with our friends Brenda, Jenna, and Joey and spent the day there. Brookfield is celebrating its 75 year anniversary so Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week are free so needless to say it was really, really busy. We've never parked so far away, but it ended up being really fun regardless. We spent alot of time in the Children's Zoo and the Hamill Family Play Zoo where it wasn't as crowded as the general zoo. The kids got to do all sorts of fun things that they haven't gotten to do before like spritzing the plants in the greenhouse, painting their faces, and brushing the goats. They even got to see a cow-milking demonstration (well, kind of-it was really hard to see in there since it was a bit crowded). It was a great day, and even traffic on the way home wasn't too bad!

The kids played Ring Around the Rosy while we waited in line for some treats.

A Day at the Beach

We Kelly's LOVE the beach! The kids and I drove to St. Joe to the beach on Saturday to hang out with Mom and Dad, Chad, Deb, and Jaelle, and to catch some rays! The kids were so excited to go when I first told them Saturday morning, that we were actually able to get out of the house by 8:00am (this NEVER happens!)

When we got into town we stepped out into beautiful weather! Not too hot, not too cold. We went to the farmer's market and then checked out the new safari themed painted sculptures on the sidewalks throughout the downtown streets. The kids liked the big gorilla that you could putt-putt on. We met up with Chad, Deb, and Jaelle, then with Mom and Dad and went back to the cottage to grab some lunch.

Next, it was off to the beach! I had already decided to fore go naps for the kids and just spend the day at the beach and hope for the best! The beach was packed, but we were able to find a spot close to the water and set up camp. The water was cold, but so nice. Ryan loved going in and playing in the inflatable ring I brought from home. He had everybody taking him out into the water. Josh and Hannah liked the water too, just weren't as adventurous as their brother. We stayed and played at the beach until we got hungry for dinner, or until Ryan started taking off running due to his tiredness. It was such a fun afternoon at the beach with lots of help from the fam with all the kids.

For dinner we tried a new bbq place that Dad and Mom had heard about just into Benton Harbor. It was called "Charlie's Piggin' and Grinnin" (piggin-n-grinnin.com). YUM!! It was great barbeque. I had a pulled pork sandwich which was delicious, but Chad (and later Dad too), got beef brisket and it was the best I've ever had. The other highlight was the homemade banana pudding...mmmmm! The restaurant was super family friendly too with a little kiddie table and chairs complete with toys to play with while waiting...niiiice. The kids all behaved great and ate their PB&J's and homemade mac 'n cheese willingly!

Good times at the Joe!

Go Cubs Go!

"Hey, Chicago, whaddya say, the Cubs are gonna win today!" After 13 innings the Cubs finally won the game against the Cleveland Indians! It was a beautiful day for Pat and I to enjoy in Wrigleyville. Too bad we didn't get any of that hot sunshine since our seats were under the roof without sun the whole time! Oh well...it was still fun!

After the game, we went back to the 'burbs and had dinner at On The Border, our favorite Mexican place. We got to eat on the patio (which also has a roof over it), but it had a warm breeze and we dreamed of being on vacation somewhere tropical! But, hey, at least we had the afternoon.

The kids had a fun afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa Boyle, playing outside and eating McDonald's. Two of their favorite things!

Could it be that summer is finally here?

Here's Hannah before we left for the game pretending that she was going wearing Mommy's sunglasses, purse, and shoes!

Fun with Beth

Last weekend my longtime, good friend Beth came in to visit with us for the weekend. We had a great time. Beth brought Hannah's birthday presents that were a big hit. The kids must've played Play-doh Ice Cream Shop for almost 2 hours! We watched DVDs, ate candy, played outside, laughed, cried (just kidding, we didn't cry). The kids roped Beth into pushing them on the swings indefinitely, and Josh's favorite saying became, "Hey, Beth!" as he was surely loving the attention of "two mommies" as he put it! LOL!

Beth and I got to go out ourselves to downtown Naperville, where we had to get some of our favorite Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. Yummmm...We had some much needed girl time. Thanks for coming to visit, Beth!

Tree Excitement

We finally gave up on our Maple tree that we planted last year, declared its time of death, and got a refund, so it was time for a new tree to replace it (or two). This morning the guys came out to put in a Blue Spruce and a Norway Spruce. The kids enjoyed watching the show. We should be done with Spruces now as long as these two stick around...

Lincoln Park Zoo

This morning we met my friend Heather and her little boy, Aiden at her place in the city and we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was my kids' and my first time there. Hannah, Ryan and Josh were even excited on the drive thru Wrigleyville looking at every store/restaurant/bird, etc. It was cute. The LPZ is really nice with big, more natural looking exhibits (I thought) than the ones at Brookfield Zoo where we usually go. It was fun to go to a new place and visit with Heather and Aiden too. Hannah was excited to see the flamingos since our zoo doesn't have those. They also got to see lions, leopards, a bunch of different named primates, some pigs, a tiger, and surely some that I'm forgetting! I think all the kids liked climbing up into the John Deere tractor in the barn within the children's zoo part. They all piled in and took turns sitting in the seat to "steer." It turned out to be a great morning at the zoo.

For lunch we went to this cool place right by Heather's house called Rockit Bar & Grill and we got to sit outside on the patio. All the kids did great eating their delicious mac n' cheese and fruit! Heather and I had tasty grilled chicken sandwiches on tomato foccacia bread with truffle fries...yummmmm! All was well today in the Windy City! Thanks, Heather!