The Zoo

Last week we went to the zoo.  We saw the giraffes.

The Lincoln Park Zoo is a free zoo. It's just a few blocks from Albert's doctor's office so while Albert and I went to an appointment, the rest of the family headed on to the zoo.  Here they were monkeying around outside the gorilla cage.

Then we went inside and saw the gorillas some more.

Addilyn took this picture of the male gorilla.

Everybody checking out the kangaroos.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous and it was a perfect day to wander around the zoo.

Our own wildlife.

Our biking limousine.  Tyler biked 3 of the 4 kids to the zoo by himself and this was his set up.  It worked really well and looked awesome!

The Beach

On Monday, we went to the beach.

We've been to the beach a couple of times but mostly as an afterthought during one of our bike rides.  This was the first time we went with our sole intention being to play at the beach.

It was pretty fun.

It was the perfect day to go too. Monday was warm enough to be able to enjoy swimming (the rest of the week wouldn't have been) but not so hot as last week when it would have been miserable to be out in the sun.

Jumping over the waves.

Making a sandcastle.

Daddy and Asher buried in the sand.

Addilyn buried in the sand.

Elias flying through the air.

Albert wasn't really thrilled with getting wet.  We got his legs wet a bit but I think the lake water was just too cold for it to be fun for him.  Instead he enjoyed chewing on Daddy's hair.

And hanging out with Mommy.  All in all, our afternoon at the beach was a smashing success.  Who would have thought that we've lived here 4 years and never had a beach day before?  That's one more thing to officially check off our Chicago bucket list.  Woohoo!

Staying Cool

Last week was HOT!  

It was the icky, sticky kind of hot.  The temperatures may have been only in the 90s but the humidity was high so it easily felt like 105 most days last week.  Bleck!

Our ACs were having difficulty keeping up so we had to find more creative ways to stay cool.

One afternoon, Tyler and the kids decided to wash the van.  The van needed some love after our trip and the kids needed an excuse to play in some water.

They were very diligent and scrubbed it really well. 

They also thoroughly enjoyed playing in the water.  He was coming to get me.

I remember going out and washing our car as a kid so it seems like a summertime rite of passage.

We still might have needed a cold bath before bed but this certainly made the afternoon more bearable. Thanks for your hard work, little ones!

Summer List: Tea Party

Last week Addilyn and I threw a tea party.

With 3 little brothers, I thought we needed to do something stereotypically girly.  A tea party sounded like just the thing.  

Addilyn and I got dressed up and the menfolk put on some ties (including Albert, look how cute!).

Then we ate finger sandwiches and fruit and drank tea.  I had a back up drink all prepared for when the kids refused the tea.  Surprisingly enough, they all liked their tea.  Who would have guessed?  Asher was eating a jam sandwich.  Mmm.

The rest of us sampled peanut butter finger sandwiches (with jam, bananas, or honey).  Addilyn and I enjoyed making the spread and all of us seemed to enjoy the ceremony of our fancy lunch.

Summer List: No Bake Cookies and Popsicles

One of the first things we completed from our summer list was making no bake cookies.  Stirring.

Licking.

Reveling.

 We also got some popsicle molds and have been making good use of them.

Our first attempt was orange creamsicle (we used coconut milk to make them Asher-friendly).

Our second trial was fudgesicles (using coconut milk again).  Both turned out pretty good.

Elias certainly enjoyed them.

7 months

Albert is 7 months old today.  In the last month he has finally started eating food from a spoon.  He took to it really easily.

He's also gotten quite a bit more vocal.

I'm not sure if we've mentioned it before but Tyler's trying to get the nickname "Softserve" to stick.  Albert has a curly-que of hair on top of his head.  It gets curlier or straighter depending on the humidity (he also calls Albert his little hygrometer).

He also has gotten mobile.  He has mastered the army crawl.  Yesterday he explored the apartment from end to end.  

It's really hot this week and our ACs are struggling to keep up.  He's spent quite a bit of time cooling off in baths.  After the initial shock of the cold water, he really enjoys it.

His tooth is well in and he appears to be working on a couple more.  We'll see if they break through in the next month.  Happy 7-months, Baby Boy!

Mommy/Daughter Date

A couple of Saturdays ago, Addilyn and I went on a date.  

We ate crepes for breakfast at the coffee/chocolate shop a block from our house.  They were really good.  Addilyn got the "Eiffel Tower" which was cinnamon and sugar and then chose the Banana and Nutella version for me.  

After breakfast, we wandered the neighborhood for a while.  I call this picture, "And we laughed..."

Then we took a picture together in front of my absolute favorite tree (there's a better picture of said tree a couple of posts back in my ode to Chicago).

Addilyn even got to take a picture with the fancy new camera.  And a fun time was had by all.  The end.

Visit with the Fam

We went on vacation...sort of.  

At the beginning of July, we headed to Kansas to start a tour of family.  We spent a few days in El Dorado visiting Grandpa and Grandma J.  We even went to Wichita twice on the 4th of July, once to hang out with Candice and Eric and Elliott and once to watch fireworks. 

After a stop in Clay Center to see all our friends at church on Sunday, we headed on to Nebraska to Grandpa and Grandma B's house.  

Grandpa and Grandma B had prepared for our visit with water toys.  It was hot and the ensuing water fight was very fun. Addilyn was getting ready to blast me.

Luckily Grandpa came to my aid.

Grandma got cornered a couple of times and had to get creative to defend herself.  Sploosh!

Grandpa attacks again.

Helping the troops reload.

Ahhhh! It's the boys' turn to attack Momma.

Albert wasn't a fan of being sprayed with water so Daddy entertained him at a safe distance from the bulk of the action.

Addilyn switched gears and started watering the plants.

She may of relapsed and doused Grandpa a time or two. 

 

Asher playing the firemen and filling a pool in the backyard.

Elias decided the fish needed a bit more water.

Jump.

Splash!

Singing and bouncing on the edge of the pool.

The kids had some serious fun in the pool.  I'm amazed at how much they all love the water.  On our last day at G&G B's, Elias took to jumping into the water headfirst.

He loved it (and luckily survived his many attempts).

We even got to visit my Grandma Audrey on this trip (although we didn't get any pictures).  And we got to drive through some incredible storms.  Yay for a roadtrip!