"Downtown Chicago"

For the last 3 years we have made several trips between Central IL and the Chicago area to visit family and friends.  At one point about a year ago, we were making the trip at night.  As we approached the part of

I-55 near Joliet where you pass by the oil refinery, Kara shouted, "Look mom!  Downtown!"

In the dark of night, with all of the refinery's towers and smoke stacks lit up with bulbs, it did sort of resemble a miniature Chicago skyline.  I laughed to myself then and every time I have passed that site since then.

Perspective

When Jenna isn't drawing republican campaign posters or liberal-inspired fundraising signs, she also enjoys drawing for fun.  Today as I sorted through a pile of her recent drawings I came across this one and was struck by the unique perspective ...

Pretty cool, isn't it?

Breathing a little easier ...

(alternately titled:  Thank you, God ... she may be a democrat after all!)

You might remember last fall when I was worried about the prospect of my eldest daughter becoming a Republican, with her fervent support of the Republican candidate for governor.  It was a dark time in my life, but I think I can now breathe a little easier.

The other day we were talking about two things:  the devastation left behind in the wake of tornadoes that ripped through Joplin, MO earlier this week; and the garage sale we were planning for the summer. 

Jenna mentioned wanting to have a lemonade stand at the garage sale, and I told her that was a great idea and a fun way to earn a little money.  The next morning, she came and showed me this:

Sigh.  She might just have a little bleeding-heart democrat in her after all : )

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

It had been a couple of years for me and Mark.

Jenna and Kara probably haven't been since Kara's 1st birthday.

And Jack?  I don't think he had ever been yet!

It was time to head out to Comiskey Park U.S. Cellular Field to see the White Sox play ball!

We got ourselves ready to go cheer on the Sox ...

We joined our friends and their kids and headed out to a Kids Expo game where there were all kinds of kid-friendly events going on before and during the game.  The kids got to play some baseball-related games ...

... and we also got to meet a few famous people ...

The best part was having some time to explore the stadium and field ...

We got to see the scoreboard go off (a few times!), the White Sox won, and we all  had a great time.

Couldn't ask for a better day!

Getting Ready for Father's Day

As you probably already know, I heart Shutterfly. I upload and store all of my photos on their site so that I don't have to worry about my computer crashing and losing all of my precious images. They don't charge for the service, and their storage is unlimited!
I also use Shutterfly to order my prints, make yearly photo books for the kids, and create special occasion items like the Father's Day card below ...

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Stop by the Shutterfly website to see what you can create!  There are a bunch of great deals on their site right now, including a coupon code to recieve 5 photo cards absolutely free!

I heart Shutterfly.

Nap update ...

I think I already mentioned last week that Jack doesn't need to take naps anymore.

Well, I just wanted to let you know that is still the case.\

Doesn't need them.  Because he's "not tired",

and because he's "a big boy now and big boys don't take naps".

Just a little rest on the couch is all he needs to get through the day : )

Jenna's New Haircut

After growing her hair out for the last 2 years or so, Jenna finally decided it was time to get her hair cut.

So cute!

Country Living

One of my favorite things about living "down south" is our proximity to wind farms. 

When we first moved here we really enjoyed driving to the one about 10 miles east of our house ... which we can see in the distance from the main street near our home.  It was still in the process of being finished and every once in a while we'd see the large flatbed trucks delivering the big pieces.  How big?  Pieces so large they required not only a "wide load" sign on the back of the truck, but an escort by trucks with flashing lights letting drivers in the opposite lanes of traffic know to pull over to the side of the road.  That big.

In the last few years more and more of these wind farms have been approved, one along the stretch of highway we take to travel back to the Chicago area and another new one just cropped up this year a bit north west of our house.

Looking at these giants up close never gets old to me!

Field Trip to the Dairy Farm

Today was Jack's final school fieldtrip of the year, and we headed to the local dairy farm.

(you may recall when Kara went there with her class a couple of years ago ...)

At first this was as close as Jack would get to the dairy cows ...

And he didn't really like the idea of feeding the goats out of his hand ...

But the hayrack ride was lots of fun ...

Finally Jack perked up and agreed to feed the baby calves ...

And he couldn't wait to take a turn to climb up on the big tractor.

We finished the day by watching them make fresh cheese right on the farm.

And of course, we purchased some of those fresh cheese curds to eat on our way home : )

Jenna's First Holy Communion

Today Jenna celebrated her First Holy Communion.  I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend my Mother's Day, and I couldn't be more proud of this beautiful little girl that God put into my life.  She's obedient, modest, thoughtful, kind and considerate.  She's beautiful, smart, patient and just everything a parent could hope for. 

May God bless you always, Jenna Margaret. 

Many thanks to Jenna's Religious Education teacher Tina Veal for taking the 3 photos of Jenna entering the church for me -- since my camera couldn't zoom in that close : )

Thank you also to Mary Karen for taking the last 8 photos on the slideshow -- the beautiful photos of Jenna both inside and outside of our house after the Communion.

If you're having a difficult time seeing the photos on the slideshow above, you can also see all of them in the Shutterfly book that I made ...

Click here to view this photo book larger

Movie Night

Friday night is movie night at our house, but sadly I always miss it because I'm at work.  Mark and the kids usually rent a movie and stay up a bit late watching it.

Tonight I got off of work a little early and came home to find them watching their weekly movie.

If this is the kind of cuteness I'm missing out on, I'm going to have to reevaluate my work schedule!

Trike-A-Thon

Today was the Trike-a-Thon to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  We participate every year, and Jack loves it!

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day, and the event was a success. 

Our group raised over $500 for the children of St. Jude and all of us moms had the chance to remember how very lucky we are for our kids' health ... and how very important an organization like St. Jude is for families that desperately need their support and services.

Thank you to everyone who made a donation or particiapated in the event.  The trike-a-thon may be over, but you can always visit St. Jude's website to find out more or make a donation.

FYI

FYI, Jack doesn't need to take naps anymore.

Because now that he's 4 he's big.

And big boys don't take naps, just so you know.