Wildlife Prairie State Park

Last weekend we were looking for something fun to do as a family and decided to spend the day at a local state park. We love this park because there are many animals to see, kind of like a zoo, but they are in more of a natural habitat. There are long winding trails through the woods, a petting zoo area, playground areas and so much more. Even though the weather has been SO hot and humid, we had a great day!

Petting sheep:

My beautiful butterflies!



While Colby and Chloe played on the playground, Macy and I hung out in the shade. Here she is doing what she does best...drooling and blowing spit bubbles.

We finally decided it was time for lunch. However the food place was so crowded that people were having to wait an hour to order and get their food. So we did what any good parents would do and got ice cream instead.


Colby loved getting his picture taken in all of these kind of things.

Next up was the train ride! Here they are waiting (kind of) patiently for our turn to board.


Finally we stopped at some special activities they had going on that weekend. Inflatable fun, mini-golf and carnival games.


I'm glad we had the chance to go, possibly for the last time. Unfortunately due to lack of funding they will be closing the park. At least we got to enjoy it for a while!

Weekend wrestling

Friday night we babysat for our good friends. Conner and Colby are about 18 months apart in age and have been friends since Colby was a newborn. Lily and Chloe are only about 5 months apart and are already showing signs of becoming friends. The boys, like usual, got pretty hyper. (What little boys don't?) So to get out some of their energy, Curt got them into a pretty hard-core wrestling match. It went on for forever. Not wanting to be left out, little Lily had to get in on the action too.

This is what Chloe and I did...

Saturday was a much more calm day. We had our usual pancakes for breakfast, then went to work on cleaning the garage (again). Afterwards I gave the dog a haircut. Here is Colby in a random pic. Notice Daisy on the floor behind him.

That is what she did for hours after she got her new 'do.

Then Saturday night we rented a movie and roasted brats in the fireplace.

Colby had a breakthrough on Sunday evening. He and Curt were playing in the basement (don't even ask why the guest bed is in the middle of floor), and Colby finally learned to jump! For some reason that has been hard for him. He thought he could jump, but one foot always stayed on the ground. Now I can't get him to stop jumping! Check out the concentration...

Blast off!

This morning I went in to get Chloe when she woke up only to find her pulling up on the side rail with her head hanging over the edge. Obviously it was time to lower the mattress. As some of you know, I got ambitious and made all of the bedding and window treatments and all things fabric for her room. While I was wrestling with the crib I remembered how much I love the way everything turned out. So here is a little tribute to Chloe's room.

It looks like she is posing so sweetly for this picture...

But don't let her smile fool you, immediately after this, she started body-slamming her doll on the floor.

This awesome wall hanging was made by my good friend Jessica.

Colby's typical "don't take my picture" mood.

Unless something super exciting and fabulous happens on Tuesday, this will be my last post until next Monday. We are leaving Wednesday morning for Indiana to be with our families for Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!