Chicago Trip!

We had a great short vacation in Chicago.  Landon loves baseball and he really wanted to see the Cubs play.  Emerson really didn't!  So she and I headed to Shedd Aquarium while the boys went to the game.  We had a nice time seeing a 4D movie, dolphin show, and all the animals.

We both really thought the sting ray touch was awesome!  The sting rays just floated by as you touched their backs.  They also had a starfish touch, but Em didn't like that one as much because the water was 50 degrees!

Front row for the dolphin show.  There were also penguins and a dog.

Best decorated dog statue: Bears and Cubs

After the aquarium, since the boys were still at the game, we walked (2.5 miles!) to the American Girl store, where Emmy picked out a dog for her doll with a leash, and Lego store.  We were exhausted after this busy day.

Meanwhile, the boys were at the Cubs game.

They had a great time even though...

there were 3 rain delays!  The game started 1.5 hours late.  And sadly, the Cubs lost.  But Landon had a great experience.

We spent the night and decided to go to Willis Tower the next day.  Matt and I hadn't been up in years and the kids never had.

Landon wasn't too sure about going out in the glass box 103 floors above Chicago!

Afterwards, we had to stop at Giordanos and get some deep dish pizza.  The wait was 20 minutes, the pizza took about 45, but it was worth it!  So yummy!

A great end of summer adventure!

Lake time

We were so happy to be invited again to stay with John and Nancy this summer.  Also, Landon and Matt got to come (they were in the UP last year).  We had a great time on the boat, tubing, paddle boating, swimming, eating, and catching up.  Thanks Mathis family!

Caleb DID like the paddle boat!

This girl was so brave!  Emmy let go of the handles and stood up on the tube every chance she got!

Even Ruth got in on the fun....after some coaxing!

We missed Steven this year.  Hopefully next time, we can all come together!

Pool time, Pottery and 4H Fair

We've had a great time with the pool this summer.  It has been more work than I thought it would be...but the kids have LOVED it!  It seems like as soon as I got everything figured out, a few days later it would be dirty, or green, or brown, or low salt, etc.  We've had fun though!

Happy baby!

 The boys went on their annual fishing trip up north so while they were gone, we took the girls to paint pottery.  We had a great time!  Then we went to a Mexican restaurant in downtown Warsaw that was yummy!

 

We spent a lot of time at the fair this year.  The weather was great!  We got to see several concerts, the pig show, and the kids rode several rides!

pirate highwire act

 Emmy got to see her first concert, Danny Gokey.  She loved it, but thought it was loud!😁

 Matt and I went to see Martina McBride.  We saw her a few years ago when she came as well.  Or at least that's what we thought...but then Martina said she was there 20 years ago!  Wow, we are old!

Summer FUN!

Camping at Warren Dunes

Mid-July we had another camping trip planned.  I wanted to try Michigan.  I'd heard of some nice campgrounds close to the lake and thought it'd be fun to try that.  We were originally going to Bridgman, MI.  But when we got to that campground, it was really small and there were only a few sites left, so we decided to try Warren Dunes.  Matt and I have been to the Dunes several times but never the campground.  We all LOVED it!  The campground was nice a wooded, but it was a short drive to Lake Michigan.  We enjoyed biking, hiking, walking up the GIGANTIC sand dune, swimming, and spending time together.

 Gotta get these pictures before it's not "cool" anymore! 😉

 The water wasn't as cold as I thought it would be!

 They LOVE catching fireflies and don't get to often since it's so late when it gets dark.

We all agreed to go back sometime.  We had a lot of fun!

Evansville weekend

We always have a great time when we drive down to Evansville to visit Nate.  He is such a gracious host and he and Sara always have lots of fun planned for us.  The boys always play a lot of disc golf while the girls go shopping, hang out around the house, or go to the park.  We also went to the pool, played Star Wars Life, and ate at some yummy restaurants!  I guess I didn't take many pictures. :) Can't wait for our next visit.