Oct 20: Colorful Walk at the Forest Preserve

Today must have been the perfect day to walk the trail at the forest preserve. The leaves were changing, but the temperature was still warm. And the girls loved it!

A few minutes into our walk, Calli decided she and Rich needed walking sticks. She would watch him closely to see how to use a walking stick.

Mari soon made it clear she did not want to ride in the carrier - she wanted to walk around and explore! She especially loved the gravel on the trail, and would often stop to examine it.







Mari and I look at the duck in the river, while Calli gets leaves to throw off the bridge.

We saw several families getting formal pictures taken. We found a kind stranger to take a few, but Calli was much more interested in watching his boys, than looking at the camera. I'm guessing that will only get worse as she gets older ;)











Below is my favorite picture from the day!

























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Oct 14: Dora Party

Today we went to the Skokie Library for a Dora Party. We missed the Dora story, but watched a little of the Dora video, got Dora braclets and waited in line to see Dora! Our previous experiences with life-sized characters haven't gone so well. But Calli said she wanted to give Dora a hug, so Rich waited in line with lots of other parents. When it was our turn - the girls did amazingly well!

Our Moment in the Spotlight

Calli gave Dora a big hug!

And then, Mari, unbelievably gave Dora a kiss! (Actually, this was the second time she did it because the first time the picture didn't turn out well.)

Oct 14: A Rainy Day

Today, it was raining when we left church. We weren't prepared enough to have our umbrella with us, but once we got home, Calli wanted to play with her Dora umbrella.


Then she and Mari played under it for a while, and even let me snap some pictures.


I love Mari's expression in this one!

And one self-portrait of the three girls

Trip to the Zoo

This morning, we braved the heat and humidity and headed out to the zoo.


Since we were there mid-morning, we got to see the cow milking demonstration. Calli thought it was really cool, but she's a little mixed up. She thinks the cows drink milk, and then the tubes and pipes collect their pee.


We visited the "Farm-in-the-Zoo" and saw the just hatched baby chicks.


Calli and Mari sat in the big tractor. Calli wanted to wear the seat belt, and explained to me that only one person could sit in the seat at a time.


Mari loved crawling back and forth through the big hatching eggs and peaking her head up.

Other highlights included:
* the resting pig, who was pregnant
* the goats
* the gorillas
* the 3 zebras
* the deer with big antlers
* the tiger (we only saw 1 tiger today, and no lions)
** and stopping for a snack of ice cream & a banana inside the air conditioned cafeteria

Lunch With Dillon

Today our playgroup met at a park because it was warm and sunny. We had a fun time seeing everyone. Mari enjoyed the swings for the second day in a row! Calli had a bag of mini-goldfish and shared very well - handing them out one by one to any kid who asked. Of course, my kids wouldn't stop and pose, but I got this great shot of Dillon!

Then Renae invited us to go out for lunch with them. We went to Baker's Square. It was yummy! (Yes, Dillon was chewing on this lemon! Silly boy)

Calli did a great job eating her hamburger, and Mari ate about half the turkey off my Slow-Roasted Turkey Focaccia. The best, and most surprising part, was that Renae and I actually had some good conversation, which is tricky to do when you are a group of 2 adults and 4 kids!!

Millennium Park - Take 2!

After having such a great time last time, we decide to go back to Millennium Park, and this time to bring friends. We drove down this time, with Lucas & Elizabeth (his grandma), and met up with Jamie, Koji & Izumi.


Alex was even able to walk over the few blocks from work to join us for our picnic.


Izumi and Mari loved crawling around together in the water.


Mari!

It wasn't quite as warm as last time, so Calli was a little more timid. But she enjoyed it - as did Lucas!

Tip-toeing in the tulips

With tons of BEAUTIFUL tulips popping up all over, I can't help but try to capture some of these great photo oppertunities!Unfortunately, Calli is not at an age where she wants to sit still and pose for any length of time. And did I mention, she HATES looking at the camera. So we weren't surprised when she wouldn't sit with us for these shots. But the funniest part was when she stood behind Rich, using all my tricks to get ME to smile.



"Look Mamma", "Say CHEEEEESE", "How many fingers am I holding" and even "Look Mamma, Silly Hair". I was cracking up!




Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for picking out these adorable dresses! And thanks Tia Julie for living in Hawaii and introducing us to muʻumuʻu and Hawaiian attire.

Another beautiful spring day

After this weekend, I thought we might have to be content with rain today, but no rain yet. So with Grandma's help - we headed out for an excursion.

Enjoying a picnic lunch at the "pirate ship park". I discovered this is a great park for my girls because Calli can do most things by herslef, and there are large surfaces for Mari to crawl on.

I discovered a new trick to get Calli to look at the camera. Then, after agreeing to ride in the stroller on the way to the park, she got her promised time riding her bike. And on her second day of riding a tricycle she was going all by herself!

Free Cone Day

We are very grateful to Ben & Jerry's for making today Free Cone Day. So this afternoon the girls and I went for some ice cream.



I got Phish Food, and Calli & Mari shared a vanilla. (FYI - Phish Food and Vanilla are ranked #7 and #10 in terms of popularity.)
Calli ate more than Mariella, but Mari would protest loudly every time I got too caught up in eating my own cone to feed her. And unlike her normal particular self, she made no complaints about being fed off a spoon.


Fortunately, we got there right before a big rush - mostly students.


After our ice cream, we stopped in a cute Evanston boutique called lollie. Another "customer" talked to, read to, and generally entertained the girls. Her poor mother kept trying to get her to try on clothes, but she found the girls much more interesting.