Field Trip Friday - Powder Valley

I have been meaning to visit this nature reserve for years!  Friday was finally the day.  We loved it!  Gotta love the silly faces.

 We explored the gardens outside a bit - we even saw some pretty crazy caterpillars.  Jack and I headed inside to wait for friends and check things out.  This room was awesome.  He loved feeling all of the different animal furs.  We were both surprised that the fox was the softest.

 A freind joined in on the fun and Jack was so excited to explore with her. 

After Jacks yellow jacket incident over labor day, he has been understandabley frightened of any flying insect.  I was thrilled to see they had an enclosed bee hive.  He checked it out with no fear and we talked all about how the bees only want to pollinate - they aren't mean like those awful yellow jackets.  The bee hive was probably his very favorite part.

Lastly we headed out to explore one of the trails.  Unfortunately the one we picked was crazy steep - but we made it!  These two were troopers!

Lunch Dates

The boys love when I bring them lunch at school.  If I'm honest I think it is pretty fun too.  Last Friday Jack and I brought Max lunch.

These kids are just getting so grown up looking.  I seriously can't take it!

Monday I went up and had lunch with William before picking Jack up from school. 

It was too cute!  I'm glad Will and his buddies still look like little guys.

Field Trip Friday

I've decided I need to make the most of Jack's Friday's off school, so I'm incorporating a Field Trip Friday.  Last week we went to the zoo. 

We got to check out the new grizzly bear exhibit - although Huck and Finn weren't to into visitors. 

We visited the penguins - which are Jack's favorite every time we go to the zoo.  He just laughed and laughed as they zoomed through the water and splashed at us from their habitat. 

Of course no visit to the zoo is complete without a ride on the train.  It was a gorgeous morning and hte zoo was totally empty. It doesn't get much better than this!!

Labor Day Adventures - Chicago Style

Over Labor Day we headed to Chicago for some fun cousin time.  There were some rough moments on Saturday morning when this guy stepped into a yellow jacket hive.  It wasn't pretty.  In fact, it was pretty awful.  I did my best to remain calm, but I didn't do very well.  30+ stings and he still put on a brave face.

   A bit of quite time building wish his big cousin helped.  She was so sweet with Jack all weekend - she even played a game of Candyland with him and he loved it!
 William lost his third tooth - that one on the top.  His cousins have an Alexa and the first thing he did after I pulled that bad boy was to walk right up to Alexa "Alexa - how much does the tooth fariy pay in Chicago?"  He was disappointed when she didn't have an answer :)

 Since Jack was mostly recovered, we headed out on an adventure - apple picking! 

 This little farm was adorable!  No tractors, but the orchard wasn't far.  The kids had a pretty great time picking apples and it was just a gorgeous day!

 They enjoyed eating the apples too :)

We stopped at a super cool nature center on our way home.  The kids had a great time exploring. 

 They were all totally enthralled checking out the native animals and trying to lead the snake with their fingers.

Jack especially liked looking at all of these skulls and figuring out what they belonged to.  A little morbid, but educational. 

William's Art

Melts my heart 💗

Cub Scouts

Max and William started the scouting year off with a bang!  A police helicopter landed on the school blacktop during their first pack meeting!  Well, it actually landed just a little bit early during William's soccer practice, but we cant' be too choosy. 

Can't wait to see what this year is scouting holds for our boys!  Max is so excited to wear a tan Weblos shirt, and William is just excited to BE an official scout!

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate

I almost forgot this adventure. . . William just loves Curious George.  I think it is because he can relate to George.  William is a very curious little guy.  He always wants to figure things out and tries to see what is going on behind the scenes.  One of our favorite books is about George going to a candy factory.  He sees how the candies are made and even causes a bit of mischief. 

I heard that a local candy company gives free tours so we signed up!

 We got to see how the smores are made - they even make the marshmallow there are the store! 

The tour was shot and our guide was pretty great.  She kept things moving and the boys thought it was pretty great - especially when we got a sample at the end!

Jack and the Pets

So Jack has to make a page about himself for school.  I took a couple pictures of him and the pets to include.  They just cracked me up!!

 Jack's face. . . oh my!

 Duke is posing for his modeling debut. 

Things William Says

An email from his speech teacher today . . .

Today when I was working with William, we were sharing our "news." Mine was that it was my husband's birthday. William asked how old he was, and I said 48. William matter-of-factly said, "Well, I guess he's going to die soon." Then he thought for a little bit and said, "Wait a minute...48 or 84? I always get that mixed up!"

I'm so glad that other adults in his life appreciate his sense of humor as much as we do!