SO True!

Any kid will run any errand for you if you ask at bedtime. 

 ~Red Skelton

My kids ROCK!

So daddy has been off doing fun things for the day, supporting his dad at Boys State Golf and golfing himself with friends this afternoon/evening. 

So I did what any sane mother would do...I scheduled Contessa's 9 month pictures (almost 2 months behind on that...), and a huge Wal-mart trip...on a day when I'd have them all, by myself. And to top it off, I schedule the pictures so that we had to leave the house by shortly after 8 this morning. Not sure what I was thinking!

I told the kids that IF they were good and IF they obeyed we would get snow cones from Tropical Snow tonight. You would have thought I promised them something much bigger! Or maybe they really are this good! (ha!)

Anyway, they were all excellent. The pictures went beautifully, I cant wait to see the proofs, the trip to Wal-mart was fairly fast and no one ran away, no one fought, no one asked for a single thing and no one complained that they were hungry. 

Now we are home and I asked for one more thing...the picure above! 

Thanks guys! I'm one lucky mommy! 

(and the snow cones were pretty good too!)

And Miss Contessa

Uh, yeah...those eyes again...and they are very hard to resist...on all of my children, but for some reason hers always seem to absolutely sparkle!

Climbing like the big kids!

Taking a ride with Lauren. 

Tess climbed up to that slide all by herself but then just kind of sat in the area between the 2 slides trying to decide if she'd go down headfirst to me or not. Then Lauren rescued her...what a surprise! ;)

Climbing...

I think the best part was all the different types of climbing equipment there was to choose from!

I swear I had trouble finding Avery the whole time we were there. She made friends with kids we didn't know and was off...we had to make a rule, When I yell, AVERY! You yell, HERE I AM!

This kid is getting TOO brave. He is so much less timid than last year. He climbed right up and did the BIG slide and was off and running not caring where I was...way to go bud! 

He was proud he was able to climb this piece by himself!

See, proud! And cheesy!

Friday Park Playdate

We headed to Pburg today with Mel and Jen F. We'd heard of this unreal park. And it was GREAT! I have a feeling we will be making the 16 mile trek to Pburg on many occasions this summer. Its perfect for all ages. 

This is the BIG kid area...

Very tall! 

The mom's even did this slide. Seriously tall, fast and fun! 

This was for the LITTLER and LITTLEST ones...

And why we take our kids to these things...

To bring together the records of the past and to house them in buildings where they will be preserved for the use of men and women in the future, a Nation must believe in three things.

It must believe in the past. It must believe in the future. It must, above all believe, in the capacity of its own people so to learn from the past that they can gain in judgement in creating their own future. 

-Franklin D. Roosevelt 

Mrs. Lincoln's Attic

The people who designed the museum were so smart. They realized that parents would want to take their kids there, but that it could get long for them. So they created Mrs. Lincoln's Attic!

A playroom for kids. And all the playthings were things that Lincoln might have played with...well maybe Lincoln logs were created a bit later...but you get the idea!

Dressing up like a soldier!

Dressing up like Mr. Wincoln!

Lauren and Avery LOVED this part! They got to dress up in old fashioned dresses and play in the old kitchen. They could have stayed there for hours. It was a huge hit. 

The dollhouse was a replica of Lincoln's house in Springfield during his married life. 

His Life

The Lincoln Museum in Springfield really was phenomenal. They did it RIGHT! 

You aren't allowed to take pictures in a lot of it and much of it you just have to see for yourself but here are some of our photos and memories...

Us with the Lincoln Family...

 

See the "White House" behind Jordan? Many of the exhibits were inside there...but no pictures.

 

This log cabin is IN the museum. You start out there and journey though his life. At one point there is a display of wax figures...

An auction block. An African Mother. An African Father. An African child. An Auctioneer. It is very graphic. The emotions that were ripping through them were depicted in their faces and in their actions...even though the figures obviously didn't move. 

The family was being torn apart before your eyes. 

It was so real, that Lauren was in tears. Hiding her face in daddy's shoulder and asking to move away. 

It was hard to look at. 

So important to see. 

 

The kids all loved this scene. We heard a lot about how the Lincoln's indulged their children and were not good at discipline. Lincoln was known for saying that the serious stuff would come soon enough for them...I guess they got to do whatever they wanted to do!  

 

This is one of the 'films' we watched. Behind the glass an actor comes out and talks about why the past, pieces of the past, history itself is so very important. And the best part...Abraham Lincoln appeared and talked to us! Well, his ghost anyway!

The last thing we did before we closed the museum down was to watch the film, "Through Lincoln's Eyes". It was fantastic as well! (Really they should have paid me to go there for all the praise I am giving it!)

 

Lincoln's Law Office

...Trusting in Him, who can go with me, and remain with you and be every where for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care, commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you, and affectionate, farewell. 

Abraham Lincoln

Farewell Address

Springfield, ILL

February, 1861

Really, how can you not love a man who can write like that? A man who loved my Savior and knew Him intimately? A man who loved my country and kept it together and brought freedom for all? 

These pictures were at his law office. When we were standing next to the desk that Lincoln actually sat at...I felt tears fill up in my eyes. Standing that close to history is so moving. 

Lauren, just like her mom and dad, found it all fascinating. 

Avery and Sullivan got a little bored! Avery calls him Habraham Lincoln and Sullivan calls him Mr. Wincoln. 

Thankful Thursday

SCHOOL'S OUT!!!!!

And my Lauren is back! I am thrilled. I THINK she is happy too. She didn't cry this year so that's an improvement from the end of last school year! I however did get a little teary when she met me at the door. One mom looked at me and said, "Well we've got 2nd Graders..." And I was crying. What a sap. 

We saw huge growth in Lauren's self-confidence in 1st Grade. She LOVED her teacher (pictured above) and her confidence grew like a weed! She's been a excellent student but now it seems she cant stop learning and talking about what she's learning. She wants to know about everything. Did you know they do story mapping in 1st grade?!?!?! I remember doing that in HS english! Did you know they learn about grams and kilograms and fractions in 1st Grade? I didn't. And she can tell you all about all of it. 

There is nothing Lauren likes better than to read or write. She is devouring books. She reminds me a lot of myself at her age...a little hesitant in her friendships, enjoying time by herself in her room - reading and just daydreaming I suppose. But she is also very social. Always telling us funny things her friends did or said and she is quite the story teller. Its fun! She really is growing up right before our eyes. 

I'm so excited to have her back around everyday for the summer. We are going to have a blast! 

Love you Lauren, my (gulp) 2nd Grader!!! 

When Christmas comes back

This morning:
Avery: "Well, you know mommy, when Christmas comes back, I dont even know where my snow boots are and I just know I'm going to get in trouble for walking in the snow in these flip flops."

Mommy: "Avery, I put your snow boots away for you, you wont need them for many months."

Avery: "oh. phew."

Seriously, she cant turn 5.

Embarrasing

I'm hooked, somewhat obsessively.

Pool Time

Of course for the kids, probably the highlight of the weekend was the pool...sad to think we could have just gone to the pool at the local hotel and they would have been just as happy! (Im only slightly kidding!)

Lauren is making big strides in her confidence and swimming ability. I think after some lessons this year she'll be a regular fish out there! 

This one is always my poser. And she is the bravest in the water. She is going to have a great summer no doubt! 

I haven't been able to give Sully give me a genuine, unforced smile, on camera in like months. Until we got to the pool. Then all he could do was smile!!! I just love these pics of him! 

Quick Recap

We are preparing to rush out the door to a Sunday School church picnic but I thought I'd give a quick recap of our mini-vacation this weekend. 

We left Thursday at noon...leaving little Contessa behind in the capable hands of her grandmas. Contessa in the car for 5-6 hours and sleeping in the same hotel room as the rest of us for 3 nights was not appealing to anyone involved. I did promise her that we would never have a family vacation without her again...she forgave me immediately. 

(So, this picture is of the kids as we drove past Iowa City. When I was a kid and we would drive through Ames, home of the Cyclones, my dad would make us roll up the windows, and plug our noses so that we didn't let the 'stupid' in. So Jordan found it funny to have our kids do this as we drove through IC, home of the Hawks!)

Anyway, it was very nice to be able to focus on the 'big' kids and give them the attention they sometimes miss out on. And it was nice to not have to constantly tell them, "In a minute."

So we left Thursday and headed to my brother's in St. Louis. He got us tickets to the Cards/Cubs game. And they were great tickets. We had our own private seating area with a spot for Sullivan to run around when he had enough sitting. And we had passes to the Champions Club for all the food we could eat. Its not everyday you get to go to a Major League baseball game and eat prime rib! It was a lot of fun.

We stayed with my brother that night and got up for the zoo on Friday. We also walked around the park near the zoo and tried out Jordan's new boomerangs...fun stuff! Late that afternoon we headed to Springfield, Ill for all the Lincoln 'stuff'. We checked into our hotel and the kids got to swim till their hearts content. 

These pictures were taken at 9 am on Saturday....they were all worn out!

On Saturday we hit the new Lincoln Museum, it is amazing. If you ever get the chance, go. I'll give some more detail in some later posts about our trip. We also went to his law office and walked around the square. There was a Strawberry Festival going on which was fun for the kids. 

On Sunday we toured Lincoln's old neighborhood and his home. 

A very fun filled, memorable weekend...and we are very happy to be home with Tess now. On the way home the kids really started complaining about how much they missed her, and she seemed to miss them as well! 

Go Cubs Go!

We're home

Ok, so our Cubbies didn't win, but Mr. Lincoln did NOT disappoint! We're home with lots of stories, and pictures to share, but not tonight!