Halloween Cuties!

Ben sucking on markers while decorating his first Jack O'lantern

Sofia refusing to use a knife to decorate her pumpkin "That's dangerous," she said.

Noah Sofia and Ben

Trick or Treating!

Great Fall Fun this year! The kids loved decorating pumpkins. We love carving and roasting the pumpkin seeds. All of our pumpkins are of the smiley variety. I just think a big orange ball screams "happy" not "scary." We have my family over for dinner and then we go trick or treating with the kids. This year cousin Noah got to come over. What Fun!

Punkin Patch

Sofia used to be afraid of the ponies, not anymore!

A Pumpkin eating dinosaur

How tall is Ben?

Sofia and Daddy's first camel ride

We had so much fun at the Pumpkin Farm! We started out with some pony rides. Ben didn't enjoy them so much this time but Sofi had a blast. Then we took a hayride to the pumpkin patch. We stopped to watch the dinosaur eat some pumpkins. I think that is just the most ingenious way to do something fun with extra rotting pumpkins! We had roasted sweet corn, played in two different corn mazes. To end the day, Sofi and daddy took a camel. Sofi suggested it and we were so surprised that she really wanted to be so high up on the camels back. It was a super fun way to celebrate fall!

An Afternoon at the Farm

Bella and Talia feeding the goats
Ben, Sofi and Camden

A couple Fridays ago we went to Heritage Prairie Market and Farm. We wanted the kids to see a real working farm. Everyone there was so generous. We got to taste some yellow watermelon adn feed the goats. We walked around and saw the herb and vegetable gardens and horses. We talked about how food grows in the ground. It was a beautiful afternoon and we all enjoyed ourselves very much.

Day at Lake Geneva

The great Sand Hill

Daddy and Ben in the water!

Sofia and Brian enjoyed burying eachother

Playing on the shore!

We spent three days at the beach this summer. The kids love it! We would pack a lunch and head up in the morning. Ben would take a nap while sofi played on a sand hill. When Ben woke up we'd eat and then sit on the shore. The beach in Fontana is awesome. It was never crowded even the week of the fourth of July. These pics were taken on Labor. Amazing!

Curious Sofia goes to the big city!

Brian and Sofi enjoying the observatory

Ben is such a happy guy!

Washing windows just like Curious!

The aftereffects of a S'mores sundae

I've been a little lazy about blogging lately so I thought I'd catch you up on one of our adventures. A couple Sundays the weather was so wonderful we dediced to run into Chicago and play. We started with lunch at Gino's East. We followed that up with a trip to "wash windows just like Curious George does!" We had a spectacular view from the John Hancock tower. We wandered around Michigan avenue and then finished our afternoon off with icecream treats from Ghiradelli's. It was a super fun day!

Ahoy Mateys!

The girls on the Safari Express!

Tabby and Sofia

Big Boy Ben on the little train!

I'm loving this!

Last week we went with Tabby and Carolyn to Pirates' cove. Even though it was at least 95 degrees out, everyone had a great time. At first the girls were a little tentative about trying the different rides. By the end of the day they were running from one ride to the next. Even Ben loved the Safari Express and the little trains and rode all by himself. He had so much fun. When he had to get off the little trains he would point at the train and cry. Lucky for us, there weren't a lot of people at the park so they got to ride each ride over and over again.

Ben turns 1!

Tissanie and Ben celebrate!
Ben enjoying his new sunglasses
Ben enjoys his birthday cupcake!

Two days after Ben officially turned one we had his birthday party! Our friends and family came to celbrate our little man's first year. It was a great time. Of course Ben got too many presents. He loved his cupcake!

The Springs

Down town Colorado Springs

Garden of the Gods

At the end of June I got to visit my best friend Jenny Johnson in Colorado Springs. Ben and I surprised her for her baby shower. It was my first time traveling since I've had kids and my first time traveling with a baby on an airplane.

The trip was well worth it! It was great to be at their church. I loved the anglican service patterned after those in Africa and Asia. It was easy to feel connected to God's bigger story. After the service, Jenny and the children had a bake sale to raise money for their sister church in Rawanda. They raised money to buy families goats and chickens to improve their nutrition and their family finances by selling extra food that the animals produced.

It was amazing to be in the mountains. On Monday we had dinner on the mountainside by a little creek. We also spent some time wandering around Manitou Springs. It's a little tourist town outside of Colorado Springs. Manitou had natural soda springs. You can walk around town and drink out of the salty, bubbly springs. The first time I had some it wasn't exactly what I was expecting.

The next day, and my final one in Colorado, we walked around Garden of the Gods. These beautiful rock formations are part of Colorado Springs. It was a beautiful place to walk, talk and pray and enjoy the beauty of God's creation.

At the Zoo!

Sofia always love the carousel!

Ben wanted to keep on going even after

the ride was over!

Brian, Sofia and Ben waiting for the dolphin show


Sofi loved the fountain!

Ben and Ben

The Cicada invaders

Friday we spent the day at Brookfield Zoo. We take an annual trip to the zoo and it is one of our favorite days of the year. Each year the dolphin show is a highlight and of course this year was no exception. Later, we even saw the dolphins swimming underneath the pool.

This year there were a few new highlights as well. First we made our way over to the exhibit called the Living Coast. Inside you see fish, sharks and penguins. But the highlight was the fountain outside the exhibit. We didn't have a swim suit for Sofi but we had an extra change of clothes so we let her run around and play in the fountain. I think getting all wet in her clothes made it even more fun for her.

In Tropic World we got to see two orangutans named who shared names with Sophia and Ben. So we took picture of each child with their "namesakes." Do you see any resemblance. It's interesting how people interpret life within their own worldview. When we were watching the gorillas I heard one woman remark, "When we see these animals nursing and taking care of their young, I don't know how people can't believe in....." My head filled in the blank "God" but she said "evolution". Now, I definately don't think that beliving in God and evolution are mutually exclusive. It was just interesting to me how people see things differently. I couldn't help but think of God, his creativity and his sense of humor as we saw the different animals.

The cicadas were also a big hit. Everyone in Chicagoland has been talking about the Cicada invastion for about a month, but Elgin has been a big dissapointment. I haven't really seen any cicadas to speak of, even in the older downtown areas. But, we were not dissapointed by the Cicadas at Brookfield Zoo. There were sooooo many! As the day went on they got louder and louder. Claudia even had a close call with one as it tried to fly right into her mouth! All in all it was amazing to hear their powerful song. Only summer brings with it an energy like that!