Awesome Zoo Day Today!

We went back to Brookfield today, and it was sooooo fun. Grandma came with us, and we started on "the other side" of the zoo, so we could see the tigers and bears. (And, of course, we stopped by to see the dolphins!) Well, we ended up going in the swamp, which was the coolest thing at the zoo! It had awesome fish, turtles, and birds, and of course, a HUGE alligator. It also had a great display of local wildlife, which included a couple of very playful otters! After the swamp, we checked out the aquarium...that was fun, too! On the way into the aquarium area, the Bub spotted a "splash park" so we had to stop and splash around after lunch, before heading home. It was definitely the best day we've had at the zoo this year!

After our exciting morning, we had a wonderful dinner tonight with Jake, Solo and Colleen, and the Bevs. The boys just love to play next to each other (they still don't play with each other, but whatever!) and we had a summer feast--grilled meat, fresh DeKalb sweetcorn, strawberries and peaches--and yummy oreo dessert! Eating all those fresh foods is one of the things I LOVE about summer!

We went back to the splash park today...

Here are our pictures from the last couple of days--yesterday we went to a petting zoo (Randall Oaks in Dundee) and today we went back to the splash park, which was a blast, of course! There is also a pic of our buddy Matthew's first time on a swing :)

So...all I heard all day from the Bubba was, "I go splashpark now"...guess I shouldn't have mentioned it until after his nap. We met up with Ryan, Liz, and MacKenzie, which was way fun...so good to catch up before we go on our big vaca with them next week! (We're going to the Dells for the weekend.) Anna and family went too, since Bubba told her we were going, so she kept saying, "I go splashpark toooooo-ooooo" until someone finally agreed with her.

I hope everyone is enjoying summer--I can't even believe it is August next week. We are going to Blackberry farm tomorrow, we have our Dells trip, and we're going back to the zoo next week, so we have stuff to look forward to, but it seems to be going waaay to fast suddenly!

So...Will really likes chocolate pudding...

I just can't resist this adorable picture of Will, enjoying his pudding last night. I think we're going to listen to all you smart people and go to Disney in November...we'll see what kind of packages I can find. I have to admit, Disneyworld is one of my favorite places ever (we went there for our honeymoon, even!), so the thought is very exciting to me...

It was a slow day today, although this morning Ade, Dave, and I brought the Bubba and the girls to the "Jumpy Place" (jump'n jiminy in St. Charles) and it was fun...this time TJ really enjoyed crawling around the big "jumpies."

Tell me I'm not completely insane...

Okay, I KNOW my boys are little, but I LOVE Disney World. A LOT. So, I'm considering going there the week of Thanksgiving for a few nights. This will be our last chance to go before the Bubba is 3, and therefore old enough to need his own ticket (and, I mean, he's BARELY younger than three, since I wanna go Nov. 22-26 and he turns 3 on the 28th, but whatever.) So...am I nuts? Is taking an airplane with two boys under 3 craziness? For what it's worth, I know they won't love the parks, but I do, and I think they will think some things are cool. And, I really just want to go on a vacation of some sort. So...crazy?!?!

Two in one day, it's a new record!

Okay, I had to post again, because we had the BEST dinner tonight, and I have to share! It was a chicken casserole from the latest Paula Deen magazine, and it was awesome...So...here it is...

Mix:
3 c. cooked chicken (but I just cut up and sauteed 3 small breasts, so not even a lb.)
2 c. cooked rice (supposed to be wild, but I only had white, so that's what I used)
3 stalks chopped celery
1/2 a large sweet onion, chopped
3/4 c. chicken broth
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
Small bag sliced almonds
Garlic Salt and Pepper to taste (I used a LOT of pepper :)
I added about 1 c. of shredded cheddar to the mixture, even though cheese was not in the recipe

Pour mixture into casserole sprayed with Pam. Top with a mixture of one sleeve crushed Ritz crackers and 1/4 c. melted butter. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Seriously, this was so good TJ even liked it, and he doesn't like rice...(Oh, and it was enough to feed the four of us and have more than 1/2 the casserole left over, so it will easily feed the "commune" of us, Ade, Dave, Anna, and Mom and Dad.)

YUM!!!!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Will in the Fountain

The Big Bubba in the Fountain

Playing at the Arboretum

Backyard hose fun!

Arriving at Millenium Park

Okay, so it's once again been forever since I posted here, but my friend Sue has inspired me, so I'm going to try to be better! So, here's some things we've done since my last post (in no particular order):

1. Went to the zoo (again) with Anna and Uncle Dave and Auntie. We had a lot of fun, although we ended the day with a merry-go-round trip where we chose to sit on the bench (sigh...)

2. Went to the DuPage Children's Museum. It was a TON of fun, and of course Will really enjoyed it this year, since anything with water is his idea of a good time.

3. Visited the BUGS at the arboretum. Again, it was a fun day, mostly because there is water to play in there :)

4. Traveled to the Taste of Chicago with our good pals the Bevs. (See Katie's blog for pics and Mikey Bev commentary...) We all had a good time (and ate a LOT!), but, alas, the highlight for the Bubba was when we saw an ambulance trying to make its' way through the traffic on Lake Shore Drive ("MOM! Ambulance got stuck"...repeat 6,000 times...)

5. Went to the 4th of July Parade in Kirkland with the Fells and the Reidl's.

6. Had a splash park Birthday extravaganza! This was a TON of fun and we're going back to the splash park next week with the "Riceboys" so we're looking forward to that.

7. Visited Millennium Park with Nonno, Nonna, and Auntie Jackie. Took a zillion cute pictures of the boys walking around, especially in the fountain. And, thankfully, we got to see another ambulance trying to get through traffic in downtown Chicago...(so yes, once again this is the highlight!)

8. Today we traveled to Sycamore to see the Midwest Museum of Natural History (mmnh.org), which was pretty neat. They have some AMAZING animals on display (although I admit to being a little creeped out by the fact that they were once alive), and also some live little creatures to see, like snakes, big beetles, turtles, and fish. This was a good time, although Anna was totally scared of the animals at first (not helped by the fact that the Elephant trumpets when you walk by...), and it was a pretty short visit, since they wouldn't sit through the movie.

In addition to all the little trips we've taken, we've been having fun in both our little pool and Ade's big pool, we've made it to a couple of our Friday playdates, and of course we're just chillin' at home. So...that's what we're up to (and of course, TJ's been negotiating like mad!) I hope everyone is doing well!