March 30, 2008

Hiking the I&M Canal

Hiking on a cold daySunday morning we had planned to make a trip to Starve Rock. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. It was cold and misty. Instead we decided to do some hiking in the Joliet area. We did a small hike in the McHenry woods and then checked out the canal locks in Chanahan's Canal Woods. The kids loved being up on the bridges watching the rushing water.
View Slideshow

March 29, 2008

Grandma's Visit

Mom and IMeg had a fun spring break this week. Monday she stayed with the neighbors. Tuesday and Wednesday she went to Little People's and saw lots of her friends. Thursday she did some geocaching with Dad in the morning and had a playdate with a friend from school in the afternoon. Grandma Chris came up to visit and watch Meg on Friday. Grandma took the kids to see Horton Hears a Who, they said it was a great show. Saturday before Grandma left we checked out a model train show. I had no idea there were so many different types of model trains (and none of them were Thomas).
View Slideshow

March 23, 2008

Easter 2008

eastergroupWe had a very nice Easter. It was great seeing everyone. The kids had fun doing an easter egg hunt in the morning with Grandma Chris and Uncle Bobby. After breakfast we went to Mass. Kendra, Maryann, Mrs. Meetz and Josh joined us for easter dinner.
View Slideshow

March 22, 2008

Easter at the McLeans

IMG_0787_2_2Saturday morning we made our way down to Indiana. After lunch in Lafayette we visited the McLeans in Indy. The kids hunted easter eggs and then used their bunny bucks to pick out items in the bunny store. After a nice easter dinner the kids had fun playing kickball and running around with thier cousins.
View Slideshow

March 21, 2008

Breakfast with the Bunny

IMG_0720Friday morning we met some of Meg's friends at the Arboretum to have breakfast with the Easter Bunny. The kids enjoyed seeing the bunny hopping down the trail as he approached the Ginkgo Room.

After breakfast we took the kids on a couple trails. There was a fresh layer of snow over everything. It really was beautiful, and the kids had a great time.
View Slideshow

March 16, 2008

Geocaching Again

Zach being... ZachThis weeked we got back into geocaching. The kids and Chris found a small one before church Saturday night, then Sunday morning we all put on our gettin' muddy shoes and headed into Bemis Woods. While searching we saw a few deer and lots of animal tracks in the mud. There were a few spots with standing water so we had to climb on logs to get by. Once we got to the location of the cache, Meg and Zach searched around and finally found it under a pile of bark. We wrote our names in the log book and Zach exchanged his parachute guy for a slinky. Meg chose to keep the parachute guy.

In the end it was a very enjoyable walk in the woods and the kids (and Mom and Dad) had a great time outside on a beautiful day.

View Slideshow

March 15, 2008

Easter Egg Hunt

Zach in the huntSaturday morning St. Cletus School held an easter egg hunt. The kids had fun and enjoyed seeing the easter bunny. Luckily, the weather wasn't too bad so they could have the hunt outside. That night we met some other families at Irish Times to celebrate St. Patty's Day. Sunday we did a geocache and then went to a birthday party for one of Meg's friends at Enchanted Castle. It was quite the "kid-focused" weekend.



View Slideshow

March 8, 2008

Aunt Julie Visits

IMG_0439This morning we got a call. Surprise Aunt Julie was in town! So we got the kids dressed and went up to the Schaumburg Ikea to meet her. After playing around at the store made possible by flat boxing and the allen wrench we went to Woodfield Mall to get some lunch and hang out.
View Slideshow

March 5, 2008

Blast from the past

It is cold out side so I found myself flipping through some summer pictures on Flickr. This is a set and post from July 2005 when the fam took a trip through the Upper P. It was a great trip thath te kids still talk about today. Enjoy a trip down memory lane just over 1 year old Zach and almost 4 year old Meg!



IMG_8547.JPGJuly 2005
Last Friday we loaded up the minivan and hit the road to do a Lake Michigan tour. Friday we drove up Wisconsin. Then we spent Saturday lazily making our way across the UP. We stopped to jump in the water at a park. Then we checked out the lighthouses in Escanaba and Pennisula Pointe. After staying the night in St. Ignace we did the trip across "Big Mac", had a sandwich in Petoskey, and took another dip in Charlevoix. Eventually we landed in Beulah where Great Grandma McLean lives. The kids enjoyed playing at the cottage with Grandma and Grandpa McLean and visiting all the local stops such as Traverse City, Frankfort, Glen Arbor, Elberta, The Cherry Hut, and Pointe Betsie. Friday the Spanglers joined us and the last day we were there we celebrated Noelle's birthday. Overall, a fun vacation.
View Slideshow

March 2, 2008

Splash down



We had a great time this weekend in the Wisconsin Dells. We stayed at Great Wolf Lodge again. They had added a third major section to the water park which included a wave pool, mat racing slide and two more tube slides. We had a wonderful time and made it back safely around 3pm Sunday.


View Slideshow