New Dress, New Doll

New Hairdo Experiment

Skateboarding with Daddy

Talking to Grammy & Paka ...on the compuder!

Adley enjoys a game of Simon Says with Grammy and Paka while talking on the compuder. This game evolved into waving our American Flags. Fun for the whole family.

Adley frequently says when she's talking on the land-line "I can't see you Grandma!"

Tomato Plant Update

7/18/09

vs.

6/19/09

Morton Arboretum 7/13/09 - part 3

We visited the tree house area of the Children's Garden where Daddy and Adley braved the shifting-plank walkway. Adley did great but didn't exactly want to do it again.

Refreshing after some long walks and lots of sunshine.

Posing in the tree house.

Children's Garden play area. Under those roots is a ladder that leads to a couple of slides.


"Our" favorite area of the Children's Garden - one of two water pumps. After this picture was snapped Adley proclaimed "I'm making water!"

Adjusting the gate for the water flow through a serious of wooden troughs. Adley couldn't believe all the freedom she had to play and splash in the water. Several times she looked over to check if Mommy was going to stop her from getting wet. I guess we need to play with water more at our house.

Loving the Children's Garden.

Morton Arboretum 7/13/09 - part 2

Our visitor passes included a 60 minute, 8 mile tram-tour of the entire acreage of the Arboretum. Adley didn't exactly marvel at all the beautiful trees but she did enjoy the ride in a "train" without a seatbelt. It also helped that Monday was a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze, perfect for spending the day outdoors.

This is a typical view of areas of the Arboretum that include their collections. They mow the grass in each "collection" area so that visitors can visit each of the trees up close (not to hug them). All of the collection trees are individually tagged as well. The first area was Trees of Northeast Illinois.

Here's a typical view of a natural setting that was allowed to thrive after being reclaimed from settlers farmland.

Here I am admiring the beautiful ivy and marveling at our camera's ability to take such a shot from a moving tram.

This was one of the beautiful ponds in the Children's Garden.

Jared's photography skills in action.

Morton Arboretum 7/13/09 - part 1

On Monday 7/13/09, we spent our family day exploring the Morton Arboretum in nearby Lisle, IL. Fortunately, we were given some visitors passes by a generous couple at church which made the day even more enjoyable.

From the Morton Arboretum website: "The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to the planting and conservation of trees. Its 1,700 acres hold collections of more than 4,000 kinds of trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world..."
And
"...The Arboretum was founded in 1922 by Morton Salt magnate Joy Morton. Arboretum grounds offer an oasis of magnificently tended trees, 16 miles of hiking trails, 9 miles of roads, and 900 acres of natural areas. Also on the grounds are the Visitor Center and Plant Clinic, The Arboretum Store, Ginkgo Restaurant and Café, five-acre Children’s Garden, one-acre Maze Garden and several lakes."

Daddy and Adley enjoying the hedge garden.

A Birthday Party

On Saturday, July 11, we were invited to a birthday party. It was a backyard water-fun party. The weather was wonderful and Adley wore her new dress from Grandma Mary and Grandpa Al.

Thanks Grandma Mary and Grandpa Al. We love stickers too!

The party was a lot of fun for all including great food...

Adley had a great time playing in the kiddie pool...

...sliding on the slip-n-slide...

...swinging on the swing set...

...running with the balloons...

...jumping in the toddler bounce house...

...and playing with the toys in the sink.

That doesn't even mention all of the other kids Adley's age to play with and the birthday cake with the purple frosting to provide the sugar high.

Making Cupcakes

Almost two weeks ago we were looking for something to do so we decided to make cupcakes., We had pink Abby Cadabby cupcake papers so we had to mix-up pink frosting. Mommy made the cupcakes and Adley was in charge of frosting. Of course, Adley helped with the cupcakes too, so Mommy couldn't get any pictures but I assure you we had almost as much fun making them as we did eating them. Good thing Mommy halved the recipe!

June Fun

Loving the sprinkler with the heat wave we had all last week.

Adley received this necklace as a birthday present from her friend Emily. It has a button on the back that allows the necklace to light up. Who knew it could double as a camera complete with a red "flash." She spend all day taking pictures of Mommy and Daddy.

Our Local Railroad

We have been invited several times to check out the railroad owned and operated by friends from church. We finally seized the opportunity to visit on Sunday. Adley rode the train with her Daddy and had a great time. They were treated to an extra long ride and the weather was perfect.

When the train ride was done it was on to the playground with this super tall slide (that made Mommy and Daddy a little nervous) and a swing set.

Vacation Bible School Highlights

Our set. Adley loved all the robots.

Her favorite part of VBS: Dancing, of course.
Playing with the other 8 kids in her clase was a close second.

The line in the song is: "I am His, Amen!" Most of the children followed the choreographed sign by throwing the arms above their heads at Amen. Adley folded her hands and bowed her head each time. Such a bright child!

Finger painting on Wednesday.

Play-doh is always a big hit.

More dancing. Its hard to see in this picture but there is a masking tape line on the floor that was meant to keep the children back a couple of feet from all of the electronics for the music, projector and those that made up our decor. Most of the children followed this rule, most of the time. When it came time to dance, however, Adley quickly noted that there was all this empty space right up front so she was always in the front row. Primarily she sang and dance and motioned completely oblivious to the rest of the kids behind her. A few times, though she would turn around and find all of the kids sing the same songs and doing the same motions, so she would face backward for awhile a "direct" the rest of the choir. No fear!

Craft time was always a big hit. I think the craft people were a little overwhelmed though.