We opted for a nice relaxing 4th of July celebration. We drove out to Der Dutchman for a chicken dinner and to our amazement it was not crowded at all. It is the first time ever that we have walked in and been seated without waiting for a table...and it was 6:30 when we got there. The food was tasty as ever, Mike and I always get the broasted chicken (cooked in a pressure cooker) crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside.



Megan gave her salad a thumbs up. After dinner we walked around the bakery and gift shop. Then we went out to the porch and relaxed in the rockers.....

and we had some pie...after we listened to the kids ask "is it time for pie yet?" about fifty million times. Mike and the girls had their favorite chocolate peanut butter pie. I opted for blackberry cream pie.

Yes my kids were in hooded sweatshirts and sweaters and covered up with a blanket...it was a cool 67 degrees out and there had been light sprinkles earlier in the day. It was a nice change from the usual hot temps and crazy humidity.
I had my camera set on the fireworks setting...I think they look more like blown glass or something.

Happy 4th of July Eve...we started our celebration last night. We went out back and had some sparkler fun while waiting for Red, White and Boom to be broadcast on T.V. My favorite part of watching the show was looking over at the sofa and listening to my kids sing along with me to Lee Greenwoods "God Bless The U.S.A." I am proud of the fact that they know all the words...they both learned the song at school and have sung it in school programs. I think that says something positive about the public school they are going to.

Hey Aunt Shann Paige still has the flag necklace that you gave her and she remembers that it came from you.

We wish everyone a happy and safe July 4th weekend!

These are the two little half circle succulent planters that Deb and Bud gave me for my birthday, they came from Trader Joes. I love them they remind me of my Grandma, except her succulents were always planted in recycled containers such as colanders, old shoes etc.

Here are some of the many pictures that Paige and I took at the zoo today. We started our trek in the North America section and then ended our visit at Asia Quest so we could see the newest addition to our zoo, baby Beco.
These first 3 photos were taken at "Habitat Hollow" a fun little home built to teach folks about animal habitats and to encourage everyone to reduce, reuse and recycle.

I was pretending to plug my nose but it looks like I was pushing my glasses up..oh well it seemed like it would be a cute shot. Paige looks much cuter with her foxy friend.

We spent quite a while enjoying these little ducklings that were walking across the lily pads. The frogs didn't seem to mind it was pretty darn cute.

Since the weather was so mild the animals seemed a little more active. We enjoyed watching the wolves roam around. Paige took the picture below it is not perfectly focused but I love how it feels intimate.

We also spent a lot of time watching the antics of the otters. They always look like they are having the time of their lives. I love the shot below....tail pointed straight up as he dives headfirst into the pond.

We stopped to look at the Bison and she came up to give me a hug (she does this often..and it thrills me that she still does it in public) so I threw my arm out and snapped our photo.
If you look close you can see the cute little silver puppy dog necklace that Deb gave me for my birthday. I got my b.day gifts from Deb last Sunday. Last Sunday was Rowdy's 13th birthday so I love that I got this cute little pup on Rowdy's b.day...it makes it extra special!

She is her father's child...that face above comes directly from Mike. I could probably find a few pictures with him making that same face...but then she turned on the charm and gave me a pretty Paige smile below.

Paige and her camera...she was enjoying taking lots of photos today. She took some very good shots of the baby elephant. She also took this shot of the swan. I have a feeling that if Mike were down loading these he would have deleted it..but not me I think it is pretty good...a headless goose. Oh and I love the reflection too.

I took these photos while the kids were standing on a bench so they could see the swans. Sometimes it is fun to take photos from a different angle. I like seeing the tree branches behind their heads...it sure beats having peoples midsections behind their heads.

When I was putting these photos on the computer I came across this one of Megan that I snapped today and all of a sudden I noticed that my baby is growing up. She will be 8 in 11 days. She lost her first front tooth a year ago today...and the other a week and half later when we were out in California. So maybe that is why she looks so old all of a sudden...it's the "big front teeth".

We saw the Rhino on the way to see the mane event...baby Beco, Phoebe and Coco's son. He was born at 300lbs. on March 27th. He now weighs in at about 537 lbs. and he looks so tiny next to his mama.

I love this shot that Paige took below...look at how the mama and baby both have their legs crossed the same. Is that cute or what?

Oh and here is baby Beco trying to do a headstand...silly little boy.

There are always trainers out when the elephants are in the yard...and Beco went over to check them out. This is a nice shot so you can see how big he is compared to a person. He is like a 500 pound puppy. I bet they are required to where steel toed boots.

We were hoping that they would take a swim in the pond. Back when Bohdi (Phoebe's last calf) was this age they would swim together. Maybe it was not warm enough today.

This was as good as it got with the Tiger pictures.
The Markhor Goat looked very regal up on it's perch.

The Pheasant Avery is always a fun place to snap some close ups of colorful birds.

Before we left we walked through one of the gift shops. Megan would not pose with the silly flamingo hat for me but she did a good job of doing a dramatic snake photo.
Oh and don't you love the magnifying glass...my what big eyes she has!

Before we left the zoo we stopped by the new "Animal Encounters" area. They have birds on display and they bring out small critters for the kids to learn about and touch. (that is why we carry hand sanitizer in our bag). They also put on animal shows with domestic and wild animals who have all been rescued from area shelters.

Above the kids petted a Rat Snake. I am proud of them for not being afraid to touch reptiles, they are smart nonsquirmish girls.
Below they are petting a little guy that is the cousin to a Ferret.

Megan was getting friendly with a baby American Aligator.

Here are some more pictures from our Father's Day fishing trip. Mike and I enjoyed a peaceful day of fishing while the girls enjoyed dipping their toes in the stream.

That is Megan pretending to fall in the stream (above). As Paige would say "she's so dramatic!"













The girls entertained themselves for quite a while by launching leaf boats and having races.




Mike and I were fishing and we watched as this big beaver swam to shore. He surprised us by getting out of the pond on the other side of the creek. We watched him walk along the path and go into the Big Darby.

The last picture of the day...Paige and Megan striking a pose on the first day of summer...6-21-09 (Father's day).

Summer time in the Midwest means.....BIG thunderstorms, hot humid days and chasing fire flies after dark...



When I got home from work last night I took the dogs out back. The soy bean field out beyond the backyards were all lit up with fire flies. So I told Megan to grab her fire fly catcher (it looks like a Coleman lantern, got them at Big Lots a few years ago). So she went for a walk (in her p.j.s) with me and the dogs. Paige was at a birthday-sleepover so it was just me, Megan and the dogs. We didn't catch any fire flies but we did save this little fellow from Baileys curious nose.
After Megan went in to show her dad the little toad we set him free in the backyard flower bed.


By the way do you have a favorite story from "Frog and Toad"? I do it's called.....

"Cookies"

Toad baked some cookies. "These cookies smell very good," said Toad. He ate one. "And they taste even better," he said. Toad ran to Frog's house. "Frog, Frog," cried Toad, "taste these cookies that I have made."

Frog ate one of the cookies, "These are the best cookies I have ever eaten!" said Frog.

Frog and Toad ate many cookies, one after another. "You know, Toad," said Frog, with his mouth full, "I think we should stop eating. We will soon be sick."

"You are right," said Toad. "Let us eat one last cookie, and then we will stop." Frog and Toad ate one last cookie. There were many cookies left in the bowl.

"Frog," said Toad, "let us eat one very last cookie, and then we will stop." Frog and Toad ate one very last cookie.

"We must stop eating!" cried Toad as he ate another.

"Yes," said Frog, reaching for a cookie, "we need willpower."

"What is willpower?" asked Toad.

"Willpower is trying hard not to do something you really want to do," said Frog.

"You mean like trying hard not to eat all these cookies?" asked Toad.

"Right," said Frog.

Frog put the cookies in a box. "There," he said. "Now we will not eat any more cookies."

"But we can open the box," said Toad.

"That is true," said Frog.

Frog tied some string around the box. "There," he said. "Now we will not eat any more cookies."

"But we can cut the string and open the box." said Toad.

"That is true," said Frog. Frog got a ladder. He put the box up on a high shelf.

"There," said Frog. "Now we will not eat any more cookies."

"But we can climb the ladder and take the box down from the shelf and cut the string and open the box," said Toad.

"That is true," said Frog.

Frog climbed the ladder and took the box down from the shelf. He cut the string and opened the box. Frog took the box outside. He shouted in a loud voice. "Hey, birds, here are cookies!" Birds came from everywhere. They picked up all the cookies in their beaks and flew away.

"Now we have no more cookies to eat," said Toad sadly.

"Not even one."

"Yes," said Frog, "but we have lots and lots of willpower."

"You may keep it all, Frog," said Toad. "I am going home now to bake a cake."

God Bless Arnold Lobel and his beautiful sense of humor!

Hey Auntie....Paige's gifts got here today....and she loves them!

I already took down one of her pictures in her room and replaced it with the adorable "Horsin Around" sign and photos.

The shirts fit perfectly and she made a saddle and bridal out of the ribbons and bows for her little horse.

Joe Boxer is hanging out with us today while Aunt Deb goes on an out of town meeting. Paige, Megan and Rebel were so excited when Joe came over this morning.

Have you ever tried to take a group shot and no matter how hard you try the subjects won't all look the same direction at once? Well I was having that trouble when all of a sudden...they all looked the same direction...not towards the camera but at least they were all looking the same direction. This cracks me up...hope it does the same for you ;)

These are some pictures of Megan and her b.f.f. Cameron that I took in May and never got around to posting. Megan is a monkey bar master now, you can tell by looking at her callus covered palms.