Iowa fun stuff

My parents came to LaGrange last week, and then Jackson, Audrey and I hitched a ride back with them for an Iowa visit. Below are some highlights.





Below is a shot of Jack with his 2nd cousins, Joslynn, Mikayla, and Kennedy at my Aunt Barb's house in Corning Iowa.





My cousin, Lori, got to give Audrey a snuggle.



Bella and Jack had a ball.



Then it was back in the car, and back home. This is a shot Jackson took out the window. It was a great time.

Crop circles

I often wake up in the morning and discover these strange formations around the house. Who could have done it? What does it all mean?

3 months old

Our little sweetie pie - 3 months old!! Time flies.

Jack and Thomas - 2007

With over 40,000 tickets sold for this weekend, Friday was the best day of the three. We had a blue cloudless sky and temperatures in the mid-70s. It was a perfect day to share a morning with Thomas the tank engine.



The event was held at the Illinois Railway Museum located in Union, Illinois. There was Thomas "stuff" all over the place, like this image of Thomas made from Leggos.



We were able to take several photos of Jack along side of Thomas ...




... and ride in one of several old coach cars pulled by Thomas for a 20 min. ride.



(EDITOR'S NOTE: Located two cars behind the one from which this photo was shot was an 0ld diesel locomotive which did the actual pushing and pulling of Thomas' train.)

We saw posters of other friends of Thomas as well as clowns and other locomotives at this museum.



However, after a full morning with trains and Thomas, a wonderful lunch at Chez McDonalds, it was wonderful to just kick back, eat a chocolate chip cookie, and watch several episodes of Max and Ruby.



Ah yes!! Life is good!!

Henry turns 2!

Friends Kerry and Val hosted a birthday bash for their son, Henry. Here's a shot of Jack making sure Henry knows how to play with his cars (just in case he didn't know already).



Audrey was in attendance.



And yes, there was cake!

Jack & Nanna at the Water Pad

The Pleasantdale Park District, in one of their parks, has what they call a Water Pad. This is an area with no standing water, and numerous water jets. Some are stationary and some move from place to place.


Initially, Jack was reluctant to join in the fun. After watching the other young people, he finally got with the program.


Both Jack and Nanna seemed to really enjoy it.


It was really a great way to spend a morning on one of the dog days of August.

Jackson and Audrey

I took some shots of Jack and Audrey together last weekend. As a mom, I can't seem to objectively edit photos any more, so I'm posting them all. Enjoy!

Camp Tiny Tots

Since the end of July, Jack has been going to Camp Tiny Tots two mornings a week (without Mom)! He's enjoying making crafts, playing on the playground, and of course the snacks. It was dinosaur week last week. This week will be the final week of camp.

It's Too HOT!!!

Visiting Nanna and Boompa, on a very HOT day, no sandbox, no sprinkler, no walks to the park. Just the mundane play with toy trucks and "Thomas" toys on the family room coffee table. Hey! Let's do something special for lunch!!

Choo Choo Johnny's, located in Frankfort, is a child-oriented restaurant featuring a railroad train motif. The wait-people become your "engineers" and your food is brought to you on an electric train.

In addition to the action at counter level, there is a train and its tracks high on the wall which continuously circles the restaurant.


The wait-engineer unloads Jack's basket of "chicken rails" and fries.


We took a picture of our wait-engineer ...


... and she took a picture of us.


Boompa continues to perfect his ability to take a "LauBen" style photo. (I thought it came out alright.)


And to finish off the perfect lunch, some chocolate ice cream, and a ride on a Thomas style locomotive.