Awww - Sunny Okanogan!

Yep, we're home! We've been home for a couple of days now and the coming home chores have been overwhelming! I neglect them every chance I get! I did start the laundry today and got a few more things put away but..... that's it!

The kids are taking swimming lessons and Dylan had his second riding lesson. They both have had playdates and Max spent the night on Tuesday. They've caught up on their chores!

These are the pictures from Dylan's first lesson on June 18th. The kids all start with a sidewalker and a leader (who holds the lead rope) and progress to riding on their own. Dylan did this week's lesson with just a sidewalker.

Look at this happy face!

Steve is spending the weekend with the soccer team. They will be competing in a tournament/camp in Pullman. The kids and I will be hanging out at home - I might even get my suitcase unpacked! I was supposed to spend Saturday scrapbooking with some friends but instead I will be taking the kids to Chelan to Kendal and Shawn's lake cabin. Which reminds me - I'd better call them to confirm!

So - back to our road trip. From Menomonie we headed towards Chicago with a quick stop in Green Bay and Lambeau Field. Yes, home of the Packers and congretating place of the Cheeseheads! We have several diehard fans in the family and among our friends so we couldn't resist a stop at the Atrium.

Dylan is a fan! I told him I'd buy him some great flannel sleep shorts covered in Packers helmets but he wanted this instead. Hmm....

Our destination from Green Bay was Chicago but we spent one more night on the road before getting there. We arrived in Chicago on Wednesday afternoon and went straight to Lincoln Park. We read that the zoo in Lincoln Park was free so we wanted to take advantage of that! Wow! I was so impressed! When I heard that there was a free zoo, I figured we'd spend an hour or so checking out the 10 or 15 animals in their dinky cages and then move on. I was so wrong about the Lincoln Park Zoo! We spent about 3 hours wandering through the zoo admiring the animals and the beautiful setting. And yes, the zoo is indeed free!

We happened upon this pretty little pond in the park. I think it was called the Lilypad Pond. It was so peaceful. You couldn't even hear the traffic from the city.

When we first arrived at the park, I noticed a group of trailers and trucks in the parking lot across from us. Using my fabulous powers of deduction I've aquired through being just plain nosy, I assumed that a movie was being filmed in the park. My assumption was confirmed when I saw the Universal Studios logo on the trucks. (Holy canoly I used some smart sounding words!) Anyway, on our way back to the car, I noticed a group of girls hanging out on the sidewalk and, being nosy but darned shy about it, I sent Steve over to find out what they were waiting for. Johnny Depp! They were waiting for Edward Scissorhands, for the 21 Jump Street toughy! I was across the street from one of my favorite actors and didn't even know it! I couldn't convince Steve to hang out with the girls so I settled for just knowing that I saw someone who saw Johnny that day. Sigh - it's just not same.....