Today

We took the kids tonight to a local forest preserve in an attempt to get some updated pictures.  The weather was not what I had hoped for, but at least the rain had stopped.  

I took almost 500 pictures, most of those being of the 4 of them together.  I was bound and determined to get one, just ONE, picture of them all somewhat looking & smiling...at the same time.  Is that really too much to ask for?!?!

The kids had a lot of fun exploring....there were lots of paths that the kids called "mazes", and there were barns and rocks and flowers and a crazy amount of dragonflies.  

We even saw a deer, but unfortunately at that point I didn't have my zoom lens attached to my camera (doh!) so I couldn't get a great picture.  If you look closely, you can see him right in the middle of the path.

Here is a sampling of the shots we got....some of them are definitely a bit blurry/grainy, and my amateur-ness is revealed in many areas, and I spent most of the time using a lends that I am not as comfortable with, but overall I am pleased that we were able to capture some fun & sweet moments.  And by golly, we managed to get a couple of them all looking & smiling.

Shane kept showing his muscles.  Apparently showing off one's muscles goes along with saying "cheeeese."

I'm pretty sure there is a picture of Kris around this age with this same face.  Must. Find. It.

I guess I can understand why people think they are twins.

This might have been the big kids' favorite moment...I told them to stand back there and just be silly.

Ugh, I really wish that I could have gotten one of them smiling in this spot.  I love the background.  But, this was just before we left, and they were pretty much DONE.

His Superhero pose

 

Back to the Beach

 Caleb did not have school on Friday (teacher's institute day), and it was HOT, so we headed to Chicago to go back to the beach that we had visited earlier this summer. The kids had a great time.  Caleb & Meredith had a lot of fun swimming.  They played in the sand a bit also, but spent most of the time in the water.  Shane did not want much to do with the lake, but loved digging and playing with trucks in the sand.  Norah loved playing with the sand (and eating it, yuck).  She also liked sitting right at the edge of the water and laughed when the tide would come in & cover her belly.  Auntie Heidi & Uncle Kimball stopped by as well, and the kids were excited to see them.  I was personally thankful they came, because they were a great help to me when it was time to get the kids cleaned up (sand everywhere....) and ready to go home.

Typical Shane face...though he loved digging in the sand, he didn't like his hands being all sandy.

Caleb (of course) made some friends, and a little boy was nice to share his space shuttle with Caleb.

Our view from 31st Street Beach

Norah was exhausted.  She fell asleep while Uncle Kimball carried her back to the car.