Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July to everyone! We are missing our annual Visalia celebration at the Grimmius', but have enjoyed our day here in Palos Heights too. They shoot off fire works the night before, on July 3, so we braved the crowds and watched the city show along with many other people. The show was actually quite impressive. The problem was sitting still on our blanket for two hours waiting for them to begin. We ended up heading back to our van and had a great view from the parking lot. This morning we watched the city parade with our neighbors. Kamryn and Troy were quite agressive in grabbing the candy that was being thrown by the parade participants. They ended up with two bags full!

Go Sox!

So we have been amazed at the loyal baseball fans here in the Chicago area. One of the first questions people ask is whether you are a White Sox or Cubs fan. Scott feels that he must remain neutral, but Kamryn has decided she is a White Sox fan and Troy thinks he prefers the Cubs. (Uncle Brian will be proud!) Anyway, Scott and Katie were invited to a White Sox game last night which ended up to be a great game. (The Sox pulled through with an exciting homerun in extra innings.) We again have to thank our great neighbor Dean for this experience!

Katie and Scott before the game.
Sam, Katie and Dean

They had great seats.

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I'll also show some pictures from a local outing we took to a beautiful Nature Preserve right in our city. There is a nice 1 mile trail around a lake called Lake Katherine. The kids had a fun time looking for critters, etc. along our walk.

Exploring Downtown

This evening we decided to take advantage of the free Thursday admission to the Chicago Children's Museum. We have not yet figured out the metra train system, so had to drive downtown this time. We had a good time exploring Navy Pier and the kids enjoyed the museum. Katie is not with us because she had her last night of volleyball camp for the week and didn't want to miss that.

A shot of us on Navy Pier.

Kam and Troy by the Carousel.
Scott and Kamryn teasing me about going on this tremendously high Ferris Wheel. I think I will pass!
Some of the Chicago skyline.This is a great Children's Museum. It is quite large and I was a bit nervous about losing Troy!
Troy is happy rolling balls.
Kamryn and Troy digging for bones.
Katie was waiting for us when we got home with her Chicago Christian volleyball camp t-shirt.

Horses in Chicago?

Kamryn, Troy and Scott got quite a treat today when our neighbor, Dean, took them out to ride his horse. The kids had a great time and I hear Kamryn is quite a natural. Of course, they had to end the evening with a stop at the Plush Horse, a local ice cream shop.

Hello from Chicago!

Hello to everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I have posted anything. Upon our arrival in the Chicago area, we soon realized that our hosts had prepared everything that we would need for the summer. The only thing lacking was an internet connection at their home. Thanks to some generous neighbors, we are now connected. (Much to the relief of our internet starved teenage daughter!) I had some trouble figuring out some things on Scott's laptop, so some of the pictures are still tipped. Sorry!

Anyway, these are some of the pictures of activities that we have been filling our days with. We are in a beautiful place and have been enjoying learning about a new part of the country. The people here are great and the church work is going well. We'd love to hear from you all!

This is a road by our house. We are in a neighborhood with big beautiful tree-lined streets.
We have this fun tree swing right in our backyard.

Today Kamryn, Troy and I went to a story/ craft time at Trinity Christian College. We are very close and enjoy taking walks and bike rides around the campus.
Today we took advantage of some free passes we received to the Brookfield Zoo.





Ahh! A nice soak in the tub before bed after a busy day!

Katie's Graduated!

We had an awesome celebration of Katie's graduation from Ada Christian School last night! She has had a wonderful year there. Although only attending the school one year, she has made great friends and done well academically. Scott was invited to be the speaker and Katie got to introduce him. We had lots of grandparents and friends over afterwards.

Katie ready to go!
Trying to organize the class picture.
Katie introducing Scott.
A proud dad!
The gang.