Zoo!

We love Lincoln Park Zoo. Today's highlights included the seal show, the polar bear underwater viewing, and the lion! The lion walked back and forth in front of the viewing area for several minutes. We were within feet of him -- with a very thick glass barrier between us! At one point, I locked eyes with him and it sent chills down my spine. The boys were fascinated and scared all at the same time! More pictures here.

Park & Visit with the Todds

While Gramie, Bapa and Will all worked today, the boys and I spent time goofin around. We went to Central Street for cookies from my favorite bakery, we visited with our dear friends the Todds, and we played at the "train park" while we waited for Will to return home on the train!

Taste of Chicago

More Pictures HERE.

Bikes and Balloons in Evanston

We took the boys' new bikes to the Northwestern campus. There are great paved paths along the lake and you can see the city of Chicago in the distance. After riding (Evan) and running (Alex), and a picnic (all of us!), the kids were beat and both took naps. While they slept, Will and I filled 100 water balloons! Here are pictures from our day of bikes and balloons!

The Field Museum of Natural History

On Friday June 26th, we spent the day at the Field Museum in Chicago. I haven't been to this museum since elementary school and it was new to Evan and Alex. (Will suspected that it would be a hit and he was right!)

We had such fun looking at dinosaur bones, the pirate exhibit (no pics allowed), the nature trail - complete with "stuffed animals" -- the elephants, and more. The museum is top notch; I can't wait to return with the kids on our next trip. Here are more pictures (including our arrival in Evanston the night prior, and some pictures from the museum campus on the lake)

National Parks Passport

Earlier this week we had two busy days of sightseeing. (The days would have been packed even without the 850-mile drive to Chicago on top!) En route to see my folks, we stopped at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Chickamauga Battlefield, Russell Cave, Murfreesboro (aka Stones River National Battlefield), Abe Lincoln's Birthplace, and Mammoth Cave National Park (including a two-hour tour!). We took short hikes and/or tours at several of the parks, as well. Oh - and we stopped at the Russell Stovers Outlet (yum!) and about 22 different bathroom locations, thanks to eldest son's teenie-tiny bladder.


We had not planned to hit so many locations, but after we got our National Parks Passports, we wanted to collect as many stamps as possible -- you know -- while we were "in the area." We added Alabama and Indiana to the kids' states-visited list, too! (thanks for the Passport idea, Nana and Gramps! We are looking forward to getting Passport stamps out West later this summer!)

Attached are a few pictures (HERE) of our sightseeing, and HERE is a separate slide show of our favorite cave pictures. (Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to use my fancy camera correctly, so I was crushed to have missed some great shots! Interestingly, I saw a lot more of the cave when I wasn't attempting to document the whole tour!)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Fathers Day to the Dads, Grampas, and Great-Grampas in our lives and in our hearts who have helped make us who we are today. Much love, Ani, Will, Evan & Alex

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And what Father's day is complete without a water fight with Daddy in the backyard? Perhaps a new tradition is born...



If you are wondering, Daddy won. BIG TIME.

For Bapa

Happy Birthday, Bapa!
We love you!

Wal-Mart Grant

Will spent countless hours writing grant proposals earlier this year. Two are pending and two have yielded positive results! The Center for the Teaching of America's Western Foundations, of which Will is the co-founder and co-director, received another year of funding from Mercer's AIM (Academic Initiatives Monetary) Fund. The Center also received a significant grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation. Click here for a detailed press release. Congrats, Will!

There are still plenty of naming opportunities available for willing donors to the Center. :)

The Pool

Both boys are doing a good job "swimming." Evan is getting better at putting his head under water and Alex will be swimming in a few more hours of Daddy Swim Lessons. Fearless Alex jumped off the diving board about 8 times, but Evan chickened out and started to crawl off instead! Here are the pictures: Mercer Pool.

AP Reading & The Beach

We were in Daytona Beach from June 1-9Th. During that time, Will graded Advanced Placement ("AP") US Government exams for 8 straight days. It was gruelling work. He read over 1600 exams, a new personal record.

Meanwhile, the boys and I (and Will when he was free) enjoyed lots of time at the beach (pictures), pool, and chocolate "factory." We saw dolphins, ate salt water taffy, built sand castles, jumped in the waves, and had a great time. I made a new friend who was there with her grader-husband. The boys loved playing with "Ms Tiffany!" Over 80% of the Hilton was filled with AP Readers, which meant that the beach was practically empty; what a treat!

This was the 3rd (and probably last?) summer of grading/beaching in Daytona. Thanks for suffering through such monotonous work for us, Will! We love you!

On the way home, we stopped at two different forts: one in St. Augustine, FL and one in Savannah, GA. Although the temperatures topped 100, we all had a great time seeing the forts and learning some history from Will along the way! Here are the Fort pictures.

Silver Lining

On the plus side, all this rain makes for pretty rainbows over the Atlantic!

Raining

Raining raining raining at the beach. Bummer. This is what we do in the hotel... a lot of goofin and reading!