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.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Zoo!
Monday, June 29, 2009
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!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
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!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
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!)
Sunday, June 21, 2009
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.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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. :)
Sunday, June 14, 2009
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.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
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.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Raining
Raining raining raining at the beach. Bummer. This is what we do in the hotel... a lot of goofin and reading!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
New Marketing Materials
We just ordered and received some new marketing materials for Will's Center. Here is the T-shirt design. (I would have included Will's face, but he was crossing his eyes again.)
Monday, May 25, 2009
Goodbye Maple Tree (and 11 others)
1 chainsaw rental for 4 hours: $45
1 bag of ice for Will's swollen ankle: $1
2 bottles of calamine lotion for Ani's bug bites: $8
1 box of Kleenex for Evan's "goodbye Maple tree" tears: $1.50
Having TWELVE dead tees cut down, cut up, and hidden in the way-back: PRICELESS!
Evan had a hard time today. He sobbed that he never said goodbye to the maple in the front yard, he remembered hunting for Easter eggs around its base, and he wondered if he could visit it somewhere after we cut it up. Poor little guy; he didnt understand that it has been dead for some time now, other than the suckers on the trunk. Will gave him a sliver of the base, so that seemed to help. The other 11 trees (that are now gone!) were in the backyard. Draught conditions the last three years did a number on our trees, including some formerly-pretty dogwoods.
I told Will that this project was exactly what I had in mind to feel like we accomplished something on the long weekend. He is glad we will be out of town for the 4th.
Friday, May 22, 2009
March to the Sea?
You know you are becoming a Georgian when your kids start engaging in anti-Sherman propaganda.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
New Camera
I'm loving my new camera, although I need a PhD in Art & Photography to know how to use all the features. I haven't had time to sit down and read the manual yet, so these pictures are a result of goofing around with the settings. (the link is to random shots of camping in the backyard, plants in our yard, and slip-n-slide riding.)
When the kids gave up their "B's" (see previous post), they each got to choose a toy at WalMart. Alex chose some plastic animals and Evan chose a Slip-n-Slide. Unfortunately, it has been too cold for water-play since the purchase, but Evan insisted on using his new gift yesterday. Above are two pictures of the icy-cold kids in the backyard. They had fun despite the temperature.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Disney Pictures
We have over 1,500 pictures (literally) of a fabulous week in Florida! Nana, Gramps, the four of us, Will's sister Megan, Greg and Tanner all met in Orlando for 6 days of fun, including three days of park hopping! We even found time to dine with Characters twice! It was a wonderful vacation -- one we will never forget.
It was near impossible to narrow down all the shots to a select few, but I tried! Here are some favorites. Click on the links below to see slideshows.
Disney Day 1: Sunday May 10 (Mother's Day) arrival at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa
Dinner at Captain's Grill
Day 2: Epcot and Hollywood Studios
Day 3: Breakfast with Chef Mickey, (at one point, Mickey proposed to Susan/Nana!), afternoon swimming and Downtown Disney
Day 4: Magic Kingdom (where we wore our yellow Celebrate shirts!)
Day 5: Animal Kingdom and Epcot, plus in Norway (Epcot), we ate dinner with Princesses
Day 6: Downtown Disney and departure.
What a WONDERFUL trip!
Thank you again, Dan and Susan!
(more pictures are forthcoming - it takes a while to load each slideshow)
Bye-Bye B!
May 17th 2009 was remarkable not just because it was my Grampa's 85th Birthday (yay!) and my cousin Erinn's college graduation ... no.... this day will go down in Jordan Family history for yet another reason: It was the day that Evan and Alex gave up their respective "B's," aka pacifiers.
We told the boys that after we returned from Disney World, the Bs were going away. We planned a B-party, complete with presents and cake with sprinkles. Then there was a ceremonial goodbye to each B. As the kids took their last drags on the deteriorating plastic plugs, I choked back tears. As much as I hated the Bs and all the germs they carried, their departure symbolizes something I am not ready to admit: the boys are growing up.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
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