Our Alpine Picnic

On May 10th, our Swiss visitor, Marianne arrived.  She will be staying with us until August, and we are thrilled to have her- and have an excuse to explore our city once again.

Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a picnic on our "mountain", featuring Alpkase...cheese that was made by Marianne's father up in the mountains near Bern.  It was AMAZING.  Since arriving here Marianne has realized that her father's cheese is actually amazing...and not to be taken for granted!  She has also remarked how beautiful the sky is when they are "no mountains to get in the way."  The grass is always greener...

Kopps!

The day before Mother's Day, we decided to try out our new van on a jaunt up to Milwaukee for burgers as big as yo face and frozen custard.  The flavor forecast CHECK IT OUT! promised Butter Pecan, and so we set off!

Despite a rainy day, Kopps did not disappoint.  Here's hoping that this was merely the FIRST visit of the summer...

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Adventuring

We had great adventures this week! 

We explored Breezewald Park...the beach is still closed, but we can't wait for it to open!  Our sand pails and shovels are at the ready.

We supported a local downtown business by trying out a few of their homemade donuts!

We played a few rounds of Pooh Sticks at Heron Creek Forest Preserve, and were excited to read about how they are restoring the creek to its original glory...and hopefully enticing some of the local endangered species to come back!  We know some creatures are living here though- we saw their tracks!

We topped off the week with a long walk at Grassy Lake Forest Preserve, and the discovery of a new playground!

This post could be called "Adventures in formatting"...still trying to figure out this program!

Sibling Gym Class

Matias and Violet have been loving their Sibling Gym Class at the Park District.  Miss Barb is a favorite, as are the bubbles and the hand stamps that they get at the end of class!  Here are a few highlights from the last class on Tuesday: