2009 On My Camera

So I set up this blog in May and wrote exactly one time. OOPS!


For better or worse, you are now going to get a year long blog entry. I was clicking through the pictures on my camera, and said "Wow, we did a lot this year." So... I'm going to tell you what's on my camera... assuming it's a pretty good recap of our year. Since this is all from my camera, you'd think I'd include pictures. I'm not sure I can figure out how... we'll see!

Hmmm... After writing all of this, I spent almost two hours importing pictures and dragging them to the correct spaces. Then... POOF... they are gone. So... I'm going to publish this, and later today (after I've calmed down a little!) I may make a post of the best photos from this memory card. You'll just have to figure out where they go. I will learn to do this blog correctly soon!



So, here goes....

1. Sam was Mark Twain in the Peoria Christian School 4th Grade Patriotic Program.


2. Fun night listening to Applegate and Company at what used to be Leonardos Pizza. Michael was frowning because of the crowds...

3-4. Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet and PCS Speech Meet. Both boys got first place ribbons!


5. Rockford Children's Museum.

6. Burpee Museum for Paleofest. Went to lectures. Met Famous Paleontologist Bob Bakker. Sam earned some of Bakker's original art by answering dinosaur questions. (That is the picture he won. Any idea how much it costs to frame something that size??)









7-13. CALIFORNIA! Giant palm trees on the San Andreas Fault line. Mom and Dad's beautiful new condo. Tram up to the top of San Jacinto mountain. Climbing on the rocks with Uncle Chad. Living Desert Zoo with my dear friend Amy and her kids. White Water Nature Center- Climbing in (small) mountains with Poppa. Dinosaur Creation Museum. Joshua Tree National Forest (great rock climbing.) Sea World. Lego Land. Splashing in the Pacific Ocean... Watching the sunset over the pacific (pretty cold on the beach... but worth it!) Salton Sea and a date farm. Thanks Mom and Dad!

14. David's Birtday... David got his own piano and we had a magician come perform at the party. David is enjoying learning magic!

15. Science Fair: David's experiment using legos to see what kind of bridges are strongest. Sam's project is about what kinds of fossils can be found locally.

16. Sam and David's spring concert: From the Inside Out.

17. Hmmm... David's face is painted like a lion? tiger? I don't know where we were...


18. The white Suburu.... and the Heart of Illinois Fair....

19-20. Trip to Wisconsin: The Artesian Well in Lancaster (where Michael grew up.) House on the Rock!

21. Ringling Brothers' Circus on the last day of school.

22-27. Several trips to the Glen Oak Zoo in just a couple of weeks. VIP Member behind the scenes opening. Private behind the scenes tour before opening. Members Opening. Brought several friends in the first couple of weeks (Truningers, Riddles...)


28. David loved performing in his piano recital. Wore his fancy sport coat and tie.

29. Wildlife Prairie Park (Several visits... this one was the fundraiser evening with the Campbells.)

30. Art and Science in the Woods camp. Sam was fossil hunting all week. David was exploring the marshes and waterways. I was teaching 6 and 7 year olds.

31. Springfield Zoo with the Truningers.

32. Playing in the downtown fountain.

33. Metropolis.

34-35. Cave in Rock and Garden of the Gods in and around Shawnee National Forest.

36-46. Memphis Week: Memphis Zoo, Peobody Hotel, Rendezvous Ribs, Beale Street, Mud Island Museum, Pink Palace Museum (big dino exhibit.) BB King's for ribs and loud blues. GRACELAND! Memphis Children's Museum, Stax Records Museum.


46.5. Magic House Museum in St. Louis on the way home from Memphis.



47-48. Fireworks at Glen Oak and Chillicothe.


49-53. Oklahoma City to visit Pappy. Oklahoma City Zoo. Omniplex Museum. Firefighters Museum. Swimming with Trenton and Caleb.

53. Dickerson Park Zoo (great!)


55. VBS!

56. Swimming at River City.


56.5. Cub Scout Day Camp.

57-58. Madison Zoo. A week at Lake Swamauger with Grandpa Fritz and the Wild Bunch!

59-64. Minocqua Museum, Shopping downtown, Pecks Wildwood Animal Park in Minocqua, Lumberjack Show, Wildwood Park Zoo in Marshfield, Northwoods Wildlife Center.


65. School Started... Sam's in Middle School!


66. Rock and Fossil Show in Peoria.


67. Sam exhibited his animals at the Lakeview Reptile and Amphibian Fair.


68-71. In one day, Niabi (sp?) Zoo in Moline, (Happy Joe's Pizza), Fejerveray Children's Zoo and Putnam Museum in Davenport.

72. Sam's Birthday: Nancy Brown brought her animals from her zoo in Smithfield.


73-74. Tinley Park Reptile Show. Lego Discovery Center in Chicago area.


75. Both boys had cub scout camp sleepovers in the fall.


76. Sam's first band concert (learning to play the trombone.)


77. Trip to Oklahoma for Pappy's funeral. Went to Madill, saw Uncle Eddie.


78. Stopped back by Dickerson Park Zoo on the way home.

79-84. Art Institute of Chicago. Ice Skating at Bicentennial Park. Santa Con at the Bean! Palmer House and sat in Santa's lap at Macy's. Field Museum for one hour on Sunday morning.


85. Northwestern Universty to meet Paul Sereno (Sam's favorite paleontologist.)

86. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (yes, David went in costume!)



87. Christmas at Home with Gramma and Poppa and Kathy and Chad and Aidan and Carson.



88-90. St. Louis for New Year's eve. City Museum / World Aquarium (we all agree that it might have been our favorite spot of the year.) Walked to the Arch under a blue moon!


91. New Year's day at the St. Louis Science Museum.



OK... all of this was on my one memory card. Do you think it's time to download and delete? Yes! Maybe in 2010 I'll blog as we go along, not all at once! (If you know of something else fun we did this year... leave a comment... we must not have taken pictures!)


I hope your 2009 was as fun as ours... and that you have a great 2010!

I got a Blog for Mother's Day!

Michael asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day, and I told him I wanted a Blog -- and here it is! This is my first attempt at posting- so I don't know how it will work- but we're giving it a try!

I don't scrapbook or journal, but I wanted a place to record all of our "adventures" so that's what this will mostly be. So we'll start with this weekend....

Friday morning was the last official day of school. In the afternoon, Sam went to his good friend Regan's swimming birthday party. All of his best friends were there- and it was a lot of fun. Afterwards, we met up with Michael and David and Gramma and Poppa at the Circus. We were in the third row and it was a great time. And... Poppa had caught a snake on Friday and brought it to us (not a forever pet... just a visitor!)

Saturday, we got up and went to the member's grand opening of the Peoria Zoo. We've been on two "behind the scenes tours" before it opened, but it was exciting to be there with the crowds today. It's really nice- looking out over the zoo, it looks like all of the animals are out in the African savannah together.

Tomorrow, there is a promotion party at church and then David's piano recital (playing Cuckoo and his drills). In the evening we are going to a fundraising dinner at Wildlife Prairie Park with Mom and Dad. We've invited the Campbell's to go with us (Sam is, of course, excited that Kristine will be there!)

The summer is getting off to a great start!