Bites, Mites, Sights, and Lights

Hello, friends and family!

Sorry it's been so long since I posted! We've been busy lately, but in a good way. Kate had her week at the Nature preserve, then Angela and Reilly (and Jessie) came for a visit. It was so nice! We went to the park, swimming pool, the Wolf Preserve, Purina Farms, took the dogs to the dog park, and just generally visited and had a great time. Jessie showed Daisy some good behavior, and Daisy got to go off leash and play frisbee!

We went to the Muny, an outdoor theater, and saw High School Musical. It was fun! One day we had an awesome private tour of the Wolf Preserve. I'll get some photos posted of it sometime soon. (I hope) Kate was in training to be a junior wolf tour guide, and the boys had a good time. The moms too! I think the boys were more excited about their stuffed wolves than the real ones... We saw Mexican Gray wolves, Red wolves, a Fennec Fox, some African Wild Dogs, and some Maned wolves. The Maned ones are my favorite, but Angela thought they were ugly! They were all really neat, especially the glimpses we caught of the pups. Our family sponsors a wolf pack - feel free to click on the link I'll post for information or to take a tour. Oh, and we went to the Lone Elk Park. We saw some obviously not lonely elk, and despite all the warnings that we were in Bison areas, we saw not a single bison. Oh well. We did see a red-headed woodpecker that was very pretty.

After the wolf preserve, someone (who shall remain nameless) had a good idea to go to Purina Farms. It frankly was not all that wonderful, but the worst part is that the girls - Angela, Katelyn, and I - sat on some hay bales while the boys climbed around the hay loft. Next day, we found we were covered with bites - they were probably straw mites, from what we could find out. They dug in like chiggers - in the worst places! Kate's didn't start itching until 2 days later, but she and I both spent several days taking Benadryl around the clock, as well as scratching, trying not to scratch, whining, and putting various only mildly effective topical creams on, and whining some more. I'm sure Angela didn't whine that much, she is much tougher than we are, but she should have - she had to drive home with them... No more sitting on hay bales!

Now that they are gone,(both the mites and our friends) we're back to swimming practice and meets; co-op and lesson planning, yard work, house work, and all that fun stuff.

Today, Daniel finally finished his MATH BOOK - YEA for Daniel! He also lost a tooth last night - and I guess the tooth fairy forgot to show up... Kate still has her Algebra final to take.

This week, Dan went on the Night Shift - who's old enough to remember that old show? Do you think they goof around at the TACC? I doubt it. Anyway, it will certainly mean some changes in our lifestyle.

Dan got his coveted shed put in last week, and also got a new riding lawn mower - now he can mow the entire yard in less than an hour! That leaves him more time for his wonderful woodworking hobby - he's made all kinds of cool things for the gardens and garage and shed. He's awesome at it!

Not much else is going on here, no traveling for July, I think.

Kate starts a regular babysitting job tomorrow, she'll be rich by the end of the summer. Daniel and Kate have only a week and a half left of swim team - whew! April is happy in Chicago, and thanks to President Bush, no one at Fermi Lab is going to have to be laid off. Go, Fermi! April, where's my garden sculpture???

We'll all be happy to hit the neighborhood pool, relax, and get some fun reading in while it's such a beautiful summer. We are thankful for our great home and lifestyle, come visit us if you can! We are hoping to see the "ANTS" some time this summer. They usually come marching two by two, but one at a time would be fine too.

Take care!