Chicagolanders: Day Out with Thomas

For those of you in the Chicago area, Thomas the Train is going to be at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL the next two weekends. So if you are looking for something to do with the kids, you can check it out HERE.

Family Christian Stores: Free Veggies Tales Event on 8/1

If you are looking for something FREE to do with the kids this Saturday, Moms By Heart has a posting HERE about a great FREE Veggie Tales event going on at Family Christian Stores!

Our Blueberry Picking Pics and Tips

Sorry for the slower postings today. It was a last minute decision to go blueberry picking. We were going to go last Wednesday but they had to close for a week to let more ripen. (I respect that they do this so you don't spend hours picking and getting hardly any!) Anyway, Rich had a root canal today and called on the way home to say he felt OK and that he'd watch Kaydi so Tater and I could do our 2nd Annual Blueberry picking together. (Isn't he sweet?) I wasted no time getting us ready and off we went! Cool thing is, Kaydi slept almost the whole time we were gone--so Rich got to relax most of it. Here's some pics of our day: (You can see last year's pic of him HERE. WOW has he grown up!)


Here's Tater reaching way back to grab a big bunch of blueberries. I was glad there were so many at his height level.


He absolutely refused to smile today. This is him just being the goof that he is! :)


My "expert" attempt at getting our picture together.


We picked almost 11 pounds--which is 5 cookie sheets full!

TIPS IN CASE YOU GO BLUEBERRY PICKING

1) First, you can check PICK YOUR OWN to see if there's a location by you.
2) It's better to go early before the sun gets super hot. We didn't make it until the afternoon this time. It was 82 degrees out and felt at least 100 in the bushes! We only stayed about an hour.
3) Always call your location before you go! Sometimes they do have to close during their picking season.
4) Don't forget to bring the sunblock!
5) Definitely bring a water bottle. You'll need it!
6) Make a day of it and bring a cooler with your lunches. Some have a kids/picnic area at them. Ours had a sandbox and swings.
7) Bring a little container, such as a sour cream or cottage cheese container. Ours gave us a big metal bucket to fill. It gets heavy quick! I brought a cottage cheese container and put it right under the bunches and slid them off into it. It goes sooo much faster and it helps prevent a lot of waste from them falling.

TIPS FOR FREEZING

I went twice last year. The first time, I washed them and froze them. On my second trip, two "veteran pickers" told me to not wash them, as they clump when they freeze. That you should "flash freeze" them on cookie sheets, just long enough to get solid. THEN put them in Ziploc bags. (I make a note on the bag that I need to wash them, so I don't forget!) The ones I did the first time were clumped and soggy when they thawed...and the second...perfect! :) I'm not saying this is the only or right way. It's just what worked for us.

I really hope you find a place to go blueberry picking! It might be a fun outing for you. Ours were $1.85lb, to give you an idea on pricing. So we spent $20.07 on a fun outing and enough blueberries to last for quite awhile for our waffles, pancakes, smoothies, cereal, snacking, etc.

Six Flags: Pay Kids Prices For Everyone

Heading over to Six Flags? If you use the link HERE you'll be able to get all your tickets at the Kid's Prices for the day!

Pics: Sisterly Love

I had to get a picture of my sisters and myself together at the apple orchard. (I'm the round, ok pregnant!, one on the end!) It isn't all too often that we are able to meet up these days. I am so blessed that I have TWO great sisters that I am very close to and love dearly.

The fun thing about when we meet up is we swap things we've found for the others. I traded some shampoo and notebook paper to the one and got back some clothes for Nathan and some play kitchen toys that she had found at a garage sale of a friend of hers. (Immaculate toys and clothes!) This is what we do for each other. We find great deals in our area and then buy up extras to share! I highly recommend it!

I have to add that we have a brother that unfortunately wasn't able to make the trip down this time. But don't you feel for him being stuck with THREE sisters!

Family Outing: Apple Picking at Boggio's

I had mentioned to my sister that we wanted to go apple picking and she recommended a location by her. Yeah, it was a bit of a drive for us, but with the added opportunity of spending time with both my sisters and their family, it was well worth it!!

We got there around 11:30 and it was a bit chilly out. We headed over to the petting zoo, first. I didn't think we were going to get Nathan out of there! He was fascinated with feeding the goats, sheep, cows, llama, chickens and donkeys. Well, until he almost got eaten by one! I was taking a picture and after I took my shot, I saw Nathan's arm was almost up to the elbow in the donkey's mouth! I guess the donkey wanted the food pretty bad! I was freaked out, to say the least, and got him free right away. He had some teeth marks on him but no broken skin! Nathan was still ok with the animals but we left all the same.

We then went apple picking. Nathan had so much fun pulling them off the trees! We were lucky and found some really low hanging branches so he was able to pick his own. On the way back, he was hugging two apples in his arms and wouldn't let you take them. He finally let go when he saw the tunnels he could crawl through and the haystacks he could climb on. For a little guy, he was quick and fearless!

Next, we took him on a pony ride. Rich was allowed to hold him on and walk around with them. It was a pretty long ride and they made it worth the money. Next...lunch! The smells were GREAT. We had a hot dog, chili dog, porkchop sandwich, drinks and some chips. If I had been thinking, I would have packed us a lunch. But since this was probably our last major outing for the year, it was nice that we "splurged."

It was getting warm out and the bees were making their prescence all too known so we decided to leave. In the end, the day cost us $28.35. This included 1 peck (12 lbs.) of apples, food for feeding animals, pony ride, lunch, 1 gourd, 2 donuts (their apple cider donuts are AMAZING!) and 3 coloring books that I'll save for Halloween gifts to offset candy for Nathan.

If you are in the Chicago area and are looking for a great apple orchard, check out Boggio's in Granville. We had so much fun! The prices were reasonable and there were several activities for the kids. We only did half of them ourselves!

Hope your weekend was fun, too! Now I just have to find some great apple recipes! (Feel free to share any links to some!)

Pics: Cold Stone Creamery

We just got back from having some delicious ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. We tried out both the Nutter Butter and Oreo Make a Wish Creations ice cream. Can you tell Nathan enjoyed his? It was a nice little family outing and it only cost us a donation to a great organization. It doesn't get much better than that!

Hoping you were all able to partake, too!

Pics: Family Photo

We ventured out to a parade today. We were lucky enough to get a family photo taken while we were waiting for it to start. So, here's Nathan, Rich and Me. (and Baby!)

Family Time: Dinner Conversation

So last night, Rich said that maybe he should check my blog everyday to make sure I wasn't writing anything bad about him. I told him not to worry, that I was only giving out good advice like, "If you want your husband to get something done, take his TV and Wii remotes and hold them for ransom until the task is completed." (to which he laughed!) He then said,"Did you also put, if you want your wife to get something done, take away Internet access." (to which I laughed!)

We then went into this playful game of who could make the other one suffer more. His laundry would pile up and Nathan and I would eat supper 5 minutes before he got home. The garbage would pile up 6ft high and I'd have to wade through 4ft of grass to get into the front door. It was fun and we laughed and in the end, no one really won or lost.

My entire point is, if you aren't eating at the dinner table with your husband and/or family, you could be missing out on a good time! Try to make sure you get a few family meals in a week, at least. We eat at the table every night and I love it!

And as for Rich...you better be reading this! Otherwise, I won't tell you where I hid your remotes earlier today! (Just kidding...maybe!)

Happy Family Time!

Pics: The Look of Innocence

Here's just a picture I wanted to share. I let Nathan lick the spoons from the brownies we made on Thursday. He did a good job of getting them clean!

Family Time: A Day at the Zoo

I was a little quiet on the blog-front this weekend, as I was spending some quality "family time" with my parents, whom were in town. Rich was in Michigan for the Nascar race so I decided to take my Mom to the Brookfield Zoo. My sister and niece tagged along for the ride. This was the first test of a potentially expensive outing. How did I hold up?

I had received free admission to the park. Both my sisters are members so I was able to get free parking, dolphin show and children's zoo tickets and discounts on the butterfly exhibit and carosel ride. In the end, Nathan and I only dished out $8! ($2.50 for butterfly exhibit, $3 for 2 carosel rides for the kids {picture of Nathan and my Mom above} and $2.50 for two sandbox animal claws that Belle and Nathan played with when we got home.)

The great thing about Brookfield is that they allow you to bring in your own lunch! I brought in some freebie snacks and bread that I picked up on my amazing grocery store trips. My sister brought some veggies and bottled water. And my Mom picked up the lunchmeat. In the end it turned out to be a really great day and surprisingly, we kept it very frugal!

So if you have family members or friends with zoo passes, don't be afraid to ask if you can borrow them. In return, you can get them all those great freebies at CVS! :)

Baby Sister's....Married?!

I can still hardly believe it but my baby sister got married today! So this posting goes out to Kristy and Frank...

Congrats and Best Wishes!

Have fun in Florida (you lucky bums!)