Kishwaukee Gorge North Forest Preserve

We got a late start to our (now weekly) hiking trip to a new-to-us forest preserve because we wanted to finish getting all the mulch hauled into the garden areas and also because I had a migraine that knocked me out for a while. So, we didn't head out until after 3:30 on Sunday.

We have been telling the kiddos they need to have hats in order to go (because I will lose my mind if we all come back with ticks...not even kidding). Thomas really wanted to wear his Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer stocking cap:

But, Evan was able to convince him to wear this awesome train conductor hat instead.

Our good friends, the Wedwicks, had visited this forest preserve earlier in the week and I quickly sent their pictures to Evan to show him where we *needed* to go on Sunday.

One of the things the kids were most excited about was seeing a small waterfall that leads to the Kishwaukee River. David was determined that he wanted to throw dried leaves into the water and walked quite a ways on the trail with both hands full of leaves.

Watching the boys walk down these stairs to the bottom was only slightly terrifying for someone who doesn't like heights and hates stairs.

Vivian led the way for most of this trip. She is completely fearless.

This is the waterfall. There were enough fallen trees that the bigger kids could climb up to the top of the gorge.

Please watch how Vivian walks up to the top. Keep in mind she has on tennis shoes and in one hand a bucket she had hoped to capture fish or frogs in.

 She walked up that log like it was a flat sidewalk! I couldn't even turn the camera to video fast enough to capture her quick jaunt up!!!

Evan and Julia followed her up, but I had to inform the boys that you had to be at least six years old to climb up there because there was no way I was going to try wrangling them as they climbed a gorge. No. Way.

I did tell them that once Evan climbed back down they could climb under the fallen tree with him and touch the water.

She found a walking stick. It came home with us.

They were very proud of themselves.

You guys, it was so lovely. Everything was that spring green that I love so much and the temperature was perfect and it was just a great day to hike.

Looking for creatures to capture.

He really wanted to throw rocks into the river.

Vivian also wanted to throw rocks into the river.

And David.

Sunday Bonnetts!

This was definitely the hardest hike we have done so far with everyone. We didn't stay as long as we usually do and there was more whining and crying than usual. It was the bewitching hour and we were really pushing it with Thomas. But, everyone has asked where we're going this coming weekend, so I guess they're still game.

David needed one more turn to throw rocks.

Julia noticed that her shadow is almost taller than mine.

We all definitely want to come back to this one again soon, preferably earlier in the day before the bewitching hour.

Day 52. I haven't blogged in almost a week! Oops!

I kept meaning to blog last week and then I kept thinking that there isn't much to talk about because ALL THE DAYS ARE THE SAME!!

But, my pictures tell me that I have a few things to talk about, so I shall fill you all in on all details!

First off, I ordered a camping double hammock for the backyard. I felt that if we were going to encourage the kids to be outside, we might need a couple of creative ways to keep them out there. This hammock is lovely! It fits one big kid and one little kid perfectly, or three little kids. I picked out the green color so it would kind of blend in with the grass.

Elisabeth tries it out for me.

 Then, I found the hammock I had bought on a whim last year at Aldi on clearance and put it up in another part of the yard. It is smaller, but just as loved.

Julia tries out the other one.

 Seriously, they might be the best things I've bought this year. Elisabeth goes out just to lounge, Julia has read in them, the kids pretend they are beds when they are playing house outside. It's just lovely.

This past week we got our gardening act together and made a couple of curbside pick-ups of things we needed. We weeded, ordered mulch, dug out the lilies that insist on trying to take over the garden every year, and prepped the garden beds for dirt and plants.

It was GORGEOUS all weekend!! The boys got up on Saturday morning and were outside before their second bowl of cereal!

It is super sweet to see them using the hammocks. Here you can see David lounging in it while Thomas yaps at him from the lawn chair.

David patiently waited all day for the dump truck to come dump mulch on our driveway.

I ordered a whole flat of marigolds because I love them.

When the dump truck finally came in the late afternoon, David quickly ran to the backyard to bring Evan the wheelbarrow. He was so genuinely excited to work! It was adorable.

Thomas was more helpful in a, "I'm going to take this Batman and hide him in the mulch or up in the trees and panic that I can't find him", kind of way.

We planted a bed of tomatoes (cherry, jubilee, brandywine), basil, and transplanted wild green onions that were growing amongst our lilies! Also, a pot of parsley (both for consumption and hopefully more black swallowtail caterpillars for us to care for!).

In this bed we have bush beans, one banana pepper plant, and room for snap peas and a couple more sweet peppers.

This girl roller-skates all day every day.

Even in her Christmas jammies.

More hammock time.

Elisabeth celebrated her half birthday on the 2nd! She wanted lemon poppy seed bread instead of cake.

So, I was all kinds of excited that I had all the ingredients for Ina Garten's quick cinnamon rolls. So excited. I got all the ingredients gathered, thawed the puff pastry, started the recipe, went to unroll the puff pastry, and realized it was phyllo dough. So, the whole thing became makeshift baklava and I am now left craving cinnamon rolls.

My favorite cardinal pair decided the top of our garage door opener would be a great place to build a nest. Not sure how that's going to end...

We had a lovely Sunday of more gardening (with a minor setback of a migraine for me that was anything but pleasant and led to a 2 hour nap to make it go away). But, David led the rest of the garden crew to finish the rest of the mulching without me.

We went on another hike at a new-to-us forest preserve (which I will chronicle in another post because this one is already quite long). We had our weekly Sunday Dinner Party with brownies, psuedo baklava, popcorn, veggie tray, and roasted chick peas. (I don't think I'll ever get to chronicle our meals without Thomas's hands anymore because he just can not wait to eat once the food is on the table). We are still watching Lego Builders and still all really enjoying it! Thomas often wanders away during the show to go and build with our legos, which is adorable.

The trains are currently popular again.

My current read:

And, finally, our menu for the week: