De La Rue Day at the Zoo

On August 23rd Mike's office treated all the employees to a day at the Brookfield Zoo as their annual family picnic. They had a great catered lunch in a new pavilion area near the carousel and treated us to the Dolphin show and children's zoo (these are usually extra fees once inside the zoo). Matthew spent the day in a giraffe hat -- De La Rue gave all the kids an animal hat for the special day -- he was just the only one who wanted to wear his. Maggie and Maguire spent the day like this most of the time. I do have 2 double strollers and they do serve different purposes, much to Mike's dismay -- I do not regret purchasing this side-by-side version for outings like this. It folds up to the size of two umbrella strollers and holds up to 50 lbs on each side.We sat in the front row at the dolphin show and got splashed a bit when they jumped up right in front of us. Having seen wild dolphins just off our boat in Mexico this summer, we parent's just weren't very impressed with the show....it's okay...it's all about the kids, right!!!???The highlight of the day was the fountain area in the special event pavilion where we had lunch. It was after we ate that the kids discovered this fun place to play -- kudos to mom for bringing extra clothes for the twins, they were absolutely soaked! Mason has the craziest expressions sometimes! Maguire just enjoyed himself so much. It brought tears to my eyes just to see my kids having simple fun on the hottest day of the summer. More silly expressions from the dimple boy! Mitchell wasn't even too old to get in on the fun -- either that or it was just so blazin' hot that he didn't care anymore! Two days later on Mitchell's birthday at a waterpark, it was almost cold-- barely 75 degrees at the warmest part of the day. Post to follow....Maguire - what a doll - he's really developing his own unique personality about now. He just loves to laugh. Mason and Maguire nearly crashed because Mason refused to open his eyes as he ran through the water. Once again, an outing with no photos of Maggie. This was the only one for the day. I've developed such a complex about taking so many photos of my only precious daughter and not many of her brothers that I've recently missed taking ANY photos of her. She is a doll and I will work on balancing my subjects!This day was near the end of the road for the division of "De La Rue Cash Systems" who transferred us here to Illinois almost 4 years ago. Mike's division of the company was sold and is now called "Talaris" which just doesn't roll off the tongue like "De La Rue" but it's still a good job and he's really enjoying the challenges he's been given to work on recently. He is a Senior Consultant and Key Account Manager to US Bank. If you're curious about what his company is all about sometime, check out their website at www.talaris.com.

Mitchell's 12th Birthday

Can you believe I have a child who is 12 already??? Time truly does fly! We had a very busy day on August 25th celebrating and getting ready to return to school two days later with Open Houses at both the elementary and junior high schools. Here are some highlights from the water park where we celebrated along with 5 of Mitchell's friends: The entire water park called "Raging Waves" had an Aussie theme. The attraction of the day was called "The Boomerang". On the outside it looked like this: Mitchell with friends coming off the Boomerang. Maggie and Maguire came for the first 2 hours but it was actually a pretty cold day - only got to 75 degrees and was slightly windy. Mike worked from home that day and came to pick them up before lunch (the park is only 15 minutes from our house) so they could eat at home and have a nap. Thanks to Felicia for watching them after nap time so Mike could join us for a couple hours before the park closed. For the first time in almost 2 1/2 years - I didn't take a single photo of Maggie this day....she mostly spent her time wrapped up in a towel although I did go down a kiddie slide with her a few times. Maguire isn't so adventurous. The had a great wavepool with a zero depth entrance so the twins and I played there for a while, too. Raging Waves in Yorkville really is a great fun place but for our family budget will only be a place for special occasions. Turning 12 was a big deal and we hadn't gone to any fun parks all summer. It was fun to see the boys interact with each other throughout the day....We had a great time! Thanks to Kellin, Spencer, Steven, Tom and Conner for helping celebrate with us!Mason and Matthew certainly weren't complaining that they got to come along, too. With the boys all getting older and Maggie and Maguire home with Mike it was so nice to have some quiet time by myself. I actually fell asleep in a lounge chair for an hour or so in between the boys checking in with me periodically. Just Maguire all dressed and ready for Dad to pick him up. I hope you enjoyed your birthday, Mitchell. We are very proud of you and the young man you are becoming! We love you!