In the Wild Wild West

We ended August by spending the day at Wild West Town with friends. We had tried to plan an event for scouts there, but kept being rejected, so we decided to just go ourselves. It was a really fun time.

Getting in the cowboy mood in the gift shop.

Holding the new Georgie Pig I bought for her after she first tried to steal him by walking out of the gift shop without paying.

First stop was the tepee and the Conestoga wagon.

Next, the kids took a spin on the hand carts. Even Charlotte was able to maneuver all the way around the track by herself.

We caught a live show. It was pretty corny, but I suppose that's how they are supposed to be.

We tried our hand at slingshots and mining for gold. They were each given a pouch upon entry and got to keep any of the fool's gold they found.

The kids' favorite part was the little canoe ride and the roller coaster.

The roller coaster was so rickety I thought it would fall apart, but they weren't very far off the ground, so I wasn't too worried.

CeCe and I rode it a few times too.

We also did some shot gun and arrow shooting and rode the ponies.

CeCe looks like such a natural on her horse and this was the perfect opportunity to wear her cowboy boots.

To cap off the day, we stopped for some candy in the candy store and CeCe got her face painted.

It was a great day in the wild west with friends.

Summer - Week Eleven

They held Nick's village pool party in August this year. I think I prefer August. It seemed a little warmer at night than in July.

The kids had a blast as usual.

 

 Charlotte attended a gymnastics birthday party for her preschool friend.

I heard that the Coast Guard band was going to be at Cantigny, so we met a friend there for the concert. The kids ran around, climbed on the tank, and played catch.

And CeCe got her sillies out.

 

Then she stole my chair and started writing on her LCD tablet.

The boys did some work books on Monday. Wyatt got to join in now that he was home from summer camp.

 Meanwhile, CeCe did Magic Painting.

That evening, we met Uncle Kurt and Emily in Frankfort to watch Angels in the Outfield. A classic from our childhood.

On Wednesday, we both took the day off and took a family trip into the city. The kids were excited to ride the train.

After picking up some books at the bookstore, we stopped to have lunch at a hot dog stand.

 The morning was beautiful and sunny.

We decided to walk to Navy Pier along the lake path.

Surprisingly, they actually agreed to pose for this. Chicago River in the background.

 Finally, we arrived at Navy Pier.

Good thing we brought the stroller.

The boys played in the fountain while I watched CeCe.

Beautiful skyline standing at Navy Pier, but notice the clouds are rolling in.

 We took a water taxi back.

 Buckingham Fountain.

And then we stopped to play at Maggie Daley Park. While there, it started to rain so we took shelter in one of the playgrounds while we waited it out.

 Then we walked all the way to the Corner Bakery at Union Station to meet Uncle Kurt for dinner.

Wyatt slept the whole way home.

CeCe didn't because she got pushed around the city.

On Thursday, all three kids had their final cooking class. The boys did junior class together and CeCe did mini chefs for the first time.

On Friday, Wyatt completed his two-day junior firefighter camp at the Frankfort Fire Department. He still really wants to become a firefighter, so I knew I had to get him in the camp. This is the main reason I pulled him from daycare a week early. On the second day, parents got to come have lunch and tour the building. This is the demo house that they use for simulations.

He had a great time.