Palos Heights Pool
The boys are finally out of school for the summer and we can concentrate on what’s important. FUN IN THE SUN. I work nights so Summertime is great for family activities. We can spend a whole day doing things before I have to get ready to go in. Time is not an issue. It’s the money and motivation that I struggle with. Today was met with inclement weather predictions and was a little cloudy but ohhhh so Hoooootttt! We decided to go ahead with plans to swim until the rain shut us down. Well, we arrived in the parking lot and the sun came out in full force. Amazing! I found a chaise in the shade (ok. so I pushed it deep into the shade) opened a book and pointed the boys to the slides and diving board. They stayed busy for over three hours before whining for Taco Bell. The prices were inexpensive the pool was sparkling clean and well staffed and the snack bar was open for business. Not a single complaint…until we got home and realized that while still in the shade of an evergreen I was just as sunburned as the kids. See, I can always find something! Kids already want to go back tomorrow…We’ll see…….I still have a few dollars left over!
Palos Heights Pool 7607 W. College Drive Palos Heights, Il 60643
Top 5 Things You Don’t Want To Hear Shouted From Your Backyard!
It’s officially Summer in the City and we are looking for ways to keep cool. This big ‘ol house was awesome when we moved in last fall but now that the heat is here…and with no air conditioning….Ouch! It doesn’t matter how big the windows are when it’s only blowing in more heat. I did think ahead a little bit and one of the gifts tucked inside their Easter Basket this year was a Banzai Kamikaze Blast Slide. We pulled it out from under the bed for its maiden run. I remember slip and slides from my youth…long strips of plastic with the hose laying on it or someone spraying you right? Well, these are a thing of the past. This model is a modest one but the pics…well, who could resist. Well, I’m telling you they must have a heck of a water pressure to make it spray like the photo because ours paled in comparison (there really is poor water pressure here). Well, got it set up…Audience ready… Camera ready.. Boys Lined Up….Running leap….and now…the top 5 things you don’t want to hear shouted from your backyard.
No. 5 SH*&^!!!! Sh*&%!!!! Shi*&!!!!!!! (yikes! you get the idea?) The water was really COLD!
No. 4 (second run) Ahhhhh!!!! I think I broke my B%^@ (inset mainly parts here that share a name with a round bouncing toy)
No. 3 We need more dish soap to make it faster! NO….Even MORE!!!!!
No. 2 I’m gonna take a running leap from the top of the stairs!
No. 1 You guys line up at the end there like bowling pins!
We have to move the slide around the yard each day because after about 30 minutes the catching end is a mud puddle…making it even MORE appealing to them…NOT me. They’re used to the cold water now and look forward to it. It’s easy, it’s in the back yard. I do think I’ll have to look for some foam padding or something to put under it. I’m not going to be complaining…too much. Well, maybe. I mean…why stop now?
Riley’s Trick Shop
We LOVE going to Riley’s Trick Shop. Each time we go it’s a new adventure. The kids look forward to going because, as a small family owned shop, they always greet you with a smile and are always pleased to let the kids explore as long as they’d like. My kids will ask to see just about everything demonstrated and they have yet to lose patience even once. This place is wall to wall costumes and novelties. If you can’t find something you want there it’s because you haven’t opened your eyes. Even the ceiling is dripping with hats and masks. You can spend a lot of money in there but you don’t have too. The kids always walk away with a trick or a gag and the smile they get is a mile wide. Here are some of the pics of one visit there. Ian asked for a pad of gigantic dollar bills, Hayden got a trick spill cup and Caleb ended up with a can of exploding worms…Classic! I wouldn’t let them get the can of fart spray! They got to smell it through the can because the owner said it really works and it’s vile so NO spraying it in the store. LOL I’ve been going there since I was a little kid. I’m not sure who enjoys going there more. Even my oldest and I stopped in when he came for his last visit home. You are never too young or too old for Riley’s.
Riley’s Trick Shop 6442 W. 111th Street Worth, IL 60482
Random Dancing
Lately we’ve been outside enjoying the weather as much as possible. I told the boys to practice cartwheels for a tumbling class they attend with the Chicago Park District.( They need LOTS of practice) As always, I had my camera at the ready to catch any “classic” photo opportunities. What I found instead is, a video clip that captured the quintessential personalities of my three little ones. Hayden, Mr. prankster and all around teaser of his little brothers. Caleb, Mr. if I’m not perfect on my first try I’ll whine loudly and profusely and… if you make fun of me… I’ll chase you down like a mad dog and last but not least, Ian Mr.I have an audience! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! Welcome to my front porch. Sit with me and watch along. If you pay attention you can see…and hear Hayden teasing Caleb and consequently Caleb chasing Hayden in the background of Ian’s big finish number.
Ian is quite the dancer…obviously..; and will break out into a random dance while watching TV or like here to the beat of his own “funky” music…(I swear I don’t know why?) I was just fortunate enough to capture this one on tape.
Wonder why the tape ends so abruptly?…The chasing in the background…Well, it ended with a thrown shoe that hit me in the forehead~
Oklahoma, OK!
Marist High School chose “Oklahoma” for its Spring Play and we were invited to view it’s closing night. My niece Anna (MyAnna), preformed beautifully in the chorus. Her voice is classically trained and If it had been an Opera there is no doubt she would have been center stage. It was our first HS production and a first time for my sister Lucy to be in the audience assisting me. My mother is used to my crew by now but I was more than a little anxious to see how my sister would react. We sat with them each seperated by adults, gave them chewing gum to stop the chatter and questions or at the very least slow them down a bit. We were set. Lucy thought it was a good idea having one adult per child but quickly realized Hayden and Caleb are quiet and attentive its Ian who needs the three adults. Honestly, lately she’s been my biggest supporter. She laughs hardest at their antics, She is quick to tell me “they’re just being boys” etc. She even devised a game to look for MyAnna when she came on stage. All set, Right??? Well, then the lights dimmed and the curtain went up. Ian wanted a lap to sit in…Me, realizing I had a willing sucker I mean sister…said…Why don’t you sit with Aunt Lucy… (yes, I got the look but she put her arms around him and settled in) I’m not sure if I mentioned this before but Ian is greatly affected by music. (He will start dancing during tv commercials) When they started singing Ian started dancing in her lap. Swaying back and forth, snapping fingers high in the air (imagine the Zorba the Greek’s dance), LOVING IT! Well, she was going along with it too, swaying and smiling… When MyAnna came on stage, at least a dozen times,he was first to ask where Aunt Lucy was…(my sister told him right here and pointed to herself and then said that’s Annie up there a million times before she gave up and just started pointing at the stage.) Well, Ian happened to be a little gassy that night having just polished of Beggars Pizza. Lucy tried to gently push him off her lap but he was determined. One time it was so bad she pushed him off and started waving her program around in the air with her eyes crossed. Let me tell you, the lyrics to Oklahoma were prophetic when it talks about “the wind comes sweeping down the plains”. Not sure what was happening on stage but I was laughing til tears fell in the audience.
The boys brought a bouquet of flowers for the star and waited anxiously near the stage to offer them to her, beaming with pride. Even though the review was overwhelmingly favorable. Ian’s was “Only two deaths and one of them fake! and OH SO MUCH kissing!” We had a great time. I’ve missed so much of my nieces and nephews growing years wrapped up with worry over the boys. I’m glad that they are older now and more manageable. Thanks Lucy and Anna for inviting us.
Aunt Lucy and MyAnna (Mother and Daughter)
with Grandma too
Ian with Aunt Lucy
Human’s and Hot Dogs at Fat Tommy’s
Fat Tommy’s is a local restaurant we were introduced to via a hot dog wagon at football games. I promised the boys we would eat in after the last game and we did. It’s a little, very casual, family friendly place where the drinks are in a glass cooler behind the counter. The owner happened to be serving that day and asked each child in turn what he would like. Hayden chose a cheese dog smothered in bacon and a Coke. Caleb chose a foot long hot dog, ketchup only, and a lemonade. Ian…well, Ian asked for a beef sandwich and a “human.” I kid you not. The owner looked at me and I shrugged. I had no clue…Ian said..the Human! The Human!… fully expecting that pointing and repeating would make it all clear. It took a minute but we finally figured out that he wanted an Arnold Palmer Lemonade Tee drink. It had a picture of him on the can. Not the “guy drink”, not the “picture drink” but…the human one. Oh Boy. It was a new one for us all and I will have you know that in our house it’s been the “Human Drink” ever since. Caleb ordered a foot long with ketchup. It arrived plain except for this note on the bun alongside the dog. The rest of us laughed. Caleb was mortified. For those of you outside of Chicago this might seem a little crazy…but in this city there is an unspoken law. “NO KETCHUP”. It’s on the table if you must use it, but they will not put it on a hot dog for you. (he did)
I made the mistake of telling the boys they could order whatever they wanted and they took it to heart. The servings were more than generous but these are growing boys. I ended up buying two more beef sandwiches and another hot dog before we left there. I promised next time we could order the pork chop sandwiches they are famous for. They take a half an hour to prepare so I’m not doing that unless I call ahead. I love hanging out with my crew…but hungry, waiting in a public place…yikes. Shivers just thinking about it.
Fat Tommy’s- 3256 W. 111th Street Chicago, IL 60655
Gale Moore Park-Worth, IL
109th and Nordica-Worth, IL 60482
Fort Frankfort @ Commissioner's Park-Frankfort, IL
Fort Frankfort @ Commissioner’s Park
Sauk Trail & 80th Ave-Frankfort, IL 60423
Centennial Park-Oak Lawn, IL
Centennial Park-
93rd & Nashville, Oak Lawn, IL 60453
Best Day Ever!
I know that the term Best Day Ever! is used A LOT, but I never get tired of hearing it from the kids. Many of you know of our quest to visit as many parks as we can this summer (saving ME tons in entertainment expenses). We are also planning on dragging in as many friends as possible. Yesterday my friend Dawn and I (of Climb On post fame) said we’d hang out with the kids with some vague later in the day time frame. We have some weird psychic connection because at the same moment I called her on the phone saying it’s time to go, her daughter was knocking on my door saying we’ll leave in 15 min. (This stuff happens all the time.) I wanted to show her kids Mt. Greenwood Park. The water feature was on and all the kids had a great time. We stayed for a few hours then the inevitable happens…the Kids were starving. We stopped and ate and found that neither the 5 kids or the two parents were tired so we just keep on going. We took my kids to their first ever trip to Toys R Us. (went way better than I expected) Then we decided to just drive around and look for cool parks to explore. We headed to Oak Lawn and saw most of the painted chairs on display down the main drag 95th Street and even stopped and posed for pics. Though we did find one park done totally in pinks and purples near the police station (NONE of the boys wanted to stop). We stumbled upon and chose a really, really cool park with this gigantic 20ft high spider web thingie that they could climb on. We stayed long enough to get hungry again! Went to Burger King with a what else Playland and went back to the park and stayed til WELL after dark. All the kids got along, I wasn’t home cleaning house, hung out with a best gal pal all day. Even as grown ups we said…
It REALLY was the Best Day Ever!
