Brookfield Zoo Field Trip

The Class Picture

My favorite monkey!

Jer as an Eagle

Small group with the Macaws

Another small group photo op!

This Picture Makes Me Happy!

I just ran across this picture from when we were visiting Granny & Pa in Seattle in September 2008. This was actually taken on Orcas Island and we have such great memories of that trip! Jeff is laughing in this picture because Granny almost got hit by a car trying to take this picture of us! Nice son-in-law right!!?!?? Believe it or not...we did not plan what we are wearing in this picture....it just so happened that we were all color coordinated which is half the reason this picture is so great! If only we could visit again!!! We love Seattle!!

Still in love.....

STILL IN LOVE!!!!

Snoqualmie, WA, 2009
JUST MARRIED!!!!
Askov, MN, 1965

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Jim & Bonny

Another bedtime conversation.....

Jeremy and I had another conversation last night that reminded me why I am glad that our family has embraced the "family bed" way of sleeping! Conversations we may never have had if we weren't snuggling together just before we drift off into dream land.


Jeremy: (Hugging my arm) You are the best Mommy in the whole world!

Me: I am??!??!! What makes me the best?

Jeremy: (thinking) Uhmmmmmm......You got me that great bike! Annnndddd......you use to buy me star wars figures even when you didn't have any money.

Me: Those are nice things....

Jeremy: And buying this new beautiful house....and hanging those pictures out there on the hallway walls.

Me: You like those pictures? What else?

Jeremy: Uuuhhhmmm....that you got this big, beautiful, comfy king bed!!!


Amen to that! Even if I still only get a foot and a half of that big, beautiful, comfy king bed for myself. I love the snuggles of my sweet, almost six year old, and I will cherish the conversations and the time and the snuggles with no regrets....for soon he will be closing the door to his room and telling me to stay out!

Fun Sunday!

With a sky like this.....
....a new bike.....

....friends to play with....

....and the possibility of discovery.....

.....who would want to stay inside all day!!?!?

Even if it was a bit chilly in the wind!!!

~~~~~~~

Here's to hoping three hours of fresh air, bike riding and playing tag with neighbors will cause sleep to come early this evening!!! Not likely....but one can hope!

Thanks Mom!!!!

New "Window Treatments"....Handmade by my Mom....Priceless!

Thanks Mom! I love them!

(If only they were a different color! (-; LOL!)

These are a few of my favorite things.....

Legos.....
..... and books!

Legos.....

....and books!

(Pay not attention to the skeleton in the cage or the skeleton next to the remote on the coffee table....another of my favorite things!)

Jeremy Sayings to Remember!

Last night Jeremy and I were laying in bed and he had this to say to me:

"Mommy, you are as bright as a star!

That means that you are beautifuler than anything in the whole world!"

He went on to say:

"I love you more than water slides, ice cream and Bandit.

I love you more than anything!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It really was a sweet moment.

Festival of the Sugar Maples

We headed out to Marengo, Illinois, to go to the McHenry County Conservations District's Festival of the Sugar Maples. We were very excited to learn how maple syrup was made over 100 years ago!

We headed into the sugar bush for a demonstration.

As we walked we looked up at all the trees! They were very tall.

These two actors told us of the accidental discovery of sap and the additional accidental discovery that if sap is boiled it will turn into syrup and then maple sugar. This accidental discovery was made by the indians!

Over 100 years ago it was the children's job to go out into the sugar bush and collect the sap from the trees in buckets and bring it back to the sugar house. Their dads were busy farming the land and their moms were busy taking care of the little children and tending to the household chores. Jeremy got to try carrying in the sap like children his age did many years ago! A little different than playing video games all day like they do now!

The farmers would tap the trees and then attach buckets under the hole and the sap would drain into the buckets....this is where the kids would get the sap and pour it into their buckets and bring it to the sugar house.

Trees have to be at least 12 inches in diameter to be tapped for syrup. It takes about 40 years for a maple tree to get that large. Each year an average tree will give about 20-30 gallons of sap....HOWEVER, it takes 40 gallons of sap to make just ONE gallon of maple syrup!

Look!! Jeremy found a branch from a maple tree! We learned that a maple tree has opposite growing branches and their buds are pointy and sort of reddish.

With time and technology the farmers went from using their children to collect the sap to using ox and horse to using tractors and finally to tapping the trees and connecting rubber tubing to the trees and then letting gravity do the job of bringing the sap directly to the sugar house. Now, a single farmer could produce maple syrup without any additional help or labor. I believe this was the start of the deterioration of our youth to the lazy couch potatoes we know today! Here is the sugar house where we got to go and see them boiling the sap into syrup.

And the BEST part........????!??!?!?!?

Getting to taste the sweet yummy goodness that, with a little accidental discovery of adding ONLY heat, turns sap, provided by God, into maple syrup!!!!!

I think I need to go and eat some pancakes now!!!!!

On our way home from the Festival of the Sugar Maples

we went to Corbin's Exotic Pet Shop in Marengo.

When we left the pet store Jeremy said,

"This was the best day ever!"

I thought....and I didn't even spend a penny!

Happy 10th Birthday Connor!

The moment we laid eyes on you we knew you were an amazing boy!

I loved you more than you will ever know and I still do!

Then we blinked and you were FIVE!
Such a sweet, smart and sensitive little guy!

One more blink...and POOF!....you are TEN!!!

Still sweet, smart, sensitive and AMAZING!!!!

Only now you are a young man!

You are the best big brother and the best cousin....

....but most of all you are the BEST NEPHEW!!!!

I am going to try not to blink as I don't want you to grow up so fast.

However, I have no doubt that you will grow up to be

a sweet, smart, sensitive and amazing man.

I am looking forward to meeting that man in ten more years!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Tenth Birthday Connor James!

I love you!

Love~

Aunt Jaki