Vacation in Your Own Back Yard

Because of some unexpected expenses this past spring we became creative in how we spent one of Eric's vacation weeks this year. Eric used some vacation days July 7th - 13th. This summer's weather has been simply beautiful in the Chicagoland area. God blessed us with some beautiful days to enjoy Eric's vacation.

We began with swimming at Centennial Pool on Sunday afternoon followed with a meal at Wendy's for supper. Side note: Wendy's on Harlem will give 15% of all sales to Montrose Baptist Church on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month. We have some friends that minister there. We came home in time for Eric to catch some of the Olympic track trials on tv. Then we spent some time listening to The Mysterious Benedict Society on CD. A great story geared toward 8-12 year olds that Eric and I also enjoyed very much! It tells the story of four gifted children and the grand adventure they go on and how they learn to work as a team. We are looking forward to the next book in this series by Trenton Lee Stewart.

After the girls went to bed Eric and I finished the first DVD of the John Adams story that HBO put out this past Spring. We are drawn to John and Abigail Adams and their commitment to each other and the formation of our great country. Their family paid the price for John's time away though. That part was sad to see.

Monday brought rainy weather perfect for visiting the Chicago History Museum, free on Mondays :) Just had to pay for parking. They have a great kid's section, however small so Abby was hungry and bored by the time we left. What could be better following a trip to a museum but a trip to an used bookstore. We visited Powell's used bookstore a couple of miles from the museum only to realize once we arrived that Abby had left her wallet in the Museum gift shop :( We called and they still had it so we made a quick trip back to the museum. Eric cheered Abby by telling her he has forgotten things as well. Hannah had to list a few off; glasses in Atlanta and suitcase left in Robbie's car in a recent trip to Rockford. I think it made Abby feel better, not sure about Eric :) Since we are tourists this week we had to make a trip to Superdawg on Millwaukee Avenue for supper. The place with giant hotdogs on top of the stand.

Tuesday morning we did a little housework. I was feeling a little blue about being home this week and still having to do some meal preparation and housework even though we were technically on vacation. This is when I remembered the words of a wise friend who spends some time at their lake cottage during the summer. She reminds herself that even though she still needs to prepare meals and do the daily chores, the important thing is that her husband is able to spend some interrupted time with the family. I also realized with the help of Eric that this is a trade off for being a stay-at-home mom. Our vacation in our own backyard enables me to be home with the family throughout the year. Which is what I would most prefer. The time invested in my family on a daily basis is not worth working full-time to take grand vacations. And what is the definition of a grand vacation? I will let you define that for yourself :)

In the afternoon we visited The Grove in Glenview, IL. This included a tour of the historic Kennicott House and a walk through the interpretive center where we saw a very old turtle (150+ years). We also took a walk on a trail through some beautiful wild flowers. Reminded me of my girlhood home in northeast Indiana and spending a lot of time in the woods playing. We had a little time before heading to Muvico to see Kit, the American Girl movie so we stopped at Pesche's garden supply center. One of those spontaneous fun vacation things to do. We walked around picking out all of the flowers that we would like to have in our yard.

Eric was able to find a great movie time at the Muvico in Rosemont that only charges $5 per person, the 5:00 showing. We also had coupons to get a free small popcorn and drink and two hot dogs and a large drink. We were able to make the small popcorn a large for only an additional $1. What a treat, a God thing :) I think we shared the theatre with only five other people. It was interesting watching Kit and comparing her life to life today. A lot of homes are being foreclosed around us in our communities. We also know some families that are experiencing some financial troubles as well.

Well, it is getting late, I will need to conclude our vacation in our own back yard later :) Good night.