A Day in Chicago

From our campground we caught a commuter train into Chicago for a few hours.  We grabbed lunch and walked around quite a bit, taking in the sights.

I liked seeing all the architecture.  It was a hot day, but some smoothies kept us from getting overheated.  The boys took some more pictures with their 'where in the world' gnomes.

I've always enjoyed seeing different cities.  This was my second time walking around Chicago. 

By the time we'd walked around for several hours, the twins were so worn out they fell asleep waiting for the train.  Cort slept the whole train ride back to our campground. 

What a day!  Readers, do you like visiting big cities?

Indiana Dunes State Park Trail #9

The first time I headed to Indiana Dunes State Park, a friend of mine told me to be sure to hike Trail #9.  Let me show you what makes it so great.  You start off in the woods along a sandy path.  There are ferns and wildflowers growing everywhere.  We also saw blueberries and raspberries.

After a while, you take a turn up a hill of sand, and emerge on top of sand dunes overlooking Lake Michigan.

The views are incredible.  On a clear day you can see Chicago.  On this day, Chicago was very hazy in the distance, so I couldn't really capture it on film.

The boys had a grand time climbing the dunes.  Since we were out early, there weren't any others around and we had the place to ourselves. 

I don't know if I'll get to return to Indiana Dunes state park, but if I do, you can be sure to find me on Trail #9. 

BIC Back to School Must Haves Giveaway

I'm not quite sure how it happens to be August, but somehow the end of the summer snuck up on me and now we're thinking about back to school.  I have a guilty confession to make - I LOVE school supplies!  When BIC contacted me about their Back to School Must Haves line, I was so eager to try them out with Pierce during our summer school work.  They sent us a fantastic package which included BIC Tech 2 in 1 Stylus and Pen, BIC automatic mechanical pencil, BIC for her gel and marker pens, BIC bright liner highlighter tape, BIC round stic grip, and BIC Z4+ roller in classic and fashion colors. 

I loved all the vibrant colors in the pens, and they write so smoothly.  Pierce tried out the mechanical pencil and declared it the best pencil he had ever used.  He particularly liked the twisty eraser.

One thing that impressed me about the BIC line was that all the products had a Labels for Education point on the back.  I save these for the boys' schools. 

Pierce tried out the highlighting tape in his state capitals workbook.  I liked that he had no difficulty using it to highlight various words in the book, even though he doesn't have the best hand dexterity at this point. 

Pierce and I will continue to have fun using all of these new, colorful BIC products.  Learning is so much easier when you can do it with great school supplies and a variety of colors.

One lucky reader will win their own set of Back to School Must Haves from BIC!  Just click on the Rafflecopter giveaway below to enter.

Disclaimer:  I received the above pictured products for review purposes.  The opinions stated above are my own.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Where Do You Find Your Farm Machinery?

This is a sponsored post for Trade Farm Machinery.  I have not purchased anything from their site, but the opinions below are my own, and are written by me. 

I think all of our farm machinery is used.  Being on such a tight budget, it has been our only option.  Our tractor and all of the accompanying equipment is in various stages of weathering - most of it dates from the 1950s - 1970s.  So where do you find used tractors for sale?  Well, if you are in Australia, you could try checking out TradeFarmMachinery.com.au.  It's a website devoted to finding used (and new) farm machinery, and has a wide variety of products available.  You can save your searches and even compare pricing through their website.

Readers, you might be tired of seeing pictures of our old blue tractor, so here's one of our old rusted weeder.  Every year, when hay season rolls around, something inevitably breaks and we need to find replacement parts or (in the unfortunate occasion of last summer) buy a used replacement piece.  Having a go-to website where you could find what you need would save so much time!

Readers, are things always breaking down around your place too? 

Is that a Church?

1.  Driving across the state of Iowa on I-80, I was really tired of looking at corn.  So I was happy to see this interesting structure in the distance.  I asked Paul, 'What is that?'.  He said, 'A church.'.  He was wrong.  Do you have any ideas?

2.  It turned out it was a rest area.  That's right!  Surprised?  It took me a minute to realize that the spike from the ground was actually a piece from one of these:

3.  We don't have wind turbines in Virginia, and they are so huge and looming and everywhere in Iowa.  Kind of felt like tall thin aliens, gazing down at me. 

 

 

4.  When I was traveling in the Midwest, I missed iced tea terribly.  I make mine at home unsweetened, and add a little Stevia to my individual glass.  During the days that temps hit the mid 90s I craved it. 

 

5.  I hope you all are not getting bored with all my travel posts.  Because I still have a long ways to go!  We were gone for almost 2 weeks, which is the longest we've ever been away.  I worried some about our dog, who hates when we are gone.  He was in good hands, with the neighbors, but he misses his boys.

 

Linked with Random Friday from A Rural Journal. 

 

 



Indiana Dunes State Park and Campground

This is our second time visiting Indiana Dunes State Park (but first time for the twins).  We like it because there is a Nature Center, some gorgeous trails, access to Lake Michigan, and a commuter train into Chicago.  The boys liked it because there is dirt and sand, piles of it!  I picked up a bucket of pirates at Toys R Us with a gift card the boys had received from my aunt and uncle for Christmas.  That bucket of pirates was just perfect for some sandy play around our campsite.

So I'm pretty sure the motto of almost all little boys, everywhere, is "the more dirt the better".  Thankfully, the campground had a bath house with showers. 

 

We also had some very early morning visitors.  Seems they were the only other two critters around the campground that were still on eastern standard time zone and up at 5:00 am. 

Readers, have you seen any raccoons lately?

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Pierce wanted to go to the Air and Space museum more than anywhere else when we were in DC. 

 

The boys were impressed with all the planes and space exhibits.  They loved getting to go inside a few planes.

The Air and Space Museum was just as crowded as the Museum of Natural History had been.  I confess all those people were overwhelming for me. 

But it didn't bother the boys.  They waited their turn patiently for a chance at some of the hands on activities.

The rockets and such seemed huge to me, so I can't imagine how magical they must've seemed for little boys.

Pierce was excited to have a chance to blow some vacation money at the gift shop.  My parents were kind enough to give each of the boys some spending money for our trip.

Cort and Reid each bought a metal airplane.  Pierce bought a little robotic toy that winds up and then squiggles across the floor shooting sparks along the way.  He adores this little robot - he showed it to every stranger we met after that!  As for me - I was a little disappointed that none of them wanted to buy some space ice cream - I love that stuff!