Day 3 of Vacation
with the California Crew
This day we went to Lamb's Farm.
A place we've enjoyed together in the past.
Nathan couldn't believe his ball was stuck in a bee hive.
Who wants to put their hand in to pull it out?
Andrew prepares to "dunk his shot."
Grampa putters on his putt.
The boys ride twin horses on the merry-go-round.
Gramma and Jeni enjoy a train ride together.
It's nice to ride something with no dips, wild turns or loop the loops.
Thank heavens he stopped eating the corn dog,
before the stick was gone.
Corn dogs require a special technique.
This one looks like it's in danger,
but not a bit of it was wasted.
Paul Bunyan is one impressive, tall dude.
It's hard to imagine the horse was excited about eating the dried out hay.
It takes courage to feed crumbly hay to an animal that has teeth bigger than your hand.
"My mother passed the large animal portion of the veterinarian boards;
in case you need to consult with her."
Either these animals are smaller,
or I am bigger than the last time we came.
We found this warning sign amusing.
And then we met Bambino.
She does look a bit sly and greedy.
This seat looks like it could be from a wagon train.
Go west, young men, go west.
It's nice to be able to get a close-up of the reptiles.
Too bad Gramma doesn't have an iguana anymore.
The white cat on top of the reptile cage
would have liked to have gotten even closer.
"What a great uncle I have."
"What a great daddy I have."
And then Vacationing in Chicago
We were such good hosts that we took our Minnesota guests to a White Sox game
and watched them lose to the Twins.
They arrived with their Twins hats and t-shirts.
My ONLY t-shirt has the Chicago Symphony on it.
After the game, we met Rebecca and Patrick at Geja's for dinner.
The fifteen minute ride from the ballpark to Geja's took an hour and a half .
We anticipated being so early, reservations would not be necessary.
Rebecca managed to get us a table, when none were available.
This restaurant has been a favorite of ours, since before we had children.
Geja's is famous for their wine list.
After dinner, the older generation went back to Rebecca's
to "push start" her car, since her starter/solenoid was broken.
Growing up in Dubuque, with all the hills,
we used to just coast down a hill in order to start the car.
We were a bit concerned that we not push the car into the busy intersection
and create a bigger problem.
David suggested we time our pushing with the light.
There was really no need to worry;
it only took about two car lengths to get it going.
We then drove the car back to Mundelein,
so the "free" mechanic could work on it.
Rebecca, who wasn't home yet, called to be certain
the Chicago towing company hadn't gotten to it first.
The next day we took a moment to REFLECT in front of the Chicago bean.
On the third day, Nolan (and his parents) joined us for dinner.
They brought back Iowa corn, which Nolan was kind enough to wash for us.
He also had the responsibility of washing the lettuce.
Every leaf was spotless.
Nolan had to help pick the corn he brought from Iowa.
His Iowa blood runs deep.
Children of the corn.
Nolan learned very quickly how to eat corn.
Some people eat all the way around, some eat in rows (I do)
and a very few take scattered bites.
Nolan picks up his corn and looks for an available yellow spot.
It works.
Nolan is promoted from dishwasher to chief sprayer.
He is excited about his new responsibility.
My floor is very clean now, too.
Gramma and Nolan go biking.
Nolan discovered one of the bowls in his kitchen had a treat in it.
He was surprised and hopes to find more.0
Guess which shoes are Nolan's.
They are replacements for the pair that almost matched.
