The Hidden Jewel

Wally and I have been in our house in Monee for a little over 2 years now. We have always heard "talk" about the Monee Reservoir, but we never knew where it was or really what it was. Finally a couple of weeks ago, we decided to take a drive to find it. There are no signs in town that say where it is, but Wally had an idea and he was right. There it was 5 minutes away from us, and it is awesome! We just drove through the parking lot that day, but we knew that we wanted to go back and really check it out. It is a 46-acre lake that provides fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boating. There is a concession stand and lots of picnic tables, trees, and just grassy area to hang out. There is a 2.5 mile hiking trail too. There are fishing clinics, a Kid's fishing derby, and nighttime canoeing. In the winter, there is an ice skating pond, cross-country skiing, and Musher Mania (dog sledding event) is held here. We had received flyers in the mail on Musher Mania the past couple of years and always said we wanted to go, but something always came up that weekend so that explains one reason why we didn't find this hidden jewel earlier.

Today seemed to be the perfect day to go back. It was gorgeous outside, and we were looking for something to do that was close to home. We didn't pack a picnic (we'll do that another time), but we brought our picnic blankets, a couple of snacks, and of course the camera. It was really pretty and peaceful out there. There were a lot of people out there today with it being Labor Day...it is a perfect place to just relax. We found a spot under a tree to lay our blanket out and we just hung out for a few hours. Lucas enjoyed himself, although he was more interested in his stroller for awhile than anything else. I took so many pictures today...I just couldn't help myself. The background was great and Luke was looking especially cute! Below are quite a few pics, but click here to see the whole album (all Labor Day weekend pictures included). I have a feeling we will be enjoying a lot more time here in the future. I am so glad we finally found the Monee Reservoir after 2 years of wondering!

Check out the website for more info:
http://www.fpdwc.org/monee.cfm


























Pretending like he is going to take a nap...








Relaxin'


Really checking out his stroller!










Photo shoot time!

Back to the Zoo

We went to the Brookfield Zoo again on Sunday. This time we met my parents, Carly, and my Aunt Kathy there. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun. Lucas is so good when we are out and about...he keeps going and going even when he is tired until he finally just leans back in his stroller, closes his eyes, has a little smile on his face, and finally just gives in and is OUT! He made it all the way through the zoo and fell asleep just as we were heading out...he truly amazes me these days with the amount of energy he has! We are doing our best to keep up with him!!











As tall as the giraffes!






When we got home, Lucas had some supper and then I gave him a cookie...usually he doesn't eat the whole thing, but this time, he did...and this is what happened..... :)

The Fighting Irish

(Let me first apologize to my dad for posting this entry, but Lucas looked too cute with a little Irish on his butt not to post!)

Saturday started off with some pancakes for breakfast, some basement storage room organization, and then the best part of Wally's day....the first Notre Dame game of the season. Wally's parents came up for the game and brought along some LaGrotto's (yum!). Last year when we went to a Notre Dame game, Wally had to buy an outfit for our, at the time, unborn child. Check out the pics below...how many pictures of Lucas' little toosh did I take???? Way too many :)

Oh and the Irish won pretty big so that makes for a very happy Daddy!

On the go...


Radiating gold and blue...


Trouble....


He's ready to play!


And the best for last!!! He looks so modelesque doesn't he?!?! LOVE IT!

Friday Night Lights

We headed to the Thunderbolts (Wally's school's) first home football game of the year on Friday night. This was Lucas' first football game out of the womb! He was dressed in gold and he was fabulous - just taking it all in. There is definitely lots of action at a football game...people to watch, cheerleaders, band, players, etc....perfect for a busy little man! We left at half-time (about 8:30ish)...Lucas peed through his jeans (weird since that doesn't happen very often) and I didn't bring a change of clothes so we headed to the car to change him (in the trunk, which he LOVES!), wrapped his legs in a blanket, gave him his bottle and headed home. Unfortunately, the T-Bolts lost, but it was a good time, and we will definitely be heading to some more games this season.

Luke's Playground

Welcome to our home...aka Luke's Playground!




It's like Where's Waldo????


On a normal day, Lucas does not have ALL of these toys out at once, but this morning he was eyeing the basket so I thought "what the heck...I will let him go to town!" And he did - the basket is now empty!

Today was also the first day that he really started to explore the house more. I "caught" him hanging out between the chair and loveseat....


and then he caught me taking pictures!!


He was checking Nala out on top of the chair...




so I put him up there to give Nala some "love"!


Making music....


Found the stairs...


Sorry for the overload of videos, but I know those of you afar don't mind!

Wheel...Of....Fortune!

You have to say it like they do at the beginning of the show....I know you just did it :)

Anyways...Wally and I have always been fans of this show and apparently Lucas is as well...it could be worse, I mean at least this show has fun sounds, colors, and helps with learning letters and reading, right???

Intensely watching


Can my eyes get any bigger while I watch this show????


"OMG! Can you believe she just bought a vowel????"

Fevers and Fairs

We had a little bit of both this past weekend...

Saturday morning started off just like any other Saturday...some playing, some breakfast, and then a nap. While Lucas was napping, Wally and I headed outside to do some yard work and clean out our cars. Once Lucas woke up, we set-up the pack-n-play outside for him to play in while we finished up. That didn't last long though...he was freaked out by the loud sound of the trimmer. I brought him inside, and we were playing in the living room when I gave him a kiss on his cheek and noticed that he felt warm, but he was still playing away. So then Wally came in to hang with the little guy while I finished up cleaning the cars. When I came back in Lucas was napping on Wally and when he woke up, he still just laid there...now that is not our little guy. Once he is awake, he is ready to go! So I took his temp. with the pacifier thermometer...103.6! ....yikes!!! We had an immediate freak out (Lucas has never had a fever, not even when teething), but then I calmed myself down. We gave him some Tylenol and just took turns snuggling with him on the couch. He was still eating and drinking well so that was good. His fever went down a bit from the Tylenol and then we had a little burst of energy around 4 where he was crawling around and playing. Then around 6 his fever spiked again so I decided to call the doc. I was hesitant to do this since obviously the doctor's office was closed so they would have to page the pedi. on call. She called back and was very nice and said she wasn't too worried at this point and to just trade off Motrin and Tylenol every 4 hours and just continue to watch him. We know him best and as long as he was still eating and drinking, he should be fine. He went to bed about 8 and slept until morning and wouldn't you know he woke up and was back to his old self. His fever was gone (99.3!).

Lucas before he got freaked out by the trimmer and before we knew he wasn't feeling well...


So we felt we were safe to head to church that morning. We also had plans for Wally's parents to come, and we were all going to head to the Will County Fair which is held just 10 minutes from us. I was a little hesitant as to whether or not we should go. Lucas seemed fine so we decided to go for a bit and figured the fresh air might be good for him. It was a gorgeous day out. Lucas wasn't too thrilled about the animals...he has been to the zoo many times, but he has never seen any animals this up-close and personal! I can't tell if he was still feeling a bit under the weather still (and if that is the case, I feel very guilty for taking him out) or if he just wasn't into it. I think we got one smile the whole time we were there...he just kind of watched all the people (much more than the animals) and had a bit of a disgruntled look on his face the whole time...LOL! Once we got back to the house though, he was on-the-go...showing Grandma and Grandpa how he can crawl and pull himself up and stand and just be a very active 8.5 month old so I guess he was feeling ok after all and just wasn't a fan of the Fair this year...maybe next year!

He looks excited doesn't he :)


Checking out the horses





This was the one semi-smile we got that day!




These goats seriously wanted to nibble on Luke...they were so close to climbing over, but the little guy could have cared less...he barely even looked at them so instead they nibbled on my stroller!

Checking out the baby chicks!

That was pretty much the look he had on his face all day!

We thought we would try out the carousel...


He thought it was cool until it started moving and then he just wanted us to hold him instead...


Oh and guess who has the fever now...me! And to go along with it the most horrible sore throat ever! If this is what Lucas had, he sure is a champ!