Bix7

Every year the Jones family looks forward to the last weekend in July, Bix weekend.  It's a big Jazz festival in the Quad Cities, but our favorite part is the 7 mile race on Saturday morning.  This year we tried to share our love for running races with Jadon and Kylie.  They ran the Jr. Bix on Friday night.  It was only a 70 yard dash, but I had my doubts when Jadon strongly resisted wearing the bib, his racing #.  Brian worked his wonders and got Jadon to rebound.  He ran so fast that he was weaving between kids and passing up lots of other 3 year olds.  That's my boy!  

On Saturday morning, I ran the Bix7 with Brant, Amie, Larry, Jeff, Jordyn, several running friends from Sterling, and 18,000 strangers.  The weather was glorious and I felt so strong.  Of course I had the thought that I have during every race, "Why am I doing this?  This is crazy!", but my last mile I was flying (a relative term) and when I finished I felt awesome.  I guess that answered my question.  I really enjoyed hanging out with my brother and sister-in-law this weekend, as well as Brant and Amie.  Brian and I even had a date night on Saturday, so I'm a happy camper.

Bowling

Today Lori, Anita, and I took our kids bowling.  This was Jadon's 2nd time and he really enjoys it.  He put on his bowling shoes and picked out a sparkly pink ball.  When it was his turn he would place the ball on top of the ramp, give it a push, watch it knock pins down, and then turn around exclaiming "Yes! Yes!"  All the boys did a nice job taking turns.  Leah had a little meltdown, but did much better when we went to a park afterwards.  

The DosSantos' Visit

Our good friends from Massachusetts, Alex and Christine DosSantos came for a visit this past weekend.  This was their 4th time visiting us in Illinois.  In the past, Alex has helped Brian with some major house projects, but this visit was purely social.  They brought their son Nathan, who is just a month older than Leah.  He was a great traveler and a sweet boy.  They arrived on Thursday night.  Friday night, we had the Flemings over for dinner.  They were another family we all were friends with back in MA.  You can see Brian talking with Travis while the kids had a little tea party.  I really enjoyed catching up with them and hearing about how God is working in their lives.  Since our little town of Sterling doesn't have too many attractions, on Saturday morning we drove into Chicago.  We ate at the Rainforest Cafe which was highly entertaining.  The kids especially enjoyed playing with the Frog mascot.  After that we spent a couple hours at the Lincoln Park zoo.  Christine is a real animal lover, but we all enjoyed it.  We even got to see a male and female lion stand on a rock and roar loudly for about a minute.     

Navy Pier

After the zoo, we went to Gino's East for Chicago style pizza and then shopped at the Disney store.  We were blessed all weekend with little to no waiting to be seated at restaurants and we enjoyed all our meals.  On Sunday we headed back downtown and ate at one of our favorite restaurants that serves Spanish tapas, Cafe Iberico.  After that we walked along Navy Pier and took the kids on the Carousel.  It was a festive atmosphere and the sun came out.  Then we walked over to Millenium Park.  Since this was Alex and Christine's first time in Chicago, we tried to expose them to a lot of our favorite places.  The only thing we didn't fit in was going into the new glass observation box in the Willis (Sears) Tower.  Maybe next time.

Staying with my Parents

On Saturday and Sunday night, we stayed with my parents since we could commute easily from the city.  After exploring Millenium Park on Sunday afternoon, we headed up to Gurnee for dinner with my parents.  My dad injured his rib the night before, but he was a real trooper and we enjoyed visiting with them.  Alex and my dad had gone to Brazil together with a mission team 4 years ago.  The kids enjoyed playing together all weekend and we captured a sweet moment with Nathan giving Leah a hug.  It was fun and we miss our friends already!

Weekend in the Dells

We spent Sat., Sun., and Mon. in the Wisconsin Dells with Larry and Cindy, Dale, Nancy, and Avery, and Brant, Amie, Kylie, and Dylan.  We stayed at the Wilderness Resort in a Retreat Cabin.  The cabin was new and spacious, just perfect for all 13 of us.  We ate all our meals there and it was convenient for naps, too.  A shuttle bus would take us to and from any of the Wilderness waterparks.  There was something for every age.  Leah, Avery, and Dylan had fun in the kiddie pools and Kylie and Jadon really liked the deeper waters.  Kylie even went down some water slides all by herself.  The adults took turns going down bigger water slides.  Before we left, Amie and I took Jadon and Kylie in this huge indoor jungle gym.  It was a fun climbing maze that I think we liked as much as the kids.  I really enjoyed my children this weekend and also bonding with Kylie.  We all agreed that this was a family vacation we would do again.  Thanks Larry and Cindy!   

Betty's Birthday

On Friday night, we went to Jumer's Lodge to celebrate Betty's birthday with the all the Joneses.  We had our own private balcony and there was live piano music, which buffered our group nicely from the other, quieter guests.  Between courses we could take the kids exploring through the castle.  Leah really liked the fountain and the large stuffed bear.  

4th of July Weekend

We went to the Quad Cities for the holiday weekend.   Friday night I stayed in with Leah while Brian took Jadon to see fireworks.  Saturday turned out to be cool and rainy all day, but we didn't miss out on anything and still had a great time.  Larry, Brant, and I ran the Firecracker 10K in the morning.  It would have been a good race, but they misdirected the 10K runners and we ran a longer distance.  We know our times, but not the exact distance we ran, therefore our results mean nothing.  I chalk it up to family bonding time and a good training run for the Bix 7, a 7 mile race I'll do at the end of July.  Later that day we went to the parade.  The kids had fun seeing all the special vehicles and collecting candy.  That night Larry and Cindy babysat while Brian and I spent the evening with Vicki and Keith.  Instead of boating we went to the newly renovated Captain's Table for dinner and hung out on their back deck, enjoying champagne and a panoramic view of fireworks around the QCA.  No pictures, but definately a fun night.  Sunday morning we took the kids to the Iowa Machine Shed.  After a hearty breakfast, the kids had fun climbing on the tractors and pigs.  What made this weekend so special was all the good quality time we had with Larry, Cindy, Vicki, and Keith.  It's also a time to be thankful for our great country and to cherish the freedom we have.

Jadon Rides a Big Boy Bike

Playdate at the Johnson's

Anita had the Attigs and us over yesterday morning.  We had fun playing with playdough and trains.  The kids enjoyed S'mores and we all had a good laugh at Charles' chocolate beard.  After the snack we played in the backyard.  Jadon had fun riding a 2-wheel bike successfully for the first time.