Seward Bluffs

On our second camping trip we went to Seward Bluff which is located about 20 minutes past Rockford in the Winnebago County Forest Preserve. We actually got to drive right by my childhood home that I lived in from birth to age 14. That brought up a ton of childhood memories, but that's a whole nother blog! Anyway, we've been on this "explore Illinois" kick this summer so I found out about this place on the internet and it looked like a good place to do some hiking. But, since they only had outhouse type facilities, I was really glad that we had our trailer complete with a toilet! The weather was absolutely perfect! It was like 75 during the day and 60 at night. We found several different hiking paths to explore, one that lead to a creek that had a shallow part that we could walk through and the kids had a blast playing there. Even after being there for over an hour, they still didn't want to leave, so we just sat there and soaked up the sunshine and family time. On Sunday before we packed up we decided to go on one more "adventure hike" and it ended up being so fun. We just kept exploring and at one point we had to forge through the creek and through a part where a tree had fallen. The kids felt really adventurous! We then found our way back to the spot at the creek where we had played the day before. All in all it was so great to have a mini vacation and enjoy some nature!

Camping

The summer has officially begun and I am enjoying it immensely! One of our favorite things to do as a family is to go camping. Last year we made the big move from tent camping and bought ourselves a tent trailer. This, and the fact that the kids are a bit older now, has made the whole camping experience much more enjoyable! Our first trip this year was to Starved Rock with some friends over Mother's Day weekend. We had an awesome time hiking, getting ice cream at a local restaurant, roasting hotdogs and marshmellows and talking by the fire after the kidos went to sleep. Unfortunately, it started to rain about 11:30 that night and never stopped! We ended up at McDonald's for breakfast and tore everything down in the rain. It's at times like this when you make a decision, how am I going to handle this? Well, we stayed in fairly good spirits and it wasn't so bad. Now it's one of those funny memories that makes life so interesting! A few weeks later, we ended up bringing the whole small group back for a day trip.

Camping

Hiking at Starved Rock

Sewing

One of my new found enjoyable pastimes is sewing. I started sewing in December when my nieces were visiting and we went (for the 4th time!) to the American Girl Place in Chicago. My nieces are huge AG fans and like to go there whenever they are in town. My girls are fans too but not like my nieces! So, we went there and bought some stuff and I thought to myself, "this stuff can't be that hard to make!". So, I started making doll clothes. I have since branched out to outfits for my girls and costumes (Charolette's Web). Here are a few projects.

I made these outfits for the girls for our annual homeschool Daddy/Daughter Dance. And I had to make matching outfits for the dolls too, of course.

Easter Dresses

Papa Harry's wedding

My Solo Adventure to the East Coast

I recently returned from a trip to see my sister and her family one last time before they move to Korea for two years. I had decided to go by myself so that I could spend some quality time with each of the Cassady clan. It has been so long since I have gone anywhere by myself, and I have never flown by myself so it was kind of lonely at first! But...I quickly recovered as I sat on the plane with my Starbucks and People magazine. Rachel and her two girls, Emma and Bailey met me at the airport and right away I was so happy to be there! We had a really great time just hanging out and talking. We drove up to Virginia for one night and day to see my brother, Marty and his family. It was so good to see everyone!