Excursion!

This past week Ella and I went to visit family in Illinois. They live close to Chicago so we spent Sunday exploring as much of it as possible. We started with the Field Museum. Above is a picture of Ella sitting on the steps.

We saw the T-Rex skeleton named Sue. It's actually named after the lady who found it, they don't know if this is a "boy named Sue". He He! Why is Sue famous you might ask? Well, I'll tell ya, Sue is the most complete T-Rex ever found. That's why.

The head in the above picture is a replica. Here's the real one:

The real head weighs over 600lbs. Guess there was some question over whether they could support that on the full display. Go figure.

My favorite part was the lions of Tsavo. Because I teach about them it was fun to see the bad boys of Africa. If you don't know their story I highly recommend you watch "The Ghost and the Darkness" staring younger, hotter versions of Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas. Here they are:

After the museum we wandered over the Shedd Aquarium. It helps that they're right next to each other. I would like to thank the young Holtz girls and Ella for letting me put on my teacher hat and talk about the animals. Hey, it's what I know. We even had a chance to see a 4D movie. I wasn't super thrilled with getting squirted in the face with water. I expect that at, oh say, a dolphin show. Not a movie!

I also tried my hand at eating everything Chicago. Here's what I ate:

A Chicago Dog. Been there, done that, no thanks.
Deep Dish Pizza! Nummmmmmmmyyyyyyyyy!

Hot Beef Sandwich. Okay, still craving the pizza though.

We had some time to kill on Monday so we went for pedicures. It was Ella's first time. I guess she found it a little ticklish.

Monday night we went to Racine to visit my aunt and uncle. We got there late so we had to wait until Tuesday to start our fun. We filled the day with shopping, swimming, kayaking and topped the day off with a movie. Uncle Gene and Ella saw "Spy Kids" and Aunt Carol and I went to "The Help" Excellent movie!

Before leaving on Wednesday we managed to squeeze in mini-golf, a dip in Lake Michigan and lunch with Gene and Carol.

Needless to say it was a pretty quiet ride home. I have to say, I'm proud of the Mahnke girls road tripping skills. We stopped once for lunch on the 6 hour trip to IL, and not once on the 5 hour trip home from Racine. I still think we'll fly next time ;)

Extra-curricular!

This summer Ella and I have had the pleasure of helping out with her school's garden. The 1st and 4th graders start seeds indoors and then move the plants outside. Over the summer families volunteer to weed, water and harvest.

The best part about this garden is that the harvest goes to the local food shelf. We have been able to deliver BAGS full of tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, peppers, onions and soon potatoes.

Here is our bucket of cherry tomatoes:

Of course, all that gardening makes Ella tired. Sometimes a girl just needs a break. Lucky for her she was joined by a friend:

Ewwww!

I keep running out of butter. It's not because we use a lot, it's because I forget that the puppy is longer and can therefore reach the counter. Where I sometimes leave the butter.

I did notice, though, that his coat seems especially shiny.

Exasperating!

Ah, the joys of being a homeowner!

In the 8 years I've lived here I've been through 2 dishwashers.

Upon hearing about my broken dishwasher my dad exclaimed "You need a man around there!" Oh Dad, no I don't. I just need a few good phone numbers.

I'm waiting for a call from the local repair guy. He's going to tell me if it's worth it to fix it or to buy a new one. That's what I love about small town living, the shop on main will take the time to help me save money! Yeah!

I hope it can be fixed. I don't like the thought of adding another dishwasher to a landfill. Landfills make me sad. But apparently old landfills make great skiing hills. Any truth to the rumor that Buck Hill is an old landfill?

Exciting!

Well, I decided to become a blogger. Why? I think it's because I love reading other people's blogs so much. And also, because e and I do some cool stuff and I like the idea of having a place to keep our memories. Yeah, I have a scrapbook for her, but this is quicker!

It's also a place for me to share what I learn as I navigate through life as a single mom, homeowner, teacher, student and friend. Hopefully you Enjoy!