Once again, Maggie was the only Kelly on the swim team this year. We had fun cheering her on at the meets.
Maggie and her friend had matching swim caps.
One day I took Charlie and Maggie to the Magic House. We saw their former REACH teacher. Maggie dressed up at the India exhibit.
The Van de Graaff generator is always a hit!
Charlie sat in the Good Night Moon exhibit.
Maggie loved dressing up and performing for us.
Chess with neighbors is always a fun way to pass the time.
We went to our first City game! Unfortunately, Patrick was sick and couldn't join us.
We sat in the supporter section, where they lock the seats so you can't sit. Maggie found one with a faulty lock so she was able to sit for some of the game.
Connie was in town and brought her girls to the game. We met up for a little bit before the game started.
Several people parachuted onto the field and brought the game ball.
Jack loved the whole experience!
On the 4th of July, Connie and her girls came to our friends' house to watch the parade. These two are just a few weeks apart.
It was so fun to spend time with them.
That night, we watched the fireworks from a parking lot with my mom.
Friends from central Illinois came to town. Jim and Patrick went on long hike with Dave and Garrett while the girls went shopping.
It was fun to spend time with these college friends.
Charlie went to Scout camp for a week.
Jim took Jack and a friend to an engineering camp. They got a taste of college life.
Jim and I left at 5:00 a.m. to go on a float trip (just the two of us). My parents stayed with Patrick and Maggie (Jack and Charlie were away at camps).
It was a beautiful float.
We practically had the river to ourselves.
When we stopped for lunch, we swam in the clear water.
Shortly after lunch, storm clouds rolled in and we paddled quickly to get to the take out point. The rain came down just as we got out of the river. We drove to our B&B for the night. It was a former Catholic school for girls.
It was fun to explore the grounds.
Later that week, Jim spent some time at Scout camp with Charlie.
Maggie and I went to lunch with my mom, aunt, and cousin.
On family night at camp, Maggie and I went down to see Charlie, have dinner with him, and get a tour of camp. These two were happy to see each other.
The last day of summer school called for a celebration with Ted Drewes!
These girls competed in the Conference swim meet.
Jim's college friend Dave and his partner came to visit. We went to a Cards-Cubs game.
We invited friends over for an open mic party.
Before they went back to Florida, we toured the brewery.
At the swim team banquet, Maggie earned the Top Kelly Award because she was the only Kelly to swim on an "A" relay team in conference.
Maggie with our favorite assistant coach and friend!
Maggie and her pals were excited to be camp counselors at VBS this year.
We watched a friend's dog while they were out of town.
Dog watching earns you pool privileges!
It's hard to see, but Charlie is way up in that tree. He loves to climb trees. It makes me worry lots.
It had been a few years since we visited Jim at work, so we decided to surprise him one day.
It's fun to try on the lead.
At the end of July, Jim and Patrick went to Philmont (Jim will post about that soon). I took Charlie and Maggie up to Wisconsin to visit my brother. Jack stayed home with Nana and Papa and enjoyed being spoiled by them (and hanging with friends and working).
When we got to Patrick and Ingrid's house we got in their fun car and drove to the cabin.
It was great to spend some time outdoors with cousins.
Ingrid asked us if we wanted to go blueberry picking. We said sure. We drove to a spot their neighbor suggested and pulled to the side of the road to pick wild blueberries.
The kids tried water skiing for the first time. It had been years since I had water skied, but I thought I would try and was able to get up!
So many fun things to do on the lake!
It's fun to have older cousins to teach you new things.
Everyone worked hard to teach Charlie and Maggie to water ski.
When they weren't having much success initially, their neighbor got out his boom for them to use. Both Charlie and Maggie were able to ski with the boom.
Once they got the hang of it with the boom they were able to ski with a rope. They had a blast!
So much fun!
Adam and Lukas wowed us with their skills.
Fishing was fun. No fish were harmed in the process.
A healthy snack.
Once we were back home, I took Charlie and Maggie to the Botanical Gardens.
We had fun exploring.
These resourceful kids picked up fish food from the ground below the dispenser (instead of paying to feed the fish).
What better way to end the outing than a stop at Ted Drewes!
