The First Day of School – August 22, 2011

Wow, it is amazing that summer vacation is already over. I had such high hopes of having some fun family trips, like to Mount Rushmore, and doing lots of fishing and other running around, but work and other factors conspired to make the summer go by almost unenjoyed (new word).

We did go on several trips, and we did lots of swimming and we even managed to go camping once, but it still did not live up to my fantasy of one long, massive vacation. Admittedly I would need to be independently wealthy, which I’m not, to see this hope achieved but one can dream.

Cami is in 3rd grade this year and Ian is in 4th grade. I can’t believe they are growing up so quickly, which is what every parent says I’m sure. One consolation is that they are very cute. By the way, everyone comments on how much Ian looks like me, and he is a very handsome person, so by extension I must also be very handsome. This makes me feel better.

The Neon Grill

This last week we took a camping trip to St.Joseph, Michigan. While there we saw a cool looking place called The Neon Grill. We decided to try their rings (of course!) and here are our thoughts:

Mommy: Liked them but wasn’t overly impressed. Thought the onions were sweet, which is a plus.

Daddy: Thought they were ok. A little undercooked for his taste, but not bad overall. I like my rings a little crunchier.

Ian: Loved them! At one point he said that they might be the best rings he’s ever had. Hmmm. High praise indeed.

Cami: Enjoyed the chocolate malt, but it was not chocolatey enough. In fact, we thought it might have been a vanilla malt when we first tasted it.

St. Joseph KOA

One of the fun things we did this summer was to go camping. We did it last year as well but this year we decided to rent a cabin at the KOA in St. Joseph, Michigan. It was a great choice. Setting up a tent and setting up the cots and mattresses can be a pain. The cabin had beds and electricity and even an air conditioner.

We spent two days there and it was very relaxing. We went during the week so many of the weekend campers were not there so the campground was quiet. The pool wasn’t crowded and there weren’t loud kids running around (except for ours of course). We even did a little fishing where we caught loads of little sunfish. I liked this because I usually end up catching nothing.

Speaking of fishing Aura and I had some spirited debates about a fishing hat I wanted to buy. She says it looked goofy and made me look like a doof (her word). I liked the hat and didn’t care if I looked like a doof. In the end I left the hat on the shelf. Maybe next year…

I really enjoyed making breakfast using our little camping stove and roasting marshmallows over a fire during the evenings was also great fun. Walking all the way across the campground in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom was slightly inconvenient, but it was still very enjoyable. I can’t wait to go again.

The Burpee Museum of Natural History

We went to visit the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois during our summer vacation. This is a great little museum and is highly recommended. It is a good size to see in only a couple of hours but it still has quality displays in spite of being small. The kids really enjoyed it.

There are some notable features of the museum. First is Jane, the juvenile T-Rex skeleton. ”She” is smaller than the specimen that is in the Field Museum, but it is still the size of a mini-van. I’m glad these creatures are no longer roaming the Earth.

Second are the paleontologists that work in the basement that are happy to speak with the kids and explain how they are extracting the fossils from the rocks they are embedded in. The kids really enjoyed asking them questions.

Ian really liked the replica forest with the giant dragonflies and Cami enjoyed the tunnel you walk through before getting to the museum. Along the walls someone had painted the silhouettes of various animals so you can compare their sizes. By the way, the adult T-Rex dwarfed the whale silhouette. Here is Cami comparing “Mr. Husky” to a wolf.

I was happy that the kids enjoyed the nature displays of current animals and I was especially pleased that they enjoyed the bird section and even knew the names of some of them. I enjoy birding and often the kids go with me. Both of the kids were pointing out birds we’ve seen while bird watching.

Another display the kids enjoyed were the Native American displays with the replica teepees and bison.

If you get a chance go to the Burpee Museum. It’s a great little museum and the entrance fee is reasonable. All of it can be seen in only a few hours and it is clean and well-lit. One of Aura’s complaints about the Field Museum is how big it is and how you can go so deep into the galleries and it gets dark and creepy. The Burpee Museum is definitely not dark and creepy.