Starved Rock State Park

One of the best days of my life is how I would describe my experience at Starved Rock. It was our first time visiting this beautiful state park. We knew, from the Starved Rock website, that the Illinois River had recently flooded causing some problems; nonetheless, we were not going to let that stop us. We started the day off fairly early. I hoped to be to the park by no later than 9:00 am. The weather was supposed to be sunny, but as we sped closer to the park the sky was getting dark. Uncertainty crept in. I quickly pushed that aside, and tried to stay hopeful for a good day. As we pulled into the parking lot around 9:15, a little later than expected, we could see the evidence all around us. The ground was soggy and the parking lot looked as if it had recently been underwater, but that didn't stop us or any of the other hundreds of people from coming for a day of fun. I would have preferred to not have the park so full of people, but it really wasn't too bothersome. I assumed with it being Memorial Day weekend and all, crowds were to be expected anywhere we went.

After parking and gathering supplies, we headed straight to a trail—French Canyon. The ground was squishy in parts but compact. We found ways of avoiding mud holes (described later). It was very exciting. I could hear the sound of a waterfall and saw people in the canyon below. We figured out the way to get down there and it was so beautiful.

This is a collecting pool of water that overflowed and created a stream.

In order to get to the waterfall without getting soggy, we had to straddle this stream of water. Poor Ava wasn't able to do it correctly, so she spent the day with moist shoes. It didn't seem to bother her much. The waterfall!

This was heading back away from the waterfall.

Here, we were on top of Starved Rock. Looking across, you can see Lover's Leap Lookout. The history behind Starved Rock is quite interesting. A barge on the Illinois River.I can't quite remember which trail led us to this waterfall. We wanted to get down into the canyon to see it, but first we had an obstacle to overcome. Mud! This picture is of Steve and Ava on their way back from seeing the waterfall. This is what we did off and on throughout our hiking adventure. Thankfully, tree roots helped. We balanced along them in a great effort not to lose our balance and end up muddy, wet, and uncomfortable for the rest of the day. I did remember to pack extra clothes and shoes for the kids, but not for Steve and me.

Here is that glorious waterfall! The one we staggered about on tree roots just to stare at it's beauty. It was worth it!

Here is a little perspective on the groups of people on the trails. I might add that there were many different languages I heard throughout the day. I think I heard more of other languages than actual English. I suppose many tourists were visiting from around the world.
After a while, we took a break from walking so Steve and Drake could fish in the river. Drake caught one! One man I saw had a large metal ring with tons of fish hooked around it. People were catching fish like crazy.

There were lots of sculptures carved out of trees by the lodge. The lodge looked very nice. We were almost tempted to stay for a night.

It was about 5:30 or so and we had been hiking the entire day. There was one more trail we wanted to go on called St. Louis Canyon. Instead of starting out from the visitor center, we chose to drive and park closer to the trail. I'm so glad we went on this one. I think it was my favorite. We were alone on the trail. As we were coming into the canyon area, there was a group of three people, but they were just leaving. Yes! We had it all to ourselves! It was like a scene from a movie. We were really in Illinois? I couldn't tell. The rock formations were beautiful. The sound of the water, our voices echoing, the sheer cliffs all around us, slightly leaning as if they would cave in, it was all so amazing. There were hills of light sand probably from the sandstone wearing away I guessed.

The kids climbed on this big boulder.Steve and I.

We found this caterpillar resting beside a rock.

By this time my camera battery was going dead, so I took a real quick video of the area.

After leaving this trail, we decided to check out another state park in the area, Matthiessen. We mostly just drove through to see what it was like, and then we drove back to Starved Rock so Steve and Drake could fish one more time. They fished for almost an hour while Ava and I rested in the van. It was now inching closer to 8:00 pm. We ate and then we headed home.

It was a long wonderful day! We were all exhausted. I was proud that the kids did so well on the trails. We did almost every trail except maybe 4 or 5. I didn't hear many complaints about legs hurting, which was so nice. The rain didn't hold off completely, but we never were drenched. It rained pretty good while we were eating our take along lunch, but as soon as we finished and went to tackle another trail, it let up. The canopy of trees protected us a lot.

The trails varied from rocky areas, to sandy paths, and compact mud. Of course, there was the not so compact mud too. I would love to visit this place again in the summer or even fall. I would like to see it on a sunny day and maybe even camp or stay in the lodge next time. ;-)

I took so many pictures that day. I didn't want to post to many here and bog down the speed, so if you would like to see some more you can view my album in picasa.

Left to Tell - A Book You Won't Be Able to put Down

A friend recently recommended that I read this really good book called "Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust." She had a copy and let me borrow it last week, and I finally began reading it today. Twelve chapters later, and I am totally amazed and awed by this woman. Her name is Immaculée Ilibagiza. Her story is one of love, faith, hope, fear, anguish, anger, survival and everything in between. She survived the Rwandan Holocaust, hence her book title "Left to Tell." How can I recommend a book that I haven't yet finished? Well, I don't think I need to finish it in order to recommend it. It's just that good. It has been hard to put down today. As I read, it's like I'm right there with her, feeling her suffering and frustrations. Even in the worst times, she turned to God. She prayed and prayed for hours, days, and months. There is much to be learned from her experience, one being that discrimination in any form cuts deep to the heart. If your looking for an intense, eye opening book to read this summer, this is the book for you. It might just change your life.

Midway Village Museum

On May 5th we visited Midway Village. It was our first time going, so it was interesting.

Here is a description taken right from their website:

"The museum is a Victorian Village (1890 to 1910) of 24 historical buildings filled with artifacts of the era as well as several beautiful 19th century gardens. Interpreters in authentic period dress are available seasonally for guided tours. The main museum building holds a number of permanent exhibits reflecting Rockford's history and culture that include The Girls of Summer: Rockford Peaches of the AAGPBL, Queen City of the Prairies: Rockford's First 20 Years and The Missing Link: Socks, Monkeys and Rockford's Industrial Past."

Every 15 minutes a bell rings, which signals when it's time to change stations. We visited a barn where we learned a dance. We also checked out the law, bank, church, blacksmith, and store buildings. It's a nice place to visit if you are studying this time period.


You can view photos of our day here.

Our Curriculum for 2009/10

Well, we are officially ready for our next school year. I have finally placed an order for the rest of our curriculum. I am so excited to start! During the summer, we will continue with spelling, reading, and some math. We usually start our school year with the cores sometime in July. I like starting early. It allows me to take breaks throughout the year without out feeling guilty. This is especially helpful for me since I've been going to college. When the semester starts to get rough and I need study time for myself, I can ease up on my teaching duties at home and not feel like I'm failing my kids.

Here's the line up-

Drake grade 6:

• Sonlight Core 5 (5 day schedule) Study of the East - includes History, Readers, & Read-Alouds
• Horizon's Math 5
• Growing With Grammar 5
• All About Spelling
• Wordsmith Apprentice
• Wordly Wise 3000 5
• Apologia Science Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day
• Handwriting Without Tears Cursive
• The DK Illustrated Family Bible
• Rosetta Stone Spanish

Ava grade 2:

• Sonlight Core 2 (5 day schedule) Study of the second half of world history. Fall of Rome to present- includes History, Readers, & Read-Alouds
• Horizon's Math 2
• Sonlight Language Arts 2
• Modern Curriculum Press Phonics Level C
• All About Spelling
• Explode the Code books 5/6
• Wordly Wise B
• Apologia Science Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day
• Handwriting Without Tears Printing
• The DK Illustrated Family Bible

Extras:

• Mark Kistler's Draw Squad
• Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry 1 (I just had to get this. It looks very informative. I'll be taking come chemistry classes next semester; why not study it with the kids too right?)
• Story Starters by Karen Andreola

Almond Milk

I recently learned of almond milk from the same friend that gave me the oatmeal recipe. I picked some up at the store the other day, and was quite impressed by the taste. It's nothing like the chalky or clay-like taste of soy milk. It's good! The kids like it too!

Then, just the other day I was reading through the blogs I follow on google reader and noticed Roni had a post on how she made her own almond milk. She also found a way to use the almond meal to make Honey Almond Bites! Be sure to check out her videos and recipes they all look great!

Now if I could only find where to buy So Delicious Coconut Milk. I learned about that from Eat, Live, Run, another awesome blog I follow.

A Dog Named Sal

I don't consider myself to be a die hard animal/pet person. I did have a parakeet (I taught him how to say "pretty bird") and gerbils (once, one of them bit my thumb and woudln't let go) while growing up, but I could never have a cat or dog because I am allergic to them. Anytime I was in the presence of a cat or dog, my eyes would swell shut, hives would appear on my skin, and I would have trouble breathing. After a couple years of allergy shots, my symptoms were slightly improved. Now that I'm older, I think I have a lot more tolerance built up, and I usually don't have serious allergy problems any more. I still don't think we could have a shedding dog or a cat in our house though. This has caused some frustration with my kids and sometimes my husband. His dog of choice would be a Husky.

For years my son has asked if we could get a dog. He loves them so much. He begs and pleads with us to let him get one. He tells us how responsible he'll be with it. I know he would do a good job, and we have considered adopting a non-shedding dog in the past, but I know it would be that much more work. There would also be a lot of expenses involved. I don't think I want to deal with all that.

So in the meantime, the kids enjoy our neighbor's dog, Sally ;-) She is so sweet, and the kids love her! Whenever Sally's family has to go away for an extended period of time, they will ask Drake to come over and take her out to do her business and go for a little walk. The past couple times, the kids asked if they could let her in our house for a little while. She doesn't shed, and I have never had any allergy trouble being around her, so we let her in. It was odd to have an animial in our house, since we never really have. It was fun to watch what she did. If we ever get a dog, it will have to be like Sally.

The kids put a hat on her and took this picture. Isn't she cute!?

Wind Farm

On our way home from Apple River Canyon, we went to check out the new wind farm. I think they are so cool! I know there are a lot of people against wind farms for various reasons, one of them being that they are an eyesore to the landscape; I think they are beautiful! They give me a sense of peacefulness as I watch them spin.

Apple River Canyon State Park

My family and I love to go to different parks to walk on trails. A lot of times we will leave at a moments notice with no planning involved. Last Saturday was a perfect day to take one of these trips. We gathered up water bottles, snacks, and fishing gear and headed out. As we were backing out of the driveway, we decided to go to Apple River Canyon State Park. It had been a while since our last visit, and I remembered that the kids had fun climbing on the rock formations.

This big rock was fun to climb!

Steve and Drake on the cliff.

Walking the trail! It began with a climb up these stairs.

This was a fun-pic. Drake's idea. ;-)

This is a look out area with a great view.

Drake took this picture of us. Ava wanted to take our picture too, but I told her I wanted to keep moving and she could take it at another spot. She was upset about that. Here Ava is storming away from us. She was trying to get away as fast as she could. Little did she know, that bright blue shirt and pink hat could be spotted anywhere. ;-) Thankfully, she got over it quickly.

Mossy-Earthy-Rocky

Steve and Drake fished, but they didn't catch anything.