2009 School Portrait

Boo at the Zoo

We finally managed to get over to Boo at the Zoo in Decatur this week. This is an excellent Halloween event and one that has earned a place on our annual list. Fantastic decorations, animals to pet, a scary train ride in the dark, and an evening of fun to be had by all. Well, by all people who have young children. And right now, that's how we roll.

This was our favourite pumpkin scarecrow guy. He looks like Jack!





Boo! For Boo at the zoo.





A silly Mario on the carousel.

Our Mario

Kellan is Mario (of Nintendo fame) for Halloween this year. Here are some shots from Friday night, before we left for Zoolie Ghoulie.








The mustache didn't last. It wasn't comfortable. But at least I got some photos! Here he is at the zoo. Sans mustache, but still cute.






Telling me off because I wouldn't let him go into the goat enclosure in his costume. They would have chewed right through it and its got to last through Halloween!

A Day of Festivities

We were invited to a super fun Fall Festival on Saturday afternoon at Henry's house. There were all sorts of games, a pinata, crafts, yummy food, an obstacle course, and even a "candy in the jar" guessing game which we won! Yeah for a weekend-long sugar high. I love the candy corn! I didn't get many photos because the kids were all too busy having fun, but here are a few snaps.

This is Henry, Marina, and Kel wearing their colourful vampire teeth.




Kellan kept cheating at the apple game -- no hands!




Balloons in the obstacle course.




Kel swinging at the pinata.





We also had a swim party to attend earlier in the afternoon. I had the camera along anyway, so took a couple of photos. Here are Kel and Cedric hanging out in the pool at the Y.

Fall Colours

I went for a walk around Lincoln Memorial Gardens on Saturday to try and capture some of the beautiful fall colours with my camera. Unfortunately, I left it a week late and everything was already past peak, many of my favourite trees having already dropped their leaves. I got a few pretty shots though. Here's a sample of our fall colours (one week past peak!) in central Illinois:

Abe's Corn Maze

We had a beautiful fall afternoon for our venture into Abe's Corn Maze. This is our favourite corn maze (and I don't want to hear any, "You have a favourite corn maze???" comments -- when in Rome, right?).

Here is Kel, excited and ready to conquer the maze.



Half way through the maze, we stopped for some scenic photos on the pond.






Another break. Kel decided to snap a photo of me. I'm teaching him how to use the camera.




Still trekking along through the maze.




And, our victory shots by the "Exit" sign!




There was a little "pumpkin patch" where the kids could pick out a pumpkin and then paint it.



The artist, hard at work.






Kel and his pumpkin creation.





We also took a wild hay ride over some crazy muddy terrain. I couldn't get the camera out while we were on the ride because I was clinging on to Kel to keep him inside the wagon. This is a shot of Kel standing next to the hay ride wagon afterward.

Indian Summer Festival

It was chilly for the Lincoln Memorial Gardens Indian Summer Festival this weekend, but didn't diminish the fun. Kel also chose his new winter hat (an annual tradition at the festival -- there's a lady who sells them there and we love her hats). And got to wear it.






Carmen also chose her new winter hat. Here are Kel, Carmen, and Connor with their balloon creations.




Kel got a bat painted on his face. The man took ages to do it. I was expecting something amazing. Kel turned around and... hmmmmm. Why did this take 15 minutes?

Jacksonville Steam Show

We met up with some good friends on Sunday to enjoy the Jacksonville Steam Show. Here are Kel and Carmen getting ready to set off on our little steam engine journey around the park. And check out their funky "peace and love" t-shirt duo (Jen noticed that after I sent her the photos).




One thing that Kel loves at the steam show is the "learn to drive a tractor" area.



It appears that he opted for the one handed approach this year. Lazy little thing.






My handsome boys.




Another favourite attraction at the Steam Show is the Wobble Wagon. Here's the whole gang heading off for a bumpy ride around the field (I was so terribly disappointed to miss out on this...). Here are Connor, Jen, Keira, Zane, Carmen, Kel, and Mark setting off on their whiplash inducing ride.



Bumpy enough for you?



Alas, they survived -- and they're still smiling!

Monticello Rail Days

Didn't get any great shots at the Rail Days event, but certainly had a great time. Here are a few shots of the boys and various trains.

Nic with an old Chicago "L" train.



Kel goofing around on a caboose.




Riding in a caboose. Ignore the messy face. There was some nastiness going on in the nasal region. He'd had a miserable cold all week.





The boys riding on a motor car. They love the motor car rides best of all.



The Leviathan. Gorgeous restored steam engine from the mid-1800s.





Some old engines and stock in need of restoration.

New Salem

The traditional music festival at New Salem has sort of become an annual portrait session for the boy. We listen to the music and I snap photos. This year, he's bald. But still cute.









He was throwing hay at me and into my purse.











We took a hike down to the Sangamon River.




Oh my, the mud.




Showing off the muddy shoes. Luckily we were in flip flops.



The prairie.





Abe Lincoln. Obviously.



That building is actually a pit toilet (well, was, not currently). He wanted a photo here. Not inside, luckily.

Illinois Railway Museum at Union

The Illinois Railway Museum was a perfect day out for this train loving family. You can't go wrong with a full day of trains, trains, and more trains!




Not to mention "singles" (signals), Kel's favourite thing in all the world. He got a behind the scenes tour of the whole signal collection and was taught how to work each and every one of them. Here he is standing with the control, giving me a quick pose. He spent nearly 2 hours learning all that there was to know about signals! Thanks to the man who is in charge of the signals and recognized a familiar gleam in the eyes our own little signal fanatic. They were like two peas in a pod.









I like this shot.



I don't like this shot. Needed flash, but the boys had already moved on before I got that sorted!



Kel also loves trolleys. We had to get lots of photos by this old specimen.






Look at the size of those wheels!






Nic riding the street car.




Just a series of random shots from one of the longer train rides that we took that day.

Museum of Science and Industry

While we were in Chicago last weekend, Kel and I spent a day at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Here we are, waiting at the L station for our train into town.





The Idea Factory was Kel's favourite part of the museum.







Driving a tractor and harvesting the corn. It is Illinois, after all.





Kel was fascinated by all of the videos and stories on the way into the U-boat exhibit.





This was supposed to be Kel with the U-boat behind him. Light metering issue on my part.



I confess to leaving my good flash back at the hotel (since I didn't want to carry my big camera bag as well as my purse all day), so now you see why the big flash is worth the expense. There were interesting things in the background here, I swear it!




That's a big steam engine behind Kel.




Heading back out to our hotel. The tunnel at the Jackson L station. He wanted a photo here.

Eastbourne

This is actually the final post in the UK holiday series, so if you'd like to see these in order, scroll on down a ways until you come to the "Around London" post, then move up from there. Sorry, but I wasn't organized enough to do the whole trip back to front. I'm just pleased that the photos are all here now!

Another sunny day, another beautiful trip to the seaside. Eastbourne this time. I never remember August (or any month!) being so perfect when we lived there. I remember rain, damp, cold, more rain, and more cold. This August proved me wrong! I was feeling quite wretched with the flu on this particular day, so didn't take many photos, but being out in the fresh sea air and sunshine was the best place to be, flu or no flu.






Kel wanted me to take some photos of him with this Mr. Whippy cone. I'm kind of a Mr. Whippy addict. And look, it even had flake! After these photos we got ourselves a couple of Mr. Whippys. Obviously. Plus, it felt wonderful on my sorest of sore throats.




Some shots of Eastbourne taken from the pier.





We also saw Kel's first ever Punch and Judy show, went mini golfing, walked by the seaside, played at a fun park, and visited Beachy Head, none of which I was up to photographing. But the memories are there.

London Transport Museum and a few other bits

Kel and I had a great day together around London. We started out at Covent Garden Market.



We spent the bulk of the day at the London Transport Museum. This place was fantastic. Full of old and new trams, buses, and undergrounds that could be explored in full, and provided a comprehensive history of public transit in London. It was fascinating. And fun!







I didn't realize it until I went back through the photos, but this is obviously where I picked up the swine flu. I mean, look at this guy, he really doesn't look well enough to be driving...







Nice skirt. Er, blanket? I have no idea.



This was a really fun children's play area where the passengers on your bus or underground train were little punching bags. Not too different from pushing through the actual rush hour crowd then. And in front of Kel here is a screen, as there was in each of the vehicles (bus, taxi, train, underground) that showed them actually driving. It was very cool.



Driving a big modern bus.



He looks so little there!





When we finally left the Transport Museum (closing time does happen), we decided to take a double decker bus around town for fun. After we crossed Tower Bridge, we got off and had an ice cream next to the Tower of London.




Kel then requested that we go to see the lights of Picadilly Circus (he'd been before and wanted to see them again). So, on the tube we hopped and off we went.




This place really excited Kel, he could have stood here for hours chatting away at the signs.



Seriously, the kid is excited!



Managed one final non-crazy pose before we sat down to munch on donuts (there was a donut shop across the street and we were hungry) and watch the sign for awhile.

Kew Bridge Steam Museum

The Kew Bridge Steam Museum was a new find for me. A place that any steam and/or machine junkie should visit when in London. Skip the overcrowded tourist spots and seed out the fun stuff!

I love this photo of Nic.



The boys riding on the museum's fun little steam train.



Kel and I beside the engine. Apologies for my "yikes" hair. Apparently there had been a great wind storm that day.




We stumbled upon all of these funny little contraptions outside. We wondered what they were for.



Hhhhmmmm, looks like Kel has an idea...




Ah ha -- water play!




Soaking wet.




Getting other children wet.






Here is Kel, inside the museum, building an engine in the children's play area and explaining to me all about how it works.







Taking a break from building to admire and watch one of the big steam engines in action.




The big steam engine. One of many at the museum. They were gorgeous.




Trying to figure something out. He was really in to the workings of everything here.



Hands on experimentation.




The old pump tower outside of the museum.

A Day out with Thomas

When asked about the favourite thing that he did in England, Kellan doesn't hesitate to regale you with stories of his best and most special day: A Day out with Thomas at the Dean Forest Railway (though you'll probably have to hear about the Underground and double decker buses as well -- its a close call). We met up with Mary, Ben, and Rosie and spent an absolutely wonderful day enjoying the festivities. Kel insisted that we stayed until they were closing up shop, which we did. Having arrived just as it all started that morning, we were a tired family.

Here is a photo of Kel and Ben next to the REAL Thomas! These were some happy boys. Ben and Kel are almost exactly the same age (Ben is 6 weeks older, to the day) and have known each other since Kel was born. They had so much fun together.




Shortly after arrival, they all decided to get their faces painted. And thus, the rest of the memories from the day include Kellan as Thomas, and Ben and Rosie as tigers. They were so proud of their new looks. Kel's Thomas face is also a good advertisement as to why one should never ever paint on eyebrows. Yikes!



Riding on Daisy the Diesel, having just raced the steam engine (we won!) and preparing to head up the track for a story ride.



Kel and Rosie were quite smitten with each other.




Riding on the roundabout.



Three happy kids. We didn't ask them to hold hands, they just did. Walking and chatting, hand in hand.





Three hungry kids munching on sandwiches and chips.



Three full kids feeding the rest of their lunches to the ducks on the river.



Mary with the kids riding on the miniature steam engine.





Kel posing while the engine does a turn around. Mary, Ben, and Rosie went home, exhausted, while we had one final ride (the final run of the day).







This shot is actually from the next day, when we met all of our friends for a fun morning of swimming at GL1 and then spent a long, lazy, and wonderful day relaxing (and eating!) in Narjas' back garden while the kids amused themselves. It was hard to tear ourselves away that night. Here's a shot of the three old friends, Imogen, Kel, and Dylan. Weren't they only babies yesterday?

Beautiful Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is the home that we left when we moved to Illinois. Kellan was born (and made!) here and was excited to see the place that he came from. This was his first home and a place that will always be special to me, a place that will always feel like home. I do miss Gloucester and going back to see friends and explore our old haunts was bittersweet. Knowing that Illinois is "home" now. Still, I took some photos to remember the beauty that I never appreciated fully when it surrounded me every day. That's always the way, isn't it?





Looking down the hill into Nailsworth.



Even the allotment was pretty enough to warrant a photo!





View over the Severn Valley.




Looking up towards Minchinhampton. A bit washed out.




A church on the River Severn.








Gloucester, looking back at the cathedral from the docks.




The Gloucester skyline from across the valley.

Folkstone and the Romney Marshes with Nic

Nic and I took a couple of days out together and traveled to the coast (I'm happy as long as I'm by the seaside) where we enjoyed lots of hiking and gorgeous ocean vistas. One of my favourite things was laying in our bed at night watching the lighthouses on the French coast flash over the Channel.

This is the view from our hotel room window. If you click and view the full sized image, you just might be able to make out the distant line of the French coast. This view is now my happy place. I spent a lot of time laying on the bed staring out of that window!



My ever so handsome husband.




Um, yeah. It was really sunny, ok? There may have been some extreme squinting happening here.



The white cliffs of Folkstone, though way off in the distance beyond that last headland, you might actually be able to see the white cliffs of Dover. Its about 8 miles from Folkstone.



Enjoying a beautiful evening walk along the coast.






This was the material used to design a "grotto" pathway going from the Leas down to the beach. It is composed of all sorts of rubbish, from glass to old plates to bits of brick, all cemented together. Weird, but pretty.



Nic resting after our hike back up to the Leas.



We also visited the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway where we spent a day riding the rails over the marsh and taking breaks to walk along the coast.





A shot of the rather bleak outpost at the end of the marshes, Dungeness.

The Isle of Wight

"Every summer we can rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear. We shall scrimp and save..." Ah, the Isle of Wight. We could have spent much longer here had time allowed. And the weather! Absolute hot sunny seaside perfection.

Here's a quick shot of Kel on the ferry, heading over to the island.



Upon arrival at Ryde, we caught the train. Look at it! The Island Line's rolling stock is composed entirely of London Underground trains built in 1938. Awesome, no?



Kel was impressed too.




The boys hanging out on the train.






While on the Island, we also visited and traveled on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. Obviously.




The best part of the Isle of Wight was THE BEACH! A real sandy beach on a hot sunny August day. Just like home.





I admit to being a bad mother who didn't pack swim shorts for this weekend away because I had no idea that it would be so hot and sunny. I never even anticipated that we'd be swimming! Jackets were packed, swim shorts were not. So, the boy swam in his undies and vest. And he wasn't the only kid there doing it.









The white cliffs of the Isle of Wight. The white cliffs of Dover are not really so unique.



Looking back up at Shanklin.




Kel ended his day at the beach with a go on the inflatable slide. Weeeeee!




Too exhausted to sit up on the train back to Ryde. But happy exhausted.

Portsmouth

We stayed overnight near Portsmouth with Steve and his family (our extended family in a very extended sort of way). That evening we went down to the seaside for a walk, some chips, and a visit to the amusements.




Bit of time delay here.




I love this shot of Kel and Uncle Steve sitting on the rocks, watching the hovercraft come in from the Isle of Wight. The land that you can see in the background is the Island.




Kel enjoying the amusements. Here he goes on the teacups, insistent that he wasn't going to spin it much...



...and then the well meaning (possibly sadistic) ride operator gave him a good spin every time he went past. Not so great on the post-dinner belly it seems.




More rides.







Throwing stones into the sea.




A chilly couple.




The hovercraft docked at Portsmouth.





At the end of the night, Kel's legs were all worn out. Lucky, as always, to have Uncle Steve!

Tonbridge Wells

These are from a day at Tonbridge Wells, where we went to ride the Spa Valley Railway. Also the first day of a weekend with Uncle Steve!












Kel adores his Uncle Steve. Is there any doubt?




Who is this??? Finally insisted that Nic take a couple of snaps of me, just to prove that I do exist on the other side of the lens.





And my gorgeous Nic.








The Doctor Who phone box!






Reading railway magazines on the train.





At the Pantiles in Tonbridge Wells.

Richmond Park

Granny, Grandad, and Kel at Richmond Park.




Cheeky boy.





Swinging the food that was meant for the ducks. A hole in the bag ensued.





Family conference over which ducks to feed?




A happy boy and his well fed ducks.




Granny cuddles.





Just a random shot of the heather. So pretty in flower.