feeding the duckies

Annalise’s school has a program where students are awarded with “green tickets” whenever they’re caught doing something good, such as following directions, assisting another student, etc. Unsurprisingly, Annalise has really taken to this program and works hard to earn these tickets every chance she gets. We promised we’d celebrate with an activity of her choice when she earned 25 of these. Little did we know she’d hit that milestone within the first month of school!

A few weeks ago we enrolled Annalise and Sean in Taekwondo. They’ve enjoyed earning the tape on their belt, and by coincidence, the very week we decided to celebrate Annalise’s 25th green ticket, they both earned a green tape stripe on their white belts. Two things to celebrate!

Thus was born “Green Ticket and Tape Day!”

Green Pancakes

The celebration began with our traditional Sunday morning pancakes — with a twist. I threw in some green food coloring and we had green Mickey Mouse pancakes.

Riverwalk Picnic

Next up, a picnic on Naperville’s picturesque “Riverwalk.” We realized today that the last time we picnic’d there was days before Nathan was born. The riverwalk has since undergone substantial renovation, however the path is basically the same and lovely as ever.

Feeding the Duckies

We brought along some old bread and, against admonitions stamped into the concrete walkway, fed the numerous ducks gathering at the water’s edge. As usual, the kids then spent some time running in circles around the amphitheater and generally having a great time enjoying the mild fall weather.

The Bouncey Place

Annalise choose “the bouncey place” for her celebration treat. So next, we headed out to Airtastic for an hour or so of jumping, climbing, and sliding down inflatables.

Tags: airtastic, Annalise, Celebration, emma, Family, Feeding the duckies, Naperville, Nathan, photo, Picnic, riverwalk, Sean
Filed under: Uncategorized on October 3rd, 2011 | No Comments »

picnic by the riverwalk

With the temperatures soaring nearly 20-degrees above normal and much colder temperatures on the horizon, we decided to take the opportunity to spend one last evening on the riverwalk. Typically we’ll head down to Washington Street for dinner, often winding up at Potbelly’s. This evening, Suzy packed us a “dinnertime picnic” and so we ate at a table in one of the numerous gazebos overlooking the river.

Following dinner, and a brief game of “tag” between Annalise and Sean, the family headed down to our favorite spot to feed the duckies. Perhaps the geese have already flown south for the winter as there were only ducks around — which was a great thing as the geese tend to be much more aggressive and “crowding.” Afterward, we ran around the “labyrinth” for a bit then loaded up into the wagon and headed back.

It was truly a lovely evening.

Tags: Annalise, ducks, photo, riverwalk, Sean
Filed under: Annalise, Sean on November 4th, 2008 | 1 Comment »