Camping in Devil's Lake

Devil's Lake State Park near Madison provided us all with a three day camping trip with Jeff's family included some great hikes, beach time, parkside picnics, and outdoor meals. We all had our first "duck" ride at the dells,and Douwe enjoyed playing with his Milwaukee and Idaho cousins . .We had dinner one night in downtown Madison, took a tour of part of the Taliesen estate, and weathered a few rain showers and animal encounters (even before we arrived at the camp site!)

Happy Father's Day

This dad and son have a lot of love for each other and it is a pleasure to be in family with them.

Mississinewa Reservoir

Douwe and his cousin and I spent the day with my sister Emily, and Esme, at the Miami Recreational Area of Mississinewa Reservoir by her house. It was a fun day in the sun and we enjoyed scoop ball, ice cream cones, swimming and sand diggin


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Girls Weekend

Nice down time for a few days with college girlfriends in Holland MI . .telling stories, sharing laughs and griefs, it is always a great way to start the summer!

Southland Exploration

June is Leave no Child inside Month and our household is following that initiative as best we can. . Brookfield Zoo two days ago and today a exploration of some outdoor areas in the Southland.


OUr first stop was a big field that was a peat bog, then drained to be developed in the 60's and now restored to a wetland. It is near downtown Park Forest and was a nice little place to explore, with boardwalks over the marshy spots.
Second stop was the big wooden play fort at Commissioner's Park in Frankfort. Well worth the drive. . Douwe could have stayed about triple the time we allotted for this stop. . .we wooed him away from the huge truck filled sandbox with promises of ice cream in downtown Frankfort.
The third place was Monee Reservoir which is part of the Will County Forest Preserve DIstrict. We could have canoed or something but the day was getting late and Douwe had fallen asleep on the way over. So me and Dad Groen just walked around a bit to check it out and find out more about the boating and fishing amenities. It was a nice place. . .
Park Forest to Frankfort to Monee and lots of country roads in between. We were actually on a gravel road for several miles which is not a common experience for us city folk, and so close to the city too!

Brookfield Zoo

We had a perfect day at Brookfield Zoo with my sister Alison and her kids. Stingray touch tank was fun and dolphins and swimming grizzly, and the Play Zoo's outdoor habitat building area as well as the animal hospital were big hits with the kids.