The month is almost over and I haven’t really posted. Too busy trying to have fun to sit down and put my thoughts together, so now I need to catch up.
Saturday October 1st was the only weekend of the month where both kids would be over together due to K’s extra-curricular activities so we went to Jonamac Orchard to pick pumpkins from their patch and then to Sonny Acres which is an annual tradition for us.
Sunday October 2nd after the kids went home Joe and I drove out to Long Grove for their Apple Festival because we cannot resist the apple cider donuts from Apple Haus. This festival gets more crowded every year, not to mention more expensive. I am quite disgusted over it and do not plan to attend it again. I wrote a review over at Yelp if you’re so inclined to read the details.
Sunday October 9th we attended the Scarecrow Festival in St. Charles. That festival is getting more crowded every year too so we made a vow to get there before they open next year so we can see the scarecrows in peace because we like it, but it’s hard to see much with all the people milling about.
Saturday October 15th we just had E with us so he and Joe built a Halloween house out of a cookie kit we had purchased years ago. It’s one of those things where it sounds like a good idea at the time but when you pull it out with intentions of making it you think “eh, too much work”. I’m glad E had fun with it, though, because I doubt I’ll ever buy another one. I’m happy to have freed up the space in my Halloween storage tote! Later the same day Brother #2 came over and he and E carved pumpkins. Once it got dark we headed over to Sonny Acres to go on their Haunted Hayride. I couldn’t believe how many people were there! The weather was pretty nice and I enjoyed the ride (it’s about 20 minutes long) but E was scared (he didn’t think he would be) so that sucked. I’ve wanted to do the hayride for a few years but the weather never seemed to work out so it was nice to finally go. When we got back I made roasted pumpkin seeds for everyone to snack on.
This past week we’ve been off work for a lovely staycation. On Saturday we went to the Volo Auto Museum thanks to a Groupon. I’ve been wanting to visit the place for years so it worked out perfectly. It’s a real fun museum even for people who aren’t particularly into cars such as myself. They have K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider! What more do you want? I could have done without the lame Haunted Trolley Tour, however. I think the whole “we have ghosts on the property” schtick is a bit much. The ghost story told to us by a hologram was lame. The only thing about the tour is you have to take it if you want to see the cars owned by former celebrities. Otherwise I’d suggest skipping it.
Later the same evening we drove around St. Charles looking at the houses participating in the Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tour. The first one we stopped at had turned their garage and backyard into a walk-through haunted house which was cool. A few of the family members were dressed up and one led visitors through the yard but it wasn’t too scary (I’m not big on haunted houses). Unfortunately it seemed like most of the homes weren’t decorated so much as set up as a haunted house which was a bit disappointing. I just wanted to see some cool decorations and scope them out for E so when he comes over this weekend we know which ones to take him too (since there’s far too many to see them all in one night).
Sunday we went on a Quail Wagon ride at St. James Farm. We were the only people to sign up for the 11:30 ride so we had the carriage to ourselves which seemed rather fitting since it was our 6 year wedding anniversary. Our guide gave us a lot of cool information surrounding the farm and we learned why all the buildings were now closed to the public – they were open when the forest preserve district first purchased the property a few years ago but they had to close them for insurance purposes since they don’t have enough staff to keep an eye on everything. Even the public restrooms were closed and replaced by port-a-johns. After our tour and walking around taking pics we drove down the road to Herrick Lake and walked around there for awhile. It was a very low-key day but neither of us minded.
Monday we went to Morton Arboretum and had lunch in their Ginko Cafe which was ok. The fish tacos weren’t great but I liked the Waldorf salad. They have scarecrows around the lake which are always cute. There was even an angry birds scarecrow.
Tuesday was “doctor day”. I had an appointment to see my primary care and then Joe had to go to the dentist to get a temporary crown put in.
Wednesday we took advantage of the fact that it was a free day to visit the Field Museum of Natural History. I think the last time I was there was in college for a botany assignment, if you don’t count the year Joe’s employer held their holiday party there. It’s still a pretty boring museum in the grand scheme of things but I did like the Evolving Planet exhibit which went through Earth’s history and each mass extinction. Did you know we’re in the middle of an ice age right now? It’s true!
Wednesday evening we went to E’ school to watch him perform in a Fall concert. He played the drums on two of the three songs his jazz band performed and did a great job. His drum lessons are paying off.
Yesterday we visited my parents which is always fun, and now we’re just relaxing before we have to head out to see K in her school play. I can’t believe there’s only three more days left before we have to go back to work. Having time off is too much fun. I wish it didn’t have to end. I’ve been a bit anxious all week too because my doctor wants to me to have a colonoscopy which I have scheduled for next week. I’m not looking forward to that at all.
Photo sets
» Sonny Acres
» Scarecrow Festival
» Volo Auto Museum
» St. James Farm
» Morton Arboretum
» Field Museum of Natural History