Springfield Trip

I was lucky enough to chaperon Patrick's 4th grade class trip to historic Springfield, IL.  We had a day with Lincoln.  Here we are on the bus.

First stop, Lincoln's Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

We both rubbed Lincoln's nose for good luck.

Here is a model of what would become the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. 

 Lincoln's Tomb, or at least the part we can see above ground.

Mary and three of the boys are also entombed with the President.  

There were eight other statues of Lincoln in the tomb, this one was my favorite.  He looks like he's praying.

Next stop, the Lincoln home.  They have preserved a couple of blocks around their home so you can get the feel of what life was like for the family.  Patrick had me take pictures of everything, but I'll just share a few.

The parlor.  That is George and Martha Washington hanging over the mantel.

 Dining room.

Sitting room. 

Abe's bedroom.  

Patrick loved the fireplaces and stoves.  

Mary Todd's bedroom.

This was the boys bedroom.

And the hired girl's room.  I think my first bedroom to myself was about the same size.

And the kitchen.  Again, Patrick loved the stove.

 The 4th grade class, behaving.

And being silly.

Our final stop was the Lincoln Museum.  

I don't know what Patrick is doing.

Patrick hanging with the Lincoln family outside the White House.

And me.

It was a long day but well worth it.  Not only did I get to be a history geek, I got to spend the day with just Patrick, something we just don't get to do enough.

SURPRISE!

Our human plans do not always follow what God has in store for us.  With that in mind, I would like to introduce you to Hatton baby #5, coming March 2016.

I like this one because the little bugger is kicking.

Although this child was not planned, it is very much loved already.  My body fully remembered how to do this and my belly is very round.  Both baby and mom are healthy but we'd really appreciate all the prayers we can get.

Welcome Fall

Life is busy as usual around here.  School is in full swing and no one is really complaining.  Soccer is going strong with quite the chill in the air on Saturday morning.  But lets get to the pictures.  Mike took the oldest two on a canoe/orienteering race at Lake Evergreen at the end of August. I love this picture.

A little Lacrosse anyone?

George found a dirt hill at Patrick's soccer practice.  Between the sweat and dirt, it quickly became a bath night.

George's class took a field trip to Tanner's Apple Orchard.  I was unable to go but here are some pictures that other parents were kind enough to share.

As I said, life is plugging along here in Washington.  Cool morning and beautiful afternoons have been the norm and should continue most of this week.  More pictures to come soon, if we take any.

Uncle Ted

My Uncle Ted had to fly into Peoria this week and asked us to bring the kids over to see his jet.  He foolishly said he'd answer any questions they had, so we were there for awhile.  Here are some pictures.

 

Thank you Uncle Ted for the adventure.  Patrick has decided he wants to be a pilot and pretended to shoot down planes the whole way home.

FireTruck Fun!

A couple of weeks ago, we have a block party.  Someone brought out a real fire truck for the kids to climb all over.  Here are the picture we have.

Lia did not like the idea of getting soaked by the fire truck, thus no pictures of her this time.  But the other three LOVE IT!  As you can see, George had a blast, until the sun went down and he got cold.  Mike had to run him home because he couldn't stop chattering his teeth.  More pictures are coming soon.