A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Improv Camp

Signing up Liesel and Ireland for Improv Camp was by far the best decision I made this summer. They adored their camp director and he regularly told me he would love to babysit for us because he enjoyed the girls so much.

Liesel and Ireland both made some wonderful friends.

How could you not when you spend your day joking around?

Sometimes I have to get creative in order to get any useful information out of them about their day but Liesel and Ireland would be bursting to tell me all about the improv skits they worked on. One of the cardinal rules of improv is no deniability. If someone puts you in a scenario, you can't decide you don't like it and change it, you have to be creative and work with what you've been given. If a joke fell flat, the kids weren't allowed to criticize and if they lost a game, they took it in stride. These aren't just improv rules, they are life philosophies. Improv also requires you to think on your feet, which I like.

Liesel's favorite game was called TV Remote. The leader held an imaginary remote and could change the channel from the news to a reality show to an Italian soap opera. During the showcase, he did this and Lucy (pictured above) cried out, "Guten tag!" and it brought down the house.

Ireland's favorite was one where two kids were only allowed to speak gibberish. Two teachers would interpret what they were saying and then the kids had to act out the interpretation. For example, "He just said he wants to do 10 push ups!" or "She said she just farted and it's really smelly!"

It was also rather entertaining to hear the girls dis the weirdo (and apparently slobby) theater kids who were working on a production of Alice and Wonderland next door. Even though there's an improv camp here in Crystal Lake, I felt really good about this one in Libertyville although it was an hour away. During the drive, I listened to the final Harry Potter book while the girls watched movies we rented from the library and it was such a peaceful break from all the fighting.

I had a lot of fun with Brigitta and Sydney who's interests are still on the young side. We snuck away to Lake Michigan where they worked on their dolphin kicks with Brigitta's mermaid tale.

Love this place!

We went shopping for new lunch boxes, which ended up being quite the dilemma for Brigitta. We were in that store forever while she tried to decide between these two.

Sydney, on the other hand, made her decision lightning quick. She's crazy excited to be going to school this year. 

 Sydney also got a haircut. Well, I should say she cut her own hair and then I took her in to even it up.

 It turned out really cute and I think the shorter style fits he personality well.

We went to Pump It Up where I'm pretty sure the boy on the back of Sydney's car was crushing on her.

I originally shot this in slow-mo and Sydney looks so cute skipping around.

Only Brigitta could practically break a leg going down a blow up slide.

We tried out the new Shake Shack and talked about how free, unlimited ice water is a uniquely American thing.

A funny thing really did happen on the way to Improv Camp. While waiting at a light I saw this woman in her minivan with an entire bumper stuck under her wheel well. You can't tell, but that thing goes under the entire car and out the other side. 

 I tried imagining a legitimate scenario where this could easily happen and I came up dry. Everyone in traffic was going nuts trying to point it out to her and she finally pulled over into a parking lot. I'm not sure if she actually got it off, we were late for improv!

Indiana Sand Dunes

This has been on my to do list for years. Before Brigitta and Sydney were even born, actually. The guidebook painted this charming picture of children running up on the dunes while having the beauty of Lake Michigan behind them. While our walk from the parking lot to the beach strongly reminded me of east coast beaches I love like in Maine and North Carolina, our experience was not so golden.

See the dunes there in the background? They are eroding and hence, protected. Anyone who even attempted to walk on them received two sharp blasts from the lifeguard's whistle and a sharp reprimand. I read that you can hike the big dune, Mount Baldy, if you sign up for a ranger to escort you to the top. And that just gets to to the top-ish, the top, top is restricted. The drive there wasn't anything to write home about either. As charming as the song "Gary, Indiana" is from Music Man, it's a rather depressed area. Still, I'm all about checking things off of lists and while we were there, we were determined to make the best of it.

I became a total cliche and traded our old Radio Flyer for this collapsible wagon. I'm not ashamed to admit I love it and this is our new beach buddy.

Almost every time we go to the beach, the girls begin digging a hole. Back in the day, they'd make a little wading pool for Sydney who was too afraid to brave the expansive lake. Now it's just kind of a tradition.

They worked really hard on this one, with towers and pinwheels at each corner even.

We were pretty proud of that thing. As we made ready to leave for the day, a woman unabashedly parked her towel right next to it and her toddler moved right in. It kind of felt like they'd been waiting for us to vacate.

In other adventures of sand construction, Liesel and Ireland worked really hard on mermaid tails for their little sisters.

They were pretty proud of those too. See how they decorated them with rocks and everything?

A close up of one of the seashells they made using the handle of the pinwheel.

All that work, so quickly destroyed!

Ireland definitely helped but Liesel was down there perfecting it for a long, long time. I'm always blown away how flexible kids are and how they can sit like this for ages.

There's always a battle regarding sunscreen which I am adamant about applying on the regular. I actually set an alarm on my phone to make sure nobody burns. Brigitta asked if she could do it on her own and I told her that was fine. Her face definitely didn't burn!

We started the summer with just one set of water wings so they automatically went to Sydney. She was much braver in the water with a little support.

 I thought it would be fun to get some photos of Liesel with my wrap and I was really loving how they turned out.

Pretty cool, eh?

When she pulled this face I knew she was done- haha!

We won't be back to the Indiana Sand Dunes but at least we can say we tried it!

Iowa City

The day after the dance recital, right after church, we headed out for Iowa City.

Brent packed the car nice and tight, including lots of snacks and goodies. 

That container of MnM's is pretty much just for me.

He packed it so tight in fact, the luggage flew out of the car and down the steep driveway on arrival!

 Luckily, no one was hurt.

Brigitta immediately snuggled up with Dakota.

Bright and early the next day, we turned in the cans we'd been collecting for months.

This was our biggest haul yet, and we made a beeline for the bank to pad their college savings accounts.

When they make a deposit, they get two coins to put in the funnel. Sydney was adamant that she do her coins on her own. Liesel and Ireland were given strict instructions not to touch the side. Doing so can dislodge the perfect roll and send it straight into the hole.

Every time we come back, we find some charming little addition to the city, like this sign that made me laugh.

Especially the other side because it is so true!

 We picked up loads of books and DVD's at the library.

Working our way through summer reading lists.

We picked up loads of junk food at the grocery store.

Mad respect for Brent who does our grocery shopping and is a genius at keep us fed and keeping the bill so cheap.

We used our free passes to the Children's Museum. Where else can you play doctor... 

...and princess in the same room?

 Ireland had her annual asthma check up.

She had to have a blood draw to determine new allergies. Add elm, maple and ragweed to the list! 

Best phlebotomist I've ever seen. He dropped a plastic lady bug that vibrated and buzzed in her lap right before he inserted the needle. She was so surprised she didn't even notice the pinch.

We had pizza from Pagliais- the Palace Special- which just tastes just like it did when I was in high school. 

Can't get this photo upright, but you get the idea.

Saw a Model T touring group which was funny because my parents headed out on their own touring group for the Model A while we were there. 

The little ones played at the play land in the mall while the older two checked out the latest at Barnes & Noble. 

New shoes.

Originally just for Brigitta, her's ended up being too tight so they wen't to Sydney. Then the older two wanted some as well. Normally I don't like this style but somehow, these worked.

We stopped by the Amish grocery store for some goodies.

 Including our favorite jam. Partly for the taste and partly for the clever name!

Grandma and Grandpa (and Dakota for that matter) live life at a much quieter, peaceful pace.

Even so, we were able to snap some fun pics with Snap Chat filters.

Gotta love those filters!

Aunt Whitney picked up some sparklers. It's hard to tell but these were all different colors.

Everyone worked on their jungle gym skills, including Sydney.

We saw the live action Aladdin.

 The theater cleared out afterwards. We have a friend who earned his undergraduate degree in film and feels it a sign of respect to stay for the credits after a movie so we've always tried to do that. Since the place was empty, the girls danced up front. I wish the picture had turned out better.

 Outside the theater, we discovered people who were like-minded in a different way.

 This year's trip was really difficult for me and I can't pinpoint why. Now that I'm blogging everything we did and remembering that it came right on the heels of the big dance recital, perhaps that had a lot to do with it! It was a really busy two weeks. The girls had a lot of great experiences and I'm glad they got to connect with family as well as my hometown. We were definitely happy to be back home though!