July 4th

We got into O'Hare late Tuesday night and went straight to Mom's place to crash. On Wednesday we woke up late and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before getting ready for a walk. We headed toward Independence Grove, a forest preserve in Libertyville, but stopped at Ace Hardware to pick up a few things for the house and got a little carried away. By the time we left we had enough anchors and such to hang curtains and put up garage organization items, and ditched the walk idea. We got some lunch and took naps before meeting the Martens family at Max and Erma's for dinner. Here is the lovely Audrey Anne, star of Shanel's blog.



Afterward we ran up to Dairy Dream for a lovely treat of lemon custard ice cream, an old favorite from way back. Then we headed back to Vernon Hills to catch the fireworks.