Last Days in Illinois...

Well, at least for now...so we squeezed a few more fun things into our time here. Sweet Man may be here beyond Thanksgiving, so we might return. I kind of hope so...we've enjoyed our time here.

{RTS and SBR:: This is for y'all, if you ever come to Bloomington, Illinois with your sweet men.}

We discovered two Bloomington-Normal gems this week...and found out that we had missed some fun harvest activities. One frustration about this area is that there is no centralized community calendar, so I  found out about the events after the fact. Bummer.

There are plenty 'o pictures in this post...I could split them up in to 3 posts, but things are a bit crazy as we pack up and I'd forget anyway. Leaving Monday, stopping to hug our Indiana beloveds...then on home.

It's been a chilly, but beautiful week.

First gem is Miller Park Zoo. It's the perfect size...we stayed for 3+ hours, but you could see everything in less than two, if you don't dilly-dally like us. Our faves were the meerkats and the river otters...hours of amusement for us. There was a fun public park and playground surrounding the zoo, which we didn't have time to explore, this time.

{FYI : very affordable esp. with a coupon, but the family membership is reciprocal or discounted with 100+ zoos including Columbus Zoo and the Wilds.} Check out these cuties.

Friday night, we went bowling with Daddy. The kids love it...another thing I'll pin on their short stint in Thursday School. We can hardly pass a bowling alley without a whine. We played one game without bumpers and 2 with. Bean had 1 strike and Bug had 3. It was fun.

The other gem of the area is the Sugar Grove Nature Center. This past Monday, the kids and I wandered out here to do some letterboxing. We didn't end up finding the hidden treasure but we discovered this fantastic place {once again, the journey is the destination} and brought Sweet Man back on Saturday for a guided nature hike. Then we played! in the crazy-cool play area. Sweet Man has clear charge from me to recreate at this at our next home.

{FYI: Free and open to the public. About 20 minutes south of Bloomington. It has miles of grassy trails through pastureland and some woods. They have all kinds of programs and events going on and a nature center with several reptiles in aquariums, a nature library, and a bird-watching room. Support memberships are available.}