Out of the Rut

As empty nesters, Jack and I have to fight the temptation to stay in our comfortable everyday routines. It is pretty easy to just work all day and hang out all evening. Very relaxing, but if I am not careful, I could turn into a shut-in, especially now that it is getting colder and darker every day. One of our mottos these last few months has been "Out of the Rut!" So I am happy to report that we got out of the rut this weekend and did a couple of fun things.

On Saturday night, we traveled up to the northern suburbs to have dinner with Michele and David and Ric and Ann. We all met when our sons pledged Sigma Chis together at Illinois. We were originally going to cook out on the beach (what a neat idea for October!), but it was too cold. Instead we had a potluck supper at Ann and Ric's. It was such a fun and delicious evening.

Earlier on Saturday, Jenny had called and invited the fam to come over to see Abbie and Nina on Sunday afternoon. Jenny also mentioned that she and Jay, along with Kjell and Marie, were going to take the girls to Blackberry Farm in the morning on Sunday (Arne and Beth were getting some much needed down time). As part of our "out of the rut" weekend and since we had gone to mass on Saturday night, we decided to tag along. It was such a gorgeous fall day, sunny and about 50 degrees, and we were so glad we went. Here are Jack and Nina getting ready for some rides.
At Blackberry Farm they have a small train, a hay ride, and a carousel during the fall off season. They also had pumpkin painting. And it wasn't crowded! Here are Nina and Abbie waiting for the train in the replica of an old time train station. After the train ride, Kjell, Marie and Abbie got their picture taken with the "engineer". The next picture is Jenny, Jay and Nina.
After Blackberry Farm, we met up with Marmar and Susie back at Jenny and Jay's. Marmar loved feeding Nina. Marmar hasn't lost her touch!
I think I will try to have one post every week or two that is in the category of "Out of the Rut". If anyone has any good ideas for out of the rut activities, please feel free to suggest some!