Sunday was another beautiful day in Chicago and we took full advantage of church being in the evening and set out for the Botanical Gardens. To get there we drove along Sheridan which runs alongside the lake and there were the most magnificent houses there. We were laughing about the amount of cyclists out in their full Lycra gear - Chicago is almost completely flat with barely a bend or a gentle hill in sight, so a slightly more leisurely activity than at home.

The gardens were lovely though not very well established as it's fairly new. We negotiated our way through lunch and then enjoyed yummy ice creams - we all had 'child-size' ones which were still enormous to us! Then the children discovered a large fountain which spilled onto a brick patio and they spent ages running in and out, round and round. We started off some nudism as Maddy's t-shirt was wet and I took it off to dry then, within a couple of minutes, all the other children running in the fountain were half-naked as well. We are always happy to start a new trend!!

Then after an hour or so at home it was time to head off to Fusion which meets in a synagogue just off the lake. It's in a suburb called Rogers Park which is far more diverse than Wilmette where we are so was nice to get away from the WASPs! Church starts with prayer from 5-5.30 followed by a meal together then worship and a recorded message, usually from the Newfrontiers churches in St Louis. The children were really happy in their room as they each have a ready-made friend. The Steinke children are the same age as E & M and there is also a 6-year old Russian girl, Marsha who got on like a house on fire with I. There were 12 adults there including a family of Iraqi refugees who arrived in the US 3 weeks ago. Both are architects and hoping to find work here. They are from a catholic background so I think it was a bit of a shock to them to see how we do church! I can't help feeling unsure about their chances of finding work - I would imagine there would be quite a lot of prejudice against Iraqis in business. I hope for their sakes I am wrong........

It was a late night for the kids - not in bed until 9pm - so we had a bit of a later start this morning AT LAST!!! I am really hoping that they are beginning to acclimatise now - E ate a hamburger last night without a murmur of complaint... My next test is to find some sandals for him that suit his taste - can't stand the smelly socks!!! I also need to purchase a drain unblocker as the basement sinks into which the washing machine drains are full of dirty water and the washing is piling up........................ it's all glamour here!!

Quite excited on the TV front tho as have discovered some on demand Desperate Housewives episodes that I haven't seen. I still don't know what happened after the tornado episode, tho - care to fill me in anyone? Liz????? xxxxxxxxxx