Greetings from Sherriville, Indiana

Peanuts. The Vander Pol family is completely obsessed with the game 'Peanuts'. It's also referred to as 'nertz' or, at times 'blitz' and even 'pounce' as some of my students call it. Anyway, it's a card game that they are WAY too competitive during and I feel as though it brings out the worst in everyone. Not my favorite 'family activity' by any stretch of the imagination. So, they are all in the dining room playing and, because you need partners, we needed to pair off. Wouldn't you know it... we had an odd number because another friend is staying here from out of town. NOT A PROBLEM says I. 'I will be the gracious one and sit out'. :)

Our Chicago trip started Thursday afternoon when we boarded an Alaska Airlines 777 and made the trip from SEA to ORD, O'Hare Airport. We got in at about 11:30, got our rental car, and made it to the Days Inn Hotel in 'Libertyville, Illinois'. After a night of fairly lousy sleep (not sure why) we were up bright and early to head to Six Flags Great America theme park. The air was thick with storm clouds and all of the weather channels were predicting lightning and rain. The weathermen were right. We made it into the park and on two rides before the rain really started. And apparently when it rains here, it POURS! We found a little restaurant in the theme park and too cover for about an hour. Suzanne Clark was also going to meet us there, but her mom's basement flooded, so she was home helping clean that up. She didn't miss much. We were considering leaving several times, but weather man/brother John predicted only 20 more minutes of rain. I'm pretty sure a vast majority of people at the park went home at that point. We stayed and, about 20 minutes later, the rain stopped. We saw them getting several of the rides ready, so we decided to get to the one we wanted to ride most in case they shut them down again. After 2 more rides and just when the sun was peeking out, Suz and her boyfriend Jason showed up. It was sunny the rest of the afternoon. We did several more roller coasters and then grabbed a late lunch. By that time it was getting toasty. Jason and Suz didn't bring their swim suits and the Vander Pol family was itching to try out the water rides, so, Suz and Jason went to go ride some of their favorite roller coasters while we went to the attached water park. The rides were SO much fun and the water was really refreshing. About 2 hours later, Jason and Suz came and found us. The lines were incredibly short the whole time, mostly because the rain chased everyone away. We went back to get our clothes. Sadly, my favorite Reef Sandals were not where I had left them. Everyone else's shoes were there, but mine were definitely gone. I'm pretty sure someone walked off in them. :( So, we went and found some $7 sandals in the gift shop and made due with those. We had about an hour and a half left, so Jason, Suz, Henry and I went to see if we could get a few more roller coaster rides in. A typical wait for these rides is over an hour. We walked up and got right on. It was great! Just as we were finishing the day, the storm clouds rolled in, very black. Big rain drops started to fall just as we reached the car. We said good-bye to Jason and Suz and made our way to John and Larissa's house in a torrential downpour. 2 hours later, we were at their 'new' house. It's pretty nice! After showers, everyone went to get some much needed sleep.

This morning we slept in a little. Henry and I went to the nearest mall to look for a new pair of sandals to replace my old ones. We found almost the exact same style, which was nice. Once we got home we were on party making duty. We blew up balloons, taped down table cloths and set up tables and chairs, not in that order I suppose. John and Larissa's house came with a HUGE above ground pool, so we got the floating chairs and beach balls out for that. It was a pretty hot day already at 10 am. Typical mid-west. Direct, hot sun, a warm breeze and muggy. It wasn't long before there were many of us taking advantage of the pool. It felt great. Wes and Janelle made the drive down from Michigan and got here at about 2pm. They had lunch with us and played some games. We chatted for a while and, about 3-4 hours after they arrived, they had to leave again. It was good to see them again! We packed up the party and headed inside to eat some left-over lunch for dinner. They got a bunch of Mexican from a restaurant and it was delicious. After dinner and some left over cake, we chatted for a while and watched some T.V. and now we're here.

Listening to the game in the next room, I'm happy sitting out. :)

Tomorrow we're planning on going to church with John and Larissa and then heading to the airport for our flight that leaves at 3:30. We should be in Seattle by 5:30, which is nice.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Love from Indiana!

- Lindsey and Henry