Summer Vacation Kick-Off Picnic at Barrington Pond Shelter a Success!

We held a picnic on Saturday, June 11, 2011 to help set the right tone for summer vacation 2011.  We had about 15 families turn out for a full day of sports and food!  There was soccer and volleyball for the kids and the grown-ups and pinatas full of candy.

It was a classical March weekend in June with temperatures under 65 degrees and cloudy.  A warm, sunny day was not in the cards, but everyone made the best of what we had.  The cool, cloudy day meant 2 bags of ice went totally unused, and we had more than the usual number of volunteers around the grill (which doubled as a warming station).

On the menu were hot dogs, hamburgers and spicy chicken tenders from the grill and chips, soda, cookies and bottled water.  It was classic picnic fare served up at the local forest preserve.

Some kids brought their bikes and some parents brought smaller paddle and ball games for the smaller kids.  In addition to the picnic benches under the shelter, families brought lawn chairs to set up all around the picnic site as well.

In keeping with our values, we made it a point to pray the afternoon prayer in congregation after lunch.  We also tried to reduce our carbon footprint at the picnic by sorting out the recyclable materials and disposed of them in the recycling containers onsite provided by the Cook County Forest Preserve District.

The volleyball game that capped off the picnic was a co-ed, inter-generational competition.  There were toddlers and elementary school aged kids interspersed with grown ups on each team.  The quality of play was ugly but the scene set by grown ups and kids playing together was awesome!

Here is a recap of our Summer Vacation Kick-Off Picnic in the form of short movie.  Thank you to everyone who came.  To those who missed out: we hope to see you at future activities!

AMFA Family Day at Brookfield Zoo

AMFA Family Day at Brookfield Zoo

Date:     Saturday, May 21, 2011

Time:    All Day (AMFA members & families will meet up at 10:30 am  at the North Gate ticketing area to kick off the day)

Lunch:  We'll meet at 1pm near BZ Red Hots! (Bring your own picnic lunch & buy lunch at the Zoo)

Daily Prayers:  Any prayer times that occur will be the responsibility of the families.  We'll try to pray together if space permits!

All tickets, meals and transportation are to be arranged by individually (for tickets, zoo information & directions please visit the Brookfield Zoo website).  This is a nice opportunity to get out to the Zoo in mid-Spring before it gets too hot and too busy with other American Muslim families!

If you are planning to attend please send an email to americanmuslimfamilies[at]gmail.com with your full name and your cell phone number!  We'll keep you informed of all coordinating updates for the event via email and or text messages.

We hope you'll join us for a fun day at the Brookfield Zoo!