chicago trip: part 3

On our way home from Chicago, we stopped at the Jelly Belly warehouse for a tour. We got to ride on a train, and they took us around the warehouse and we watched video clips of how they make Jelly Bellys. They gave us free samples, and we still spent $20 on jelly beans! Yum!

One of the cool pictures made of Jelly Bellys. They are so detailed, and awesome!

Our family by the Jelly Belly car. Not a very good picture, but that's what happens when I have a stranger use my camera. Oh well.

Another thing about our trip I wanted to mention is Garrett's Popcorn. We kept walking by these stores while we were downtown. We could smell them a block away, and then when we got there we saw people standing in line out the door, even in the rain. Well, we finally found one that wasn't crowded, and I knew I had to try some. They had cheese popcorn, caramel corn, caramel corn with nuts and something called the Chicago Mix. When I ordered my popcorn, the conversation went something like this:

Me: What's the Chicago Mix?

Garrett's Popcorn lady: It's cheese popcorn and caramel corn together.
Me: Really?

Lady behind me in line: Oh, that is the one you want. Trust me.

Me: Really?

Everyone else in line: Yes, get the Chicago Mix.

Me: Okay, I'd like a medium Chicago Mix. (In my head I'm thinking, yuck! But if nothing else I can pick out the caramel ones and eat just those)

Oh. My. Goodness. It was so good! It sounded so strange, but it was amazing. Totally worth the $7 for popcorn. I'm definitely getting more Chicago Mix next time I'm in Chicago.

chicago trip: part 2

The next day we went into the city and started our day at the Shedd Aquarium. There was so much to see there, and I think we all had a good time. It was also fun for me to take the boys there because the first time I went there was on our honeymoon!

The boys put on penguin costumes and pretended they were penguins. That was something I really liked about the aquarium: there were plenty of places for the kids to stop and play around, because otherwise they would have gotten bored of just looking in tanks all day.

After we left the aquarium, we decided to walk to millennium park. I loved walking around downtown Chicago.

We stopped by this awesome fountain. It's huge!

I had to include this picture of a bride and her wedding party, because as we were walking around that day, we counted 8 brides and wedding parties. It was a gorgeous day, and a fun place to take wedding pictures, but it was September 11th, and we were surprised that there were that many couples who didn't mind having that as their anniversary.

I love this picture I took while standing near that fountain. I love the contrast between the fancy skyscrapers, and the row of port-a-potties. Random, I know.

Here's a better picture of the skyline with no outhouses.

Next we found the huge "bean" and stopped to take pictures. The boys had fallen asleep in their strollers (which is crazy because they won't even sleep in the car), but we took pictures of us together anyway. I think they both woke up before we left, so at least they got to see it.

I could have seriously stayed there taking pictures for hours. It was the coolest thing!

Our only family picture we have of us in Chicago, and the boys are both asleep!

This one is looking up at the bean from underneath it. So cool! And what a fun day!

trip to chicago: part 1

Last week, Bart took a few days off of work so we could take a quick family vacation to Chicago. On the way down, we shopped at IKEA and a huge mall. Of course the first thing the boys wanted to do was swim in the hotel pool. I think they would have been fine if the only thing we did on vacation was sleep in a hotel and swim in the pool.

The next morning, we got on the train to go into the city. The boys loved the train! They colored and played Old Maid, and before we knew it, we were there.

Our first stop was the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was so much fun, and it was free! One of the boys' favorite parts of the zoo was the farm.
They got to pet goats (even if it took Ky several minutes to get up the courage to touch it).

They also got to pet a chicken named Spitfire

After the zoo, we walked around downtown, stopping in a few fun stores.

Our next stop that day was Navy Pier. We rode on the huge Ferris wheel. It doesn't stop moving, and it takes seven minutes to go around once. The views from that high were awesome!

We ended our first day in the city with the boys doing a little boogieing.

weekend in madison

For Labor Day weekend, we went to Madison to visit Bart's brother Bret and his family. We spent Saturday morning at this awesome children's museum. We could have spent all day there. The boys had so much fun!

This water room was so cool. I wanted to get in there and play too!

We spent the afternoon at Bret and Charise's apartment, napping and playing this game where Bret would throw the boys into the air and they would land on our air mattress. It scared me every time, but the boys thought it was the coolest thing.

Even Cooper got in on the fun!

That evening we went to the coolest mini golf course I have ever been too. I wish I had a picture, but I didn't want to try to golf with a camera, so I didn't bring it. Anyway, there were several holes where you had to go up several stairs, start the hole from high up, and then slide down for your next shot. Every hole was so creative, and we all had a great time!

time out party

This happened nearly a month ago, but I thought it was so funny that I wanted to make sure I posted it. One day, Kade either hit or bit Ky (I can't remember which), so he got sent to the naughty spot for a time out. Pretty soon I see Ky carrying a pillow and a blanket toward the naughty spot, and give them to Kade. Then I watched as he got Kade a few toys, and then got a pillow and blanket for himself. Then he proudly announced that they were having a "time-out party!" Now, obviously I don't think this helped Kade learn his lesson, but what I really loved was that Ky, even though he was the victim of Kade's abuse, wanted to take care of Kade and make sure that he wasn't sad.
This isn't the first time that Ky has helped Kade avoid a punishment for something Kade did to hurt him. One time when we were at the store, Kade bit Ky, so Ky got a treat and Kade didn't. I thought that might help Kade realize that he shouldn't hurt his brother. Only Ky shared his treat with Kade. It just amazes me every day how much Ky loves to take care of his brother. He is very good about sharing and sometimes he just gives Kade what he wants, even though he really wants it himself. I know that Ky loves his brother so much!

first day of school!

Kade and Ky started school this morning. They are in 4 year-old kindergarten, or 4K. They will be going 4 days a week for three hours in the mornings. They have been so excited! I wanted to take the required first day of school photo, but I can't seem to take a picture without them making a goofy face.

Plus, in this one they got distracted by the bus that came to pick them up, even though we had been told they wouldn't bus them. They were disappointed when the bus drove away without them. When did they get so grown up?

At school they each have their own locker. I didn't get a locker until I was in 7th grade. Also, it's going to be a long time until they can open their locker by themselves.

Bart took the morning off so that we could take them to school together, so while they were at school we went out for breakfast, did a little shopping and tried hard to kill the three hours. It did not go by very quickly. When we finally went to pick them up, Ky said he had a great time at school, but Kade was sad. When I finally got him to tell me what the problem was, he said he was just sad because he didn't get to ride the bus. They are too funny!

Now I just have to figure out what I am going to do with all my new free time...