Chicago Here We Come

We left Wisconsin and my family behind and met Greg in Chicago.  We stayed downtown and showed our kids the big city.  They were fascinated.  

 We walked down to Navy Pier to enjoy real Chicago Pizza, a donut ice cream sandwhich (Yum), the Ferris Wheel, carousel, and a few other rides.

 One of my favorite parts of the trip was our architectural boat tour.  We got to travel right through the heart of downtown on the river.  It was amazing and I learned so much.  It got a bit long for the kids but we enjoyed it.  At one point we passed an outdoor theatre where an orchestra was playing Darth Vader's theme from Star Wars.  Lily started singing along in "meow-meow"  Darth Kitty put on quite a show.

The girls wanted to see the American Girl Doll store so we checked out the mall.  Lego heaven.

For breakfast the next morning we had a dozen donuts from 'Glazed and Infused'.  So yummy, and expensive - I think these cost more than some of our dinners.  Then we headed to Lincoln Park Zoo.  The summer of 2005 Greg interned in Chicago and the kids and I spent a lot of time at the zoo.  They wanted to go back and Emily in particular wanted to see the polar bear.  We walked to the farthest most point to see the polar bear only to discover that his exhibit was closed for renovation.  Emmy shed a few tears but we got through it.  We had some Chicago dogs for lunch then headed to church.  The local ward was held inside a public school and there was no a/c.  It was a good experience for the kids.

Then off to the Field Museum- I love this place - and so did the kids.  They loved all the animals and of course Sue.  There was a lot of walking and they were troopers especially Lily who, at age three, walked the zoo and the entire museum.  Impressive.  Here are the boys on the steps with Soldier Field behind them.

 Kate started feeling sick and kept complaining about her eye hurting.  She suffered through the last half of the day and sadly that eye was a problem for the rest of the trip.

 Our last adventure before we left town was the tower formerly know as the Sears Tower. (I can't even remember it's new name and I'm too lazy to look it up).  The kids loved seeing all the places we had been.

Here they are - sitting on top of the world.

Party in Wisconsin

One of my sisters lives in Wisconsin and for years we have heard about the wonders of Wisconsin Dells, water park dream land.  When my parents left on their mission we decided to get together somewhere other than Ontario.  The wonders of the Dells were calling and the reunion was planned.  My brothers couldn't make it nor could the brother-in-laws so in the end it was just the 5 girls, 26 kids, and dozens of water parks.  Let the party begin.

First we had to get to Wisconsin - a 24 hour drive.  Val and I caravaned through Utah, Wyoming, and Nebraska.  We only got complaints in one hotel but it was a good experience becasue I was able to teach my kids how to use a phone with a cord.  My back was still giving me grief but with Mack, Natali and Val's help we made it to Iowa where we spent a day playing with the Bernard cousins.  They had a huge water fight, went ice skating, fished in the pond, and went shopping with Uncle Aaron.  Total party.

Then we all rode together to The Dells.  We met my other two sisters and enjoyed the next three days swimming, sliding and just hanging out.  I wished we could have had more time to chat.  It is hard to have a decent conversation when you are at an indoor water park that echos and you are trying to keep 6 toddlers from drowning.  The kids had such a blast but I don't have many photos cause I didn't want my phone anywhere near the water.

 One afternoon the kids enjoyed the arcade and ropes course.  Here is Emmy.

 Sophie, Emmy, and Hattie - awesome climbers.

 Natali on the course.

 Walking from one park to the other.  It really was amazing how many different parks there were.  I think we went to three out door parks and three indoor ones.  Even Mack, who doesn't love water, had a blast.  How could you not with that variety?

 Our last night we all went out for ice cream.  Such a wonderful time.  Love these kids.

The End of Another School Year

The end of the school year always gets busy but it is exciting to get ready for summer.

 Kate and Emily's ballet group performed Thumbelina.  Kate was a minnow and Emily a dragonfly.

 Emily completed Kindergarten - Hello 1st Grade!

 Andrew graduated from elementary school.  I hope the Middle School is ready for him.

 Mack and Natali earned lots of awards and Natali said goodbye to Middle School.

More Birthdays

Andrew celebrated his 11th birthday with his traditional cinnamon rolls and Sour Skittles although this year he ate them separate; a good change.  He graduated from Cub Scouts and received his Arrow of Light Award.  

Andrew's favorite thing about church is all the babies.  He knows every baby's name and is always trying to smile at them.  He loves the primary leaders who let him hold their babies.  I think those leaders are smart - he is much more reverent while holding a baby.

 For his Christmas present he and Greg drove to Hell's Canyon and took a river boat ride.  He had to wait several months but it was worth it; they had a blast.  I love this, "The sun is in my eyes!" picture.

 For Greg's birthday this year he made himself dutch oven peach and mango cobbler and I made ice cream.  A win for everyone.

It Birthday Time

Kate's 9th birthday.  Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory was fabulous.  She requested a violin but I couldn't find a good deal so I encouraged her to wait till school was over.  By the time we got back around to the violin she had changed her mind and picked out a bicycle.  The only girl bike we could find that wasn't pink.  No pink for that girl.

 Natali turned the big 14 and has started to go to stake dances.  Crazy!

 Emily got to have the Wilfords over for her 6th birthday party with rainbow cake.  The cake was supposed to be a rainbow jellyroll cake but the cake broke into a million pieces and so we turned it into a rainbow trifle cake.  Luckily, Emmy was thought it was still great.  Love that girl.

This party was held before her birthday because she spent her birthday in Yellowstone looking for moose.

 Our birthday girl- hiking in the rain on her birthday.  I love hikes like this - everything points to failure (i.e. hiking in the rain with 6 kids) but they had a blast and worked together to keep each other cheerful.

 This skeleton on the trail did cause a little drama but we did a goo job of distracting them on the way back so they forgot all about it.

The lake at the end of the journey - love these guys!

She's 3

For her birthday we played her favorite game, pretend you are an animal.  She has given herself a name for each type of animal game we play-- "Pillow" the cat, "Emily" the dog, "Squeak" the dolphin, and "Snip Snap" the turtle.   I love that she is so consistent with these names.  If she comes up to me and "meows" I know she is Pillow.  She never wavers from these self imposed names.

Her neighbor and buddy came over with a gift of bubbles and stickers.  Immediate joy and entertainment.  I love the simple pleasures of kids.  The best part was that Lily said thank you, unprompted, 10 or more times.

 About 5 minutes before making her cake I luckily figured out that the kitty cake she had been talking about for months was actually a Unikitty cake.  Glad I figured that out when I did.  The unfortunate part was that Unikitty is way harder than plan old kitty, but she was so happy when it was done - all worth it.

Lily loves to be on the counter and we had a bit of a run around night so in the midst of dinner, presents and cake she settled into her favorite spot and opened all her presents right on top of the counter.

For her birthday Kate and I sewed her some new bedding.  I tried hard to copy the feel of her favorite blanky in an attempt to make one long enough to cover her growing body since she won't use any other blanket.  Miracle of Miracles she actually likes it and uses it every night.  It made me so happy.  

Here she is with her new bedding and all her "guys" as she likes to call her beanie boo stuffed animals.  She has a growing herd of them since that is all her siblings can think to give her for every holiday or generous moment.

I love this beautiful brown eyed girl.  She makes me so happy everyday.