Chicago

I have a good friend who moved from St. Louis to Chicago 3 years ago.  She has boys exactly my boys ages, and she still comes back to visit her family here, so we see them every few months.  She offered for us to come up and visit them in Chicago, and we actually took her up on it. 

It sounded a bit nuts...a few weeks after we got back from Florida I would take all 4 boys by myself to Chicago to stay at a friends house and do some sightseeing.  A bit intimidating.  But I know my boys, and I was pretty sure that it would all work out fine.  It was a gamble I was willing to take.  And besides, Z had been talking about LegoLand NONSTOP...and there is a Legoland in Chicago.  Can't take that away from him.

We drove up after lunch and made it in time for dinner...just under 5 hours, and we didn't have to stop once!  The kids watched Cars and napped for a bit and played for a bit.  Made it with a bit of trouble with the tolls (by the grace of God had some change for the first one that didn't have a person manning it!). 

The kids ate well and were polite at Kirsten's house.  They didn't make huge messes (more so than her 2 kids already did).  They played happily in the basement and weren't totally out of control and didn't have any huge fights, and there weren't screaming matches (like there are here).  Joe has a trundle bed, so Z slept in with him and they did wonderfully (up late the first night, but fine after that).  In short, they were on their BEST behavior at Kirstens, and I was incredibly proud of them.  Kirsten actually said (and I will treasure this always!), "You're not going to believe it, but you guys are the easiest houseguests!"  Wow.  That literally might be the one of the best compliments I have EVER received. 

The first day we went to LegoLand Discovery Center, which Z has been talking about FOREVER.  It really is pretty lame, but he loved it.  It was a very busy day the day we went (according to a worker, their busiest day all summer...swell).  The little boys stayed close to me and obeyed, and Z was just happy to see all the Legos.   

Bob Builder?  Bob Builder?!  Then, singing: Bob Builder, Fix it?! Yes, CAN!!!"

Love this face!

This cracked me up:  Z:  AWESOME MOM!!!!!!  YODA!!!!
And that is what happens when kids hear about things (Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc) and have never seen them and have no clue.  It is cracking me up as I type this ;)

The next day we went to Navy Pier and to the Chicago Children's Museum.  Kirsten had never taken her kids, and I took Z when we visited Jenny when she lived in Chicago 3 years ago (so Z was the boys age the last time we were there). We got stuck in some morning traffic, so get there about 1030.  I took the wagon to get us thru Navy Pier, but didn't haul it around the museum.  We played for awhile, then we got McDonalds (the kids sat so well on stools!), then went back in to play for awhile longer.  We figured we would go until someone started melting down since 4 of the 6 were missing naps.  And that never happened.  We finally left about 3, then wandered down Navy Pier and looked at the boats and the lake and all of the fun stuff around there, and got in the car by 345.  The littles all passed out, but that was perfect...the 45 minute nap was enough to get them through until bedtime. 

Yup, there is an extra little in this picture...but who is counting?

I LOVE that I happened to catch this expression on L's face. It is a silly face he makes a lot and I doubt I'll ever catch it on film (ok, digitally) again. 

All the boys LOVED this building section.  It was the last thing we did and they were all totally enthralled with it.  It was one of my favorite parts too because I could actually almost SEE the wheels turning in their heads as they figured it out and worked with the tools and built structures.  Amazing, the gift that it is to watch that. 

This was a monster face that Z asked me to take a picture of. 

After the long day at the museum, the big boys got to go to a White Sox game!  Dan had won some tickets at work and offered to take the boys.  Z (apparently) did fine, and was happy with the "lemonade, hot dogs, peanuts, and pretzel" they got, and he even got to keep the Miller Lite BobbleHead ;) (carrying a "backpack" with "soda").  He had a great time. 

We also went to a few parks in the area just to let the kids run around a bit and play at new parks...no pictures of that.

Kirsten and I had a fabulous time just chatting, too.  It is so nice to have friends who you can sit down and talk with for hours on end...as we did when the kids were in bed.  We are on the same page with parenting, so it is good to share ideas with her.   

And we made it home safely too...only had to stop twice:  once for Z to pee out the door (the joy of having a boy!) and once because C had managed to get his arms out of the carseat....argh.  I was pretty wiped out, but totally willing to do it again.  It is nice that our boys are at an age now where we CAN do stuff with them.  It still is exhausting, but totally doable.  And, man, I have good boys.  They are so good.  And I am so proud of them.  :) 

Family pictures

We got a few pictures of our groups...wish I had remembered to take off my sunglasses...

Getting out in Florida

We did a few other things besides beach, pool, grandparents, and Disney World while we were in Florida, even though those things alone would have been enough! 

We went to the aquarium, which the kids enjoyed.  We didn't get many pictures...it really is too hard to get many good ones in a public place since I don't want the kiddos just taking off! 

Z loved the sharks...they were pretty cool.  There was an outdoor playplace too, with water, but we had no clothes for the kids, so we scrapped that section pretty quickly. 

One night we drove about a mile down the beach to John's Pass for dinner.  It was fun, a bit crazy, but good. 

This is a great pic of all of us...too bad Jenny took it and isn't in it.  If I knew more about photoshop maybe I could fix it...

Grandparents

So the main point of us going to Florida was to see my grandparents (Dad's parents).  They just moved in to a fabulous independent living facility.  We went in shifts to see them (my family alone is a bit intimidating!).  Jenny and Greg took Anna to see them, and she was sweet as could be. 

A few days later we took our brood.  The boys did sooo well.  They were gentle and not crazy...big things :)  They talked to Grandma and Grandpa and showed them their cars and sat in their laps and didn't cling to us or freak out.  And Grandma and Grandpa loved it. 

Grandpa was giving them drinks of his water here...like a flock of birds waiting to be fed :) 

Z did well and had conversations with them both, and that is an accomplishment for him as well...he is 5 and is still working on being polite and having nice conversations with adults. 

They all were willing to give hugs and kisses when we left...another huge deal that no one pitched fits over that. 

We got to see them a second time when we were all invited over for dinner at their place.  This was another time it could have gotten ugly quickly!  The tables were all set with plates and 6 pieces of silverware and glasses and coffee mugs and tablecloths...I got in there and got that cleared off quickly. 

Again, the boys did soooo well, over an hour and a half meal.  All 4 of them.  The little boys would eat, then get down (no high chairs or boosters) and go of their own accord to talk to another adult (as N said, "Great Papa?  I go Great Papa?!").  They sat with and talked and moved and behaved and obeyed and ate...so so so proud of my boys.  Of course we did have some bribes (dessert) and all their favorite cars to keep them occupied, but still, this whole dinner could have gone so badly!   

Z:  Sometimes people put their napkins like this, right mom?  Yeah...he hasn't seen too many cloth napkins ;)

L decided that he really needed to have some of Great Grandma's fruit.  She happily obliged and fed him the entire bowl (after he had already eaten his own first course of applesauce). 

The kicker was that we let them each have their own eclair...wow, what a mess...but man did they love them! 

I just think this picture is funny :)

C was sharing with Anna...so sweet. 

Then we got group pictures...again, wow, my boys did great!

This is all just direct descendants of Grandma and Grandpa.  (Except the woman next to Grandpa...she is a cousin...)

We were so glad to be able to visit with Grandpa and Grandma, and let them have some physical time with the kiddos, instead of just Skyping with them.  They have been awesome leaders of this family!