Chicago's Children's Museum 1.2013

This is how we roll on Saturdays:

Entry sign to the Children's Museum

The first thing you see when you walk in is a HUGE ship!  The kids (4+ years old) can climb up the nets to the third floor of the museum.  Madison wanted to do this several times.

Pint-Sized Paleontologists

Digging for Dinos

Next, the Garden Room!  First we must see how much Madison has grown!

Dad was taking too many pictures!  Can you tell by her face?  This girl just wanted to go play. 

After the Garden Room, we went to the Job Area.  The kids could change the tires and wipe the windshield of the car.

"Workin' at the Car Washin'"

 Next to the grocery area, was this tube under a play house and you could crawl in to be a plumber!

Katelynn was right at home in the grocery store!  Notice the tongue?  She is concentrating so hard!

Off to the Woodland Area!  The girls tried climbing

Even Katelynn...

Canoeing

I think the Water Works Wonderland was their favorite!  It has buckets hanging from the ceiling that you use different pulleys to dump them and levers to put them in the water to fill them up!  Thanks to the rain jackets, the girls were very dry!

Katelynn was content filling up her bucket with a mini boat for a good 15-20 minutes.

Rock Wall Painting (best part is it comes off when it drys! :)  No Mr. Clean Scrubbing Pads for these walls.)

Katelynn loved painting on the walls!

I thought the grandparents would appreciate this!  The top one says, 'Hi poppy' and the bottom says, 'nana'!

Daddy liked this area, as well as the girls.  Lots of wood with holes+bolts & nuts=creative building!

Digging the goggles!

No, not napping just tightening a bolt!  She had to get the right angle to see it.

Taking a break from building to look out at the bay!

I think the goggles are a little big!

We have an artist on our hands!  Do you see the resemblance?

Those are eyelashes, not hair sticking up on top!  So cute and she did it all by herself.

Last, the firehouse!  I just love my fire woman and Dainty Dalmatian!

I love the memories we are able to make on our fun little trips!  Well, not really little, but definitely fun!  After the museum, we went to the stained glass exhibit, and ate dinner at Bubba Gumps!  YUM!  Needless to say, our girls were out like a light bulb while on our way home and once we got home and into bed.

The New Year & Family Visits 01.2013

For New Year's, my parents came out to visit us.  It was wonderful to see them and have them stay with us for a week!  The girls couldn't get enough of them.  Katelynn still asks when Nae Nae will fly on the airplane to come and play with her at her house!  While they were here, we went to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium.  It was AMAZING!  The girls had lots of fun and they learned quite a few new and interesting stuff!  Here are some pictures from the aquarium.

Madison & Katelynn watching the fish & sting rays swim

Dad & Katelynn looking at the frog terrarium

Katelynn confiscated my camera to take her own pictures

Here is part of the body of the 8' (eight foot)-long Anaconda from the Amazon.  This picture doesn't do the snake justice!  His body in diameter was as big as my waist is!  This thing was GIGANTIC and I only got a small portion of it in the picture.

Cute little monkey from the Amazon.

The bottom of a sting-ray!

This is a River Monster from the Amazon.  I would say this fish was about 4-5' long!  He was huge.

Smiling sting-ray!  I have never seen the bottom of one and was about to snap this fast-moving guy as he swam by!

Madison loved the TEENY, TINY blue glowing fish.

This is a puffer fish from the Caribbean!  This is the only fish that Madison wanted a picture of!  I think this is probably the best picture I have ever taken!

Waiting for the 4-D Ice Age Movie

Aren't we a sexy looking couple?

Starfish!  Madison refused to touch them.

 

Polar Plunge Playground.  This is the Penguin Slide Area.  You could put penguin outfits on and slide down the slides on your belly like a penguins do in the Arctic.

The Emperor Penguin.  Notice Katelyn''s baby penguin.  She insisted that Cocoa the Penguin be in the picture with the other penguins.

Coolest Sea Horse ever!  The fins coming off it's body looked like leaves and it blended in with sea weed.

Loads and loads of fun is what we had spending time with family and looking at all the fish!  Next visit to Chicago, we are hoping, will be the Children's Museum.

Christmas 2012

 Every year since Nate and I have been married, (this tradition I have carried on since I was a little girl too) we each get new Christmas Pajamas on Christmas Eve.  Here are the girls with their Christmas Eve P.J.:

Pajamas with matching slippers

 Christmas was great.  After opening gifts, we had breakfast and did Skype with Papa & Nana and Poppy & Nae Nae!  It was so nice to see family.  This is what I made for breakfast:

Wagon Wheel Breakfast Pie & Confetti Scrambled Eggs

Nate helped Katelynn put her new Princess Singing Castle together while Madison played with her new LeapPad!

Here is Christmas Dinner!  I cooked everything all by myself...we had PLENTY of food!

Honey-Glazed Ham

Stuffing, Candied Yams, Butternut Squash, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Peas, Green Bean Casserole

Yum!

We even used "fancy" dishes and glasses!  Madison loved being fancy!

I LOVED that it was just us together.  We had a fun, relaxing day!  Merry Christmas!