Cheers for a Cousin Visit

At the end of March, we were treated to a visit from my sister Heather's family, who visited from Nebraska. The reason for the gathering was my cute niece Elizabeth qualified for the regional YMCA swim meet that happened to be at the University of Minnesota.

I think Elizabeth had the cutest cheering section of all.

We cheered her on as she smashed her personal best time!

This was the first time our kids had watched a swim meet, and it sure was a fun one! Way to go Elizabeth for swimming your way to Minnesota!

After the meet, we walked across Stone Arch Bridge, and explored the Guthrie Theater. The kids loved their cousin time. It was such a fun weekend! I hope this is an annual event!

Playin' in the City

While Daddy worked in Chicago, these kids played hard!

 

First stop: the Field Museum. Notice the famous Sue in the background.

We have been to Chicago a handful of times, but this is the first time we stayed downtown. Thank goodness the weather was perfect, even though it was March, and we could walk down Michigan Avenue to the American Girl doll store, the Disney Store, and of course to get free chocolate samples from the Ghiradelli store.

My favorite stop: The Museum of Science and Industry. However, it wasn't the full-sized submarine, airplane or locomotive that impressed Kyler.

It was the gigantic John Deere tractor that he could pretend to drive. He is certainly impressed by trucks and tractors. It's fun to have a boy who is interested in things the girls never cared much about. I admit that I often hide the four books we have on trucks/tractors/diggers, so I can have a break from reading them.

Riding the cow was also a treat.

Cranes are another favorite!

The Chicago Children's museum happened to be the girls' favorite stop.

I couldn't resist a handful of these raincoat pictures!

Kyler's second love is building things. So, he was right at home in this section of the Children's Museum.

Aubrie was a good sport and helped him operate yet another crane. I was so nervous about taking four kids all around Chicago by myself, but Aubrie and Ellie were amazing helpers and the kids were all so good! Topping that with perfect weather, we had the best time!

What trip to Chicago would be complete without a trip to Gino's East for some Chicago style deep-dish pizza? Make that two trips to Gino's East. Notice Ellie's gluten free pizza.

We also loved our stroll to Navy Pier,

 and doing Glamour shot poses.

 

Dave couldn't resist capturing the moment with a little kiss. Thankfully, he was able to join us for at least a little fun! We love Chicago when the weather is ideal!

Feelin' Green

When we found out that Dave had scheduled a business trip to Chicago over the girls' Spring Break, we jumped at the chance to tag along. 

Coincidentally, we found out we would be staying in the city over St. Patrick's Day. St Patty's Day in Chicago is quite the celebration!

For years, Chicago has been dying the river green in downtown Chicago. This picture doesn't do it justice -- it was a bright, florescent green color. Isn't it so ... well ... green?

We decided to brave the crowds in an attempt to see the annual parade -- the masses were even greater than we anticipated -- and we saw some pretty interesting people. Daddy even tried to fit in with his unique display of green. A few people heckled him about the shirt, which he explained that St. Nick is actually Irish.

Here is a sampling of St. Patty's day in Chicago: green hair...

 green lei and sun glasses...

 green ninja turtles...

  green cars...

and masses of green people reflected in the famous Millennium Park jelly bean.

The weather couldn't have been more gorgeous!!

As this year's St. Patrick's day fell on Saturday, and the day had temps in the 80s, the crowds were even larger than normal, estimated to be about 350,000 people. We had to forget about trying to catch a glimpse of the St. Patty's parade as there was no way we were getting through this crowd with a stroller and four little ones.

 But we were just fine people watching, being together, and enjoying the sunshine.

I think the kids' favorite part of the day was the chant they learned from some drunk college kids: "I say 'Saint.' You say 'Patty.' Saint. Patty. Saint. Patty." The kids continue to chant it months later! This might go into the books alongside a similar family joke of "Disney World! Disney World! Boo ... Orange World. Boo ... Orange World!" Do all kids like to chant things repeatedly, or do just ours?

It was definitely a good experience and probably not one we will ever seek out to repeat. But it certainly was memorable and interesting nonetheless.

Happy 7th Birthday Elliana

Happy Birthday Ellie girl!

Count 'em up...the big 7!

Ellie picked Lookout Ridge, an indoor playground, to celebrate with her friends.

Due to a last minute business trip to Colombia for my brother Spencer, we were lucky to have Aunt Julia, Liam, and Ellie's newest cousin, Amelie, in town unexpectedly for the birthday party.

Ellie had buddies from both church (Kate) and school (Lacey).

And also her best bud from our old neighborhood, Kennedy.

And she gave lots of hugs to everyone, including her school friend Hailey.

About Elliana....
-Ellie is organized, independent, and responsible.
-She is a great helper and big sister
-She loves, loves, loves soccer and is amazing for her age. She has an incredible determination, competitiveness, and natural athletic ability that makes it super fun to watch her on the soccer field. She has played year-round with kids much older than her with few breaks between sessions. She also tried basketball this year, and it is clear she is one athletic little girl.
-We learned that not only does Ellie have Fructose Malabsorption, but is also lactose intolerant as well. Understanding this has helped a lot with her tummy issues, but has done little for her stubborn mouth sores. We have put her through all kinds of medical tests, seen all kinds of doctors, and tried all kinds of diets and still have not improved things too much. Hopefully, someday we will get to the bottom of it, so she can be more comfortable and not be in so much pain all the time. She missed a great deal of school again this year and the school nurse, her teacher, and I chat several times a week. Poor, poor baby. Overall, there is great improvement over last year though, so that is encouraging.
-Ellie is the first one up in the house each morning, and by the time anyone else is awake, she is completely ready for school -- including breakfast eaten, lunch made, teeth brushed, and backpack packed up and ready to go! Not bad for age 7!

I love this girl!!

Robin Hood

Peeking through the other 'Merry Band' members, Aubrie enjoyed participating in her second year of "Prairie Fire Theater's" production of "Robin Hood."

Aubrie and her schoolmates learned this play in just five days!

Our cute little drama girl is growing up so quickly. It is so fun to see her perform and develop her talents.

No place like dome

Ellie adamently chose to play soccer over dance this winter. But because of the cold weather and piles of snow typical of Minnesota winters, the soccer moves indoors. Dome soccer was a new experience for us!

Dribbling around on the indoor turf that caused the ball to move so fast on such small fields definitely took some getting used to. But before long, Ellie was loving it just as much as she loved playing outdoor soccer. One night after practice she proclaimed, "Mom, I'm going to play soccer all the time and even when I am in college! And then, when I'm a mom, I'm still going to play soccer." Pretty big dreams for a 6-year-old. She has now played soccer continuously for a year and is truly in love with the sport -- not to mention spectacular and so fun to watch!



Enjoy some of her moves in the dome.

Last Stop: Castaway Cay

Our last stop on the cruise happened to be my favorite! It was Castaway Cay, Bahamas -- which is Disney's private island. This place felt like paradise!

It was gorgeous and Disney had thought of everything to make it easier on families -- strollers and wagons, beach chairs, bikes, swimming gear and zip lines, etc. There was a splash pad and snorkeling gear. The hours on this island were definitely too short!

 The water on my shirt I dumped on my to cool off. It's not sweat!

 

For being athletic all my life, and running on my treadmill several times a week for the nine years I've owned it, I have actually never ran a 5K race. This is something I've wanted to do, but it's either never worked out or I've been too chicken to try something new. So, when I heard a 5K race was offered at our last stop, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to do it. And, better yet, my sister Heather wanted to as well!

I just kept thinking that it was my first 5K and it was in Castaway Cay, Bahamas!! Talk about a thrill!

The day was so relaxing! It felt like Disney World on an island and was truly just an extension of the boat. It had dozens of family-friendly activities, was super clean, and was so well thought-out! They fed us a delicious lunch on the island too and had all you can eat ice cream and drinks all day.

One of the most exciting parts of the island for the girls was that Grandma paid for all the big-girl cousins to get Caribbean hair!

They could choose their bead colors, and the way they wanted their hair braided.

This was a good hair-do for Ellie because it eliminated the need to straighten her curly-hair bangs everyday!

Teyah chose pink and blue beads with diagonal braids.

I think I loved Teyah's look the best.

Aubrie has an extremely sensitive head and only wanted two long braids. She also kept hers in the shortest amount of time.

Grandma got a kiss of thanks!

They were all smiles when they were done (we were a little worried there might be drama, but fortunately there was none!).

The worst part of Castaway Cay was that it mean it was our last day on the cruise. From now on when I visualize paradise, I will envision Castaway Cay! Thanks grandma for the best times of our lives! Recently, Ellie told me "the best day of my life was the day I got on the cruise and the worst day of my life was the day I got off!" I think that pretty much sums it up! Recently, I observed a conversation where someone asked Teyah what she would buy if she was given some cash, and her response was: "I would buy a Disney Cruise boat because I want to go back!"