The Windy City

A couple of weeks ago now we went to Illinois for my cousin Liz's wedding. We had some bumps in the road because we were sick on the drive up there but we had a good time. We took the kids to the Brookfield Zoo and saw the dolphins, which was just terrific! We did not realize how pink her bellies are. The kids got to the the spectacle bears like on Diego which was just so exciting for them. The hotel we stayed at was very nice and it was where a lot of my family was staying and that was nice. We got to have breakfast together and we took the kids swimming. The wedding was of course beautiful. It was outdoors and you could not have imagined a more perfect weather. Christopher and Eli put on a show while we waited for the wedding to start and at the reception all of the kids danced and sang and were quite the life of the party. Monday before we left we went into Chicago and hit Navy Pier. Our fun was hampered because it decided to rain while we were there. They do however have a very cool stained glass museum we went through and we did a little shopping. We also went way down to the end of the pier to get pictures of the lighthouse. Christopher was ridding on my back and at one point fell asleep on my back. It was pretty funny, I'm sure, watching me walk around bent in half with him on my back. We got home late Monday night we were exhausted but it was worth it.

Camera work-out

Today we went to the zoo. One reason was to get the kids out and active. The other reason was to give my new camera a work out. It was sooooo fun. I took about 500 pictures. I narrowed it down when we got home to 350. The kids had a ton of fun climbing on everything and feeding the fish. Kristen had a bit of a teenage I'm too cool for this tude going on but even she had some moments of fun. All of the kids ran through the sprinkler they had going and then played in the fountains a bit but Christopher got soaking wet. We go on vacation to my cousins wedding near Chicago this weekend and I cannot wait to use my camera again. We plan to visit the Brook Field zoo there. I am excited about that because they have dolphins!

Love it!

Eric got me a new camera yesterday. It is very fancy by my standards probably not in general by DSLR standards. I am loving it though. It's fast and the zoom lens is awsome and I have done pretty much nothing but take pictures for the last two days. I cannot wait to take it to Chicago this next weekend! I'll post a few of the pictures I took and you can tell me what you think.

School Begins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alissa and Kristen have both started school. This is Alissa's first real school year as a kindergartner. She has been loving it. She loves her teacher and her new friends although she is not very good with names so I can't share that with you. She did tell me there are 2 other girls in her class with the same shoes and that automatically made them friends. I am confident that she will have a great year. I did not get as emotional this time as I did when Kristen started kindergarten of course Alissa did not try to kick me out of the room either. I did get a little choked up when on the 3rd day she wanted to walk into the school herself like a big girl. She's so grown up. This is Kristen's second year at the middle school so she has an idea of what to expect. She has a friend of mine's husband as a teacher so she better behave herself. She has already started some of her extra activities. Choir, volleyball. So she's off and running and having a good time. She was very excited to find her best friend is on her team and even has a class with her this year. So she just can't wait to get to school in the morning. During the nice weather she rides her bike and she loves that also.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISSA!

Today my Alissa turns 5 years old. She has had a pretty good 5 years I think. I full two years as the baby of the family and 3 years as a big sister. Right now Alissa is all about Arial the Little Mermaid. She loves all things mermaid. Her bedspread and sheets are the little mermaid and so is her backpack for school. She starts kindergarten this fall and she is very excited about that. She just can't wait for it to start. Every couple of days she askes me if she gets to go to kindergarten yet. She is still a very excitable kind of girl always dancing around and jumping about everything that catches her fancy. She also still walks on her toes. It's just adorable. She took a karate class at the y this summer and loved it. So far she hasn't kicked her brother. Alissa's zest for life makes every day brighter and more special. Happy Birthday my little Sunshine.

Oklahoma

We went to visit and help move Alan and Rachel this weekend. They have a beautful new home to start what I am sure will be a terrific new life. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins. Kristen and Bekah watched the Hannah Montanna 3d concert while we were down there. We checked out the Tulsa zoo and the pond behind Al's house. The kids got messy catching little baby frogs and lizards. Oh and the first day we were there Christopher tried to play spiderman and jumped out of their tree house. Luckily he was just fine but gave us a scare. We all had a good time and I am sure we will visit again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTOPHER!!!!!!!!!

Today my baby turns 3 years old. It's hard to believe he's gotten so big. When I think about him this time last year the biggest change is the amount of talking he does. Last year he was pretty quiet but now he talks like his big sister Alissa nonstop. He pretty much give commentary on everything he does now. Which room he's going to which toy he's playing with everything. His favorite things right now are Transformers, followed by Spiderman, Batman, Thomas, Bob the Builder, Diego and of course Superman. He also loves cars of all kinds and working on the tool bench he got for Christmas. He loves having tools like Daddy. He is our little daredevil. He loves to climb and jump and when he falls he just gets up an keeps going. He is a tough little guy. We are still working on the potty training. Some days are better than others but we're getting there. Having a boy has been a wonderful, fantastic and thrilling ride. I can't wait to see what comes next.