Leap Day 2016...

Happy Leap Day!  

It's the first time in four years that I am able to say that.  Last time Leap Year came around, my babies looked a little something like this...

Where did the time go?!  The next time I am able to wish you a Happy Leap Day, Quinn will be 13 and Sullivan will be 10. Yikes!  I can only imagine what they will look like then!

Snowbot...

Sullivan is starting an inventions unit in class.  To kick off the unit, a local author came to her class and shared her story about a snowman/robot that was unconventional.  After they read the story, they go to make their own Snowbot creation. It happened to be my day to volunteer in Sullivan's class on this day, so I was thrilled to get to watch them make their creations.

Her is Sullivan's creation...

And the sweet girl with her proud rendition of BB8 from Star Wars...

It was great to see all the children using their imaginations and creating all sorts of amazing things.  I can't wait to see what Sullivan's "invention" will be for this upcoming unit!  I'll keep you posted! 

Museum Happenings...

While in Chicago, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. It's the same museum that we went to last year, but honestly, it's so fantastic that you can go year after year and still enjoy it! And it doesn't hurt that kids are free for the entire month of February!!

When we were planning our trip to Chicago, we found out that our neighbors (and dear friends) were going to be in Chicago at the same time. So we concocted a plan to meet up at the museum and spend the day together. 

An afternoon with the Powells is always a blast. 

We got there right when it opened, so it wasn't busy at all. We got to try all the gizmos and gadgets without really having to wait. Score!!!

We came across a goal setting interactive board. We all gave it a whirl... Check out our goals for the coming years!

Here is an age progression of what Quinn and Sullivan will look like when they are in their 70s...

These two, Sullivan and Carly, palled around all afternoon...

Quinn took her hand at photography and captured these sweet chicks...

We all got lost in this pretty crazy (and super fun) mirror maze!

Here we are checking out the air machines that keep the balls afloat. They had the most fun with this station...

And who can go to the Museum of Science and Indusrty and not get the iconic picture of the kids in the airplane engine thingy?! If I stopped to let myself think about how many kids crawl in that thing everyday and the potential for a lice/bed bug transfer, I'd probably not ever let me kids climb in there again. But let's not go there...!

We heard about this legendary old school ice cream parlor inside the museum that was supposed to be fantastic.  So we couldn't leave without seeing if it lived up to the hype. Let's just say, it didn't disappoint!

Before we could leave, we checked out the gift shop. We found these four crazy kids in there...! Wonder who's kids those are?!

We had the very best time with our friends. So glad we could share a portion of our vacation with them!

President's Break 2016

Our trip to Chicago over President's Break was amazing!  We started the trip off by visiting this great place...

Who doesn't love a trip to Ikea?!  Quinn and Sullivan weren't necessarily all about the shopping at Ikea, but they certainly did plenty of playing...

And taking selfies....

And goofing around!

While staying downtown, we also bundled up and headed to the streets of Chicago to do some more shopping...

We got to visit the American Girl doll store, although we walked away without buying a thing.  Yes there is a first time for everything, ladies and gentlemen!

And we visited the Lego Store... where we weren't so fortunate to walk away without anything. Each of the girls, plus Ryan, got a set of Legos to take home!

We visited lots of other stores along the way that certainly lured us in - Claire's and Bath & Body Works and lots more!

We had to stop off for some popcorn at Garrett's as a midday snack.  If you'v never been, you are missing out!  Yum!

Aside from popcorn, we did plenty of good eating.  Ryan was craving Chicago style deep dish pizza,so we headed over to this fabulous restaurant...

And waited for quite some time for our table.  It was the coziest, most quaint little restaurant.  It was a fun atmosphere, and the pizza was pretty fabulous too!  It was definitely worth the wait.

Here we are at the restaurant enjoying our great pizza...!

We also tried Shake Shack while in Chicago.  It is the latest rage in burger joints that is sweeping the country.  So when it is only a block away from your hotel, you've got to give it a whirl.  It was pretty fabulous too!

Valentine's Day night was spent with these great people.... 

Man alive, do I love them!  No one I'd rather spend Valentine's Day with than them.  

Sullivan was insistent on taking a silly picture of Quinn and I at supper...

And finally, we passed by this sign when we were shopping in the mall.  

Too bad that it is missing an 'N'!!! 

More to come on our museum adventure and the amazing people we got to spend the day with there! Stay tuned!

Randomness...

The girls and I had a couple of days off for President's Day.  So the four of us decided to hit the road and go to Chicago for a couple of days.  It was a crazy fun weekend - so fun that it left this little one pooped out on the way home...

I will recap our fun adventures later this week when life settles a bit!  But until then, here is some randomness from lately...

We went to our neighbor's house for a Super Bowl get together.  It was nice to catch up with all of our neighbors and to take in the game and commercials. 

The kids headed to the basement to play while the adults socialized upstairs.  The only time the kids surfaced from the basement was for the half time show.

The girls were allowed to bring Valentine's cards to school this year.  There was no official "party" and it had to be called a friendship celebration, but nonetheless, they had a blast making their cards and passing them out.  Their cards couldn't include any food items either, but we sneaked in some chocolates for our very deserving teachers!

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a movie with a couple of my dear friends.  Cheryl, Heather, and I went to see The Choice.  It is the movie based off of Nicolas Sparks' book. We went on opening night, so we had no idea what was in store.  The overall consensus among us was it was a good movie.  What you would expect from a Nicolas Sparks story line.  It was a great evening with my friends!

Here is a picture of the girls acting like pillows one morning, in an attempt to not have to get ready....

Sadly, they didn't camouflage themselves very well and their plan was a big FAIL!  

And finally, Quinn and Sullivan got a little Valentine's gift from Ryan and I before we left for our Chicago expedition.  They got new Shopkins - which they were beyond THRILLED and surprised to get.  I wish I would have taken a video - it would have been well worth it to capture their enthusiasm.