Cousin Day: Number 6

We had a multi-part outing on Wednesday that started at the Field Museum, continued with a water taxi ride, and ended at Navy Pier. 

{We cashed in on a free day at the Field Museum where our main goals were to see the mummies and the dinosaurs. Mission accomplished!}

{Here is Sue in her new habitat. Last year when we visited the zoo, she was off display except for a tiny window for us to peek through as they prepared her new exhibit.}

{These girls must have picked up at least 20 phones along our journey through the museum. And only some of the phones spoke English...}

{We were in and out of this joint quickly as crowds were building. No bother, we had bigger plans ahead!}

{The water taxi is a fun novelty ride from the Museum Campus to Navy Pier, which gives the kids roughly 15 minutes to enjoy the shoreline and try to push one another overboard.}

{McDonald's. A break from the picnic lunches we usually pack!}

{We surprised the kiddos with a ride on the swings, which would be everyone's field trip highlight!}

Back-to-back-to-back outings is fun but exhausting! Setting the bar high this summer! 

Cousin Day: Number 5

Brookfield Zoo Day Tuesday. And maybe the first actual nice day we have had for our field trips. Most surprising to us was how empty the zoo was given the perfect weather. Great for us!

{Never a visit goes by where we don't take this lion for a ride. No different today!}

{The animals were out in full force today! Easy to spot. Or stripe...}

We checked out the Lego Safari that the zoo is currently hosting. It did not disappoint! Each exhibit listed the number of Legos used, the amount of hours it took to create, and the weight of the animal. A fun guessing game for all!

{Some of the animals were absolutely huge!}

{I spy with my little eye two snow leopards!}

{Watch out for bears in the forest!}

{This girl lost a wiggly tooth on an ice cream sandwich a few minutes before this picture was taken. Never mind that she had been chomping on apples for the past few field trips trying to get the darn thing to come out!}

{Camryn spent the second half of our trip nestled in the middle of the wagon. It turns out that sometimes cute shoes are not also practical. A lesson she will learn over and over!}

{My mom and I split up for a bit as these two animals wanted to paint their faces in the kiddie zoo while the others wanted to explore the petting zoo. Keeping everyone happy!}

Another great outing in the books!

Cousin Day: Number 4

We spent a rainy day at the Museum of Science and Industry Monday. A favorite for us, and a first for the cousins. We shared the museum with a small handful of other people, which gave these kiddos freedom to run around and explore!

{No official MSI front steps to stand in front of, so we chose the iconic train at the entrance for our group shot.}

{The tornado always fascinates, and today we were able to conduct a group experiment where the kiddos stopped the vortex from spinning. Not nearly as fun as being able to run inside it at the end!}

{Mason always hops over to this pendulum. Learning is always more fun when you don't know that you are learning!}

{Playing with the electricity ball. All fun and games until someone gets shocked.}

{The Tesla coil. Mason was the guest conductor, but everyone was able to hop on stage to stand under the loudness!}

{These two hopped a flight to Paris. Bonjour!}

We showed the cousins all of our favorite things as the museum (looking at you, mirror maze), and we were even able to squeeze in an exhibit new to everyone when we discovered the water and ball factory tucked in a corner of the museum. The best way to spend a rainy day!

Side note: Jacob. Age progression roughly 8 years. And in desperate need of a haircut!

Cousin Day: Number 3

We took off to the city for yet another museum adventure. This time we explored the Shedd Aquarium. This was a first for most and a first-time-I-can-remember for the rest!

{We are getting our money's worth out of our winter-weather clothing. Another chilly day best spent inside!}

{The jellyfish displays were among some of the favorites for our crew!}

{Check out these little guys. And my little guy!}

{The kids also had the opportunity to touch starfish in some very cold water!}

{Another favorite was the shark display. While we didn't see any of the sharks feasting on any of the other residents in the tank, I can only imagine that the rest of those fish must live in fear. Camryn appeared to be living in fear on the dry side of the glass!}

{All of the displays we saw were so pretty to look at. The kids wandered around in amazement at the different undersea creatures they were able to see: lobsters the size of backpacks, jellyfish that looked like glass ornaments, stingray that smiled at us as they swam by, beluga whales that entertained us as we ate lunch, and several species of scuba divers that were cleaning the tanks. It was such a fun day, and so glad that we arrived early as the admission line was no less than several hundred people deep as we were leaving the aquarium early in the afternoon. Yikes!}

Cousin Day: Number 2

A quick trip to the Planetarium and a picnic lunch lakeside.

We are no strangers to the Planetarium, but this was the cousins' first trip, so my three made sure to give them the grand tour. The crowd favorite--as evidenced by the 30+ trips through--was the dark, 20-foot tunnel that gave the illusion of walking in space. 

{Standing outside of the Planetarium.}

{Behind the kids is (maybe) the first human space capsule launched to the moon. Just looking at those tight quarters gave me claustrophobic anxiety.}

{Taking a mid-trip rest.}

{Getting eye level with a space rover.}

{Located outside of the coveted dark space tunnel was an area that replicated where the astronauts would sleep and, ahem, go to the bathroom. This is what Mason thinks doing his business in space would look like.}

{While the three boys were creating rockets ships to launch into space, these two decided they would rather create best friend handshakes. So they did.}

{Jacob would never pass up an opportunity to create something out of Legos. So this craft station in which you need to construct an object that could travel between planets via string was perfect for him!}

{We took a lunch break outside by the lake. This picture makes it look much windier and colder than it actually was!}

We were able to explore the whole museum and hit the road before the skies opened up. Rain is much better experienced under a roof!

Cousin Day: Number 1

We wasted no time jumping into summer with a jam-packed day! We kicked off our first day of summer with breakfast at the local diner with my parents and the cousins. We continued on to see a movie and run around in the mall playground, followed that up with lunch at Steak N Shake, and capped it all off with a dip in the pool. At the end of each activity the kids would ask what fun thing was next on the list, so who were we to disappoint? This trend will be hard to keep up!  

{The sign at the entrance prohibited those taller than 42" from playing. This is a picture of our five rule breakers.}

{We did not see this movie yesterday. But we will!}

{Nothing goes better with fries than a shake!}

After hearing that Camryn was the first cousin to dip her feet in the pool last week, Jacob was determined to be the first cousin to go off the diving board. And since we haven't had a chance to drop off our summer supply of swim gear at my parents' house, underwear it is for all swimmers! The pool was a frigid 78 degrees, but that didn't stop these kiddos from swimming for the better part of an hour. Some swam longer than others...

{First dive of the season!}

{This picture is summer personified!}

{Not to be outdone by the other four cousins, this lady also took the plunge!}

School’s out for Summer!

After making up what felt like 100 snow days, we are officially in summer mode for the next 70 days. But who’s counting?! 

{This is the closest these two can stand without fighting. A fact that will make this a loooooong summer for those around these two.}

{Our annual last day bike to school has become very boy-heavy!}

{This girl skipped out of school a day earlier than the rest because Kindergarteners get an extra day of summer to test those parental nerves.}
We are all ready to do the summer things!

Bits.

The pieces that have been keeping us busy.

SCHOOL.

{Camryn's Kindergarten crew got to visit the first grade classes, which required a fancy dress and all of the accessories that go with it. Lucky for her she had a hair cut that morning complete with a complete blow out and curl!}

{Our final Friday walk to school. Complete with a human train made out of out-of-control boys. It's a wonder we made it through the year without any casualties.}

 

{Field day. And after receiving a record amount of rain this May, all classes were banned to the blacktop only. I picked up the morning shift where I got to hang with Jacob and some of his best buds. Caleb was there for the afternoon with Camryn and Mason. Apparently Mason is too cool for pictures...}

{Kindergarten Picnic. I coordinated a before-school picnic for Camryn's entire class. Perhaps the only perk to being in afternoon half-day Kindergarten. This group had a blast working out their wiggles before hopping on the bus as a group at a classmate's house next to the park. A great way to close out the year!}

{Third Grade Game Day. And this is the one and only shot I got of these two knuckleheads. Both are crazy. One is better at hiding it than the other...}

{Our Final McDonald's Friday. After spending nearly every Friday for the past two school years hanging out at the local McDonald's where the employees have come to know and expect us, we are finally closing out this tradition as it will be full day school for everyone next year! Going to miss the tradition. Absolutely will not miss the food.}

BASEBALL.

{Jacob and his buddy taking a pitching change break on the field. This team has powered through more than two dozen games, and we are only about halfway through the season.}

{It's amazing that we have even played that many games as this is how a majority of our games look. Can you almost see the baseball field through the pouring rain? This was at Mason's game. Roughly one out short of a complete game, which means we will be making the 45 minute drive to finish up the final out so we can add another notch to our win column.}

{And because there is nothing more fun than deep-woods exploring instead of watching your brothers play baseball, we have to check for ticks. ICK!}

THE FIVE MINUTES OF FREE TIME THAT WE HAVE LEFT.

{This dino-sized turtle found its way into our front garden and wedged itself under our gutter before very slowly backing up and disappearing into the hydrangeas. I am fairly confident that it is gone, but, yuck, that was one ugly looking animal!}

{Playing at the park. Because nice days need to be taken advantage of!}

{Twins. Camryn bought this dress and necklace for her best friend, and her best friend bought Camryn this choker. And when your best friend lives next door it is easy to take a quick break from playing to go all twinsy. These girls crack me up!}

{Well Visits. Camryn had her yearly check up where she finally found herself on the charts for her weight, which meant I got a free pass on the annual malnutrition lecture I usually get. Thank goodness for 40 pounds on the dot!}

{Storms. Because when it isn't just raining, it's hailing. Our neighborhood's screens look like animals tried to claw their way in through the windows. This hole is nearly the size of my hand, and has qualified us for a "Catastrophic" Insurance Claim. Happy to have been OOO when that storm barreled through!}