The Field Museum - Chicago

For Spring Break this year, we headed to Chicago to the Field Museum.  It is the largest natural history museum and while Steve had visited when he was younger, neither myself nor the kids had ever been there.  We bought season passes before we went knowing that 1) it would be cheaper, especially for a family the size of ours and 2) the season passes would get us into some other great science museums/exhibits over the course of the year.  

The kids were at a good age to be able to enjoy most of the exhibits, but the size of the museum itself made it challenging to visit every single one.  You really need a couple of days to tour it, especially if you want to take the time to read and learn; not just look at the exhibits.  By lunchtime, especially with the time change (we gained an hour heading to Chicago), the kids were getting pretty ansty and hungry.  And Jimmy's legs were "getting tired."

Just a couple of primates, hanging out:

The animal exhibits seemed to be the most appealing to the kids.  They were so real and it helped them to put the size of the animal into perspective.

Just look at that size difference!

This exhibit of flamingos was a favorite of Sophia's.  It brought back memories of her 7th birthday party theme.

And then, the penguins were another favorite.  Once again -- reminding us of when she and Jimmy had a joint birthday party theme of 'polar bears and penguins.'

Mountain goats!

And deer!  I loved not only how realistic the animals were, but also their display and backdrop.  

Basically, whenever one of the kids asked me to take a picture of them by a certain display, I obliged.

I'm pretty sure that we stopped to look at (and read about) every penguin exhibit.

Two sisters, getting along with each other and smiling for their mom.

The boys were so engaged with the reptile portion of the museum.  I took exactly 1 picture in there.

Standing on the 2nd floor of the museum with a random dinosaur skeleton in the background.  Yes, it is THAT tall!

One of the most famous attractions at the Field Museum is Sue.  She is a fully-intact (well, 90%) T. Rex dinosaur that was excavated in South Dakota in 1990 and the largest T. Rex specimen discovered to date.  People come from all over the world to see her and to watch the movies that have been created about her life and excavation.

We bought tickets ahead of time to watch a couple of the 3D shows there in the theater and the kids loved them!  (The shows change throughout the year and I know that when we go back again someday, we will definitely try to watch a couple more).

A skeleton of a mammoth.  Just look at those tusks in comparison to Jack!

By the time that we decided to head out, we had only explored maybe half of the museum, but we have plans to go back again in the future for sure!

St. Patrick's Day - 2023

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day beginning with the annual construction of a 'leprechaun trap.'  Those pesky leprechauns are SO hard to catch, but that never seems to thwart the boys from trying ... and I love that.  The design changes from year to year and the leprechauns are always so thoughtful to leave a note or something special to award the kids for their efforts.  

This year's contraption included a long plank with tempting fake gold coins leading to a trap door:

After the leprechaun managed to escape, he left behind a colorful note along with some chocolate gold coins, a mossy house to hang outside for birds (or maybe cousin leprechauns to use?) and some rainbow candy.

There was also some writing on the inside flap of the box where "Lucky the Leprechaun" managed to climb out of during his epic escape.

Dressed in their holiday GREEN and ready to head to school:

And, of course, we managed to get a picture with Mia in it!

Sophia's 12th Birthday

Sophia decided a long time ago that she would like to celebrate her 12th birthday with a Mardi Gras theme.  I thought that it was a fabulous idea because:

1) We had never done that theme before ...

2) It coincided perfectly with the time of year that we would be celebrating (easy to find decorations)

3) The colors (green, purple, gold) would make it fun for me to design the party around

She worked closely with me on many of the ideas so I knew that she definitely wanted a balloon arch; a piñata; dinner with friends at our house; and the same BINGO game that I put together for Sam's party a few months ago.

The balloon arch was a true labor of love because I made the mistake of simply buying the balloons and not the KIT, which has the plastic strip with holes in to make the arch easier to construct.  I ended up using ribbon and fishing line ... and a lot of prayer ... to get the whole thing put together.

In the end, it turned out great and you would never had known how much effort went into it.

The party favor table for Sophia's friend party included a table-top decoration that I made (I used some leftover feathers from her Peacock Party that was 6 years ago!), bags for the piñata loot, and the prize envelopes for the BINGO game.  Sophia had chosen lotion and body wash as her party favors.

The dinner table was set up with special cups, lots of beads and a tall glass filled with muddy buddies chex mix.  

The tall martini glass was part of a flower arrangement that I received years ago and saved, which was PERFECT for this event.

Before dinner, the girls opened their party favors and played BINGO.  They loved everything and commented that Sophia knows them all so well.

Sophia and her friend, Drew:

This girl was full of smiles as she opened her gifts:

Our guests:

The piñata was filled with a little bit of candy, but I made it more "teen girl" appropriate by adding other fun things like: face masks, chapstick, fun erasers, mechanical pencils (those are treasured by middle school girls), bracelets, etc.

Sophia and her friend, Scarlett:

I made cupcakes for dessert and added an extra element of surprise.  One of the cupcakes had a plastic baby inside (a tradition that is associated with Mardi Gras and symbolizes good luck).

So, we lit candles and sang happy birthday to Sophia and then the girls carefully cut into their cupcakes to see who the lucky winner with the King Baby was ...

And it turns out that it was Sophia!  It was completely random and she happened to be the one to grab the one cupcake off the plate that had the baby inside.  She received a special gift (a box of sour candies) and promptly shared them with everyone.