Kalamazoo Air Zoo

When we bought the annual family pass for the Field Museum, we noticed that our pass would also get us in for FREE to the Kalamazoo Air Zoo.  We had chosen a hotel (with a pool!) that was located just a few miles from the Air Zoo and we stayed there both the night before going to the Field Museum and again after. It made our drive to the Field Museum shorter and was so convenient to leave there and head to the Air Zoo.  

The Air Zoo was incredible!  It was much smaller than the Field Museum, obviously, and there were so many interactive exhibits for the kids.  Also, I loved how there were several retired military gentlemen that were volunteering and helping.  

I was fascinated by this wedding dress.  The woman that was married in it had it made from the parachute that he husband used when he ejected from a plane before their wedding.  

They had real amusement part rides inside like their hot air balloon ride:

There were several displays about astronauts and landing on the moon, but inside the museum and outside near the gift shop.

I am certain, without a doubt, that everyone's FAVORITE part of the Air Zoo was the simulation center.  The girls rode together, the boys rode together and then Steve even talked me into participating.  Steve did all of the steering, while I just tried not to throw up inside.

A display of circuits:

Again, the size of these crafts amaze me.

There was a section of the Air Zoo dedicated to when the United States first landed on the moon.  It showed what a typical living room would have been designed like and even had a rotary-dial phone on an end table.  My kids had no idea what it was so I made Jimmy try to use it and snapped a picture.  My, how times have changed!  

The kids were allowed to wander around freely and occasionally they would call out to me to take a picture of them with one of the exhibits.

A futuristic robot:

More amusement park rides:

The boys always partnered up and so did the girls:

Jimmy had a real blast that morning!

The last part of our tour included traveling over to another building where they are restoring several crafts.  This particular one had stairs and the kids took turns (along with Steve) going up into it.

Once we were back on the road (and heading for lunch), all of us talked about what a great time we had there.  It was raining that morning so it was the perfect outing and piqued all of our interests without being too overwhelming.  I would totally recommend visiting here.

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.

Valentine's Day - 2023

In the week leading up to the Holiday of Love, the boys worked on their classroom valentines.  I'm down to only two kids doing this now (I DO miss when all four of them would sit at the table and write out their classmates' names and put them together!).  

We have now upgraded to using sharpie markers -- something that I never would have allowed at the dining room table when the kids were younger:

Jimmy took his time with each one:

This year, we opted to give out Rock Candy Sticks with a tag that said, "Valentine, You Rock."

Jack was long-since done with his and Jimmy continued to work ...

Pretty soon, I invited the girls to help finish up with the ribbons while the boys moved on to other things.  I think that they miss doing classroom valentines too.

All ready to go (I later put them all in gift bags with a handle to transport to school), including some soft, fuzzy socks for their teachers.

********************

On Valentine's Day morning, the kids woke up to a simply-decorated table in the dining room and cinnamon rolls in the oven.

I put a special note next to each of their plates with one thing that I loved about each of them.  And -- Jack had gone to the Dollar Store earlier in the week and bought a piece of candy for everyone (with his own money!) and put them next to their spots at the table.

Samantha had to leave early for Jazz Band, but she took her items with her, including the big box of Andes Mints that Jack had wrapped a ribbon around.

He was even thoughtful enough to buy me my favorite candy and have it sitting out.  I absolutely love his big heart.

Later that afternoon, Jimmy dumped out his bag of loot from school and showed me each and every valentine, sorting out the candy from the cards ...