Monday - Field Museum and Cultural Center

We flew from Denver to Chicago on Sunday...arriving in time to get some dinner and get the kids to bed. Monday morning Jackson started class and Michelle and I bundled the kids up the best we could and headed out on an adventure. I brought a front pack carrier for Estella, and buttoned my coat around her. I think she stayed fairly warm this way.

We got directions from the hotel receptionist to our bus stop and headed out. I don't know if the directions were wrong, or we just didn't understand them, but the bus stop wasn't where we walked to. We started asking people and finally...after a lot of walking in the COLD...we found the right bus.

While we were walking we saw these men dangling off the side of this building...I think they were washing windows, but I'm not sure. I was just glad I wasn't them.

We made it to the Field Museum...it was wonderful! It was my favorite place we went the whole trip. If you ever go to Chicago, go here!

The boys were very anxious and excited to see the dinosaurs. The museum was so big we had a hard time finding them at first. They were worth the effort! One dinosaur was actually found here in Grand Junction!

Michelle pushing Estella.

Buddies!

They have the most amazing collection of ?stuffed? animals. Thomas kept asking what was inside the animals...I have no clue. I prefer not to think about it. The displays were so well done, I kept expecting the animals to move. There had to have been thousands of animals there...it was incredible.

We went back to the hotel for lunch, and had planned on coming back to the museum for the afternoon, but by the time we finished lunch and naps and getting everyone ready to face the cold again, it was almost time for the museum to close.

We decided to walk down and explore the nearby Chicago Cultural Center. There is an incredible stained glass dome there. One man told us it was the biggest Tiffany dome in the world. I didn't see that in writing, but it was big and beautiful. The rest of the room as done with intricate mosaic tiles. Some were glass tiles and others were a luminescent cream. There were quotes about reading and the value of books on different portions of the walls. There was a very spiritual feeling in the room.

Another room was a Memorial Hall. There were these lighted floor panels that the kids loved. This room also had a very peaceful feeling.

It was a fun day!

Aunt Kara and Uncle Cody's House

I just downloaded the pictures from our trip off my camera...there were over 500! I didn't think there would be nearly that many, because t was really difficult to take pictures at all. It was so crazy everywhere we went that I always had a baby in my arms, and a hand on a little boy or two. I had to supress the desire to try to create beautiful pictures and just settle for snapping pictures of whatever I could. Because Jackson couldn't be with us during the day, it was fun to be able to show him the pictures each night of what we had done. I think that motivated me to take a lot. That said, I have too many to do them all in one post. I think I will do a post for each day we were there.

My sister and her husband live in a small town about an hour outside of Denver. We had never been to their house, so we decided to leave a day and a half early and stay with them. It was so fun! They live on Cody's parent's sod farm, so they let the boys climb all over the tractors and other farming equipment.

Kara and Nicholas

Thomas...king of the mountain!

Nicholas getting his ears cleaned out by Aunt Kara. He has been talking about that ever since :)

They had some little ponds right outside their house that were frozen over. We had fun sliding around on them...we didn't venture out more than five feet or so from the edge because we weren't sure how thick the ice was.

Thanks again Kara and Cody for having us!

Chicago

These aren't my pictures...I got these off google images...I don't have the cord I need to get the pictures off my camera right now.


Jackson has been taking a class in Chicago this week, and the kids and I came along and have been doing a lot of sight seeing. Jackson's mom also came to explore with me. It has been SO FUN, as well as exhausting. We are still there and will be until late Saturday night. We have been to the Art Institute. The kids didn't last as long as we had hoped there, but we saw the best paintings before I had to take Nicholas and Estella back to the hotel for naps.
We spent a half day at the Field Museum of Natural History. This is THE BEST museum I have ever been to. We scratched some other plans so we can spend ALL DAY there tomorrow. IT IS AWESOME!!!!!

We also went to the Shedd Aquarium, the Adler Planetarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, and also a few classical concerts at the Cultural Center. It has been great. We have gotten really good at braving the cold and finding the right bus stops. Let me tell you...it is COLD here! We have had great adventures...one wheel kept falling off the stroller when we were carrying it up and down stairs. Once a wheel fell off as we were going up a curb and we couldn't get it back on. We carried the stroller onto the bus only to figure out that it was THE OTHER WHEEL...and it had COMPLETELY BROKEN. We had to go out that night and buy a new stroller, because it really isn't possible to get around on public transportation in downtown Chicago with three kids without a stroller.

For anyone who wants to vacation somewhere with lots of GREAT museums and cultural things to do...Chicago is great.

Something

Something about this picture touches me. Maybe it is because I have so much love for this little boy named Nicholas. Maybe it is something more. I think I am going to blow this one up big and hang it on the wall.

Precious Moment

Nicholas the Teacher

Look at this mischievous grin...the twinkle in his eye that says, "I am up to something!"
It only comes in flashes, however, and as soon as I start wondering if he has been up to something, he gives me a completely innocent, angelic smile like this...that says, "I am the sweetest boy there ever could be." And my fears are melted away.

Well...I think Nicholas has been up to something....teaching Estella the art of milk bubble blowing!

Gone are the days of handing little Essie a cup of milk and having her peacefully drink it.

No...blowing bubbles in your milk is MUCH more fun than just drinking it.

:) :)

New Toy

I got a new toy today! Actually, my brother in law Cody bought me a new toy with the Amazon money he gave me for Christmas....thanks Cody! It is a wireless remote control for my camera. Today, while Nicholas and Estella were sleeping, Thomas and I had fun playing with it. I think Thomas had more fun than I did :)

Now that is concentration! You can see the remote in the hand by his face.

He loves this pen that his cousin Ethan brought him from Disneyland.

P.S. We also had a treat while the little guys were sleeping...hence the ice cream mustache!

P.S.S. Everyone is over the stomach sickness, I think. Thomas and I both were blessed and didn't get it...HURRAY!

Checkers

Well...the throw-ups have cycled through Essie, Nicholas, and now Jackson. I am HOPING that Thomas and I will somehow avoid it...I'm not sure it is possible.

Friday night, Thomas got to stay at Jackson's parent's house overnight all by himself. They showered him with attention and fun. He LOVED it! While he was gone we tried to spend some special time with Nicholas. Jackson decided to teach him how to play checkers.

Throw-ups

Thomas or Nicholas didn't ever get the stomach flu until they were over 2 years old, but poor Estella got it last night. She has been so good natured about it. I wouldn't have even known she was sick if I hadn't gone in check on her and feed her one last time before I went to bed last night. When I walked into her room I could smell it. She must have thrown up several times because it was ALL over her bed. She was sleeping with her face right in it. I feel bad that I didn't even hear her...she didn't cry at all. She threw up several more times last night, but seems fine today. She has eaten and kept it down. Here are a few pictures of her from the past few days.

Now that I look back at these pictures together, I realize that the colors aren't consistent. I feel like I am getting better at processing my photos to look the way I want them, but I still have a long way to go. It is hard to be consistent from one photo to the next. It is also hard to get a picture looking great, but still natural. Practice, practice, practice!

Mr T

I think I have finally realized that Thomas isn't little anymore. I keep looking at him across the room, searching for a hint of a baby-look to his face, and not finding it anywhere. I can't imagine 8 months from now watching him disappear onto a big yellow school bus.

Today I feel like holding on to every last minute of childhood.

Other days...I feel like I wish certain parts of it would go faster....today, though, I want to cherish it.

Here is Mr T...Tom-O...Thomas...helping me practice for an upcoming photoshoot.

Milk Bubbles