Zen and his Cousins II

KG and Whitey were like Zen's little mommies on there trip. Here they are guiding him through the American Girl store--I accidently uploaded this video twice and don't know how to fix it, so enjoy one, or both!

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Zen and Cousins

From Mizzou to Chicago

We had my cousins, the Feeney Family, in for a visit from rural Missouri. They took the train with their 3 daughters, Abi, Katie Grace and Hannah, and spent a fast and furious 4 days sampling some of the Chicago and Evanston sights. It's always so fun to see our kids have just as much fun with their cousins as we did growing up--Zion and Abi are like two peas in a pod, and Hannah and Katie gave Zen just as much attention as he could ask for. We'll be together again in about 6 weeks for our annual family reunion down on the farm. Here are some pictures of this visit:

Public Transit!

It was a visit filled with subways,Busses metra trains, and cabs as we shuttled the Feeney family around Chicago. The CTA trains were crowded and chaotic, the Metra was fun even though we got separated and had to take different trains one day (both parties made their way home successfully). The bus was convenient but packed--I got a lot of dirty looks with my stroller the size of a volkswagon blocking the aisle. We got the cab rides down to a science, with the passengers, the destinations and the placing of Zen and all the bags negotiated beforehand. How do people live without their cars???? My deepest respect to you, Friend Wendy.

The American Girl Store

This place fascinated me and delighted the girls, who found plenty to do as well as plenty of ways to spend money there! Lucky for them, Mammo donated funds to their cause. They picked out outfits and accessories for their existing dolls, had their dolls' hair done in the hair salon, and ate a special lunch. Even Zion was having a good time even though he would never admit it. He happily "helped" his cousins play with their new doll stuff as soon as we got home! I love girls, but I realized after I saw all that stuff that maybe I'm blessed to have boys :-)

Lincoln Park Zoo

It was 80 degrees out at the zoo, and we'd already spent 4 hours at the
American Girl Store, but we still managed to stay at the park until it closed. Helpful employees took pity on us as we went to rent a wagon for all of the AG purchases and offered to babysit the dolls and their accessories for free, leaving Chris unburdened and relieved. We spent time watching the seals, the big cats, the monkeys, the African exhibit, and the polar bear (who swam so close to the glass that we could see the individual hairs on his body!).

Shedd Aquarium

It was bedlam at the Shedd due to the grand re-opening of the oceanarium, but we fought our way through the crowds and managed to spend 3 hours there. The belugas and the penguins were popular exhibits for our kids. They have a new display where you can put on costumes and BE a penguin, sitting on eggs, taking care of babies, and climbing and sliding on ice floes and caves. Zion got into that right away, stuffing himself into a costume and happily entertaining himself around the littler ones. Zen was much more into watching the actual penguins swim and dive in their glass enclosure. We had to drag the kids out of the interactive submarine so we could hit the Field Museum!

Beach Visit with Katie, Hannah, and Zen

It was so much fun to take Karri, Zen and the girls to the beach (Zion and Abi went to see Star Trek with the dads). KG and Whitey plunged right into the water instantly despite our warnings. They swam and dipped like two little seals, built sandcastles, and ran, ran, ran. Luckily we were prepared with towels and a change of clothes for each. Zen enjoyed throwing stale popcorn to the gulls and digging in the sand. A nice excursion.

Merrick Rose Garden

We hit this Evanston landmark on our Sunday morning walk, just a few blocks from our place. The roses weren't blooming yet, but the fountain was up and running, so we decided to take a few pictures.

More Lacrosse

It has been a week full of lacrosse, with an away game at 8:00 Saturday morning, a practice at noon on Sunday, another game on Tuesday night, and a practice on Wednesday evening. ("How did we sign up for this?" I wondered at 7:00 Sunday morning as I loaded Zion, his equipment, Zen and Jedi into the car for our commute to another northshore community. Sam was not it, as he had organized a giant yardwork party at our church for that day before we even got the game schedule). It ended up being a nice day for a game, and I didn't have to do any manual labor, so I think I got the better end of the deal. Lacrosse is fun to watch, especially as the kids get better and better.

Ask a Scientist...

We are under the impression that our "Uncle Brent", who is a PH.D scientist, knows the answers to all scientific questions that we ever have in life. If mom can't answer it, we say, "I wish Uncle Brent were here...he'd know the answer." We really should skype with Uncle Brent more often, and Aunt Melissa (who is a doctor, so she's no dummy herself :-) Since we don't, we still don't know what kind of tree these odd seed pods belong to. Can anyone tell us?

Forever Brush My Hair

We found something Zen likes--he's not into massage, but he sat for 20 minutes getting his hair brushed the other day.

Here are the promised pictures, finally.