Out-of-Town Visitors, Part 1

My older brother and his family came in town at the end of July.  Patrick (my brother) and Ingrid (his wife) were here for the weekend and their three boys stayed with my parents for the rest of the week.  It was great to spend so much time with them.  We went to the zoo, and rode the train.

We stopped for a snack and the 6 grandsons sat on a bench and watched the giraffes as they ate.  At this point, Jim and I told everyone that we are EXPECTING a new baby in February!  Pretty exciting news at the Kelly house.

The zoo has a pretty new sea lion exhibit that is very cool.  We were able to watch the sea lions swim all around us!

On Sunday, my parents brought Jack on a float trip with my brother and his family.  I don't think Patrick or Charlie are quite old enough yet, so they stayed home with me and we met my friend Connie, who was in town from AZ, and went to Grant's Farm.

Our first stop after getting off the tram was the carousel.

Next, we fed the goats.  The goats tend to be a little aggressive, so I stayed out with Charlie while Connie went in with her daughter Alexa and Patrick.

If you are holding a milk bottle, the goats swarm to you.

We saw a bird show and part of an elephant show.  The kids also got to pet a huge snake.

After a snow cone, we got back on the tram to head for home.

A playgroup I am part of took a trip to see a helicopter.  My nephews got to come along.  Here is a blurry picture of the group (more people came later).

We looked at a few helicopters in "the shop" and then we went outside to watch a helicopter land.

Incoming!

It was windy and loud watching the helicopter land.

Once it landed, we all got to go inside.

All the boys had a chance to sit in the pilot's seat.  Adam:

Lukas:

Jack:

Patrick:

Ryan:

Charlie:

Nana and her grandsons:

The playgroup at the end (some had left earlier):

Gracias

Charlie knows to say "Thank you" when he gets something he wants.  The funny thing is, he doesn't just say "thank you."  When I give him something, he says, "Thanks Momma.  Welcome."

I think since I tell him "You're welcome" after he thanks me, he thinks I am telling him to say "You're welcome."  Funny!

And here is a funny picture of him from this past summer.  He fell asleep in the middle of eating lunch...

Sneeze

I know I have been MIA, but there is a lot going on right now.  Soon, I hope to be back.  Patrick just said something that was funny and I wanted to remember...

I asked him why there were crumbs on his chair.  He said, "I ate a little and then I 'Bless You-ed.'"  Ha! He makes me smile everyday.

Chicago

In July, we drove to Chicago for the weekend.  We chose that particular weekend because we wanted to take the boys to the Cubs-Cards game at Wrigley Field.  We left in plenty of time, but hit some road construction.  After an hour or more of stop and go traffic, we made it into the city.  Unfortunately, the parking spot we had prepaid for was already taken.  We found a new spot and walked to the game just in time for the start of the SEVENTH inning!  While we would have preferred to have arrived earlier, three innings with three little ones was probably plenty.  We were happy to see the Cards win!

An attempted family photo after the game:

On Saturday morning, we took the train into the city and our first stop was Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower).

The kids enjoyed looking out the big windows and seeing the buildings, Lake Michigan, and an occasional helicopter.

 We had some amazing views of the city.

There is an observation area that is all glass.  Charlie was NOT excited about it!

After the tower, we walked to Grant Park for Taste of Chicago.  Charlie napped in the stroller.  Then we went to Millennium Park to meet up with one of my former runners.  She and her boyfriend were visiting Chicago for the weekend and going to the Cubs-Cards game that afternoon. 

We also visited the "bean" and took a few pictures there.

Jack and Patrick liked seeing their reflection (and the funny faces they made) in the bean.

 

Next, we walked to Navy Pier.

The boys were excited to ride the huge ferris wheel.

What a good-looking husband I have!!!

More good views of the city from the top of the ferris wheel.

Before we left Navy Pier, we stopped for some delicious ice cream! 

On Sunday morning, we visited my great aunt, who is a nun, in Lincoln Park.  After Mass, we went to the roof of her building where we could see more great views of the city!

"Cheese!"

We had an awesome time!  I think we did a good job of fitting a lot of things into one weekend.

Baseball

Jack played baseball this summer.  I took my camera to the final game to get some shots of him in action!

 He is ready!

They had a lot of fun!