puredanger.com Blog

Trip to Chicago October 15, 2007

We took the kids on a whirlwind trip up to Chicago this weekend. We drove up Friday night and stayed at a TownePlace Suites in Lombard. If you’ve got a bunch of kids like us, getting a 2 bedroom suite at a place like this is great. It has 2 bedrooms, a pull-out couch in a living room, and a small kitchen. The cost is really only slightly more for the significant increase in comfort.

We actually stayed at this exact same hotel back in January, the last time we tried to do this trip. You may recall that last time we made it all the way up to Chicago to discover that Ella had a ridiculously high fever and was very sick. We spent a tortured night there and had a long and horrible drive back. Anyhow, it was definitely a better trip this time.

We got up Saturday morning and headed straight to Shedd Aquarium. We got there just as it opened and had no problem parking or getting in. By the time we got in they were having their first show at the big center aquarium which was a diver that would show you stuff. The big center aquarium has a huge turtle, sharks, and a ton of really cool big fish. Then we wandered around all the different habitat aquariums. Some of the favorites were the sea horses / sea dragons (Mary’s favorite), the jelly fish (Truman’s favorite), frogs, etc.

Then we headed down to the big oceanarium area and saw the sea otters and got ready for the dolphin show. By this point, the kids were all tired and hungry and just barely hanging on. Truman started throwing a fit, so I took him out of the show and down a level, to where you could see the dolphin tank from underneath. That was actually more interesting. Man they swim fast.

After the show we grabbed lunch which helped everyone get in a better mood. Then we took another trip down to the lower level and saw the baby Beluga whale (very very cool) and the penguins, who were a lot of fun. Pics here.

After the aquarium we drove around downtown a bit trying to find a good place to park. The kids napped (which they desperately needed). We were headed to the American Girl store, which apparently is some kind of weird cult that I don’t need to know anything more about. Lots of very well-dressed little girls carrying their dolls around (dressed the same way). Mary and Ella headed into the temple and us boys headed to the Disney Store. Truman scoped out some Power Rangers he wanted (the girl Rangers, heavily on clearance – score!) which he later played with for about 5 hrs straight on the way home. Apparently the girls did not fare so well. Ella threw a fit in the AG temple and scared a lot of prim girls so Mary had to remove her from the store. These things happen.

After all that excitement we headed for home. It was a long drive but mostly passed without incident. Beck slept a good chunk of the way, Truman was in Power Ranger heaven, and Ella pretty much just chilled. All in all, a good trip.

Sunday at the Garden September 1, 2007

Last Sunday was a beautiful day in St. Louis so we headed out early to the Missouri Botanical Garden and had a great walk with the kids. We also took a bunch of pics and here are some of the best / most fun.

A trip to the track June 25, 2007

I took the kids out to the racetrack yesterday to see Cleezmo race. We got there and got to see one race. Every time the bikes went by, Tru would run to the fence to catch a glimpse. They were also really excited to share some orange Gatorade and had orange mustaches half the time we were there.

Here’s some pics of Truman and Ella sitting on Jeff’s bike. Notice Ella in full thumbs-up mode!

Just before Jeff was ready to race, the skies opened up and it rained hard for a pretty long time. Seda helped me run the kids over to the trailer and the kids hung out in there for a while as it poured down rain. Truman was looking a little out of it (he had some kind of bug the day before). Eventually, it looked like it wasn’t letting up, so Seda helped me take the kids to the bathroom and the car. Many thanks to Seda for her help!!!

Here’s the view from the trailer of the guys huddled in the tent as it pours down rain:

Anyhow, after we left, we headed for home. As soon as we got on 44, the skies turned bright blue and sunny. I’m not sure we even got much rain at home – the nasty storm was apparently parked right over the race track.

So, we didn’t get to see Jeff race, but the kids were excited about it none the less. Truman told Mary quite seriously all about the race bike and how you had to lean over to reach the handles.

New look June 18, 2007

I came home today to find Truman sporting a new look. Apparently he was trying to put on makeup with a marker, thankfully a washable one. If you look closely you’ll notice that his work extends to both his scalp and his neck.

I want to ride a bicycle May 31, 2007

…as Queen once said. This past weekend we went out and bought the first bikes for Ella and Truman. Ella complained about having to wear shorts instead of a dress but relented once she saw the cool princess bike they had. She also got a Barbie helmet. She especially liked the pouch up front where she could put her dolls to give them a ride. Truman got a Diego bike and a helmet with dinosaurs on it. They were both really excited.

We went to a school parking lot and spent a while riding the bikes around. Ella does pretty well. If she slows down too much she gets stuck and frustrated, but if she can keep moving she can pretty much do things herself. Truman has a lot of problems keeping the pedals moving forward and tends to move them backwards, hitting the brake instead and stopping his progress. But they both seem to enjoy it and want to keep doing it after several times out so hopefully they will continue to improve.

Check out some pictures here.