Thursday, October 27, 2011
Biography day!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Jr. K Chapel
Caroline's class was the first to present in chapel this year. Their theme was "What I am going to be when I grow up", empahasizing that they would be a Christian first and then their job. They all dressed up and participated with a song and scripture. Then they led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance, Grand Ole Flag and the school song. Caroline was an artist and was nervous about her lines. They looked and sounded great. Some of the other occupations were vet, dentist, construction worker, ballerina and a knight!
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| Caroline the artist |
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| She was excited! |
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| Ava, the dentist with Caroline, the artist |
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| Caroline, the artist and Evelyn, the teacher |
Friday, October 21, 2011
Exploring Sr. K
Harding hosted an Exploration into Sr. K this week after school. It was a time for the Jr. K students to meet the Sr. K. teachers, learn some things they will get to do in Sr. K and explore around the places they do not experience in Jr. K. Caroline enjoyed it, especially the candy and getting her "passport" stamped by all the teachers. She loved making a pumpkin on the computers in the big computer lab. Great experience for her. She thinks she is ready to be "up the hill" which is first grade....not so fast my friend!
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| helping a volcano explode with Miss Kim in the science lab |
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| decorating a pumpkin and writing about it with miss tracy |
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| honing those math skills by sorting candy corn with miss claire |
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| hanging out in the computer lab with mrs. mcbride |
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
All about American Girl Sunday
The only thing we had planned for Sunday was to visit the American Girl Place store on Michigan Avenue. Luckily this worked out fantastically because the Chicago Marathon was taking place on the southend of Michigan Avenue and most of downtown. We avoided most of that which was great since there are 45,000 participants and it was a warm sunny day!!
The girls were so excited. We had brunch reservations and decided to arrive at the store right when it opened so the girls could get their dolls' hair styled before brunch. We then sat down for brunch which was very good. We enjoyed the food and the fun little games they have for you at your table. With our stomachs full we headed to the T-Shirt "store" in the store and let the girls create and print a t-shirt for themselves and their dolls. This was something we had not seen in the Dallas store so it was fun for the girls.
Then on to shopping. The girls knew they could pick 2 things plus a small thing to have for their dolls. Then we told them they could ask for some things for Christmas that either we could get them or Santa Claus could bring. Gary walked around behind the girls and filled up a shopping bag with a few things for Christmas which we were able to ship home for a small shipping fee. That worked out very well and will save us in the long run!! We really enjoyed the HUGE store and seeing everything from the catalog. Being the CPA that I am asked the checkout girls what the store sold on an average day. She told me $250,000 was a pretty typical day's goal and during the holiday season it was double that to $500,000. I was amazed, but not really when I think about it. They have pretty large price tags on most things in the store. We had a great time and the girls really enjoyed it.
We stopped by the Nike store on Michigan Avenue so I could grab some LiveStrong apparel and it was a madhouse. They are one of the official sponsors of the Chicago Marathon. They had 3 floors of marathon apparel for sale and had a live twitter and video feed of the finish line on a huge TV on the first floor. It was very chaotic so I grabbed the t-shirt that looked best and we headed back out the door!!
We got back to the hotel and finished packing and headed for the train station so we could ride back to the airport. What a great trip. Very few hiccups and the girls had a good time. We definitely should have worn pedometers but our hotel was in a great place where we were just 2 blocks off Michigan and could walk so many places. Great fall break!!
The girls were so excited. We had brunch reservations and decided to arrive at the store right when it opened so the girls could get their dolls' hair styled before brunch. We then sat down for brunch which was very good. We enjoyed the food and the fun little games they have for you at your table. With our stomachs full we headed to the T-Shirt "store" in the store and let the girls create and print a t-shirt for themselves and their dolls. This was something we had not seen in the Dallas store so it was fun for the girls.
Then on to shopping. The girls knew they could pick 2 things plus a small thing to have for their dolls. Then we told them they could ask for some things for Christmas that either we could get them or Santa Claus could bring. Gary walked around behind the girls and filled up a shopping bag with a few things for Christmas which we were able to ship home for a small shipping fee. That worked out very well and will save us in the long run!! We really enjoyed the HUGE store and seeing everything from the catalog. Being the CPA that I am asked the checkout girls what the store sold on an average day. She told me $250,000 was a pretty typical day's goal and during the holiday season it was double that to $500,000. I was amazed, but not really when I think about it. They have pretty large price tags on most things in the store. We had a great time and the girls really enjoyed it.
We stopped by the Nike store on Michigan Avenue so I could grab some LiveStrong apparel and it was a madhouse. They are one of the official sponsors of the Chicago Marathon. They had 3 floors of marathon apparel for sale and had a live twitter and video feed of the finish line on a huge TV on the first floor. It was very chaotic so I grabbed the t-shirt that looked best and we headed back out the door!!
We got back to the hotel and finished packing and headed for the train station so we could ride back to the airport. What a great trip. Very few hiccups and the girls had a good time. We definitely should have worn pedometers but our hotel was in a great place where we were just 2 blocks off Michigan and could walk so many places. Great fall break!!
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| arriving as the store opened |
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| caroline with her doll after the hair salon |
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| anna with her doll after the hair salon |
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| gary is all smiles at brunch! |
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| caroline says bring on the pancakes! |
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| anna with rosie |
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| great brunch and great time at AG Place! |
Chicago Day 4
Surely we could recover from our not so favorite day on Friday. We surprised the girls with tickets to Pinkalicious, the Musical based on the cute children's book. The girls were excited. It was in the Broadway Playhouse Theater which is next door to the American Girl Place store in the Water Tower Mall area. We got the girls dressed up and headed to the show which was at 10am on Saturday morning. It was so good, funny and just what we needed. The girls had a blast and Gary and I were rolling at the humor in the story. It was about an hour and afterwards we got to stick around for autographs and pictures with the cast. What a great show and glad I saw online that it was playing while we were in town. Taught me always to find a parent website for the city we are visiting to find the not so well known stuff to do in town!
We went back to the hotel to change and get in some casual clothes and head to Navy Pier. We thought we could spend the rest of our day there and enjoy the beautiful warm day. We took a cab and arrived for a late lunch. We ate at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. restaurant. Of course the girls had no idea what this was or the references to Forrest Gump but we explained the best we could. One little keeping it real point about this restaurant. Caroline had to use the bathroom (as she does in every single public place we go) and so I said I would take her after we ordered our food. The restaurant could seat probably 400-500 people at least. They had TWO TOILETS in the women's bathroom. What in the world? This has to be against code!! Gary thought I was going to complain to the manager, but kept my cool and we went on with our day. Yummy lunch outside and onto the Chicago Children's Museum. We arrived in time to do the art room special project which was to make your own costume. They had an actual costume designer from one of Chicago's theatres there to help the kids with ideas, to help cut and sew their own creations. Anna made a white dress that served as an ice cream cone and Caroline made a dragonfly costume with wings. It was definitely fun. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the museum and enjoyed lots of fun activities. It closed at 5pm, so we headed over to do some rides/games. We all rode the huge Ferris Wheel. So proud of Gary who does not normally ride Ferris Wheels. Anna and I rode the Swings while Caroline (who was not tall enough for the swings) and Gary (who said heck no when I asked if he wanted to ride them) checked out Lake Michigan. We all played mini golf and then ate dinner at Harry Carray's Tavern. We got to watch some of the Auburn/Arkansas game while waiting for our table and while eating dinner (not a huge SEC market there!) but we lost very badly so not sad we did not see the whole game!! We thought we would hang out for the fireworks but the girls were fading and so we hopped in the cab and headed back to the hotel. We watched more football, started packing our suitcases and chilled out for the rest of the night.
We went back to the hotel to change and get in some casual clothes and head to Navy Pier. We thought we could spend the rest of our day there and enjoy the beautiful warm day. We took a cab and arrived for a late lunch. We ate at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. restaurant. Of course the girls had no idea what this was or the references to Forrest Gump but we explained the best we could. One little keeping it real point about this restaurant. Caroline had to use the bathroom (as she does in every single public place we go) and so I said I would take her after we ordered our food. The restaurant could seat probably 400-500 people at least. They had TWO TOILETS in the women's bathroom. What in the world? This has to be against code!! Gary thought I was going to complain to the manager, but kept my cool and we went on with our day. Yummy lunch outside and onto the Chicago Children's Museum. We arrived in time to do the art room special project which was to make your own costume. They had an actual costume designer from one of Chicago's theatres there to help the kids with ideas, to help cut and sew their own creations. Anna made a white dress that served as an ice cream cone and Caroline made a dragonfly costume with wings. It was definitely fun. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the museum and enjoyed lots of fun activities. It closed at 5pm, so we headed over to do some rides/games. We all rode the huge Ferris Wheel. So proud of Gary who does not normally ride Ferris Wheels. Anna and I rode the Swings while Caroline (who was not tall enough for the swings) and Gary (who said heck no when I asked if he wanted to ride them) checked out Lake Michigan. We all played mini golf and then ate dinner at Harry Carray's Tavern. We got to watch some of the Auburn/Arkansas game while waiting for our table and while eating dinner (not a huge SEC market there!) but we lost very badly so not sad we did not see the whole game!! We thought we would hang out for the fireworks but the girls were fading and so we hopped in the cab and headed back to the hotel. We watched more football, started packing our suitcases and chilled out for the rest of the night.
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| Pinkalicious!! |
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| Excited for the show! |
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| Autographs and pictures with the cast afterwards...here's Pinkalicioous herself! |
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| tribute to Steve Jobs and had grown during the week @ the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue |
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| Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. for lunch |
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| Navy Pier!! |
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| getting in line for the ferris wheel ride |
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| Gary's antiperspirant was in full force on the ferris wheel at Navy Pier!! |
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| Gorgeous day at Navy Pier |
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| anna's handmade costume (ice cream cone complete with cherry on top!) |
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| caroline the dragonfly |
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| dinner at harry carray's tavern @ Navy Pier |
Chicago Day 3
We got up on Friday and decided to give the Field Museum a try with the kids. We knew that the big T-Rex skeleton was there and thought we would enjoy it. After about 30 minutes, we knew we would not be enjoying the Field Museum as much as we had hoped. Lots of stuffed birds, animals, etc. and lots of dinosaurs. Not really my cup of tea. The girls really did not mind it and were enjoying it but Gary and I were bored to tears. We decided to stay for about 2 hours, eat lunch at the Corner Bakery inside the museum (very yummy) and then chalk up that to not our favorite Chicago tourist attraction.
We had taken a cab to the museum but decided to walk back (not telling the girls it was 2 miles) and enjoy a few things along the way. We wanted to see Buckingham Fountain (seen at the beginning of the Married With Children TV show and many movies) and is the largest outdoor fountain in the US. It was in the middle of the Chicago Marathon chaos (have I mentioned yet that the 45,000 participant marathon was scheduled for downtown Chicago on Sunday??) and took some creativity to get to it but neat to see and watch the water spray into the air. We then headed back to Millenium Park to take more funny pictures of the "Bean" and have a snack and rest our feet a bit. Finally back at the hotel. Now to figure out what's for dinner??
I really wanted to see Oprah's television studios, even though the show is over, still cool to see the iconic studios that housed television's #1 talkshow for 25 years. We took a cab to see that and snap some cheesy tourist pictures of the studio and the magazine offices and then to the United Center to see the Michael Jordan statue (pretty quiet place due to the lockout!!) and then to a local restaurant nearby, claimed to be best for kids in the area. Not very good food, but nice to sit outside and have a casual meal.
Friday was not our favorite day, but at least we saw some sights, got in some good exercise and had fun with the family. The kids have been great on the trip. They love riding in cabs, but know that some things are close and we can just walk. Very few complaints from the girls which made for happy parents.
We had taken a cab to the museum but decided to walk back (not telling the girls it was 2 miles) and enjoy a few things along the way. We wanted to see Buckingham Fountain (seen at the beginning of the Married With Children TV show and many movies) and is the largest outdoor fountain in the US. It was in the middle of the Chicago Marathon chaos (have I mentioned yet that the 45,000 participant marathon was scheduled for downtown Chicago on Sunday??) and took some creativity to get to it but neat to see and watch the water spray into the air. We then headed back to Millenium Park to take more funny pictures of the "Bean" and have a snack and rest our feet a bit. Finally back at the hotel. Now to figure out what's for dinner??
I really wanted to see Oprah's television studios, even though the show is over, still cool to see the iconic studios that housed television's #1 talkshow for 25 years. We took a cab to see that and snap some cheesy tourist pictures of the studio and the magazine offices and then to the United Center to see the Michael Jordan statue (pretty quiet place due to the lockout!!) and then to a local restaurant nearby, claimed to be best for kids in the area. Not very good food, but nice to sit outside and have a casual meal.
Friday was not our favorite day, but at least we saw some sights, got in some good exercise and had fun with the family. The kids have been great on the trip. They love riding in cabs, but know that some things are close and we can just walk. Very few complaints from the girls which made for happy parents.
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| "Sue" the T-rex! |
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| not hard to see why it took years and years to put the skeleton together just right! |
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| caroline acting like a mummy |
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| "we're having fun, right?" |
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| gary and caroline deciding what to do next |
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| buckingham fountain |
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| NBC building |
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| gary's status for the chicago marathon |
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| michael jordan!! |
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| still cool even though the Oprah Show is over |
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| she owns the whole block! |
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| the girls "window cleaning" at the john hancock observatory |
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Chicago Day 2
After such a full day 1 in Chicago, we knew the girls would be ready to rest (after some silliness in the hotel room) and ready to be on the road on Thursday morning. They were excited about going to the Shedd Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the US except for the recently opened Atlanta Aquarium. It is beautiful and part of the Museum Campus in Chicago on the lakefront. We traveled by taxi cab about 2 miles from the hotel. The girls were thrilled to be riding in a cab. Even had me snap their picture inside!! We spent 6 hours at the aquarium. They had so much to see and do including a beluga whale show, sea lions, jellyfish exhibit, a "chat" with a diver inside the main tank, 2 4-D movies, and much more. We ate lunch there overlooking the lake and had a great time. We were pretty tired when we finished, so we headed back to the hotel to rest a bit and plan something for dinner/evening time.
We decided to walk down Michigan Avenue to the John Hancock building which has a beautiful observatory on the top floor. It was included in our CityPass booklets as an attraction, so we checked it out. It was great. They had audio tours that were self guided using a headset with a separate tour for the kids. Each window you viewed the city through had 3-5 things to see and listen about. The girls really enjoyed it and so did Gary. We spent a while going around the entire observation deck and learned a lot. Even though the Willis Tower is taller and more of a tourist attraction, the John Hancock observatory was much better for learning about the city and having a 360 degree view of the city from above. We enjoyed some hot chocolate and then headed to the Cheesecake Factory which was at the bottom of the tower. The girls loved it and we enjoyed seeing the new "Skinny" menu which had caloric counts included and all entrees below a certain caloric threshold. Made for easier ordering for the parents!
We walked back to the hotel and settled in at the end of Day 2. Great day and really are enjoying being in Chicago. The weather is low 70's during the day and upper 50's at night. Perfect!
We decided to walk down Michigan Avenue to the John Hancock building which has a beautiful observatory on the top floor. It was included in our CityPass booklets as an attraction, so we checked it out. It was great. They had audio tours that were self guided using a headset with a separate tour for the kids. Each window you viewed the city through had 3-5 things to see and listen about. The girls really enjoyed it and so did Gary. We spent a while going around the entire observation deck and learned a lot. Even though the Willis Tower is taller and more of a tourist attraction, the John Hancock observatory was much better for learning about the city and having a 360 degree view of the city from above. We enjoyed some hot chocolate and then headed to the Cheesecake Factory which was at the bottom of the tower. The girls loved it and we enjoyed seeing the new "Skinny" menu which had caloric counts included and all entrees below a certain caloric threshold. Made for easier ordering for the parents!
We walked back to the hotel and settled in at the end of Day 2. Great day and really are enjoying being in Chicago. The weather is low 70's during the day and upper 50's at night. Perfect!
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| first taxi cab ride!! |
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| excited about the shedd aquarium! |
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| 4-D Happy Feet movie |
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| lots and lots of different kinds of jellyfish |
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| exploring at the aquarium |
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| waiting for the diver in the huge tank |
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| cool indoor pool for the whales and dolphins overlooking lake michigan |
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| so this is what a starfish feels like??!! |
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| beluga whales!! |
Chicago!!
We planned our fall break trip to Chicago several months ago and the girls were so excited to fly there and enjoy the city. I am a big planner and tried to think through our travel plans, transportation, hotel, sights, etc. before we ever got there so we would not have to stress. Everything went fairly smoothly with no missed flights or instances of getting lost, which is a plus in a new town! We flew up on Wednesday morning and were there by lunchtime. We navigated the "El" which stands for elevated train. The girls knew about the train and were anxious to be on it....not to anxious after about 45 minutes of traveling, but still can't beat that $2 train fare to the hotel!! We did not rent a car because a) we did not want to navigate downtown Chicago and b) it was going to be $42 a day to park it at our hotel!!
After getting checked in we decided to walk around for a bit and see some sights. The girls were dying to take a cab somewhere but we promised them we could do that later. We walked to Millenium Park to see "The Bean" which is a silver/mirrored exhibit that resembles a giant metallic bean. It is cool and a must for a photo op in Chicago. We let the girls play a while in the park and then kept walking. We stopped for pictures at the Chicago Art Museum (as seen in my favorite movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and then heaaded to Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower). The girls were excited to walk out on the "Sky Ledge" which are 4 glass boxes that protrude from the top floor of Willis Tower which is the tallest skyscraper in Chicago. They loved it!! Not much to do when you are up there but look around and if you are scared of heights, it is not the place for you!!
We got an ice cream cone for a treat before heading to the river to try and catch a boat tour. We had heard this was the best way to see the various parts of the city and understand all the history to the buildings all around town and on the water. We took a 90 minute tour that started at 6pm so we go to enjoy sunset. It was stunning and such a great way to see everything and learn. The girls absolutely loved it.
Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to grab our jackets and then walk to dinner at a great restaruatn nearby for famous Chicago pizza! We took the girls for Deep Dish Pizza that night. It can take up to 45 minutes to cook so glad the girls were patient and pacified with bread!!
Great first day. We were all tired and the girls were pretty easy at bedtime, which is how I like it when we are all in the room together!
After getting checked in we decided to walk around for a bit and see some sights. The girls were dying to take a cab somewhere but we promised them we could do that later. We walked to Millenium Park to see "The Bean" which is a silver/mirrored exhibit that resembles a giant metallic bean. It is cool and a must for a photo op in Chicago. We let the girls play a while in the park and then kept walking. We stopped for pictures at the Chicago Art Museum (as seen in my favorite movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and then heaaded to Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower). The girls were excited to walk out on the "Sky Ledge" which are 4 glass boxes that protrude from the top floor of Willis Tower which is the tallest skyscraper in Chicago. They loved it!! Not much to do when you are up there but look around and if you are scared of heights, it is not the place for you!!
We got an ice cream cone for a treat before heading to the river to try and catch a boat tour. We had heard this was the best way to see the various parts of the city and understand all the history to the buildings all around town and on the water. We took a 90 minute tour that started at 6pm so we go to enjoy sunset. It was stunning and such a great way to see everything and learn. The girls absolutely loved it.
Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to grab our jackets and then walk to dinner at a great restaruatn nearby for famous Chicago pizza! We took the girls for Deep Dish Pizza that night. It can take up to 45 minutes to cook so glad the girls were patient and pacified with bread!!
Great first day. We were all tired and the girls were pretty easy at bedtime, which is how I like it when we are all in the room together!
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| the "bean" in millenium park |
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| the girls enjoying our first day in chicago |
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| acting scared of the lion at the art museum...who knows? |
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| ready to venture up 92 floors to the skydeck! |
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| ready for the skydeck |
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planking on the sky deck....gary had his eyes closed!!  anna enjoying the heights!  enjoying the boat tour/ride  |
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