Here we go...

The boys had their first soccer games over the weekend. Both games ended in ties :)

First Day of Kindergarten

The day has arrived where this little guy headed off to kindergarten. He was more than ready! He was very nonchalant about going to school and riding the bus. They do a kind and gentle start here so only half the class went yesterday and the full class will be there today. Each kindergarten class is color coded for the first week so they can identify other kids in their class and the staff can better direct them to their classrooms.

Chicago

We kept telling the boys we were going to 'the Bean' and Macen wasn't impressed...until we got there. They loved it underneath where they found a few spots to distort themselves and make it look like they were running at warp speed.

It's gorgeous when it's lit up but it was raining when we saw it so no pics. While we didn't get to see Steven Tyler, we did see his tour bus later on.

I thought Macen would be a little afraid of the glass floor but he wasn't fazed a bit. Maddox was fascinated with looking at all the small stuff below so he had no time for pictures, lol.

This pictures doesn't do it justice. It wasn't that dark out there (or gloomy) but it was raining in the clouds which were low that day. Lake Michigan looked like it went on forever and with the sailboats out there, it looked magical. We told the boys they have now seen 3 sides of Lake Michigan with our trips to the IN Sand Dunes and to Grand Haven.

Sunday morning we found a park on the other side of Millennium Park. It was huge so the boys ran around for awhile before a quick run though the splash pad.

Our final stop was Navy Pier. We devoured some Chicago-style pizza and then walked the pier. We visited a funhouse here that we all really enjoyed. There was a mirror maze in the dark with strobe lights. It was pretty tricky getting out of it. Then we played Time Freak and Atomic Rush racing against time. The adults required a drink from Margaritaville after that.

We were pretty excited to be staying at the Hard Rock Hotel. The boys enjoyed it but James and I felt there wasn't much there. They do have their own rock shop though so the boys got a pin from the hotel and cafe to add to their collection. We did A LOT of walking and we were all exhausted. Maddox even fell asleep on the train ride back out to the car. I think we were pretty impressed with Chicago overall. We were on the Magnificent Mile so it was clean and we didn't worry about crime.

Wrigley Field

We finally got to a game at Wrigley Field. It really has that All American baseball feel to it. The boys got an autograph from Grichuk who later got a homerun during the game. The boys were excited for him! We were way up high in the bleachers but we were in the shade and had good views of the city. So glad we got a game in here!

First Day of 4th Grade

He said he had an awesome first day! He's pretty excited to be at a new school and have some fun options for lunch and recess. Priorities!

Bang! Splat!

The boys weren't sure what to think of this at first but its a definite repeat!

Purdue Fountains

We took a friend of Macen's with us and some beach balls. The balls get carried to the center - sometimes they fall to the ground and sometimes they stay stuck in the middle. The boys weren't happy when one wouldn't come back out even though they had several more to play with.

Hot Days, More Water

First we started with a water balloon fight. Then the boys drenched themselves.