6.24.2013

wip 5.11.13

friday:
tried out a new pedicure place on a whim. was suggested to me by a friend and at the last minute, i thought why not today?

it was really nice.

forgot to take a picture until i got home.
don't my feet look ridiculously far away? and pardon the photo bombing cat. 


that evening we ran out to pick up some odds and ends from toys r us. ben's sand table contents had seen better days.


picked up some pizza on the way home. nick's favorite. with crumbly sausage. no we didn't order a pizza each. we had a coupon, so we got lots. couldn't figure out why they were wrapped differently when they were the exact same size. i think it was for stacking purposes.


got a phone call late that evening that we had some family members stranded at a local grocery store. nick ran out to help them everything was fine. just a dead battery. still not used to getting late night phone calls from our loved ones.

saturday:
decided to tackle ben's toys that were taking over the living room. i don't really have before and after pictures. mostly in process. 




felt good to purge and throw stuff away! we now have a learning area near his desk in the dining room area. {had to make room for some of this baby stuff too!}

chutes and ladders. one of his favorite games.




cleaned out ben's backpack during our game. i guess you can tell he's a little boy, huh? <3


that afternoon we celebrated mother's day at my grandma's restaurant of choice.
ben passed the time coloring with his invisible paper and markers.


my dad has a smart phone... and he knows how to use it!


what is it with little kids and creamer?


we actually got to order off of the menu. we normally go on holidays when they have a set menu. 
i really enjoyed the plate the ribs were on more than the ribs. oh well! 
  

the cake was ah-maz-ing!


my mom wanted fans. she's weird. i know. found these on amazon. they're really nice! ben loved playing with them.


the moms. missed my aunt who has moved to wisconsin.


on the way home we stopped to check out label makers. mine died. was hoping to organize and label the bins in ben's room.

then decided to walk to best buy. wanted to investigate laptops and got my mother's day gift... a new camera. i cracked the screen on my old one. it had lived a good life.

the sky was crazy. and loved my cute boys walking together ahead of the momma dragging behind.


ben is a fan of computers. kept trying to tell me that we should get this one!


came home to this awesome mother's day card from my aunt. love that she included. so much better than the cards she used to send me when i was pregnant with ben... they had octomom pictures and stories in them!



sunday:
decided to go to the aquarium for mother's day. the weather was supposed to be cold and rainy, so we opted for an indoor adventure.

got up and made it to the city early. were there right when it opened. yay for no lines! 



it was ben's first time at the aquarium. figured he would be a big fan since he loves the octonauts.





cheesy ben and sleepy momma.


he was so excited to point out the ones he knew from the show. ;)



finally convinced him that we should move on and see some other fishies.


look mom a big spider.


apparently, nick and i are pretty good at finding phallic objects in inappropriate places.


love that he was so excited and would listen to nick or i explain something. wish his attention span would have been just a teensy, tiny bit longer!



 

they had cool touch screens so you could easily swipe through and learn about everything that was in each tank.


a giant snow crab. again, we had just watched an octonauts episode that featured one of these guys.


and an eel. they always freak me out.


hi nemo!


love that they are 'green'.


ice age 3d. i had never seen this movie. nick said they were able to condense the full length movie into 10 minutes.


dolphin show!


ben and i went down to check out the dolphins. they had some beluga whales too.



think it's so cool how the windows open out to lake michigan.


the show was okay. think i liked the indy one a little better: that one was more showy and this one was more educational.



they had some penguins walk across the front. might be worth it to do again and sit in the front row just to see them up close and personal!



ben driving his submarine. ;-)





mommy enjoying a break!


ben wanted to play more in the penguin play zone than watch the penguins!




he got brave and touched some starfish. daddy had to show him that it wasn't scary, but he did it!





jelly fish! my favorite part. could have stayed there forever. they are just so darn cool.
all of the following photos are unedited. straight off the new camera. and yes, i'm going to share a lot. so scroll faster if you aren't interested.





















nick finally convinced me to leave the jellies.

ben loved these two crazy turtles fighting over some lettuce.




i told nick that i thought these fish were super cute. kinda rainbow-y and sparkly. um, they're piranhas. oops!



turned out to be a nice day when we finished and headed outside. the line to get in was insane. not sure why so many people were waiting when it was only going to be open for a few more hours.



pretty city + pretty sky = lots of photos. sorry!




love mister crazy faces.



ben wanted to run around and play on the hill outside. why not?






i see you sear's tower. no, it will not be willis tower. i don't care if that's the name. just like comisky will never be u.s. cellular.


hi belly. hi toes. hi shadow. hi dandelion.


ben couldn't wait to roll down the hill. here he goes!




daddy, let's do it again!


family photos hanging in the grass.



kisses


seriously. that sky. still makes me smile. {a month later!}

 


play time is over. time to head back to the car. ben wanted another ride from nick.


nick took the opportunity to run him into some trees.



walked around the back of the aquarium, all along the lake front.






i spy the planetarium.


the back of the aquarium. where the dolphin show was.


didn't even make it out of the parking lot. ;)


headed to nick's aunt's house. was a last minute thing. glad it worked out. ben loves seeing his cousins.

we got there and cousin megan took them outside to play with some bubbles. and of course, ben had to take out the new ball that aunt michelle gave him.







pile of cousins!




nick wanted to join in on the fun!


time to head inside and have desserts. now the cousins want to pile on cousin megan!





perfection! ben got a travel version. had it in his backpack. nick and megan thought they could beat it, no problem. took them forever. and help from gabby!



i think nick finished on his own after some practice too.


aunt michelle always has the best snackies.



'look ma. is my tongue blue?'


i think the kids tired out the grown ups....



they were still going strong, playing on the leap pad.


great day. happy we were able to work out seeing the family. love it when things work out like that!

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