Our Last Goonies Weekend!

We had an exciting weekend that started with Jazz in the Sculpture Garden with the Kallaur family, Emily, Paul, Sam and little Lara. The girls enjoyed a little salsa dancing, bubble blowing, and a delicious picnic before heading over to our first (if you can believe it) trip to Dairy Godmother this summer for frozen custard.

On Saturday night, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of Katrina's favorite childhood movie - the Goonies - for our annual outdoor movie night!  In honor of the hunt for pirate treasure, the kids were led through a hunt for clues throughout the house to find treasure of their own (no booby traps - that's what I said! - though).  The kids were great at working as a team to decipher the clues. 

What starts with 't', ends with 't', and has 't' in it?  No, not a toilet Jack! A teapot - as Evie guessed correctly to find the next clue! 

Once all the clues were found, the kids got right to work putting together the pieces to form the treasure map.  X marks the spot!  Note the singed sides of the map - mom had an interesting time with the lighter this morning - luckily the whole map did not catch on fire! 

Ellie is having a blast on the hunt - or maybe it was all the gummy worms and gummy bears for our ice cream sundaes?!? After the hunt the kids went to town with multiple flavors - no rocky road though - whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and candy galore to make the most sugary sundaes you could imagine.  

The kids proudly hold up the treasure map and bags of their bounty of jewels and gold blocks (of candy)! Well done, treasure hunters! 

Then it was time to sit down and watch the movie, which Mom has seen so many times can practically quote every line. The kids particularly liked the scene where Chunk confessed all his misdeeds through the years. 

There were some scary parts, but amazingly Evie actually sat through most of the movie.  It must have helped to have Ella nearby.  Ellie, however, did NOT like the scenes with the Fratellis.  In the end, everyone seemed to have grown to love Sloth!  HEY YOU GUYS! 

Daddy provided comfort to his two girls during the scary parts.  It was an awesome night with our lovely neighbors and we are already planning our next movie, which if the girls get to choose, will be "Annie" of course.  

Chick in a car and the car won't go, that's how you spell CHICAGO!

It was off to the Windy City this weekend as we celebrated Mom's friend Jen's wedding and took the opportunity to introduce the girls to Chi-town. Mommy and Daddy showed the girls their ol' stomping grounds... actually, we ended up going places we never had been in our 2 years in Chicago, so it was quite an adventure for all. On Thursday we started the weekend with a dinner at Giordano's and ate our first deep dish pizza.  By the end of the trip, the family was experts at public transportation, via the L and the bus. 

The next morning, it was off to the Lincoln Park Zoo - what an oasis in the middle of the city, with what a view of the skyline! 

Our first animal sighting was a beautiful zebra, but we also saw sea lions, roaring lions, giraffes, gorillas, flamingos, birds, and the girls' favorite spot: the gift shop. 

There was also many sculptures around the park and this was one of Evie's favorites.

Ellie meanwhile wanted to pose by a telescope for some reason.

The girls and Daddy enjoyed riding their panda, tiger, and tree frog.  Luckily Daddy did not break the frog!

That afternoon, it was off to the church to see Jen and Ryan get married! The girls were well-behaved for the most part, and liked watching the flower girls go down the aisle.

After the wedding the girls were rewarded with Happy Meals at the biggest McDonalds they had ever been in!

On Saturday, Evie checked out the fountain outside the Art Institute before it opened its doors.  

Happy Fourth of July, America! 

Next, Evie takes over the camera to take some family pictures of the family, fashionably attired in red, white and blue!

About this time, Evie and Ellie started fighting over the stroller.  Unfortunately Mommy had a hard time getting them to sit still and appreciate the blue glow of Chagall's masterpiece, "America's Windows." The girls cheered up when they saw the miniature rooms exhibit, their favorite spot (besides the gift shop). 

Then it was off to Millennium Park where the girls were thrilled to play in the Crown Fountain.  The city was their playground!

Here's looking at one happy kid!

By the time we had a cheese picnic and made it to the "bean" though, the kids were ready for the REAL playground.

So off we went to one of the most amazing playgrounds we've ever seen!  The girls ran around the sea, a Brooklyn Bridge structure, and enchanted forest... while Mommy and Daddy just tried to keep track of them!  They took some brave plunges down some tall slides together, before hitting the spray park and getting completely soaked again!  That night, we ate at Eately and were so konked out that everyone slept through the fireworks!  Sounds like a typical Fourth for this family!

Finally, on Sunday we walked to Navy Pier to check out the children's museum, which was delightful.  The girls spent the most time at the Waterworks station - and it was a good thing they were wearing some rain coats! 

Daddy, Evie and Ellie push the lever to make the water shoot up and hit the bell!  It was a group effort that ended with laughs and splashes!

Ellie works on her portrait of Mommy, which apparently included a beard.

Here is Dad's super artistic guy!

In the tinkering lab, Evie creates a tower of blocks that would rival any Jenga structure.  The most fun part was at the end when she knocked it over with the help of Ellie of course.

The girls learned about fire safety and got to go down the fireman's pole.  This was the coolest museum ever!!! After a delicious brunch, we packed up and headed back to home, sweet, home!