Chicago, Snow, and Other Miscellaneous Things

We went to Chicago this week. My dad had a business conference so we went with him. We stayed on the Navy Base and were like the only ones in the guest house. There were only about five cars in the parking lot and I think we were the only ones on our floor. That was not a bad thing because six kids under the age of ten, we are pretty noisy!!!!! While we were there we went to the Shedd Aquarium, Legoland Discovery Place, and The American Girl place. The Shedd Aquarium wasn't our favorite since all the dolphins, whales, and penguins were on "vacation" while they were remodeling. It was not worth the money for the rest because all that was left was little fish that were not very colorful. I think we spent about an hour in there. We then relied on our GPS to get us to the American Girl Place. The girls each picked out a doll and bought it with their Christmas money from our Grandparents and our great aunt. Then on Wednesday we went to Legoland. That was a lot of fun for the boys. It was really cool. First we went through a jungle with Monkeys, tigers, spiders etc. made out of Legos. After that we got to ride the Dragon Ride. You got in a car shaped like a dragon and rode through a medieval castle and eventually got to the dragon who was guarding the treasure. Luke was so funny when we got there because he just looked at the dragon and said "Hi dragon!" After that we did a few other things and then we left. We spent most of the day there. We are very glad to be home.

The day before we left for Chicago it finally snowed enough to play in. It was the first time the new kiddos got to play in it. They had a blast!!!!!! I thought Luke and Tatiana would come in super fast but they were out there from lunch to about three or so. We had to make Luke come in! Luke, Matt, and Jason were outside until about three thirty and then we made them come in so they could have baths and everything. There is a small hill in the common area of our neighborhood. We took them down there for a little bit to go sledding and they had a lot of fun there too.

The kids are doing great! They are fun and silly all at the same time. Luke is just a little goofball. He loves to be funny and usually is. He loves to be the center of attention. He is totally the baby and is definitely treated like one. Tatiana is also very funny and is such a girly girl. She loves dresses and all of that though she doesn't like getting her hair done very much. She takes her time on everything. Jason loves his Legos. He is always found playing Legos with Josh and Matt. He loves to remind people of the rules . All the kids are so much fun and we are so grateful for them.

This month will make 5 months since gotcha day! In some ways it seems like it has been so much longer but when I count it out on the calendar, I always think "has it really been that long?" Before we know it, it will be November 25th and we will be celebrating one year as a family. It is hard to remember what life was like before they came nor would we want to.

Well I better go figure out what else needs to be done but I wanted to update the blog. I have so much fun posting so my posts tend to be on the long side. Here are some pictures of Chicago, Snow, and the museum.

Matt, Jason, and Josh in front of Indiana Jones.

Luke took all the snow on the couch and piled more on it. He packed it down and called it his bed. His expression is a classic Luke expression. He wears it all the time.