With a week off of school, a couple of birthdays in the family, and Mom and Dad Hanks coming in for a visit, a trip to Chicago was in the stars for us.
We went for a walk to Waterfall Glen
Posed for muchos picture-os.
Showed the kids the wonders of the natural world - including why its not smart to jump into waterfalls.
Took family pictures. With BOTH kids smiling - not an insignificant occurrence.
We took a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry near downtown Chicago. The kids liked making the shapes move on the shadow wall.
We drove submarines (who knew submarines had steering wheels?)
We practiced flying airplanes with a real pilot!
Got back to our Eastern Idaho roots with some John Deere action.
Practiced looking cute for all the boys.
Tried to figure out how those little chickens come out of the eggs.
Then it was onto the most important part of the trip - Brian's birthday.
We played Pin the Tail on the Donkey, and checked to see if cheating starts at age 2.
Wes must learn the cheating from his Mom. Even he is surprised how close she can get blindfolded.
Next up: presents and cake
It was tough to top the "ultimate present", but the kids diligently helped unwrap everything to make sure nothing topped it.
The next day took us to a pumpkin farm. Sydney LOVED the animals and was not shy at all of seeing them up close.
She even got to ride in the Cool Bus.
The chickens were a hit. Probably because they were smaller than even the 1 year old population.
Sitting on the tractors was fun, but not as fun as...
Taking a hay ride!
Giant slides were cool. Taking shoes off to ride on them was just cold.
Corn mazes were muddy but adventurous.
We even saw a real train. The kids showed a reverence normally reserved for religious figures.
Cousin time was fun. Especially when whacking Uncle Kevin with balloons.
We even got a kitchen picnic in with Grandma before everyone went their separate ways.
Good times were had by all.
Wes was a cute elephant! He enjoyed dressing up, which sort of surprised me.
Sydney was a peanut!
The little peanut with her dad.
Wes and Hayden the Jedi.
Trick-or-treating around the business school.
The kids got their picture with Dean Dolan.
On Halloween, the Gray's had a fun Halloween party so we all got dressed up!
Brian and I were mad scientists. Brian's holding the brain he made and I'm holding my box of lab rats.
These are my lab rats that I brought for people to eat!
Wes was a great supporter while Brian did the apple bobbing for the Hanks team!
He sacrificed getting wet in the cold night air to get a great time in the apple bobbing.
Here are all the kids (minus Jude, he wasn't there yet) in their costumes. Sydney's the lone girl!
