A Weekend of Firsts

This weekend was a weekend of Firsts for our little family. We took the kids on their first trip to Chicago (to visit my brother and family), we went to our first Cards/Cubs game at Wrigley, we rode the train to and from Wrigley, we had Gino's deep dish pizza, we went downtown and took a water taxi to Navy Pier, rode the Ferris wheel (a first for me and the kids), went to Portillo's for Hotdogs, went to a really awesome park, ate at Five Guy's and Fries and then came home. It was a fun filled couple days and we are already plotting our next trip. On that agenda is Shedd's Aquarium (we tried to go on Saturday, but there was a 2 hour wait in line just to get in so we opted for the Navy Pier) and the Jelly Belly Factory tour. We took the kids to the pool at my brother's complex before the ride home to wear them out. The kids really had a lot of fun and were very good in the car both ways. Tyson had a great weekend playing with boys his size. He is so used to being outnumbered by all our girls that he was really enjoying himself. We can't wait to do it again.

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On the Water Taxi to Navy Pier

They LOVED the boat

Matt and I with the Chicago skyline in the background

My brother Clint and Me

Left to Right: Kaleb, Taylor, Aiden and Tyson

Cousins: Tyson and Aiden are both 2, Kaleb is 3 and Taylor is almost 5

Clint and the Kids

The Huge Ferris Wheel

Clint, Jasmina, Kaleb and Aiden in their Gondola on the Ferris Wheel

Tyson on the Ferris Wheel

Taylor on the Ferris Wheel

Train Conductors

Self Explanatory...Leaving Navy Pier

Chicago Skyline

Taylor and Tyson watching some bunny rabbits

Sliding at the park like a big boy

Weeeeeeee....Daddy was on the other end making her go up and down.

Cards vs. Cubs

This weekend we got the chance to visit my brother in Chicago and we were able to get tickets to the Cards vs. Cubs game. It was an amazing experience visiting such a historic stadium and even better when the Cards WON the game. We took the train to the stadium and then enjoyed the day.

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Had to have a pic in front of the stadium

Scoreboard

View from our seats. Even at the top it was a great view.

The Ivy and Rooftops were really neat

The Kids and Daddy in their seats (a cub fan told Taylor she was wearing the wrong sweatshirt-Thankfully she is way to smart for that)

Me and My Babies in our seats

HEY HEY

My Sister In Law is a CUB Fan. See we can get along. She was the outcast of our group!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

We took the kids to their first Cardinal game ever yesterday and they had a lot of fun. We got there an hour early and got to get pictures with Fredbird outside the stadium, stayed through the end of the 2nd inning and then opted to leave. It had started to rain and Taylor was feeling pretty sleepy. I think the shots got the best of her and she fell asleep in the car on the way home, so I doubt we would have made it through the whole game. They did excellent and were completely happy the entire time. We took the Metro Link over and back and Taylor loved it. She really liked riding the rain and seeing the big "RIBER" I think next time they will do even better.

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Taylor and Fredbird

Tyson wanted NO part of getting his picture taken alone with him, but was ok with all of us doing it with him.

Happy kids in their seats

We had them between us so they would be protected and unable to run free

Tyson drank A LOT of his gatorade and enjoyed every minute of it...the boy likes to drink!

...and likes to have his picture taken....CHEESE...I WOOK? (He has to see the picture on the camera after you take it)

Taylor was distracted by all the vendors walking around with things she liked....Cotton Candy, Ice Cream, Cracker Jacks etc.

But took a moment to say cheese with Tyson

Cheese

Down by the field

Our Cardinal Family

She was in Awe!

Tyson didn't want me to touch his gatorade...such a hard look!

Checking out the nice people behind us.

Shoving as many sweet tarts into his mouth as he could...Mr. Chipmunk cheeks.

At one point Tyson saw Fredbird on the Jumbo Screen and yelled....."WOOK.....DUCK" and then laughed. It was a good ending to a long day and we hope to do it again!

Almost Ready

Taylor had her Kindergarten physical yesterday afternoon. She had her eye exam last month. All that remains is a visit to the dentist. She's almost ready for school. I'm not quite sure I am ready though. Registration is at the end of June. My baby is growing up too fast. It will be bittersweet though because she is so excited to get to go to school and has been bugging me for the last 2 years to go. It's finally her turn!

Taylor's Biggest Littlest Fan

I gotta give Tyson his own post too because Taylor's was so long. He is one of sissy's biggest fans and wishes he could play too.

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Gooooo Tay-Tay!

Sitting in Mommy's chair watching sissy play

Very serious look. Huggly knocked him on his butt. He was NOT happy about it.

He folded in half and pouted for a minute to show is displeasure.

T-ball Days

Taylor's T-ball season officially started yesterday. It was more like soccer weather than t-ball weather, but it was still a blast. As usual her shirt is too big, but that doesn't stop her from having fun. She picked number 5 to be like Pujols. Smart kid if you ask me. I tried to narrow down the pics, but there are still a bunch on here and will have plenty more throughout the season.

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Taking the field for the first inning.

I call this CHAOS. They all run toward the ball and then back to where they started.

Watching the batter

Ready to field

Waiting her turn to bat

1st At-bat

She got a home run (the kid who bats last runs all the way around the bases)

Playing 1st base to start the next inning

Doing a little dancing while she was at it

She was 1st up the 2nd inning. Standing safe on first base.

2nd At-bat

3rd at-bat she let the coach pitch to her. She was really close to it on this swing.

I Love the follow through

After 3 pitches if they don't hit it they go back to the tee.

It was a great game. Every kid bats and plays the field every inning and they play 3 innings. During the 3 inning span our team made 3 actual outs. The kids were still safe at first, but to complete a play on the first day was great. I look forward to watching the rest of the season.