Fun at the new park

Busy day today, we were in South Bend, so we went to the new park by the zoo. Really great play equipment, kids had a blast.

Gymnastics and Soccer

Lily loves her gymnastics, and Jack likes his soccer.

Let's get on the bus.

I could make a joke about riding the short bus, or one on Asian drivers, but I won't. We had a great time, thanks for having us Grandma and Grandpa!!

More to do...

Had to do it Julia

Could not resist putting this one on. I think Julia has found a new hobby.. bellydancing.

China exhibit

Puppet shows and Plays

We went to a great children's museum in Waterloo and got there ahead of the crowd. We were able to put on a couple of puppet shows. One was "itsy bitsy spider." Then grandpa and Jack put on a play as a lion and a turtle and Lily and I joined in as a flower and a turkey. Young thespians in the making.

Spending time with Grandma and Grandpa

Jack loves to do yoga with Grandpa and Lily went shopping with Grandma and myself.

Pasta night at Grandma and Grandpa Romanin's!

Our annual trip to Iowa to see the grandparents started off with a great bowl of spaghetti. They are in the process of remodeling their house. It was so great of them to add us on to the chaos.

At the Car Wash

The kids thought this was fantastic, we should have thought of this sooner. Jack took it very seriously, very cute.

Santi and Nico's birthday party.

Sat. we went to Santi and Nico's birthday party at Build a Bear. Seven kids under the age of 3 at Build a Bear was quite something. Forgot the camera, but it was all a blur anyway. Most of the kids had fun. Afterwards, we went to my house for a little celebration. Here's Santi and Nico blowing out their candles on their "cake." We'll just leave it at that.

Alex and the group

Here's Christina's other son Alex, and some of the kids from the group. We haven't gotten together in some time so it was nice to see everyone and there were some new ones.

Fun at the kids table

This weekend it was all about kids. My friend, Christina, was visiting from Albuquerque with her boys Julian and Alex. They used to be part of the friday play group. Anyway, here's Jack, Julian, Lily and Gracie having fun at the kids table. It's a popular spot for lunch time. They were kinda clicky and didn't let anyone join them. Must have been a private joke Jack told, if we only knew what he said.

Girls date night

I called this date night because we had a romantic Italian dinner and then watched the Belagio water light show. We had to get up early to catch our flights, so it was an early night (In Vegas standards).

Viva Las Vegas!!

We ate at this great Chinese restaurant before hitting the town. It ended up being a very rough morning for me the next day. So worth it to be with my best friends.

Catching the sites

We stayed at the Mandalay Bay hotel. It was beautiful, however, forgot to take pictures of it. On the other hand, the Belagio and the Venetian were spectacular. They were also very crowded. If you ever take a trip to Las Vegas, Mandalay bay would be my choice again. It's at the end of the strip, low crowds, really nice pools and nice rooms. Great spa and great restaurants. We went to great night club on top of the Four Seasons hotel, which was attached to our hotel, talk about views.

Las Vegas

My college reunion with my girlfriends got a little spicer this year. We decided to go to Vegas. Sarah wasn't able to come this year, so it was just Ash, Becky, and myself. Here they are in front of the Paris fountain. Oh, just FYI, since this is a "family friendly" blog, I am only showing the PG photos...ha ha.

Stingray bay

We were able to touch stingrays, so cool-I don't get out much. Anyway, Jack was too nervous, but Lily waited, although she was too short to reach. One got really close to her and she got scared and then the stingray got scared and jumped. Alejandra and I were able to touch some. Here she is with Lily. After that, the kids got popcicles, and saw most of the zoo. They ended up falling asleep and then we decided to leave. They slept in the car almost the whole ride home. It was a great day.

Family Zoo

It's been awhile since I've been to Brookfield, but they have some new exhibits. This one the kids get to dress up like birds and pretend to have a nest. Jack is thinking "man, it's pretty boring being a bird." Lily on the other hand had her one and only (thank goodness) meltdown as shown. She wasn't getting enough attention of her bird protrayal so she started screaming at the top her lungs. The next photo is just a sample of the many expressions Lily likes to display. She's all drama.

Brookfield Zoo

Ok, I know, another zoo. I love zoos, what can I say. The kids and I, plus Alejandra, (their babysitter) drove to Chicago to Brookfield zoo. It was a perfect day and the kids were great, and it wasn't real busy. Plus having extra hands was awesome. Here is Lily in the butterfly house.