The Armstrongs take on the Shedd

Saturday we had several showing requests spaced inconviently throughout the day. We decided it would be easier if we just left early in the day and came home when it was all done! We packed up the kids and road tripped to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. We left bright and early at 8:30 ( I vaguely remember the days when I didn't even know what the world looked like this early in the morning) and hit the road. The kids really enjoyed seeing all the beautiful and brightly colored fish, and coral etc... We also took them to the shark exhibit, the Kimono Dragon exhibit and the Dolphin show. We saw so many wonderful and amazing creatures.

While watching the penguins and listening to the guy talk about them, one of the penguins that was standing in front of Gavin, well to put it delicately had to go #1 or #2, were not sure... but when he went it sort of sprayed out from behind him and into the water.Gavin thought this was hilarious and kept yelling "Penguin pee in water! He pee in water! over and over again, much to the delight of the crowd! We really all had a great time. Depsite having no nap and not getting home until 10:30 pm the kids were so well behaved the whole day, which makes it so much nicer! Here are some pics of the kids and some of their favorites.

A chameleon

Some kind of lizard thingy

Isn't it fun to pretend?!

Cole, a lizard, and some kid

With a litle help Gavin is able to get in some "face time"

Cole working hard to get his souvenir

....still working....

sweet success!

After about 20 tries I was finally able to capture them jumping!

Enjoying a little break after the dolphin show

Cole wanted a tattoo of a shark on his hand...
The finished product...

Gavin wanted a turtle on his face....
The finished product....

5 minutes later....

These are Garden Eels... pretty neat huh? The actully

burrow themselves down into the sand like that and

their bodies and heads stick out!

Fumanchoo Lion Fish

NEMO!!!

I don't remember what this is called, but it sure was purty!

Cole saddlin' up

The kids and Todd love watching Sting Ray swim.

Last summer Cole had the opportunity to pet a Sting Ray.

Chow!

Crazy Hair Day at school

The kids had crazy hair day at school this last week. Here's their new doo's.

Take me out to the ball game

Todd took a day off work last week and took Cole to a Brewer game. They had really great seats close to the field and I think near first base. Which worked out perfectly since one of Cole's favorite players and "big hitters" as he calls them is Prince Fielder who plays first base. I suprised the boys with matching jersey's. Cole was so excited to be able to wear the same thing as his Dad to the game. The got there a little early and Todd took him to do some of the things they have on the grounds for kids and he really had a great time. However when it was time for the game to start he was all business! Unfortunatley the Brewer's did not win but Cole informed me "It's okay Mom, they can try again next year." Despite the pouring rain he had a good time, till he got home and threw up all over his Dad's truck and the driveway! It was raining pretty hard so Todd didn't worry about cleaning up the driveway figuring Mother nature would take care of it. The next morning however, Cole called us over to show us a peice of his hot dog that he had thrown up the night before, still in the driveway.. so much for Mother nature!

Cole and his Hero!

Cole as the "hot dog" finishes 2nd behind the "chorizo", who clearly had a little advantage!

From not too far, Cole was able to watch one his favorite players in action!

Having a little fun before the game

Getting ready for Spring

We've had just enough nice days for me to really see how much Cole has grown! I took him outside to ride his bike and it didn't take long to realize he'd outgrown it! I also had to adjust the height on the handle bars of his scooter! So, Todd and I took him over Toys R US a couple weekends ago to allow him to pick out a new bike. He really had a hard time picking one out. He finally was able to narrow it down and pick one out. We brought it home and Cole and Gavin helped their Daddy put it together. They really enjoyed themselves. We did buy him one with

training wheels, however I am going to attempt to teach him this summer how to ride a two wheeler, so we'll see!

Checking out the merchandise

Taking it for a test drive!

Cole and Gavin give their Daddy a helping hand

Cole shows off his new ride!

Game On!

Cole is in so many ways a little man. At the age of 4 he's already a complete sports nut. He loves baseball, football and NASCAR. I turned the Brewer game on for him the other day. It was top of the ninth Brewers were tied and I found him in front of the TV standing the way his Daddy always stands when the game is close!

From the bathroom I could hear him yelling "GO BABY GO!" and "Sweeeet!", it was very endearing. Before I knew it, he had decided he needed to change into one of his other Brewer jerseys!

Much to our relief the Brewers got the job done in an extra inning, winning 4 to 3! Cole was very excited. He doesn't know it yet, but his Daddy got him tickets to a game next week on Thursday- he will as usual have a blast. This will be the 3rd season he's gone to games and he absolutely loves it. Last year one of the base coaches threw him a game ball after the game, and another time he got to run around the bases!