Sunday, April 27, 2014

That time of year...Baseball Season

We will get our fill of baseball this spring and summer.  Andrew is on 3 teams (2 little league teams and 1 traveling team).  I usually don't go to all of his games due to the girls not wanting to go to ALL of them but make it to a good amount of them.  Clare isn't playing softball this year, so our schedule has freed up a bit. 




Easter




Nord children all dressed up.  Won't see Clare in a dress until another special occasions. :-)


Joesph's 4

We FINALLY were able to head over to Omaha for a quick visit.  Not only did we celebrate Joseph's birthday but we FINALLY were able to meet the newest member to the family.   Our first niece, Cecilia Irene was born Jan. 25th.   Cecilia looks healthy and has filled out nicely but soon after she was born, she was admitted to the hospital for RSV and visitors were limited.  We are so glad and thankful she is feeling better now.  What a happy, content baby she is!!



 Time to open gifts!!!  What did you get Joseph??

Ah, a new dump truck for outside.

Clare holding her new baby cousin.

A new sand table to play in.

What a cool fire truck cake!!!
Me and the Birthday Boy!!

Day 4 ~ Going Home

Back in Iowa...now two more hours to drive to pick up Ruth.

My mom watched Ruth while we were away.  I knew she wouldn't do well with all of the activities planned...too much walking and long days ahead.  I'm so thankful Ruth had a fun time with Grandma, however going to sleep without Clare was the hardest part.  Having the bedroom light on all night did the trick. 

Grandma spoiled her with lots of one on one attention, going out to eat, visiting Great Grandma a couple of times, and getting her a new Barbie and the movie Frozen.   Great memories for them both.


Saturday, April 26, 2014

Day 3 ~ Chicago

After breakfast, we went taxied to Field Museum.  This place has the largest amount of artifacts I've seen in awhile.  So much history there. 

I'm holding our City Pass tickets we used for our trip.  What a good purchase this was.  It saved us money and time in long lines. 

SUE is the largest, most complete, and best preserved T. rex fossil yet discovered.


In the exhibit,  where we are shrinking to the size of a bug in the ground.




Look how far the roots go down below the surface of the ground.
 Touching a meteor.
 Taking a break from all of our walking.
 Time to eat.
 Totem Poles from the Northwest Tribes.

 Sitting in an Earthen lodge.



















Soldier Field is right across the street from Field Museum.  No tours the day we were there. 

After the Field Museum, we headed back to the hotel.  The older two wanted to shop on Michigan Avenue and Clare wanted to swim.  So that's what we did.


Then around 5, we took a taxi to see the Bean.  We took our touristy pictures and then walked to Willis Tower to see the sunset.



We made it to Willis Tower.

 Views from at top.

Looking down on THE LEDGE, OMG, we are high!


Adler Planetarium, dome building to the left, Shedd Aquarium in the middle, and Field Museum (large white building to the right).

 Clare checking out the Windy City.
 The sunset wasn't as pretty this time around.  Too cloudy.  We actually left before it set to grab a bit to eat.

Can't leave Chicago without having Chicago Style Pizza.  YUMMY!!!!

What a busy day 3 we had!  Next stop, home bound.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Chicago-Day 2

After breakfast, we all loaded up in a taxi, which was a Prius.  Yep, all 5 of us squeezed in it, along with the driver too.  We headed to Shedd Aquarium. This place was phenomenal.  If you like fish or aquatic life, then this would be your place.  Fish from all parts of the globe are here.  This is how it is broken down or sections in the aquarium: Amazon Rising, Oceans, At Home on the Great Lakes, Islands and Lakes, Rivers, Wild Reef, Jellies, Caribbean Reef, Penguins, & Beluga Whales.

There were so many fish to look at but after about 3 hours the kids were checked out, ready to move on. 
A selfie of Clare and I on our way to the Aquarium.
Shedd's Aquarium-Man with Fish Fountain-side entrance

Garibaldi
octopus

Barred beakfish

Black legged poison dart frogs.
tortoise
touching a primitive Lake Sturgeon


manatee
A circular tank of Caribbean fish

We were able to see a 4D movie with our City Pass.
Olivia and I stylin' in our 3D glasses.

After about 4 hours at Shedd, we walked down to Adler Planetarium.  It was about a 10 minute walk.  It was so nice that 3 of 5 sites we planned to see while here, are all close together. 


Dearborn Telescope-one of the largest refracting telescopes in the world.  It doesn't look very big here, but it actually took up the whole room.
We were able to have two planetarium shows with our City Pass.  It was a little too relaxing for me and Olivia.  It was mid-afternoon, in a dark room, with reclining chairs which equals for me... NAP time.  That's right, Olivia and I dozed off during the constellation talk. 
Time for a little snack to wake everyone up.  It was St. Patrick's Day so it seemed fitting to have Leprechaun Hat cookie for a snack.
Andrew would weigh 24 pounds on the moon. 

Having fun with the crater simulator.

If you look closely, you'll see the crater dent.



Olivia checking to see if she has WiFi.
All done, ready to catch a cab to go eat. 
Time to Eat!!
A bigger cab for us this time around.


Olivia and I shared this plate of nachos.  We actually weren't very hungry.  The breakfast at the hotel was amazing, not only were there cereal and muffins/donuts, we could choose from a hot buffet of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, potatoes, french toast, but you could also have omelets made.  We all took advantage of having an omelet for breakfast.  With this type of breakfast, that kept our Always Hungry Andrew full the whole time in Chicago.  He says he was never hungry while we were in here. 
Looking at items in the gift shop.
After supper, we headed across the street to the two story McDonald's for dessert. 
We walked back to our hotel to relax for the night.  The girls headed to the pool and I took advantage of going into the hot tub.  We had a busy day on our feet and another planned for the next day. 

Our hotel-Embassy Suites-Lakefront
Chicago Day 3-yet to come