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Monday, August 26, 2013

Weekend Recap

Another weekend gone by too fast. On Friday Ethan and I met up with my sister, Lily, Tif, Jacob and Makayla at the Arboretum. The kids are pretty close in age and Ethan is finally at the age where he can really interact with his cousins. They had so much fun running around and exploring everything. It was a beautiful day out so it was just nice to be outside.










After the Arboretum we headed home so the kids could nap. Friday night we went over to Rich and Tif's to hang out and have some pizza for dinner. The kids had fun playing too. Jacob and Ethan had lots of fun playing trains.



On Saturday we were up and out early. We went to breakfast, the farmer's market and then to the park. It was a perfect morning and weather was great.



Saturday afternoon after a nap I decided to take Ethan to a local splash park. I've been waiting all Summer to take him to one. First, he wasn't walking and then it wasn't really warm enough, so since it was so hot, I figured it was the perfect time. He absolutely loved it! He was running around like crazy from water feature to water feature. I hope I can bring him back again before the end of Summer.













Saturday night I made some dinner and we just relaxed.


On Sunday Michael and I had our fantasy football draft. Before the draft we went for a walk so Ethan could have some outside time before we left.


After our walk Michael's Mom came over to watch Ethan, Jacob and Makayla so they didn't have to come to the draft. Tif's parents hosted all of us and the draft was a lot of fun. Both Michael and I were pretty pleased with how our teams came together. We'll see how the season goes.






After the draft we headed home, gave Ethan some lunch and then he went down for a nap. After Ethan woke up we went to the park since he had been cooped up most of the day.







For Sunday dinner Michael made us sesame chicken and fried rice. It was super yummy!


The rest of the night we just relaxed. I hope all of you had a good weekend as well. I'm looking forward to a long 4 day weekend this weekend!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Chicago Botanic Garden

Yesterday I mentioned that we went to the Chicago Botanic Garden this weekend. Neither of us had ever been there before but we get in for free with our Morton Arboretum membership so we thought it would be a fun outing. It was absolutely beautiful out so it was a perfect day to visit. The place is jaw dropping. Every where you look is just incredible. I told Michael that I wished every time I blinked I was taking a picture. 




Ethan was in love with all of the water features and fountains they had. He was soaked most of the day! 







Everywhere we turned was a photo opportunity, there were so many amazing gardens.






They have this huge fountain that looks like a flower in the rose garden and Ethan was absolutely in heaven. He had it all to himself and he just splashed and laughed away. He was so fun to watch!





















After getting soaked in the fountain, we brought Ethan to the railroad garden. I had read about it online and thought Ethan would like it since he likes trains, but I didn't really know what to expect. It was amazing and Ethan loved it! The exhibit is a series of gardens that feature U.S. city scenes. All of the buildings in the scenes are made of sticks, acorns and things from nature. It is really incredible. Ethan was just captivated by watching all of the trains.

























They also had a butterfly exhibit that we wanted to check out. It was a really amazing place. There were butterflies everywhere! We've been to a couple other butterfly exhibits at museums and zoos and they weren't anything really great so we were really surprised to see the sheer quantity of butterflies there. Ethan loved it, everyone was laughing at him because he was shrieking and laughing at the butterflies.















We had such a nice day at the Botanic Garden and I can't wait to go back. I think it would be amazing to visit in the Fall so we're planning a return trip in a couple of months.