Welcome Race Fans!

Today was the day we've been gearing up for!  The Pinewood Derby race for L's Cub Scouts.

L and Dad checked the car in Friday night and it passed inspection with only slight modifications needed.  When we arrived on Saturday, all the cars were lined up and ready to go!  The can is for voting for the Best in Show award.  Whoever earns the most $, gets the trophy.

L admiring the trophies.  He was really hoping for Best in Show, but it was not meant to be :(

Regardless, we thought his was the best - a Lego car!  Would one really expect anything else from a boy of mine?!  And the number - 729 - his birthday!

3 - 2 - 1 - Go!

 Each car raced 4 times (one time on each lane).  Luke had a 2nd, 3rd, 3rd and 3rd.  They average the races and the top four go on to compete again.

Proud of him for a job well-done, an original car and a winning attitude!

And just in case you wanted some more racing - a video!

Ninja-Go!

You gotta love Lego.  I mean, despite the outrageous prices they charge for pieces of plastic!  The newest craze at our house is Legos - Ninjago!

Let me tell you how it all began . . . the week after Christmas, we received our *free* Lego magazine in the mail.  I use the term *free* because this magazine has contributed to the purchasing of many Lego sets.  In this issue, were ads for this new Lego set and even a pull-out poster of Ninjago!  How was my 6 year-old to resist this great marketing?!

Luckily for him (and for me), he had a gift to return from Christmas and came home with a Target gift card - to be spent as soon as the Ninjago was on the shelves! 

Not only can you buy the usual sets, but you can also just buy the characters and their coveted  legendary gold weapons!  In our case, this was great - my boys usually just want the characters anyway.  On Monday, M and I took a trip to Target and he came home with two (!) characters.  Once opened, the boys have entered a world of ninja battles and trading cards.  My favorite part is the battle cry to begin each match - "Ninja-Go!"

Let the Ninjago battles begin!

Day 359 - Day 1

Day 359, Sunday, December 26th

Wow!  I've survived - another crazy Christmas and almost the end of Project 365!  Today was a great day to stay home and play with some of our Christmas presents.  This is L's - all put together! 

Playing Mexican train dominoes with the family.

Day 360, Monday, December 27th

Time to put Christmas away.  We usually aren't this rushed to put it away, but because we had gotten our tree earlier, it was time to!  The decorations were just falling off!  It is nice to have my house back in order.

Day 361, Tuesday, December 28th

Some of the best presents are the boxes they come in!

Day 362, Wednesday, December 29th

I guess this is how boy's bond?

Day 363, Thursday, December 30th

We watched my sisters kids so they could go to this restaurant - we had fun with all the kiddos, but they ate better!  Wrestling . . .

and hanging with Toby!

Day 364, Friday, December 31st

Good-bye 2010!  I can't believe my days actually came out right?! 

Bringing in the New Year with some great friends!  The guys were there too, but they didn't with the game, so we got to be in the picture!

Happy New Year!  I have officially completed my Project 365!

I will not be participating again this year (Thanks for hosting Sara), but keep coming back for updates and pictures of our growing family!  Hope yours is a great year!

Day 178-184

Day 178, Sunday, June 27th
My hubby and I got some alone time to go to a wedding of a childhood friend.  It was located on Lake Michigan at an aquatorium.  Below is the Chicago skyline from across the lake.  Afterwards we enjoyed a nice stroll along the water.

Day 179, Monday, June 28th

M's money has been burning a hole in his pocket.  Actually, J is the only saver in the bunch.  In the evening, we took a trip to Target to get ready for Baby Girl's birthday party in a couple of weeks (Aahh -I can't believe she'll be one!) and M brought his money for some Legos.  He did a great job of putting them together by himself.

Day 180, Tuesday, June 29th

A day at the beach with some friends!  Five boys and they had a blast in the water and digging holes!  What is it about boys and holes?!

Day 181, Wednesday, June 30th

We went down the Miller's Merry Manor (the nursing home where my paternal grandmother resides) to help transport some of the residents down to a local park for a picnic.  It was a beautiful day and everyone enjoyed themselves.  My Grandma Bea and Baby Girl getting better aquainted.

Day 182, Thursday, July 1st

Dad took the boys to an old car cruise in and of course, they had to pose with the Subaru!

Day 183, Friday, July 2nd

Did I mention my Baby Girl is going to turn 1?!  She started pulling herself to a standing position on Wednesday and is now getting into so much more!  But she is so proud of herself everytime she does it!  Oh, yeah, and she's figured out the stairs too! 

Day 184, Saturday, July 3rd

Oops!  No picture!  I usually just skip it all, but here I am acknowledging my failure - I guess it'll keep me humble.  Some days, it just doesn't happen!  I was probably trying to keep Baby Girl away from the stairs all day!

Day 56

Christmas morning

Here are a few pics of our Christmas morning. We opted not to wrap all their presents this year (this was something my parents used to do), but just arrange each child's gifts in one spot with their stocking as the marker to show who's gifts they are. We did have one "family" present wrapped under the tree. This is a great way to reduce the amount of trash in the morning and the kids get to enjoy seeing each others gifts.
It is such a delight to see how excited kids are on Christmas morning. The night before, Jake asked how early they could get up and we told them not before 7. So right at 7, as I walked out our bedroom door into the dark hallway, Luke says "Is it 7 yet?" and I about jumped out of my skin! And he is our late sleeper! Notice that there are no pics of Norah because she was sleeping in!

Legoland Discovery Center

We've been planning this trip since Jake's birthday in October and we today did it! Dan had the day off and we were off to Karate then on our way to the Legoland Discovery Center.

We finally made it after a slight detour due to an incorrect map (I do not recommend Google Maps). You can't miss this store!
We were greeted with a salute and a toot! I guess that is why his eyes are crossed!

My favorite part: the Lego mini-city, Chicago version. I still had to turn my camera to get all of the Sears Tower in!

On to the Lego jungle! Tigers and . . .

monkeys . . .

and hippos, oh my!

Norah wasn't quite sure what to make of all this! She looks a little bewildered - or is she just pooping?

And if you're in a jungle, you'll need . . . Indiana Jones!

Do you see any resemblance??

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is our Lego factory tour. I must say I was a little disappointed with it. Yes, it did show the process, but it wasn't actually making Legos - and the boys knew it.

First, they start with different colors of plastic granules.

The granules are then melted . . .
And put into a mold . . .

and Lego bricks! We each got to take home a Lego Discovery Center brick.

Next up: The Hall of Heroes! Who doesn't love R2?!

I think Luke is trying to look like Vader!

Through-out the center, they had some famous works of art - Lego style! The boys studied Van Gogh's art last year and remembered this one!

Dan and I joined in on the fun too!

We even got to take a Lego building class - what a job!

Assembling the Sears Tower . . .

The last stop (besides the store), Legos building tables. This made Dan feel a little better.

Afterward, we drove into downtown Chicago for have dinner with Uncle Wendell and Shannon. We ate at an Italian place called Club Lago - it only seemed appropriate! I brought the camera in and forgot to use it! But it was wonderful and Luke and Micah tried some calamari for the first time and loved it!