Cousins!

We were so fortunate to have your Uncle Cliff, Aunt Kristina and cousins Madeline, Bailey and Cannon come visit us for a week! We packed a lot of fun in to the week and saw a lot of Chicago. Aunt Kristina and the kids arrived on a Monday afternoon and we were on the go from sun up to sun down every day they were here.

You loved  reuniting with your cousins.

We ate at a train cafe for lunch one day. This was mostly for Cannon, since he loves trains!!! It's located right by the train depot. This place knows how to put a smile on a kids face.  They have a toy train set up around the cafe that delivers food to your table. If it's your birthday, you get a cupcake delivered with a train whistle on top. Super fun for Can Man.

Since Chicago is in the Midwest, we thought it'd be fun to visit a working farm! We drove about 45 min outside of the city. When we arrived, we were so sad to discover that most of the animals were at the county fair (another 25 minutes down the road). We hung around the farm for a bit, checked out the displays, the hands on activities (including a milking demo!), got homemade milkshakes and visited with the animals that were there.

You enjoyed learning about the chicken and the egg.

Maddie and Bailey learned how to milk a cow.

You also wanted to try :)

Not too shabby, Hannah!

Mommy liked the "Medela for Cows" aka the auto milker.

After a little thought and discussion, Kristina and I decided to drive the extra distance to the county fair. I have to admit, it was my first county fair and boy was it an experience. HA! You and Cannon definitely liked it better than the big kids, but the big kids were great sports.  They got to play games and won some cool prizes. We were pooped when we got back home, but it was a fun time!

You and Madeline posing with the chickens. You even wore your chicken dress in their honor.

Cannon was brave and made friends with the cow. This cow was about to be on the news for a live milking demo. We stuck around and watched the interview.

GO MADDIE!

Cannon and Aunt Kristina won this round.

Skee Ball! My favorite!!!!

We took a trip to the Aquarium. You were in rare form and very fussy that day, so you and I spent most of our time strolling around and moving. Your cousins had fun looking at all the different animals, live exhibits,  and the special Jellies exhibit.

A rare smile that day. Madeline knows the secret to making you smile.

Aunt Kristina gave you your very first pickle and you absolutely loved it! We have a new way to keep you busy during outings :)

The museum of nature and science was up next. I really enjoyed the museum. We took you into the 3D T-Rex movie. You did well at first, but I had to quickly take you out. HA! After that, you finally fell asleep (woo hoo!!!), so I was able to walk around with the kids and enjoy the exhibits. This particular museum is home to the largest, full T-Rex fossil in the world (*I think that's right*) named Sue.

Cannon was fascinated by the T-Rex. He asked a lot of questions and even got a "Sue" shirt that he was VERY proud to wear.

I didn't have the camera during all our outings, but we also took them down to Navy Pier, the Brookfield Zoo, Sprinkles Cupcakes (of course!) and we had loads of fun shopping on Michigan Avenue! We can't wait for them to come and visit again!!! There's so many more fun things to do!!!