Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Trips are fun

 We surprised Grandma Nel with a girls trip to Chicago for Christmas.  
Mom and Dad used to live there and that is where Keri was born.   A trip back down memory lane, plus new adventures, plus a tour around Dad's old college were on our to-do list.  
Our first stop after a night in Waterloo was National College of Chiropractic.  We had fun just walking around and listening to Mom talk about their time here. She recalled where dad had classes, where their friends lived on campus, and looking at portraits of Dad's professors.  We also spent time in the library looking through old yearbooks.

 After finding our hotel and getting settled, we took off to the Sky Deck in the Willis Tower. 
We waited in line for quite awhile but we were having fun people watching and perfecting out poses for the big glass box above the city.


After a quick pretzel we were off to Navy Pier.  
There we rode the Ferris Wheel and walked around the water.  
Grabbed popcorn, and of course ate some deep dish pizza.


The next morning we walked around memorial park, saw the bean, walked along the water, and enjoyed the beautiful early spring day. 



 After a shower and quick lunch we got ready for the main event: HAMILTON!!!!
 Everyone LOVED the show and we will for sure try to see it again. After the show we had dinner and watched a movie in bed with snacks.  The next day we drove all the way back home, but man was it a great trip.  Marie is now a lover of Chicago and wants to go back soon!


While we were away, the boys had some fun of their own. 
They took a trip to Minneapolis where the final four was happening. 
They spent their time testing their athletic abilities, watching bball practice and games, and also hit up the zoo!




 At the zoo they ran into Eddie and Jess of all people!  small world - they had fun rubbing it in that they were seeing each other without Marie and me and sent us this picture!

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

There's always something going on...

 We may live in a small community but we are always hopping from one thing to the next. 
Bennett is loving his kindergarten year - especially the art class and making murals. 

 Brooks riding his new bike on the first warm day of spring. Our neighborhood is always hopping with kids.
 Our dogs are just the sweetest....and naughtiest.  recently they took off for a little run and Rex wound up inside the Y! good grief....
 Brooks and Bennett designing the perfect leprechaun trap for preschool.
 Nature Center space corner was recently revamped-our future NASA employee was impressed.

 Family Fun night at the Elementary School.


 STEM fair at school.  Marie conducted her own experiment testing dogs she knows and loves to see who was the smartest! She worked so hard on this and loved sharing her results.