A new week

And a new set of adventures to be had.

For starters, you could say we were
Transformed by Chicago...

Nah, we just stumbled upon the filming of Transformers 3

Can you guess which Thing was most jazzed by this unexpected finding?

We found our way to the giant kidney bean...

Found ourselves being overwhelmed by all that the Museum of Science and Industry had to offer..

Next up...was the trip to the Top...

Where even the teen Thing went out on the ledge...

So, now we're on to a new day...
With the first stop, Soldier's Field
(sorry, no Bears were spotted)

We'd heard this place held a surprise or two...

Hello SUE!

So shy around cameras...

My turn to choose:

Another unexpected discovery..
(yes, he managed to fit his entire body in that box)

No rest of for the weary...
We're off to the Pier and some fireworks

And finally...we're almost ready to head home..
But first, let's kill some time with the critters at
the Lincoln Park Zoo

If you don't have girl Things, then the only shop on Michigan Ave.
worth stopping at is

And that folks, is a wrap...
Chicago is indeed a fabulous family friendly destination to check out!

All in a week

So, last week we started out with this:Lining up for our Bike Parade


Pie Eating Contest

Can you guess who the winner was?
Despite the fun of the Fourth, the younger Thing was a tad jealous of his brother's new

Birthday Lego set.

When I suggested we sort the giant tub of mismatched parts

Well, you can see we were able to turn that frown upside down...

Celebrating both America's Birthday and the Thing becoming a teen

was not to mark the end of the week of fun

We attempted to infuse some education into the week...

But countless other families apparently had the same idea so we headed off for a picnic

Which included rock climbing

And some unplanned water fun...

Still not ready to call it a wrap, I loaded up just my Things and we headed for...

Hubby and the Russian Bride joined us as well...

The teen Thing fussed but at one point in the car ride up Trail Ridge road,

I heard him talking to the trees:

"Down in front, you trees! You are blocking my view!

See, I knew I just needed to get him unplugged for a wee bit...

I even made us all get out of our vehicles and we hiked to Alberta Falls.

Hold the applause, I suggested we take the short cut back that included a shuttle ride to the trail head.

I decided enough...Super Mom was hanging up her cape...
With one last parting shot for the blog.

*Keep this foolishness up, and I'll need to go back to work to REST!*

A perfect day

Not every day is perfect. But yesterday? Came about as close as you can ask for.

13 years before, Thing One made his entry into the world. At 0304 to be exact. Yesterday, he made a quite entry into the Teen Era. Yes, I said quiet. Hard to imagine if you have ever met this Thing in real life.

His birthday requests were equally low-key. He wanted a new lego set. He wanted chicken for breakfast. And he wanted to go for a motorcycle ride with his dad.

Ah, if only he'd bless us with such simple requests throughout the teen years.

Heavy rains on the 4th meant the neighbors played with their "illegals" on the 5th. Fireworks on his birthday after all! Way cool!

Hey, a girl can always hope, right?

But knowing that isn't possible, instead I shall savor the sweetness that was yesterday...his first day as a teenager!