C2E2 - 2014

The boys have been anxiously awaiting C2E2 since they came home from the event last year. Jason "encouraged" them to take pictures with characters by telling them that whoever took pictures with the most characters would get a special prize. Clark just barely won with 12 different characters. Kent had 10. I think Clark ended up getting $1 or something. Not sure if that bribe is going to work again next year...

The highlight of Jason's day was meeting Tom Cook. He's an animator who worked on the original He-Man series. You can see Jason's excitement...the kids seem unimpressed!

Pictures with Ecto 1

It's pretty amazing that people create these costumes and attend the convention just for fun. The boys loved that they were able to hold some of the weapons for the picture. Hawkgirl's costume is pretty awesome.

This year the Friends of Scales Reptile Rescue was there drumming up support. Let me tell you who is excited about this...it's NOT me. Of course these three loved it.

Thundercats, Ho!

Love this picture even if it is a little on the blurry side - Clark always the performer; Kent pointing just cracks me up.

In true Wilde form, they are already looking forward to next year's show...

Spring Break - MSI

Spring Break continued with a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. I was telling Clark about the Wright brothers a while ago so when we got to the museum he was really excited to be able to see the replica of the first flying machine. That kid has an amazing memory.

We went to a special Earth Explorers exhibit by National Geographic. It was a super interactive exhibit where they were able to climb, touch, explore, and learn about five different climates. The boys loved it. Kara was along for the ride.

I was fascinated by the crittercams they use to take point of view video. They have one attached to the fin of this shark. It seems unbelievable that they would be able to put this on to a great white shark and get video. But they do!

The polar regions were another favorite - more penguins!

I think Kent loved having Clark home and doing fun things all week long. We don't normally have this many outings in a week!!

Spring Break - Zoo

Of course we had to visit the zoo during our Spring Break staycation. One of the first stops at the zoo was to the big cats. The snow leopard was pretty active and walked right past us at the window. Kara thought it was wonderful.

Clark was so excited to see the penguins and the rookery. He's a penguin expert from his recent school projects!

Kent's friend Adam came to meet us at the zoo. Kent was over the moon excited about that! They loved hanging out together.

Spring Break - Children's Museum

Spring Break was a lot of fun! We had a wonderful staycation and got a lot of great use out of our museum memberships! First stop was the Children's Museum. 

Ha - I think this is hilarious!

Kara and I played by the blocks and balls while the boys worked on gears and building. It was so fun to watch Kara. She was determined to hold all three balls in her hands at the same time. She would have one in each hand and then get this determined look on her face as she stretched her little fingers as far as she could to pick up the other ball. So cute.

Then the three of them all worked on towers together. Building and then Kara-zilla knocking down.

The boys loved the construction zone. Clark built a bi-plane and Kent built a racecar. There may have been a slight mommy meltdown as Kent was building the car, but the wonderful people of the museum jumped in to help him out. Thank goodness!

Zoo Time

We had a day off back in March and decided to spend it at the zoo. The weather was sort of cooperating and the kids loved being outside. We met up with the Phillips which was really fun. It was fun to hang out with Michele again. 

Poor Kara - she just gets propped up wherever we can put her. Then she gets mauled by her brothers.

We stopped at the bison to take our souvenir photo. I was having a bit of trouble getting the focus right, so I stopped some old men with big cameras. They basically told me that I wouldn't be able to do it with my camera. I told them I'd just photoshop it and they were very enthusiastic that it would work best that way. So here is my photoshopped version! When I got home, I found an app on my phone that will take the picture exactly the way I want it. Go figure. Next time.

With Clark's science fair on the brain, we had to make a stop at the swamp and check out the poisonous snakes. The boys are a little obsessed with poisonous snakes just like their dad.

Tubing Fun

Josh celebrated his tenth birthday at Villa Olivia for tubing. After the sadness of the forgotten snow pants, we all had a great time. Even if some of us were a little colder than others. Some of the group ready to go! 

Ready for some tubing fun!

Clark and Kent had the best time ever on the hill. Clark jumped right in and rode all by himself. Kent had to ride with an adult, but he didn't mind one bit! Jason had him hugging him for the first two or three rides. Then he turned him around to face forward and Kent just went crazy with excitement!

The best part...not having to walk up the hill. Minimal effort. Maximum fun.

Some fun shots of people coming down the hill. Thanks Gigi for taking them! Top to bottom, left to right: Clark, Boompa, Alvinia, Uncle Dave, Jason and Kent, me

And finally the birthday boy! I didn't see him out on the hill at all, but I saw him for a little bit at the restaurant afterwards. Happy Birthday Josh! Thanks for such a wonderful time!

The Strength of the Pack is the Wolf

and the strength of the wolf is the pack.

Our annual Wolves game was nothing short of fantastic! The Chicago Wolves beat the Rockford Ice Hogs in a sold out game. It was also the girl scout night which is the best night ever to go see a Wolves game. The crowd is insane. I was a little worried when the game was tied in the third period. It seems like every game we go to ends in some ridiculously long overtime struggle. Normally I'd say cool, but not with such little kids. The Wolves came through and scored for us just in time. Thank you!!!

Clark and Kent both wanted snow cones when we first got there, so I brought back a red one for Clark and a blue one for Kent. Then Kent tells me he doesn't want the snow cone. So I ate it. Notice my blue smile above. Then about 30 minutes after I had the last satisfying bite of snow cone, he tells me that he wants to have a blue snow cone. Grrrrrrr.

Kent did love the game. He sat and watched most of it. He would often stand up so he could be ear to ear with Jason to discuss hockey, or just where Skates was!

I took a video of the crowd going wild. You don't get the full effect, but you get the idea. It was loud!

Museum Day

Next time we think it's a good idea to visit MSI a few days after Christmas, stop us! It's crazy busy there and you can barely move! Even with our membership which gets us a shorter line, we still had to wait for almost an hour...and the sub tour sold out just before we got to check in! Ugh.

The boys had such a great time there though. We brought along Clark's friend which made Clark very happy! They loved the U-505 exhibit and the weather exhibit. We had fun looking at the Christmas Around the World trees. Cam posed in front of the Canada tree. I went to nurse Kara just as we were getting ready to leave, but I couldn't find a place to sit down. It was that busy! So I sat down on the floor in what I thought would be a very out of the way place. A few minutes later people start congregating around me and start asking, "when does it start?" I was so confused until I saw the snow coming down. Of all the places I could pick, I pick the indoor snowfall where a ton of people gather to see the snow. Not so out of the way...

Is it Science or Industry?

Days off of school seem so rare and precious! I'm finally feeling up to taking all three kids places...that is until I took them all to the Museum of Science and Industry! Haha! I know most of the exhibits are hands on, but I just wanted them to stop pushing buttons! Aghhhhh! We did have a great day though. Even if I needed a tranquilizer.

I'm so glad that Clark reminded me of our souvenir photo series. Here is the second photo in our series. You can find the rest of them (the other one with hopefully more to come) here.

We were also super lucky to stumble upon the "Bangs, Flashes and Fire" show. Clark loved it and participated every chance he could. He got a sticker for identifying safety glasses as protective gear...smart kid, haha! Kent hid behind me the whole time. Kara happily watched. The first thing they did was set some ice on fire. That was pretty cool, but we were wanting to see more than a little candle flame even if it was burning ice. So then they made some different color fires and we learned that the things they add to the fuel makes the different colors. Lithium makes pink and copper makes green. I can't remember what the super tall flame was, but it was high! The bangs came at the end when they blew up a hydrogen balloon. Then they filled a balloon with rocket fuel and blew that one up. I don't have a picture of that one since I had to cover Kara's poor ears for the bang!

The museum has SO much in it that I never feel like I even scratch the surface of what we can see. We walked down by the ships and race cars. Then went to the weather exhibit where Clark got to walk in the vortex. Kent didn't want to. Clark also wanted to step into a tornado and experience 80 mph winds. He's fascinated by tornadoes right now, so I think it's fun for him to learn the science behind them. We also went to the YOU exhibit where Clark was able to take a spin on the hamster wheel and Kent finally enjoyed something! He practiced with a Tai Chi master.

Jason stopped by the museum after work and joined us for the last half of the day. They had a special Disney exhibit there too. I was so excited to see some Mary Poppins stuff. The carpet bag was really like carpet - long carpet. I always thought it was a bit more like tapestry. I have to watch the movie again. They also had the prop storybooks from Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. I thought they were really cool to see. They had a lot of information about the animation process which always fascinates me. I am always shocked at how much goes into making an animated film. Simply amazing. The last stop of the day was at the Animation Studio where they taught us how to draw Mickey Mouse - without an eraser! It was fun and most of the Mickeys turned out pretty well! I always love seeing Clark's drawings!

A Day Without Mom

It's such a rarity that the kids get a day without mom, but I think they really like it! While I was off shopping and relaxing on a lovely hay sofa in a barn, the boys were hanging with Dad, Boompa, Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Melissa, Uncle Brandon, Jenny, and Uncle Darwin. They all went to the Museum of Science and Industry and had a splendid time. I'll say it over and over again that I'm so glad Clark has a camera. Now I have a few pictures to see what a fun time they had.

Jason loves these old time pictures. I think this is one of the cutest things I've seen in a long time...my little bank robbers. I'm not so sure how great their getaway car is though.

They had a great time at the museum. Of course they visited the John Deere tractors for Grandpa and the play lab. They said they didn't see too much though. Jason and Kent went inside the tornado booth (not pictured). I'm sure Boompa loved directing Clark on the crane.

 Some candid shots from hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's after the museum.

And the best part about having a camera...a million selfies!

Dolphin Trainer for a Day

I know what you've been thinking..."Boy, Mary hasn't taken her kids to the zoo lately." I know! Don't worry. All is right with the world again as we spent a nice long day checking out the dolphins, cats, bears, dinosaurs, and so much more!

On this occasion Gigi decided to come with us to the zoo. That's always a treat! We decided to do something a little different and see the dolphin show.

And wouldn't you know it...they called Clark up so that he could "train" the dolphin! What luck! He told the dolphin to say hello, to turn around, and to wave goodbye.

Gigi and Kent getting ready for the dolphin show.

We also went to the Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit which is always a lot of fun. It was nice that Clark had his camera. He even took some pictures of me at the exhibit to show that I was there! The "Shopasaurus" at the end had some fun baby sunglasses. Kara looks oh so stylish, ha!

My brother shared a link on facebook of this photographer who adds funny souvenirs into their photos of famous places and landmarks. I thought it would be fun to give it a try so we bought a wax mold and took it to the Great Bear Wilderness!

Kara with all her spoils.

Fun photo strip with Gigi!

I've missed you zoo. I promise we won't stay away so long next time!