"My kind of town...Chicago is!"

To celebrate Ben's 4th birthday we decided to take a quick weekend trip to Chicago. We took Ben to the Field Museum to see all the dinosaurs, to the Shedd Aquarium to see all the fish, and overall the sights and sounds of Chicago. Jenny and I have been to Chicago a few times over the years, but this was Ben's and Megan's first time. They both had a fun time.

Here's our first day in Chicago....snow.

Off to the Field Museum.

Ben loves dinosaurs, so seeing the famous T-REX here (named "SUE" after its discoverer) really blew him away.


Here are the lions made famous in the movie "GHOST AND THE DARKNESS."

More dinosaurs. Ben and I had a lot of fun walking all around naming the dinosaurs and talking about them. We read books on dinosaurs all the time, so he was able to identify quite a few.








Time to go swimming...





Dinner at our Chicago favorite...GINO'S EAST.








Exploring the Shedd Aquarium.






While Jenny and Megan went shopping on Magnificent Mile, Ben and I spent Saturday afternoon trying to get to the top of the John Hancock tower. But the observatory on top had a wait of over an hour, and Ben was getting tired and hungry. But he was insistent about getting to the top. So I considered taking him up to the "lounge" which is the floor just under the observatory, but it's a lounge/bar kind of place. I asked the ticket agent if it was kid friendly and she said it pretty much was...and that it was non-smoking. That sounded good to me, so we headed for the elevator to take us to the lounge. There we encountered a 30 minute wait just to get to the elevator. Right then I pretty much gave up, but Ben kept talking about getting to the top. So we waited for the elevator, and finally got up to the top in the "lounge." Once up there the place was completely full. I found two seats and a table away's from the windows, and Ben was content with the obstructed view of the scenery. Well...shortly after we arrived a group of people who were leaving got up from their table (right by the window) and they asked Ben if he would like to sit by the window. His eyes grew wide. I'm sure everyone around us got upset, but Ben was pretty lucky. So we moved right by the window. It was great. We shared some chips and guacamole, had our afternoon cocktails, and took in the view. We loved it. We both got to feel like big shots...if only for a little while.



A "jazz-dinner" kind of place in NAVY PIER.


Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!



Time to say goodbye to Chicago.


Well...that's the trip. I love Chicago. One of the few perks to living in Michigan is being within a day's drive to Chicago. It's such a fun, unique city. You get the big city life as you do in New York City, but without the attitudes and stress. You can get first class museums, theaters, and culture, and the restaurant selection is enormous.

Happy Palm Sunday

Happy Palm Sunday everyone!

Megan is a "copycat"

Megan is starting to copy us now. When we shake our head she shakes her head. When we smile at her she smiles back.

Here she is trying to dance with Ben at the dinner table.

Megan's big day!

Last Sunday we had Megan baptized at our church. She was all dressed up for the occasion. She did great in the ceremony. She didn't cry at all, even though she was long overdue for a nap at the time.

My parents joined us at the ceremony, as well as Steve and Wendy, my grandmother, and my aunt and uncle. After the service we all went back to our place for a Sunday brunch. And even though there was snow outside we all tried to pretend it was really spring.

Here's some highlights of Megan's big day!

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

Ben had a great birthday party last weekend. Overall we had about 10 kids, and a total around 30 people. The theme was mostly "Thomas the Train," but with a little "baseball" thrown in. We had cake and a sundae bar, popcorn, chips and other fun snacks. We also had some big "Thomas" coloring books out for the kids to color, and we set up some of Ben's trains and train tracks so the kids could play with those as well.

Having the party at the Loons stadium was great. The staff there did a great job with the food and accomodations, and the kids loved playing with "Lou E. Loon." "Lou E." even brought some birthday presents for Ben, and the Loons put a birthday message on the big scoreboard out in right field just for Ben. That was pretty cool.

Anyway, here are some highlights of the fun day.

Bathtime is fun!

For a while now the kids have been taking baths together. But only until recently has Megan started to show a "liking" for bathtime.

Now when we bring her into the bathroom for a quick bath, she starts to get excited about getting in. She starts to perk up, bounce around, and make happy noises.

In the tub she likes to play with all the toys and splash the water. Pretty funny.

Our new "Chalk Wall"

Here's our new "Chalk Wall" in the basement.

I painted this small wall in the basement with both a magnetic primer, and a chalkboard surface paint. So the kids can write on it with chalk, and stick on magnets and hang up their art work.

It took a little more primer than I expected to get the magnets to stick, but overall it turned out great. Ben has already been having fun with it.

Ben Needs Space

Ever since Ben went to the Space Center in Houston weeks ago it's been all things space with him. When we go to the library he wants to check out books about space. When he's playing with cars or planes or spaceships at home....everything can fly, and everything goes into outer space. When we were at the Space Center I bought him a toy space shuttle. He's still playing with it, and oftentimes will take it to bed.

Combine all that with the fact that at school for the past 2 weeks they've been talking about space, and the stars, and the planets. One of the teachers told me recently, "whenever I need to remember the planets I just go up to Ben and ask him."

He also likes to occasionally tell me stories about space. They're usually about all of us flying up to the moon together on the space shuttle.

When I was a kid I was really into Astronomy. I can remember when I was 10 or 11 my friends and I camping out in the yard at 3 in the morning watching lunar eclipses, or meteor showers with our telescopes. So to see Ben showing a strong interest in space is pretty cool to me.

Peace Quotes

This week at Ben's school the teachers were teaching the kids about "peace," and what peace is. So the teachers went around the room and asked each student, "What does Peace mean?"

Most kids answered "being quiet," or "love," or "being nice," or "sharing." Wouldn't you know it...our son had the longest, and strangest reply in the whole class. Here's Ben's answer...word for word:

"Be quiet so that you don't hear anything in the dark of a cave." - Ben Frame

When we saw his answer we asked him where in the world he got that from. Well...we think he's referring to the book "Bear Snores On."

I can only imagine the looks on the teacher's faces when Ben came up with that one. Oh well...at least he was correct (albeit very specific).

Snowiest February

I heard this morning on the radio that this has been the snowiest February on record, and the third snowiest "snow season" on record. And here we are enjoying an extra day of February...and what is it doing outside? SNOWING!

Wow! Surprise...surprise.

Let's all join hands and wish February a fond farewell. Good riddance!

Pacifier Fun!

Here's Megan's trick with the pacifier. She's done this for a while now, but we just finally got a shot of it.

In the highchair

This past week Megan made the jump to the highchair. She's still kind of wobbly in it, but overall she's doing very well. But the funny thing is as soon as we set her down in the highchair she got so excited. And now she gets all excited everytime she sits at the "big table." Ben seems to like seeing her at the table too.

Little Reader

Megan has shown an interest in being read to. She doesn't seem to have the attention span for it that Ben did at this age, but she's getting there. She'll look at the pages, try to grab them, and then seem to move onto something else.

Ice...ice...baby!

Our house faces due north. So that means it takes forever sometimes for our driveway to be completely clear of snow and ice. Sometimes when I can't get to the driveway fast enough to clear it the snow will start to freeze at the base. So when I go over it with the snowblower there will still be a trace of snow on the driveway. Then the snow freezes and stays there forever because the sun can't melt it all on our driveway. So once in a while I'll go out with the dirt shovel and try to break up the ice so it melts faster.

Here's Ben helping me get rid of the ice one day after church.

Dateline Midland, Michigan - "It's @#$%! COLD!"

This is what our house looks like right now...as of this morning. Yes folks, we are in the dog days of winter up here.

I just looked at the temperature outside and it read 10 degrees. The low tonight is supposed to be around 2. That's cold. The temperatures during the day range from 10-20, and the lows at night range from 5-10. But let's face it...there's not that much difference between 5 and 10 degrees, or even 15. When it's that cold all you feel is cold.

But right now it's not just the temperature. Everyday we get snow flurries that come out of the west and from Lake Michigan. So every other day it seems like we get a fresh dusting of snow. Also, everything around you is frozen. There's a foot of frozen snow all around your yard, the snow on your home's roof is frozen, and a lot of the roads and sidewalks are frozen with ice and snow. It can be very depressing.

Even Ben was hinting this morning that he's ready for warm weather. He said, "Maybe when it gets warmer I can go to the park." Then the other day he said, "Maybe when it gets warmer I can ride my tricycle." Poor little guy. He's got cabin fever like the rest of us.

When it comes to living in Michigan, February is always the worst month. During November and December you're in the holiday spirit, so you don't mind the snow. But from January through March it's always tough, and February is always the coldest and hardest to get through. We always think to ourselves, just make it til Easter...just make it til Easter. Then you know spring is right around the corner.

The fall is beautiful up here, and the summer is almost perfect. But we always pay the price during this time of year. Think warm thoughts for us.

At the movies

Here's some of the movies we've seen recently.


ONCE - Billed and self-described as a "contemporary musical," ONCE is a small budget independent from Dublin, Ireland. Following basically the same story as LOST IN TRANSLATION, it's the story of two people who have a chance meeting one day, begin to bond romantically, and then try to figure out what comes next. The characters are genuine, and the story is warm. However, the star of the show is the music. Take the standard musical about love found and love lost, and then take out all the song and dance numbers. That's what ONCE is all about. Two people...an acoustic guitar...and a piano. That's it. In fact, at times it's more like watching a lengthy music video than a movie. And it works beautifully. The music stays in your head long after you've watched it. Great movie!


WAITRESS - Just like JUNO restores your faith in film, WAITRESS will also leave a lasting impression on you. You will think twice about watching any more movies in the future...EVER! This is such a bad movie, I don't know where to begin. The trailer makes you believe WAITRESS is a romantic comedy. However, the movie is filled with people who all cheat on their spouses and have affairs, a jealous husband who beats and abuses his wife, and an expectant mother who hates her unborn child and doesn't want to have it. I'm being serious. This movie is very dark and depressing. I felt bad for Jenny because she wanted to see it, but she felt the same way I did. Definately not what we expected.


THE GROOMSMEN - As I mentioned in an earlier entry, Edward Burns can write and direct some interesting small-budget movies. However, this really isn't one of his better ones. It's basically the story of a bunch of old high school friends who reunite for a friend's wedding. Mainly they're all disappointed in the turns their lives have taken, and all secretly long for the good ol' days. But they all trek on by sticking together. There are some interesting moments here, but for the most part this is not one of Edward's best.


JUNO - Let's face it...there's more crappy movies out there than good ones. That's why you have to feel good when once in a while you catch a real gem like JUNO. It's the kind of movie that stays with you long after you've left the theater. It leaves a smile on your face, and restores your faith in film. It's a simple story of a teenage girl who mistakenly gets pregnant, and how she's forced to confront the situation and make the best of it. It tackles a serious subject with warmth and humor, and Ellen Page as Juno just makes the movie. What a great film! I would say it's close to perfection as an independent movie can get.


SICKO - My respect for Michael Moore has diminished over the years. However, I have to admit I've seen all of his documentaries. I can remember watching his first one (ROGER & ME) in college thinking the guy was a documentary genius. Then a decade later I watched BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE and just shook my head at how slanted he had become. Anyway, for those of you who don't know SICKO is Moore's attack of the health care system in the U.S., and HMO's. Politically speaking I'm not at all in favor of a national health care policy, but boy...Moore sure does paint a pretty picture about what it could be like. The first half of the movie I felt myself slowly being swayed, but the last half of the movie Moore departs from the health care argument and practically calls for the U.S. to become all things socialist. Like all Moore movies, there are facts to take in here...but you have to filter out all the half-truths. It's worth watching, but you have to stay on your toes.


SUNSHINE - It's the future and the sun is dying, so a crew fly on a giant spaceship to reignite the sun with a nuclear device. While the story sounds utterly rediculous, it does hold your interest for at least the first 2/3 of the movie. There's a little bit of 2001 here, mixed with 2010, SOLARIS, and a little EVENT HORIZON. But for the most part I liked this one for one simple reason...if there was a movie that was made for the Blu-Ray format it's this one. It is just beautiful to watch in some parts.