A trip on a train

We took a train trip to Chicago!


Our trip to Chicago was much more of an adventure than I had anticipated. We were a few minutes late leaving because they were adding an engine to the end of our train. We didn't know at the time but the southbound train engine had lost power and the train was sitting on the tracks...we were headed to a "rescue" :)

Because we were late, our entire schedule was thrown so we spent a lot of time behind a freight train which apparently has to travel slower than a passenger train. We also spent a good bit of time sitting waiting on trains to clear the tracks ahead of us.

So, our short little 5 hour trip turne into an 8.5 hour trip. Let's say my little girl got PLENTY of train time. My patience proved better than I could have hoped...especially once we learned that the snack car was out of provisions!!! Amtrack made it a little more bearable by sharing a "snack pack" with us free of charge...


The train was an adventure...it isn't really wasn't any faster than driving but it was nice to just sit back and have some down time {and snugle time with my little traveler}...


Ava had a few friends along for the ride...Baby Grace and her pink bear...






Daddy and Uncle Mark took a ride on the scooter to meet us in the city at the American Girl store. Ava, Aunt Nancy and I took the train.




Dancing to one of the bands playing at the street fair


American Girl






Shopping Michigan Avenue ~ "the magnificent mile"








LUNCH


Silly Balloons from a street vendor. She loved that she could wear her new art!


Window Shopping, Yep...Daddy is teaching our little girl not to settle when it comes to jewelry!


Riding the "L"








A Day at Lake Michigan




Oh, we had some silly times. We picked the HOTTEST day of the year to visit. We made an attempt to go to the aquarium...like the rest of the tourists in Chicago...so we went to plan B. We took a water taxi over to navy pier for some lunch at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. While we waited for our table, we played in the children's musuem with some really cool toys...




Afternoon at Navy Pier










Ava found a friend in Mellenium Park








Lunch! The Rain Forest Cafe was an adventure, especially dodging larger than life snakes, frogs, and elephants! hahaha

The Fair is back

Ava loves a good carnival with some fun rides...and we knew of just the one! This one comes to our mall every spring. Ava has already found a few favorites :)








These little cars were so fun...she laughed so hard the entire time, we rode them more than any other ride. They sat on an oval track and kind of jerked around the corners...She could just catch her breath on the straight leg before it jerked her around and she was laughing again!


We ran into some friends...Rachel and Ava started out together in daycare when they were toddlers. Now, we've moved to a different school but try to get the girls together as often as possible.

Stone Soup

Ava's class at daycare did presented a play titled, "Stone Soup". It was a mix of all the 3 & 4 year old classes. They sang songs and one of the teachers narrated the play. A few of the children had speaking roles, and others were "extras". She practiced her song day in and day out. Turns out that Miss Ava got a part at the last minute...her job was to put vegetables into the soup! It was super cute...her first school performance!

Hunting some eggs

Here are some great photos of Ava hunting eggs at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She thought it was such fun...of course, to her the eggs were endless - but as usual we were just taking eggs out of her bucket and rehiding them! SHH!! Don't tell :)

Easter Morning

Happy Easter!!
We woke up to a cool but gorgeous morning! It was a great day to celebrate the promises of our Lord.


A surprise for Ava!



She was checking out all her goodies :)




Family pictures...we all dress up pretty good I'd say~





A surprise as big as Ava that the Easter Bunny left at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

That's quite a Dye Job

Getting ready to color some Easter eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide :) Ava loved picking all the colors and watching to see when the eggs were the perfect shade. She showed a great deal of patience as she waited, especially on the pink ones!

















...and a little snack...she loves boiled eggs{well, only the white part}

The Easter Bunny

For the second year in a row, we visited the Easter Bunny at our zoo! It is a fun time. We get a pretty yummy breakfast and get to meet the Easter Bunny and all his friends. Ava loves to meet all the animal friends. Of course, she also thinks that the Easter Bunny lives at the zoo...makes sense I guess :)

This trip has become a tradition with our friends, the Harmon's. Ava and Maddie are the same age and it's so fun to watch the relationship developing between them. It's like cousins almost... We usually spend the day hanging out at the zoo after breakfast. Happy Easter!