Caleb and Mom's Excellent Adventure

Nothing like a self-portrait
The main Christmas tree at the Museum of Science and Industry
Very cool locomotive
The toy train set-up was really neat
For Grandpa J: Tree in honor of the Stanley Cup winners- The Chicago Blackhawks!
Chick just after hatching- probably one of Caleb's favorite exhibits
The South Korean tree
In front of the German submarine from WWII
Look out for the tornado! There was also a lightning display- a little too real and loud for Caleb's liking.
The Netherlands tree
Field Museum- Tyrannosaurus Rex bones!
Creepy little robotic dinosaur
T-rex is going to eat you!
The triceratops wasn't as scary
You can see Caleb in the background- he did not want to get too close to the T-Rex!
One example of the huge display of real/stuffed animals at the Field Museum
Elephant near our table at the Rainforest Cafe

On Monday, our family was supposed to go to the Museum of Science and Industry. Isaac came down with a terrible fever on Sunday and was not better on Monday. Julia also had a cold and was rather crabby. So, Nate made a huge sacrifice and stayed home with Isaac and Julia. Caleb and I made the trip together. We spent about 4 hours at the Museum of Science and Industry and we had a great time! I hadn't been there since I was a child. I also wasn't sure if the younger kids would enjoy this museum. I think Isaac would appreciate most of the museum and Julia would have fun just walking around. Caleb and I didn't do the coal mine tour or the submarine tour. I think both would be too dark/loud/scary. We'll take the kids when they are older.

We then went to the Field Museum. Again, I hadn't been there in years so I was curious as to how family friendly it is. Caleb has been saying for a long time that he wanted to see dinosaur bones and we finally saw some! There is a T-rex display and it is very impressive. However, that is only dinosaur bones display. One of the special exhibits was the robotic dinosaurs. Caleb was a little nervous, but he probably could have spent much longer just sitting and watching the dinosaurs move, grunt, roar, etc. We had the option to see a 3-D movie about T-rex, but it looked scary even to me! So we passed on that. The only other part of the Field Museum that kids would like is the animals exhibits. There is a large area of real, stuffed animals from around the world. I'm glad we visited this museum, but we'll wait to take the kids when they are older and can appreciate more of the museum.

We then went to the Rainforest Cafe in downtown Chicago for supper. I had never been to this restaurant so I was curious if it was as good as all of the hype. :) It is a fun restaurant and Caleb enjoyed seeing all of the robotic animals on the walls. Later in the evening my cousin informed me that there is a Rainforest Cafe at the Grandville mall. What?? You mean I don't have to drive to Chicago just to try the restaurant?! Oh well. :)

After supper we drove to my grandparents' house and spent the night. One of the main reasons for this trip was that my cousin and her husband were in from Atlanta. We only see each other once a year and it was great to catch up with them again. This was a memorable and fun experience with Caleb and I am so thankful we could do it!

Getting Ready for Christmas

Decorating the real tree with our family ornaments
Adorable in pigtails
I like this picture b/c of the cute face she is making
Isaac enjoys "washing dishes" otherwise known as making a big watery mess
I took this picture and then Caleb threw that snowball at me when I turned around. Little punk.
It's marshmallow girl- I can't put my arms down!
Chilling in the fort Daddy made

Going for a sled ride
Opening presents from his teacher at the Kindergarten Christmas party


First of all, the Bulls game Nate and I went to was awesome! We had good seats and the game was alot of fun. At the end of the game, the Bulls hit a 3 pointer at the buzzer and sent the game into overtime. The Bulls then won the game- it was all very exciting! Scottie Pippen was at the game too! He was sitting directly across the arena from us and they showed him on the big screen. The night would have been perfect if Michael Jordan had been there too. Nate laughs at me b/c I cover my ears whenever someone tells me what Michael Jordan is really like. I prefer the hero I followed as a kid to the real person. :)

On the 11th we celebrated Julia's Family Day! She has been home for one year now. She has adjusted so well and we can't imagine life without her.

About that same time we had the stomach flu hit our house. Julia had it for the first time and it wasn't pretty. I wasn't prepared for how stuff gets stuck in girls' hair- gross. I then got the flu and had to call Nate home from work. Isaac had a mild version and we thought we were done. However, Caleb then got it and once again we thought we were done. About 3 days later, Nate got it. This is the most drawn out flu bug ever. Thankfully it was just the 24 hour bug and we recovered fairly quickly. I hope all of this sickness means that we will be healthy over Christmas. :)

The kids are enjoying this snowy time of year. Julia loves being outside, which is good because it takes about a half hour to get her snow stuff on. I am always proud of myself for going outside with the kids. I really don't enjoy it, but I know it makes them happy if I do it once and a while.

We have all of our Christmas decorations up and have been celebrating Advent every evening. I am slightly embarrassed to say we have two Christmas trees this year. A couple years ago we bought a pre-decorated tree for a charity event. The tree is pretty, but we can't put our family ornaments on it. And Nate really likes real trees, so we bought a 5 foot tree for the toy room. The other day we stopped at a friend's house and Isaac said, "Look Mom, snow poo!" I looked and realized he was pointing at a Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas decoration. Too cute.

Caleb had his church Christmas program last week. It was a fun program and he enjoyed singing the songs. His age group dressed up for the manger scene and originally Caleb was going to be a rooster. And he was excited about being a rooster. You all know Caleb doesn't do dress-up, but he was looking forward to this. The day before the program he found out he couldn't be the rooster because he was too big for the costume. He had to dress up as a sheep instead, he was not excited about that. :) But, I give him credit because he wore that sheep costume with a good attitude and looked pretty cute. But don't tell him I said that!

Christmas vacation has now started and we'll be off and running. On Monday we're taking the kids to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. I hope they aren't too young for it. We'll also spend the night with my grandparents and see some extended family. We celebrate our family Christmas on the 22nd and then leave for Pittsburgh on the 23rd. Nate's whole family will be there for Christmas! That means we'll have two family get-togethers with them in one year- that doesn't happen very often. We'll then drive to my parent's house on the 26th and have Christmas with my family on the 27th. (My sister will be home for that too- yay!) We'll have a couple days at home and then we'll head to my grandparents on New Years weekend for the Jongsma Christmas. And then school starts again! Can you see why I'm praying that we all stay healthy? :)

If I don't update before Christmas, I pray that you all have a wonderful Christmas celebrating Jesus' birth!

Thanksgiving

A glimpse into Julia as a teenager- makes me shudder!
Making Cardale's tractor cake
Hey cutie
Celebrating Cardale's 3rd birthday!
The best part of the weekend- Steph was there!

The highlight of Thanksgiving 2010 was that Stephanie surprised us and flew home for the weekend! It was great to see the look on my parents' faces. :) We all enjoyed just spending time together at my parent's house. We cooked the turkey in a turkey fryer this year. Nate and my Dad were in charge of the process and it turned out great! I thought it would be greasy, but it wasn't. The turkey cooks alot faster in a fryer than in an oven. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the men outside frying the turkey. :) We also celebrated Cardale's 3rd birthday with his family. It is so great to watch him grow up. Isaac says often that, "Cardale is his fwiend and when is Cardale coming to our house?" The only downside of the weekend was that my Mom was sick. Hopefully the doctors can figure out what's going on soon. Julia was sick as well and ended up on antibiotics when we got home. She is finally sleeping thru the night again after about a week of night wakings. I've been a little under the weather, but I think I'm almost better. I believe my family passed on some sickness to my Dad and sister, so sorry. We have so much to be thankful for this year. Julia has been home almost a year, my Dad's cancer is gone, my Mom had successful surgeries, my sister is loving Denver, and the rest of our family members across the country are healthy and doing well. Thank you, God! I would ask that you all keep my Grandpa in your prayers. He has an aggressive tumor in his prostate and has some hard decisions to make about treatment options. We appreciate your prayers!

I received some free tickets to a dress rehearsal for The Nutcracker put on by the Grand Rapids Ballet Company. Last night I went with some friends to the show. I haven't seen The Nutcracker in years and I loved seeing it again. I told Caleb that at some point our family would go to see the ballet. He was not thrilled about that. He is very anti-girl anything right now. Oh well, he can experience it at least once. :)

Tomorrow night, Nate and I are going to Chicago for a Bulls game! Nate has never been to an NBA game, so I bought these tickets for his birthday. I haven't been to a Bulls game since their glory days, but I'm excited to go again. Unfortunately I don't know anything about the Bulls players now like I did in the Jordan years, but I'm sure Nate can fill me in. :) Tim and Jenny are going to watch the kids for us- thank you!