Birthday Dinner

Lauren and Ella have birthdays about 2 weeks apart. So we decided to have a birthday dinner for both of them. We took them to the Choo Choo Diner. It is a very cute diner. A train brings the food and cupcakes to your table.

Lauren and Ella both seemed to enjoy the birthday dinner.

We were also joined by another friend who's birthday is also with in a few weeks. It was a fun night.

Water Park

These first two pictures are from two years ago at the water park. It just amazes me how much they have grown. Lauren loved the water park two years ago and loved it this year also. She was a bit more daring and went down the slides a few times

We then went to the wave pool and the girls had fun there also. It was a fun day and the girls were worn out when we left. Ella fell asleep before we left the park and Lauren fell asleep in the car.

Same faces just a bit older!

Great America(n)

We visited Chicago 2 years ago when Ella had just came home. Lauren was 3 years old, just the age that Ella is now. On that trip we also went to Great America. Here is a picture from that trip two years ago. I can't believe how much they have grown.

On that first visit to Great America Lauren went on two rides. This time was a bit better. She is still not a ride girl. Ella this time would only go on two rides, but she use to be a ride girl and just recently changed.



Lauren kept saying we were going to Great American. I finally gave up trying to correct her. So here she is at Great American.

Kim and the girls.

Here is one of the two rides Ella would go on. They seem a bit bored. The interesting thing is that this is one of the two rides Lauren went on two years ago.

She looked a bit bored even then. She really has grown up.

Here she is having a better time. She loves the teacups.

Here is Ella having a bit more fun.

Lauren loves to get her picture taken with the characters (see below). Ella did not want anything to do with that, however, she would take her picture with the plastic character.

After the rides it had gotten a bit warm so we went to the water park part of Great America.

Fun Day

We had decided to try take the girls to the Lincoln Park Zoo and then to the beach. The zoo was good but the girls were tired and it showed.

We then went to the beach. It started to rain and the bugs were really bad that we decided to called it a day. We went home took showers and baths and then went out to eat.

It was raining pretty hard during dinner and continued during the night. There was a pretty bad thunderstorm that night. At one point during the night the thunder was so loud and it felt like the building was shaking. (which the girls all slept through)

When we got up in the morning we found out the the lighting had stuck the building. There were some bricks that fell down and some damage to the building. It was pretty weird. If that had happened in Arizona I wouldn't have a house or it would be pretty badly burned.


Playing at the zoo.

One tired little girl.

Beach Day

During the middle of the week we decided to take the train into the city and then walk to the beach.

Lauren and I had talked about cities and the big buildings, the taxis, the train and etc. I also have a picture of the El in my house and I told Lauren we would ride the El to the city. We got on the train and it took forever to get to the loop. Lauren kept saying that the train was too bumpy and that the driver was a bad driver. Ella just fell asleep.

We got to the city and walked down Michigan Ave. We had lunch did a little shopping and then went to the beach. I explained to Lauren the water would be a lot colder then the pool water in Arizona. She did not seem to mind at all. Ella and Lauren played in the sand and water for a long time and they just loved it. They liked it so much we promised to take them back the next day for some more fun.


They didn't have any sand toys but they did not seem to mind. We did tell them we would get some for the next time.

They really played well together. It was fun to watch them play together and really get along. Lauren acts so much younger when she was with Ella. There are times when we are at home that she acts and sounds like a teenager. It was refreshing to see the little girl in her.

It was such a nice day and the kids had so much fun. We tried to go to the beach the next day and it started to rain and then there were a ton of bugs so we just went home. Lauren was a bit sad but we are going to California in a few weeks so she will get to enjoy the beach once again.

Children's Museum

Ella had to go to the doctor so Kim dropped Lauren and I off at a Children's Museum. What a great place. Lauren just loved it and still talks about it. There was so much to do at this place. Lauren loved to paint on her face and to make the art project. But the thing she liked the most was the role playing. There was a food store, a sandwich shop, a vet and a few others. It was so cute to watch her role play.

Ella and Kim joined us later and Ella seemed to enjoy everything also.

She also painted her face and Lauren added more to her face.

The finish products.

I wish we had a place like this in Phoenix. What a fun day.

Zoo Day

Lauren loves animals. She tells me she wants to be a vet when she grows up. Going to the zoo is one of the things that she likes to do. We have a nice zoo in Phoenix but it is great to go to zoo's in other cities because you get to see so many different types of animals. We went to the Brookfield Zoo while we were in town. I think this zoo is so nice. It is a nice place just to walk around. Lauren and Ella seemed to enjoy the day.

The petting zoo.

I love this picture. She is just looking at the goats eyes.