Sear's Tower

 Apparently Sear's Tower is no longer called Sear's Tower, but I'm not having it. We went to check it out. We rode a subway there. This was very exciting to the kids. 

We had to wait in some lines, but they thought it was pretty cool once we were on top. 

 The airplanes were practicing for the next days show. It was really cool to watch them from so high up. 

 Leah saw a hipster do a handstand on the overlook, so she wanted to do it to. We didn't dress for the challenge though. 

 Leah thought it was really cool and showed us all of the "tiny ant" people. 

 This was the best picture I could get. I got really nervous every time I looked down. 

Museum of Science and Technology

 On the way into Chicago, we stopped at the Museum of Science and Technology. The girls really liked it (way more than The Field). They had fun playing in the kiddie section and exploring the entire place.

 This exhibit was "Fairy Land" or something. The girls thought they would be meeting princesses. When they found out it was a doll house they couldn't touch, they thought it was lame. 

The girls really liked the energy exhibit. We petaled on a bike and it took a picture of their shadows. They thought that was pretty cool.

 By far and away, Leah's favorite part of the museum was watching chicks hatch. She stayed for 20 minutes waiting for one particular chick to hatch. Juliet (and Chris) lost interest quick. It was really exciting for Leah. 

 There was an airplane you could get in, and Juliet thought that was pretty cool. I was totally weirded out by how much it still smelled like a plane. I hate that smell. 

 After a few near melt-downs, ice cream was in order. 

 Leah really liked this climbing wall. It took her a few times to get all the way across, but she was so excited when she finally did. She did it a few more times and had no problems at all! 

 Another cool part was there was a machine that actually made toys in front of you. Leah always asks how things are made, so it was pretty cool for her to watch the toy be made. Leah and Juliet each got one. It's kind of like a top. 

American Girl Experience, Chicago

 For Leah's 6th birthday we decided to GO BIG. American Girl. The girls were so excited. I told Leah her birthday present was the trip. I also said it included dinner at American Girl, and I would pay to have Caroline's hair done in the salon. Anything else she wanted was up to her (though I ended up also agreeing to getting Caroline's ears pierced). Between gift cards from her grandparents, selling her Matilda Jane on facebook, the tooth fairy, and doing chores, she almost earned $300. Juliet also sold some dresses and did some chores and raised $150. Walking around the store, I felt like we were in Pretty Woman for the youngest generation. 

 Leah got Julie and her accessories, and a new dress for Julie. We had to order Caroline's cat, Inkpot and her holiday dress. They weren't in the store since they are about to be retired. We are still on the lookout for her work dress (currently on Ebay for $80). Juliet got Kit's bed, Kit's dog Grace, and her scooter. 

 Juliet also really liked Kit's hat, 

 The dinner was so, so cute. The girls were so excited and loved walking around the store and looking at everything there. 

 The dolls got the royal treatment at the dinner. They got their own chairs, their own tea cups and saucers (that we could keep), and a lot of attention. 

 Juliet was so sweet and wanted to share everything with Kit. 

 This picture was pre-salon experience. 

 I love this picture of Juliet and Kit. 

 We got back to the hotel and opened up all the loot. The girls had so much fun playing with all their new toys while Chris and I drank some beer. 

 Leah and her dolls. 

Leah was adamantly against sleeping in the same bed with Juliet. She was convinced Juliet was going to try to beep her or cry. So, she slept on the couch the first night. The second night, I felt bad having the birthday girl sleep on the couch (even though she didn't mind at all--in fact she said she liked it), so I slept with Juliet and Leah slept with Chris. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw Leah in the left side of the bed, with her dolls and stuffed animals lined up along the middle and right side of the bed. I did a double take, wondering where Chris was, but then I found him, sleeping on his side on the very, very outermost portion of the bed. What a good Daddy. 

The Weekend Daddy Went Away...

 These girls are spoiled rotten. Daddy went to Colorado for a friend's wedding. We had 3 days with just us girls. We went to a movie, went grocery shopping, watched movies at home, went to church, and did some crafts. The girls did pretty well, but Leah's favorite thing to do was to call Daddy and say in the most pathetic voice, "Daddy? Where are you? Why aren't you answering your phone? Why did you leave us? I miss you so much. Please call me back." She made these calls about 4 times each day. 

I debated whether I should go to the wedding with Chris, but if I would have got a message like that, I would have been on the next flight home, regardless of the cost.

On the last day, we made him a Welcome Back sign. 

 These pictures of Juliet make me smile. 

Real Life Farm

 This summer Leah really wanted to return to Real Life Farm. She loved checking out kittens, and that was the primary reason she wanted to go back. I signed her up for 4 sessions. The first day she was a little nervous, and told me she didn't really remember going there. The second she walked back into her old classroom, and was greeted by her old teachers, she was so excited to be back. She had a lot of fun and checked out a duck and several kittens. 

 Every time we would take Leah, Juliet would get so upset and insist that she wanted to go, too. I went back and forth, but finally agreed for her to go for 2 days. She was so excited. She went into Leah's 3 year old class with her old teacher. I thought her class was a little "wild" and worried about Juliet. I even had Leah's teachers go check on her a few times. They joked that Juliet was in the "Caterpillar" room and Leah was in the "Butterfly" room like in Toy Story 3. Either way, Juliet loved it, though she adamantly refused to nap there. 

 The last day Juliet attended, Chris was out of town. We were going to an outside movie that night and I needed for Juliet to sleep. She refused and I went to get her early so that she could actually nap and stay up to 11:00 at night. She was so upset to be leaving. So, I signed them up to go 2 more days at the end of August. Lucky girls. 

Juliet's favorite parts are playing on the playground and watching "horse shows". Leah loves playing with her friends and reading Mary Kate and Ashley books during rest time. What she loves best, is taking home animals. 

The Lost Tooth

 Leah lost her first tooth! 

A few weeks ago the bottom right front tooth became wiggly. Leah couldn't decide if she was thrilled or scared to death. She landed right on pretty freaked out. She face timed her friend who lost a tooth to seek reassurance. She talked to Ethan who just lost a tooth, too. The first night her tooth was loose she was up crying several times throughout the night. After a few days and a lot of, "I JUST WISH THIS WOULD COME OUT ALREADY" it was finally loose enough for me to pull out. 

 She didn't like the blood (at all), but once it stopped, she was so excited. We got her a glass box for her to keep her tooth in. The tooth fairy brought her $5.25 and put a fairy door in her room. 

 I love this picture of Juliet. Hot mess express. 

Leah trying to show off her missing tooth (unsuccessfully)

My Favorite Note of All Time

Sometimes Leah doesn't appreciate when someone needs to use the bathroom. She loves to yell at Chris and tell him to "Pinch it Off". Apparently, she thought a note under the door would be more effective. I will treasure this memory forever. 

Real Life Farm Friends

 Leah has been back at Real Life Farm this month. I originally signed her up to go 4 times, but she really likes it, and Juliet has been BEGGING to go, so I extended it for another 2 sessions. Next week, Leah AND Juliet will get to go. I'm not sure if Juliet knows what she's getting into, but we will see. 

On her first day, Leah brought home a duck. I really like the picture of her and the duck above. She named the duck "Cheepers". He was a nice duck. 

 The next time Leah went we were supposed to get a bunny named Snowball, but her ran away. Farmer Ian told us to come back after all the campers went home, and there would likely be animals left over. So, we went back. There were 2 kittens left and Leah insisted on bringing them both home for the weekend. The one on the left was named Luigi and the one on the right was named Pluto. I really liked Pluto. 

This weekend we have a cat and a bunny. 

Outside Fun

 Meet our 2 new pets: The little one above is named Minnie Mouse, or Minnie-rella. She belongs to Juliet and is a Saint. She withstands Juliet dropping her and trying to, literally, pull her out of her shell (note, this behavior is not condoned by us)

The bigger one is names Rosie Daisy. She belongs to Leah. When we got her, she lived in a pink and purple shell. 15 minutes after coming into our house, and meeting Brain, she moved to a bigger shell. She is very nice and social.

So far, the crabs enjoy field trips to the sandbox, being outside, and exercising around our living room. 

 Playing outside. We've had so few really nice, hot days this summer (up until last week, anyway). This was earlier this month. The Blue Dawn bubble bath tubs never get old. I hope it stays that way.

Ann Arbor Art Fair

 We went to the Art Fair. This year we somehow parked super far away and were only close to an off-shoot of the fair. We had to walk quite a bit to get to the actual downtown where the majority of the fair was. These girls complained bitterly. The entire experience wasn't much fun. I was laughing at how naughty they were being. Chris wasn't so amused. 

 We fulfilled our mission and got 2 glass bulbs, though. Merry Christmas. 

Last Day of Princess Camp

Wow. I've been super behind in updating this blog. I've had to take a class and my spare time has been back to reading and writing papers (boo). 

This was the last day of Princess Camp. The girls had so much fun!

 The picture below might be one of my favorite pictures of summer.