Daddy is Home!!

Boys love their daddies! This first picture is from before James left for China just enjoying some boy time. They were trying to convince me that they were asleep. I think we should play this game more often.

While James was away Jacob would ask me every day if it was the day to go to Chicago and get daddy! We just did normal things while James was away but on 'the' day to go get him we decided to make a trip out of it. So, we left in the morning and headed into Chicago. We spent an hour in the Art Institute where we got to see some fun things. Michael's favorite (and mine) was Seurat's Sunday Afternoon, Joshua loved the architecture exhibit and Jacob liked the armor. I would definitely not want to wear that armor, it just looks so heavy!

Then, we headed down to the Museum of Science and Industry (free to home schoolers!!!) and had a blast. I am pretty sure the boys could live there and be happy. Jacob loved the wind tunnel with winds up to 80 mph and the other boys had fun standing in a tornado, playing with trains, learning about trajectory and much more. We will definitely have to go back!

Afterwards we picked up James and then spent the night in a hotel which is always a treat! On Friday we headed into the Field Museum where we enjoyed some mummies, Ghengis Khan, animals and more animals. Joshua and Jacob loved the underground adventure where they got to enjoy being less than an 1" tall. It was fun to see what things underground would like like at that size. Michael, of course, loved the animals more than anything!

It was a great trip and we made it home safely. We also got to enjoy some of the fun things James brought home for us. I got a couple of necklaces which I hope to remember to wear because they are beautiful. Michael got some money and a nice paint brush set. Jacob wanted marbles, so he got some 'marbles' on a string which he loves.

Joshua had asked for a kite and after much searching James finally found one. We did learn, however, that it was not meant for flying. Fortunately, we didn't ruin it before we discovered that. So, I think we'll hang it in Joshua's room (I will definitely have to post a picture because it is really cool looking).

After the disappointment of the kite not flying we grabbed a kite at Target and James spent the afternoon teaching the boys how to fly a kite. If you want to see pure joy, it was watching Joshua fly a kite. I am sorry I wasn't able to capture the joy in these pics. But they had a great time and the boys are still at the park playing and flying their new kite. I guess windy Illinois is good for something!

So, it has been a blast having daddy home and the boys are in heaven. Jacob continually stops just to get a hug and will get in between daddy and anyone else if he sees affection going on that he is not a part of. Well, we're off to the park for more fun! This weather is perfect! Welcome springtime and welcome home daddy!