Thursday, August 23, 2012

Illinois 2012-- Brookfield Zoo, Great Grandma's Grave, and Randomness

Near the end of the week we thought it would be fun to go to the Brookfield Zoo with Emma and the family. I should mention, that while we were visiting, Illinois was in the middle of the worst drought in years. Meaning, it was bloody hot! The temperature was about 90 degrees, and with humidity, it felt like 110 degrees. The day we went to the zoo the heat index was at 115 degrees. Yeah, super fun for a prego. I didn't think I would last very long, but surprised myself when it was about 3 p.m. and I was still alive. Luckily they had some great indoor exhibits with air conditioning, which saved our lives!




Grandma and Ella
The wonderful monkey exhibit with a/c

Emma coloring in the kids activity center... also with a/c!
Looking at the "bebe" monkeys with Dad
  
Underwater dolphin exhibit (also with a/c), and of course all she wants to do is go up and down stairs
  

Don't let the shade deceive you, it gave us no relief from the heat!
  

This was our sad face from the heat

... and THIS was our "I'm so tired and hot I want to die" face

... and then THIS was our "ok, let's have one happy picture" face
 
Emma running through the sprinkler/fountain at the zoo, she loved it!
So sad to leave, I was soaked and she was tired!
Crashed on the way home, tired girl.
Jakobi and Matt goofing off
These pictures were too cute of Emma-- We were at Sears for family pictures, and Emma was playing with the mannequins... until she pulled one of the arms off. We luckily got her face on camera, and it was priceless! She let out a big, "uh-oh!" and was so concerned about putting the arm back on.
Playing with the mannequins...
"uh-oh!"
So concerned about the arm falling off...
Date night at Oberweis, the best ice cream ever!
For Emma, and most children her age, it only takes one time for her to see something and then mirror it perfectly. On the plane ride, while playing with the playdough, Matt took a piece and made it into a "booger" on his nose, and then pretended to sneeze it out. Well, Emma picked up on that right away, and started shoving pieces of playdough onto her face to make a booger. Everytime after that, whenever playdough was out, she made boogers. What are Dad's for, right?!
Aunt Betty and Matt have a feud of Cubs vs. Cardinals. Last time we were out, she bought Emma a Cardinals shirt, that Matt later turned into a diaper and took a picture of Emma wearing it. This year, he was prepared to get a RED Cardinals "something" from her. He was so prepared in fact, that he said he would take a picture in a Cardinals shirt, if Betty would take one in his Cubs jersey. She got him fooled, and bought him a RED Cubs shirt. It was classic, way to go Aunt Betty! He loves the shirt too.
Emma giving baby Ella her binky, she's gonna be such a good big sis!
Jakobi and I coloring pictures for Grandma
cuddles! We love this handsome boy!
silly faces!
running through the sprinklers, she is such a water baby!
We visited Grandma Jean's grave (Matt's Mom's Momma), and Emma helped put flowers on her grave stone. It was also really hot this day too! Blech!
One of the many ice cream stops during our trip...
Saying "goodbye" at the airport, I was strong and held back the tears! 



We had such a great time, and are so thankful to Matt's parents who helped us make it out there. Thanks for the memories and fun times, we will see you soon!!  xoxo The Twistles