BON JOVI TAKE......5

Okay, this is for all of you Bon Jovi luva's out there. Bon Jovi concert take 5 was in Soldier Field in Chicago with my sister, Kristin. 65,000 people in an open air football arena (does it GET any better than this for me?) and Kid Rock to open. Now, I will tell you that I initially felt like vomiting when I realized I had to watch Kid Rock but I was pleasantly surprised and absolutely LOVED his show. Very musically talented person though morally completely corrupt. :0)

A view of Chicago city skyline from Soldier Field. Fan-freakin-tastic.



Now THAT'S a smile we've never caught on camera before!

This one's for you, Kel!

Sing it to us, Jonny!

Acoustic version of "Diamond Ring"

And here ya have it.....Jon in a Chicago Blackhaws Jersey (Um....that's the professional Hockey team here for you ladies who don't know.....which I think is pretty much all of you). It's simply gorgeous to look at.

Anyways, ladies.....I snuck in this blog just for you. You won't hear from me again until late August.

Or if I get to meet Jon this evening during his second stint here in the windy city. Too bad it didn't rain on him during the concert.......yuuuuuumy.

Patriotic Adventures

Okay, last post for July, I promise! I told you I'd only do this once per month so this month was a doozie.

As any good patriotic American should do (ahem...insert joking laugh here), my friend Genesis and I took the kids to Williamsburg, Virginia for the 4th of July holiday this year. We spent one week in a lovely timeshare (insert embarrassment b/c it sounds as though I am a rich, snobby person now when, in reality, this was the last week of our timeshare we could use b/c we are too ghetto to keep paying on it). Although we had to dodge 109 degree weather on some days and assist Sadie in getting through a random illness while we were there, we had a grand old time. My personal favorite was Busch Gardens Europe where we got to watch Celtic Fyre, an Irish song and dance production inside what was called the Abbey Stone Theatre. It was like a free, mini broadway show and was amazing! Colonial Williamsburg was fantastic. We enjoyed learning about how people lived back in the 1700's. We also visited Jamestown Settlement where we got to see how the Powhatan Indians lived when they arrived in America in the 1600's. Isaac loved touring three ships that came over back then. Sadie enjoyed figuring out how to turn every sidewalk into a balance beam. Ah, well.....plenty of time to force history down her throat. I will leave you with pictures and favorite quotes from the trip:

1. While Genesis and Mariah take a bath in the pool sized bathtub in the bathroom, Sadie comes in to ask, "Did you guys turn the romance on?" b/c we had dim lighting so as to not see each other's t-shirted bodies. THAT wasn't uncomfortable.

2. While at the Cracker Barrel, Genesis showed Isaac a variety of T-shirts that all had one word on them such as "believe" and "spunky". When she asked Isaac which T-shirt he felt described him the best he replied by saying, "Um....I think Positive b/c I'm a pretty positive person.....well....cept' when I lie."

3. At the hotel in Ohio, on our way home, Isaac checked the air conditioning to see if it was on and when he noticed it wasn't he asked, "Where's that conthermonstane to help it get colder?" (thermostat)

4. Lastly, Isaac asked Genesis that night, while she was wearing her tye-dyed t-shirt if she had a casserole on her shirt. Um....we confirmed that he meant "swirly". But of course....casserole and swirly sound exactly the same.

Love to all!

The pool sized bathtub

The basketweavers at Colonial Williamsburg. Sadie was most interested in this. WHY did we EVER stop using this form of punishment???? Looks like it could win a Mariah parenting award. Quit laughing all of you who knew me back when I swore my child would NEVER own a weapon. This is what Isaac bought with his spending money. A wooden pistol. Good thing he's a peaceful hearted little twerp.Watching fireworks in the parking lot of Cracker Barrell. That's right....we couldn't last at Colonial Williamsburg so we chose the next best thing. The Powhatan Indian Village at Jamestown Settlement. Grinding corn.The "Susan Constant". This was the largest of the three ships that carried over the European Settlers that first settled Jamestown.Souvenir #2 (and the final souvenir of his choice)....the wooden sword. It's all out the window now.Waiting in line for the "Curse of the DarKastle" at Busch Gardens. Neither child kept their eyes open for the 3-D ride but Gen and I LOVED it! Sadie and Isaac have two mommies.....and our little family matches. Celtic Fyre Production. It was a re-enactment of an Irish wedding reception with AMAZING singing and dance. There were even a cage of live birds that were released to fly over the audience. Isaac thought that was the shiz.Some of the most amazing tap dancing duels I have ever seen. Well.....I've never seen tap dancing duels but I imagine this is one of the best out there.

Free Zoo!!!!

Okay, you have all heard me rave about it but now I shall post some pictures of the FREE Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. I still can't believe that you can find something this cool for free in a big city. When you come visit (and notice I say WHEN) you, too, shall experience this for just a $7 train ride to the city. Doesn't get any better than this.

The sea lion pool

Momma and baby zebra (born May 2010)

The Gorilla enclosure....totally fascinating! Such personalities these brats possess

The black bear. They removed a tumor from his jaw area and it damaged some nerves so the bear has little tongue control. His cute little tongue hangs out of his mouth most of the time.

The Rhino's were our favorite. We stayed there for about a half hour.

Successful Tooth Pullings of a 6 year old

Yes, it is true. Isaac has lost his first tooth (as some of you know b/c he felt a need to call you and tell you about it). I'd like to share about the successful steps we took to pull his tooth so that you, too, could go down in the book of "top 100 parents of all time" someday.

Step 1: "C'mon Isaac, I just want to wiggle it. I won't pull it" (This step requires lying through your own teeth)

Step 2: "Isaac, get over here right now. Either I can pull it nicely or I can sit on you, hold your arms down and force it to come out." (This step requires brutal honesty)

Step 3: The child is so afraid of what you may actually do that he succombs to your tauntings and allows you to pull the tooth that only took a fraction of a second to come out anyhow.

Step 4: Start saving for therapy.