Rebekah's Invitation to Disneyland

The other day this Disney advertisement came in the mail and Rebekah was just amazed. She shouted out: "Take my picta wit dis!" I think she took it as her own personal invite to visit Disneyland.


All the girls are soooo excited about going to Disneyland next month. They talk about it everyday, counting down the days, and discussing which Princesses they can't wait to see. We're looking forward to it very much.

Bowling Fun

Having fun at the bowling alley that we practically had to ourselves.
Excited to retrieve their green bowling ball.
Watching Alyssa bowl was fun. As usual everything was a fashion show. She would prance up to the ready position and she looked so feminine and cute. She actually kept up with me through the first 4 or 5 frames.
Very pleased with her bowl.
Emma's silly duck waddle.

It was really fun to go bowling with the girls. Dave had taken Alyssa and Emma before, but I had never seen them bowl, and it was cute. Even the lightest ball was a little too heavy for Emma to get a good throw in, but she had lots of fun anyway. Alyssa surprised me, she said before we went that she didn't think she was very good at bowling, but she consistently was able to knock over 7 or 8 pins and even picked up a couple of spares. Rebekah had this cute squat she did to watch her ball inch its way down the alley, it was funny.

Back to the Mitchell Domes

The "Show Dome"
The girls in front of a lego replica of Milwaukee's City Hall.

Miller Park In Legos.


With the girls having a day off from school, we headed back to the Mitchell Domes even though it had only been a few weeks since our last visit. 2 days ago, they changed their "show dome" from the Christmas theme, to a Legoland theme. Of course, it was great to see all the pretty flowers and the Lego theme did not disappoint,as always, it was beautiful in there!

Legoland Show Dome

Rebekah could have stood and watched the trains all morning.
Lego Eiffel Tower.
This tiny lego city made us so excited to visit the real "Legoland" next month!
The Lego Castle that Alyssa said was her favorite part of the display.
The little train that circled the city had incredible detail to it. They had about 4 or 5 trains going around the tracks, one of them had train cars full of candy (no surprise that Emma noticed that one).

Even just looking at the pictures, it's hard to describe how much work they put into not only the lego structures, but all the designs of the train tracks and the flowers that decorated the entire scene.

Playdate with Halle

Finding broken icicles left over from our "deep freeze."
Inside for hot cocoa.
Silly cocoa smiles.
Singing Hannah Montana.

Yesterday, Emma's best friend from church spent the day with us. As usual the girls had so much fun together, the house was full of little girl laughter all afternoon!

Cute Sister Picture and Alyssa goes on the Toboggan

I thought the two girls looked so alike in this picture, every once in a while, I get a glimpse of Rebekah that looks just like Alyssa. But, unrelated to this photo I liked of Ka'iulani and Kamelelani, Dave took Alyssa to a nearby toboggan run on Saturday for their day together, just the two of them. I wish I had gotten some pictures of them, because the place they went to was huge, Dave was amazed that some of the toboggans they rented were big enough for a family of six to ride down all together. They were on our local tv news with a few other families walking the quarter mile back up to the top of the toboggan track, I wanted to put the link here, but I couldn't figure out how to do it.

Emma's Clay Creatures

Emma called this clay guy a "Scarecrow."
Emma's clay turtle. She made him a little pond for his habitat and everything.

We have been exhausting all of our indoor play options since last Thursday. School was cancelled Thursday and Friday because of temperatures that were between -30 and
-40 degrees with the wind chill factor. While it hasn't been nice enough to venture outside, it has been great to have the girls home for a few extra days, to think we thought our Christmas vacation was over :). It's surprisingly nice to have nothing better to do than make crazy clay animals and play in an empty box (see below).

New Computer Chair Box

How many girls can you fit in a box?
The box was strong enough for Rebekah to pretend it was a table, or a bed, here, she's climbing up on top.
Gymnast Salute.


We got a new computer chair, and I should have known the girls would LOVE the box. I almost took the box right out to the recycle bin, but it's sooo cold out, I thought I would just leave the job for Dave when he got home from work. Well, by that time the girls had already decorated the inside with crayons and markers, and it was a new home for many of their stuffed animals. The Styrofoam padding littered the entire room like a fresh snowfall, and I'm sure the box is now a permanent fixture in our living room!

New Year's Eve Celestial Event

We had really clear skies the night of the "Celestial Event" that occurred on New Year's Eve. In case you missed it, the really bright star under the moon is Venus, and I think you can faintly see Saturn below. There was at least one other planet involved (maybe up to 3, if you notice the faint triangular shape of the stars), but I can't remember right now what other planets were visible.

Chinatown, Chicago

Rebekah playing with the chopsticks.
Ka'iulani is the Hawaiian "Princess of the Peacocks."



We had a nice visit to Chinatown, enjoying some great Chinese food. We also went to a Chinese Bakery where Ka'eo was able to get two of his favorites: Rice Cake, and Custard! After Chinatown, we went to the Planetarium, which was fun, but Alyssa and Rebekah both started feeling feverish while were there. They would have enjoyed it more, if they had been feeling their best.

Adler Planetarium Photos

The girls by the actual Gemini capsule that was part of the Apollo Missions.


Alyssa with Soldier Field behind her.

Adler Planetarium

Unfortunately, not too long after this picture was taken, Rebekah started feeling sick. I don't have that many more smiling photos of her from this day.
Alyssa is standing here, listening to the sound that the sun makes. Who knew the sun makes noise? It was kind of a whirring hum.

She loved the telescopes!

Leaving the Adler

As we left the Adler Planetarium, the Chicago Skyline looked very nice, so Dave clicked a few pics.

The Girls At the John Deere Pavilion

John Deere Pavilion

The girls in the "cockpit" of a tractor.


The same day we went to the Family Museum, we stopped by the John Deere Pavilion on our way home. It was really cool to see all the equipment, and how the tractors are built. They were HUGE!

Family Museum In Bettendorf Iowa

There are many pictures below of our fun day in Bettendorf, Iowa. GO HAWKS!!