Boo at the Zoo

For the 4th year in a row, the Scanlon family all ventured to Brookfield to attend Boo at the Zoo. Since we went on a Sunday this year we didn't get there until after lunch, so we didn't have the craziness, I mean joy, of all trying to eat lunch together.
When we got out of the cars it was starting to rain, it was cold and windy. If it wasn't for the kids I would have been back in the van and home for warmth, but we went in. And the rain stopped. We took some good pictures and then headed to the hay maze. All of the kids had fun running through - even Nola.
We decided to warm up and watch the dolphins for a while. After a short visit we went back outside to see the bears. It was great to see all of the kids so excited about the bears - and to watch Nola's eyes get so big as she saw the bears move. Next stop was Tropic World - to see the monkeys. There were plenty of monkeys swinging around - some very close to us. We even got to see an anteater.
For our last stop of the day we headed to see the penguins. Of course one of the highlights was standing under the crashing water and screaming when it came down.
We then all headed back to our house for dinner before everyone packed up and headed home so the kids could get some sleep before school. We did have fun - and going in the afternoon worked out well. Next year we'll just hope for some warmer weather!

Monsters on Main Street

After a short nap in the van after Will's party, we headed to downtown Brookfield for Monsters on Main Street. We had gone last year and had a great time, so we wanted to try it again. We met up with Cassidy, Cori, Ed & Aly and the girls jumped into trick or treating to all of the businesses. Nola quickly got her second wind and was leading the group down the sidewalk.
It was fun to watch the girls go in and out of each of the businesses to get their candy and make sure that their cousin was getting candy as well.
Cassidy was a great pirate - and thanks to Aly, she was warm under her black cape. Nola enjoyed the dancing skeleton outside of the jewelers and was very intrigued by a little boy dressed as Winnie the Pooh.
We stopped at the Library for treats, free books and a bathroom break. Aunt Mari Pat & Uncle Bill stopped by to see the girls in their costumes before we headed out again.
The girls did have a couple stops so they could run around the brick circles in town. And they were all happy (especiallyl Nola) when we saw a Greyhound and the owner let them pet him.
There was only a bit of disappointment when we got to Girons and found out they were not giving out pieces of pizza this year. (Might be tough to convince Pat to go again next year!) But Cassidy and Reagan made themselves at home there and were ready to help the little boy hand out the candy.
But once again, we had a great time at Monsters on Main Street. The girls got plenty of candy and will guarantee several days of sugar highs!

Happy Birthday, Will

Saturday we were able to celebrate Will's 4th birthday! He had a superhero party - and for one day, Cinderella was a super hero. Reagan had a great time playing the games and playing with her friends. Nola was busy playing in the bat cave and trying to climb the stairs. They were 2 of the first kids to the table when the pizza arrived and Reagan was one of the last to leave the table after cake - she wouldn't want to leave one bite of chocolate cake!
Reagan was excited to watch Will open his presents and was very willing to help. Nola just loved sitting on the stairs and kicking her feet.
Pat and I had a great time just hanging out with the other parents and watching the kids enjoy themselves. And we were impressed to see Trace dressed up as Iron Man - don't know how I didn't get a picture of that!

Northwestern 10 Year Reunion

So hard to believe that I graduated from Northwestern 10 years ago! Amazing how different my life is now compared to back then. On Saturday we headed up to Evanston to hang out on campus for the afternoon. We ate lunch at Norris and then walked around to see SPAC, Bobb-McCulloch, Tech, various buildings and we ended our tour at Chi Omega. The first thing Reagan noticed was all of the fliers taped to the ground. It was hard to explain why that is done in college, but it was fun to see her looking at all of them. Reagan's favorite part was seeing the ducks and fish in the pond with the fountains.
When we got to Chi Omega we were able to catch up with a bunch of girls I had either graduated with or who graduated the year after me. It was fun to show Pat and the girls where I used to live and where I spent a good part of my college years. Reagan wanted to know why there wasn't toys at that house...good question. I took her upstairs to show her the 2 rooms I had lived in while I lived in the house. Her and Nola were happy to find the cookies they were serving and Nola was happy to play with the other kids who were visiting.
We then took the girls to visit grandma and papa and then Pat and I headed into the city with Karen and Justus to the reunion party at Landmark. We had a great time - it was fun to see people I hadn't seen in 10 years and to find out what they are doing. It was a long day of talking, but very fun. I am so glad we went - and look forward to going back in another 10 years. And since Reagan declared that she wants to go to my school, we might be going back in about 15 years to take her there!

Enjoying Fall

On Friday we were able to enjoy the beautiful fall day at the Morton Arboretum and Reagan and Nola were able to play with their friends - Will, Finn, Evan and Stuart. We started with a picnic lunch - accompanied by many bees - but great to be outside.
Reagan loved the climbing tree houses - and Nola kept trying to get in, but was stopped by her mean mom every time. It was just fun to watch the kids run around and climb and just have fun.
We then went up to the stream and that was the best part for the kids! Reagan talked me into letting her take her shoes off and get in the water - and it was cold! Nola loved playing with the rocks and really wanted to get in herself, but that didn't happen. She did throw her hat in the water but that's as close as she got.
It was just so fun to be in the sun and see the changing leaves. Reagan is really into finding red leaves, so it was a perfect place for her! We were able to go to Will & Finn's to play afterwards - and Reagan was lucky enough to have ice cream with sprinkles. It was no big surprise that I had to drag them both out - they hate to leave when they are having fun! All in all, it was a great fall day!

First Field Trip

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be one of the drivers for Reagan's preschool field drip to the Little Red Schoolhouse.
I drove Reagan and 2 other girls. We had fun listening to Snazzy on the way there and hearing about what each of the girls was going to be for Halloween - the other two are both going to be Snow White!
We started off by learning more about the Little Red Schoolhouse and then going inside to see all of the animals. There was a very loud crow and lots of small animals - snakes, fish, turtles. The teachers were just great about making sure that all of the kids were checking out the exhibits and seeing as much as they could.
We then headed outside for our 'hike' - or walk around the pond. It was a little muddy, but it was a bright sunny day so we couldn't complain. The pond was beautiful and it was great to see such pretty trees changing colors around the pond.
We heard some ducks, but didn't get to see any of them - even though the kids sang their 5 little ducks song to try to get them to come out - very cute!
We did see a chipmunk and got to hear a woodpecker. And then we got to a small pond and saw a water snake right on the edge - not my favorite but the kids were very excited. And they also saw some bees.
We ended the trip with a song about leaves and then headed back to school. It was great to see how wonderful Reagan's teachers are and to meet more of her classmates. It was a great morning!

MOPS Gone Wild

Last weekend I headed to Dallas with 7 other women from my church to attend the MOPS Convention. We stayed at the Gaylord Grapevine - amazing hotel but quite pricey ($3.50 for a coffee - not even a latte). We ended up renting a minivan - wouldn't want to get too crazy with something different from what we drive at home!
I was able to have dinner with my uncle Skip when we got in on Thursday night which was great. He was one of the few men we saw all weekend.
From the time our first session started at 7:00 on Thursday night we were in meetings most of the time until 5:30 on Saturday evening.
It really was a great time to hang out with friends and have a little alone time. They had a great fitness center and running path - so I took full advantage of that each morning.
We were able to do some outlet shopping on Friday night - which is so enjoyable when you don't have a stroller! On Saturday night we headed out for BBQ - but the place I had chosen turned out to be a type of Hooters BBQ - the girls were actually wearing less clothes than the girls at Hooters - so we quickly exited and went to a different BBQ place.
I do have to laugh because I took my camera and hardly took any pictures. I take a ton of pictures of my kids and then I go away for 4 days and hardly take any pictures. I did take a few pictures of the Go Fish Guys - mostly to share with Reagan, Anthony and Leo.
But it was a great time to be away. I was very thankful that Pat and my mom were able to watch the girls. I was excited to come home and see my family - and to see that Nola is walking/running even faster than when I left!

Party! Party!

After being postponed a week due to 104 degree fevers and roseola, Nola had her first birthday party this past Saturday. And what a day it was! The weather was perfect so the kids were able to play outside and the adults were able to enjoy our newly stained deck and sunshine!
We brought our jumper outside and the kids jumped in it while Grandpa John was trying to tip it over. We had a few games of bean bags going on and Anthony let us borrow his football toss game - which Will mastered quickly.
While she was eating Nola got very tired and needed a nap. Grandma Jane rocked her to nap and she rested while the rest of us ate and enjoyed the company. Our neighbors opened their gate so the kids were able to jump on their trampoline - that was a big hit!
I woke her up so we could open presents before it got much later. As the picture shows the present-opening party of the party was not a quiet one - each of the kids wanted to help. Since Nola is still so young, I let each child open up the present they brought. It worked out pretty well - and Jack was in charge of all of the garbage.
It was then finally time for cake!! Nola loves when people sing Happy Birthday - and she usually continues to sing once they are done. So to have that many people singing to her was a great joy! She couldn't master the art of blowing out the candles, but her sister was quick to help. But she did master the art of eating chocolate cake - she is definitely a Mulcrone! She was happy to sit in her chair and see how much cake she could get in her mouth - and on herself.
It was just so fun to have so many people who have been such a big influence on Nola's first year of life and our many years of life all together. It was such a happy party and we are so thankful for all of the amazing family and friends that we were able to celebrate with.