Ben had his annual Public Defender Conference in Milwaukee the second week of November. Because of Mara's birth, he didn't attend last year; so this year was a must. He was kind enough to let us all tag along. Of course, Ben went down bright and early Thursday morning, but the kids and I were in no rush. I picked Reid up from school right around lunchtime and we made our way down I-41.
Our book on tape was Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang (though we might have been finishing up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory first). When we hit the suburbs we exited the freeway to make a little stop at the Lego Store. We'd never been to one, so I thought it might be worth checking out.
We got to Ben's hotel just a bit before dinnertime. The kids were excited to get in our room and unpack. I about died when I saw how many stuffed animals made the trip with us, ha! I guess that's what I get for trusting them to each pack their own bags. We purposefully bought them backpacks that turn into stuffed animals so we could avoid needing to bring along so many of our furry friends when we take these kinds of trips. Silly kids.
For dinner we decided to check out the "Safe House" per a friends' recommendation. It's a good thing we had google maps, because I would have never ventured down an alley to find a restaurant. That right there set the mood for the rest of the night. The kids were pretty captivated by the spy ambiance.
As we left the restraunt we could hear fireworks going off and we could even see their reflection on some of the skyscrapers. That was pretty neat and we eager to find a better viewing spot. I figured for sure they had to be going off over the river, because how else were fireworks in downtown Milwaukee not a safety hazard? Ben insisted we follow the sound, so we walked about two blocks north and then one block west and came upon them just as they were over. Had we just taken one block west toward the river to begin with, we would have been right there (ah-hem). The real bummer was that the sidewalks crossing the river were closed so we had to back track again to find a different path. And what I'm about to say next may sound insignificant, but months later the kids still talk about it. Ben was pushing Coraline in the stroller, so they had to take this weird little one level elevator when we were down at the river. Oh ma gash! That was the slowest elevator in the entire world. It was all glass so we could see them the entire time and it was like watching a cartoon or some sort of bizarre practical joke. Slowest elevator ever. I don't know why it was so funny to watch them, but it was! Even passerby's were chuckling at the whole ordeal. And no lie, Reid mentioned it just the other day. So funny.
Back at the hotel we tried to catch some sleep, but that's always a real trick when you have a family of six in one room. We'd brought the pack n play for Mara and the tent for the other three kids. Man, that tent was a horrible idea. Every time one of them moved it made such a ruckus. And turns out Coraline rolls over constantly in her sleep. I was sooooo mad at about 2 am. But somehow we all survived.
Ben snuck us all some breakfast and we watched cartoons once morning finally arrived. The kids really wanted to try out the escalators. So we made a game out of it and they both (as in Reid and Nell) felt so accomplished and city christened after going up and down a couple times each.
Friday was really our big day and I had a couple of awesome things planned. First we got lost because of construction, but eventually we made it to the Domes. I was pleasantly surprised by how much the kids looooved the gardens. We went through both the desert and the jungle twice. Reid was even lucky enough to see a poison dart frog. Well, we all saw it, but it was really something special to Reid.
Before we left we stopped in at the gift shop and got some bookmarks for their teachers and each kid picked out a new rock/mineral for their collection. We found a near by McDonald's and swung by the drive-thru. They felt like royalty eating their lunch in the car as we headed back downtown. We spent the afternoon at the Discovery World (a science and technology museum on the lake).
Our book on tape was Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang (though we might have been finishing up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory first). When we hit the suburbs we exited the freeway to make a little stop at the Lego Store. We'd never been to one, so I thought it might be worth checking out.
We got to Ben's hotel just a bit before dinnertime. The kids were excited to get in our room and unpack. I about died when I saw how many stuffed animals made the trip with us, ha! I guess that's what I get for trusting them to each pack their own bags. We purposefully bought them backpacks that turn into stuffed animals so we could avoid needing to bring along so many of our furry friends when we take these kinds of trips. Silly kids.
For dinner we decided to check out the "Safe House" per a friends' recommendation. It's a good thing we had google maps, because I would have never ventured down an alley to find a restaurant. That right there set the mood for the rest of the night. The kids were pretty captivated by the spy ambiance.
As we left the restraunt we could hear fireworks going off and we could even see their reflection on some of the skyscrapers. That was pretty neat and we eager to find a better viewing spot. I figured for sure they had to be going off over the river, because how else were fireworks in downtown Milwaukee not a safety hazard? Ben insisted we follow the sound, so we walked about two blocks north and then one block west and came upon them just as they were over. Had we just taken one block west toward the river to begin with, we would have been right there (ah-hem). The real bummer was that the sidewalks crossing the river were closed so we had to back track again to find a different path. And what I'm about to say next may sound insignificant, but months later the kids still talk about it. Ben was pushing Coraline in the stroller, so they had to take this weird little one level elevator when we were down at the river. Oh ma gash! That was the slowest elevator in the entire world. It was all glass so we could see them the entire time and it was like watching a cartoon or some sort of bizarre practical joke. Slowest elevator ever. I don't know why it was so funny to watch them, but it was! Even passerby's were chuckling at the whole ordeal. And no lie, Reid mentioned it just the other day. So funny.
Back at the hotel we tried to catch some sleep, but that's always a real trick when you have a family of six in one room. We'd brought the pack n play for Mara and the tent for the other three kids. Man, that tent was a horrible idea. Every time one of them moved it made such a ruckus. And turns out Coraline rolls over constantly in her sleep. I was sooooo mad at about 2 am. But somehow we all survived.
Ben snuck us all some breakfast and we watched cartoons once morning finally arrived. The kids really wanted to try out the escalators. So we made a game out of it and they both (as in Reid and Nell) felt so accomplished and city christened after going up and down a couple times each.
Friday was really our big day and I had a couple of awesome things planned. First we got lost because of construction, but eventually we made it to the Domes. I was pleasantly surprised by how much the kids looooved the gardens. We went through both the desert and the jungle twice. Reid was even lucky enough to see a poison dart frog. Well, we all saw it, but it was really something special to Reid.
Before we left we stopped in at the gift shop and got some bookmarks for their teachers and each kid picked out a new rock/mineral for their collection. We found a near by McDonald's and swung by the drive-thru. They felt like royalty eating their lunch in the car as we headed back downtown. We spent the afternoon at the Discovery World (a science and technology museum on the lake).
2 comments:
I absolutely LOVE the photo of Mara asleep in the bed. Isn't that the sweetest! Sounds like the entire family had a great visit to the city of Milwaukee, sans the sleeping part of it! Pretty sure the kids slept great, just the mother who did not get her zzz's!
P.S. Reid does not look too terribly happy to be petting the snake :)
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