A Rockin' Birthday Party

Bryce and Daddy just got home from one of the most unique birthday parties I've ever heard of.  One of the little boys in Bryce's class invited everyone to a musically-themed party at Elliott Hall.  A drum presentation and Purdue Pete topped off the event.

The kids were all jaw-droppingly mesmerized!

Grandparent visit

This past weekend we headed up to Fort Wayne for an impromptu visit to see the great grandparents. We're not sure who was more surprised!

A Frozen Birthday Surprise

I totally forgot to post about this!  The last weekend in January Kari and I went up to Chicago with Amy and Taylor to go to Disney Frozen on Ice.  Taylor's birthday is only four days away from Kari's, and Amy and I had been planning this surprise weekend since this summer.

We decided to make a full day of it and drove up shortly after breakfast.  A brand new skating ribbon at the new Maggie Daley Park had just opened.  Because we arrived before lunchtime, we beat the crowds and were able to get right on.  The skating ribbon is a unique skating experience.  Unlike a traditional rink where you go around and around in a circle, this was truly a winding ribbon of a path, probably 20 feet wide.  Additionally, it had two places where there were small, but noticeable graded inclines and declines.

It didn't take long for the ribbon to get torn up with all the skaters and the Zamboni was out resurfacing the rink for more than an hour!  By this point, the line to rent skates was some 50 people deep.  We skated a little bit more before our toes, ankles and legs were begging to stop.

Lunch/early dinner was at the original Lettuce Entertain You- RJ Grunts in Lincoln Park.  This is home to the first salad bar in the country.  The restaurant was tightly packed, but the salad bar was impressive so Kari and I both gave it a try.  She particularly liked the pocket-sized apples.

Afterwards we still had about 90 minutes to kill before heading over to the United Center.  We drove around a bit and ended up settling in nearby DePaul area and finding a dessert and cupcake shop. Even though we were still stuffed from RJ Grunts, we pushed through and each ordered some dessert. Kari and Taylor both ordered iced Valentine's cookies.

Finally it was time for the show.  We were thrilled to discover that parking was included in our tickets.  By luck of the draw, we ended up on the Blackhawks side and pulled right into a prime parking spot only yards away from the entrance.  We found a short line and had hardly any wait outside before the doors opened.  We were surprised once again to find that our seats just a few sections over from our point of entry.  This day was running almost TOO smoothly!  I caved and allowed Kari to pick a small something from the sucker, ahem, souvenir stand.  If you've ever worried that the economy has still not recovered from the housing crash of '08, let me assure you, the money was flowing like liquid gold at that place.  It was really quite overwhelming from that standpoint.

After the show, we hustled straight out to the car- no waiting- and hopped right onto the Eisenhower, just in time for the beginning of the big snowstorm.  We made it back to Glen Ellyn in no time and headed to bed.  We woke up Sunday morning to about 8" on the ground and more steadily falling. We knew we didn't have much time to waste before getting on the road, but we did make a few necessary stops and took our time heading back to West Lafayette.  A great weekend we will always remember!