Vacation Trip to Chicago

Zack has been waiting to go to Chicago since school was still in session in the spring.  He heard rumor from 2nd grade that at the Museum of Science and Industry you can make your own top.  Months later we were finally able to go and fulfill his dream of his very own top.

We headed there first thing in the morning to hopefully beat the crowds at the Museum.  Kevin and I saw the movie Tornado Alley in the huge IMAX theater soon after we arrived.  While we were at the movie, Chad and Zack made the top in the Toymaker 2000.  Zack's is actually a gyroscope and he was able to choose his color and watch the top being put together and packaged.  It is engraved with the date we were there and his name.  The mission was accomplished.

We poked around the rest of the museum.  The Science Storms exhibits were new and pretty cool.  There were a lot of hands on experiments we could do.  We stayed until the kids were ready to go to the gift store and before they were too hungry.

A video projection where the butterflies land on your shadow.  Zack liked to shoo them away.

Dress of the future where you can change the color non-stop

Zack's nose catching lightning

The rest of the trip centered around food.  We went to Murphy's Red Hots for some Chicago dogs and Italian beef.  The food was all great.  The interior seating was quite small but there was a small crowd since it was later in the afternoon.

We stopped for dessert at ICream where you choose your flavor, color and mix-ins and the ice cream is created with liquid nitrogen.  I was hoping for flavored hot pudding that Chad had last time we went, but it must be a seasonal winter item.  I guess that just means a return trip will be necessary.

Wisconsin State Fair 2011

Catching up a bit on the last few weeks.  We have done a lot of stuff, and have been so busy that I haven't had time to post everything here.

We went to the Wisconsin State Fair to enjoy the animals, food, and sights.  We checked out the rabbit barn so the kids could see the kinds of animals I kept when I was their age.  Zack loved the rabbits, but we left them all there in the cages.

A young Dutch rabbit, just like I used to raise

After the rabbit barn we headed to draft horse wagon classes being judged.  There was a lot of bling on all of the wagons and horses.

Next up was pig races.  The pigs were all named after famous celebrities.  I'm sure the celebrities would be proud, especially if their pigs were winners.  There must have been a pretty good treat at the end because most of the pigs were running pretty fast.

My most enjoyable area at the fair is the Wisconsin Products Pavilion.  In here are all the local food growers and producers associations offering their products to try.  We had apple cider donuts, cherry crisp, ice cream, flavored milk, and loaded baked potatoes.  I could have spent all day, but there was much more fair to experience. 

We checked out the "as seen on TV" merchandise area, mostly because it was air conditioned.  We also walked through the projects building with all the photography, fancy cakes, and flowers. 

It was a hot day, but we saw a lot of things, and of course we brought home a 3 pack of the famous Cream Puffs.  This year Kevin experienced a cream puff and ate the whole thing.  We may have to upgrade to a 6 pack next year if Zack wants one.

Running in Sioux Falls

A change in my normal work schedule had me sleeping in Sioux Falls, SD. I packed running gear figuring I'd get a run in before I could drive home. The front desk said Falls Park was worth the trip so I set off to see. 7 mile round trip run and yes the park was great. http://www.siouxfalls.com/fallsParkDetails.cfm