Great Lakes Tour 2008

The Cooks continues the Great Lakes Tour 2008- hitting popular destinations including:
ChicagoDeerfieldGlenviewNorthbrookGurneeNow- we’re onto Michigan…Dexter, Dearborn, Plymouth and East Lansing- and I’m sure some others along the way.

We’ve been busy- and have eaten a lot!

Here’s some of the excitement…

Friday started early with the plane ride and landing in Chicago.
We went to pick up the rental car- they (Thrifty) decided that a 2-door Sebring convertible was perfect for us….thankfully, Scott had enough sense to update to a mini-van. Yes, it cost a little more- but it’s worth it in the long run if he doesn’t have to hear me complain all week.

Next- pick up Katie and head to …eat.Went to a great place called Stanley’s. Look it up next time you’re in Chicago- it’s awesome. Trivia: What restaurant did it used to be?? Answer- Jim McMahon’s- we went there once for Julie’s birthday.
Then- off to Lincoln Park Zoo- so much fun….We had a gorilla try to place with Brendan through the class- that scared him too much for it to be fun…we laughed though! He also wants a Polar Bear- Brendan and one of the bears bonded…Brendan did say the bear can sleep in his bed…so that at least works for us!

The highlight of the day for the grownups….

Then for dinner- Connie’s Pizza- simply the best around.

It’s right next to Chinatown in the city. Ironically enough, breaking news down the street made getting home a challenge.Some trucker crashed his truck into the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) Chinatown station- killing at least 2 people. My dad called from Florida during our dinner to tell us about it. We would have had no idea otherwise. Thankfully- we were safe stuffing ourselves silly.
Saturday- hung out with some family and went to Northbrook to let the kids run around the park. But man- I know it’s colder in the Midwest normally, but this is nuts!!! 45 degrees in April…almost May! Tonight there’s even a chance of snow!!! (Which Brendan is really excited about.)
Sunday- family day…then to one of our other favorite restaurants…Hackney’s.

Yes- the trip is all about food.
We’ve left the icy rain and are now in Michigan.
More to come!!

Noises Patrick's Afraid of...

*Thunder
*The dishwasher
*The ice machine
*The vaccum
*The dryer buzzer
*The garage door
*Barking Dogs

It makes life fun and exciting :)

On a dark, stormy night...

no one slept.
We have a problem at the Cook household.
Patrick is scared of thunder.
Freak out, come running and crying to mommy kind-of scared.
Sometimes this is cute- during afternoon thunderstorms.

However, it's NOT fun during the middle of the night.
Take last night for example- it started storming around 4pm.
We went to bed around 7pm- all in my bed. Brendan immediately passed out.
Patrick was awake for two hours.
Finally he fell asleep- after kicking me out of my own bed!

Scott came home- moved the boys into their own beds- and finally I got some good sleep...until about 1am when Patrick came running into our room screaming and crying. He was soooo scared- it took him over an hour to calm down...
Then he woke up again around 4am....same thing....
Brendan was up and ready for the day at 6am.

All the fun = no sleep for mom.

So this morning I asked Patrick- jokingly...what are we going to do with you?
Brendan answered- well, we're going to have to move- all it does here is rain and storm.

There you go...out of the mouth of a four-year-old.

Silly Monkey

This is my favorite story of the day...
Although it's sad that if money's are supposed to be so smart- that he actually fell for the old banana routine :)


Animal control crews have caged the wild monkey that was running loose in a west Orlando neighborhood.

"The monkey has been caged and is on its way to the animal control facility," Sgt. Barbara Jones of the Orlando Police Department said. "Animal control threw a banana out on a string and lured the monkey into a cage."

Records show that residents of Studio Apartments in the 5500 block of Conroy Road reported the loose primate at 9:20 a.m. Jones said it is unclear if the monkey belongs to a resident at the apartment complex. She said the monkey appears to be a chimpanzee, according to police at the scene.

Crews spent less than an hour caging the monkey.

Pee-pee on the Potty

It's official...after a big battle- Patrick has done it!
Finally gone pee-pee on the potty!
It's a big deal in our house!!

Need I say more?

Marching On....

March is just flying by!
I hope the luck of the irish touched you in some way this past weekend!
It was odd having St. Patrick's day on a Monday!

It's been a month of changes....lots of changes at work- and some changes in my family.
We've gotten word that my grandmother is just hanging onto life in a Wisconsin hospital- that has kind-of freaked me out.
She's the one who's made us all St. Patrick's Day freaks....and has given all lots of fun stories about nudiest camps....trust me- you don't want to know.

On a lighter note- March has also brought the return of prime time television.
I have to say, while I missed all my shows, I've caught up on lots of sleep- and now I fear those days are long gone.

We've also had a very active month- Brendan is now into all sorts of sports: mostly soccer and tennis.
I've become a soccer mom- minus the mini-van.

Let me tell you about our weekend birthday party fun!
We had a party at the Orlando Science Center- a place I've always wanted to take the kids but just never did.
Well- they loved it so much we're sure to go back...but I'm not sure they will want us!
They have this mini-mountain with a river that runs through it. Kids can put on smocks and play with boats- and block certain channels of the river to make the current stronger. It's pretty cool- all the children seem to enjoy it.
But of course, Patrick had to take it one step farther.
I was helping Brendan on top of the mountain blocking off one of the channels....when a friend of mine starts laughing...saying...Jen...you might want to come see this...
I look up- and there's Patrick...ass deep...in the water.
He climbed right in and looked at me like....what?????
Here's a picture of shortly after when I pulled him out.



Notice the darker color on the bottom of his shorts and the puddles around him- that's all from him!!
I was a bad mom and made him spend the rest of the day in his wet shoes, socks, shorts and diaper.