A Day at Navy Pier

One highlight of Summer 2014, travelling to Downer's Grove, Illinois to spend a day with our kids. We took the train from Downer's Grove into the city, Grace's first train ride ever which was kind of cool. We had a picture perfect day to walk the streets of Chicago, check out the Bean, stroll through Millenium Park, hang out at Navy Pier, and enjoy some lovely views.

Taking in Lake Michigan from Navy Pier

The Cloud Gate Sculpture aka "The Bean" was an optical feast. The Bean is a public sculpture in the center of Millenium Park in downtown Chicago. It is made out of 168 highly polished stainless steel plates - giving the appearance of liquid mercury making it high-reflective. It is a very intriguing piece of art and was the perfect spot to get some unique, memorable photos. The coolest part is being able to walk around and underneath it. Check out the picture below from inside The Bean and looking up. Amazing!

Inside The Bean looking up.

Outside The Bean. 

 

The plants and flowers on Navy Pier were amazing, so many different mixtures and beautiful vibrant colors to take in. I took some photos for inspiration back home.

 

A photo from the Pier with nothing but miles of fabulous views behind us was a must. We don't take many family photos as I am usually the photographer. This one turned out great, if you don't mind double-fisting Dan!

 

Until next time,

Making Homemade Meatballs with Kids is Easy and Fun!

Grace has been taking a liking to the kitchen recently. This week she wanted to make dinner. She ordered me out of the kitchen to go sit and chill.  While I did not go "sit and chill", I did put her in charge of the main menu item of homemade meatballs. She eagerly dove right in. She was all ears as I explained to her how to read the recipe first, gather your needed utensils and ingredients beforehand, and then follow the recipe directions carefully. I have to say that she does all of those things very well. Her current specialty is chocolate chip pancakes. She can do those without any help from me and has even impressed her friends!

Preparing the meatball mixture!

Her first task was to prepare finely chopped onions which involved shedding only a few tears. ( I think this might have been the first time she ever cut an onion.) Next up, she measured out all of her ingredients and dumped them into mixing bowl - I love the dump and mix concept. She was hesitant at first to mix and mash with her hands but by the end she was loving it. Lastly, she shaped the meatballs and placed them in the oven to cook. Mission accomplished.

    

Making homemade meatballs with kids is super easy and fun and here's why:

• Minimal familiar ingredients - our Betty Crocker recipe had just 5 ingredients
• Dump and mix concept - no first this, then that - just pour it all together
• They can get down and dirty - I encourage mixing and mashing with hands
• Forming the meatballs is fun - imagine playdough....

The finished product was delicious!

We combined our homemade meatballs with yummy zucchini chips for a very tasty dinner.

Until next time,