San Diego Trip: The Zoo

 This peacock was strutting for the crowd!  Very proud and very mean...he grabbed a little duck by the fuzz on his head and shook him!

 Meeting Uncle Mike for the first time! 

 He was taking a serious nap!

 Just hanging around!

Riding the sky tram...face painted again!

I was never a fan of the zoo, from the ethical standpoint.  Then I had a child and I am now a hypocritical card carrying member of Brookfield Zoo here at home.  (Lincoln Park Zoo is free.)  The San Diego Zoo is known as one of the best in the world, so we were very much looking forward to our visit.  It's pretty amazing!  The terrain is beautiful, lots of hills in Balboa Park, and thousands of animals that look well cared for.  They offer a guided bus tour and also a sky tram ride that offers great views of the park.  The one exhibit that I regret not seeing was the koala bears!  I completely forgot and then didn't get time to return before heading home.  Patrick's brother Mike drove down from Irvine for the night and Margaux adored him!

 

San Diego Trip: Sea World

 The sea lions and seals are SO adorable!

 The highlight of her day:  face painting!

 Sesame Street Bay of Play

Shamu!

I wasn't sure where to go for spring vacation this year.  We thought about skiing in Michigan, but the weather has been weird this year and Margaux might be a year or so too young for skis yet.  We have decided to do Disney World next January, so that was off the table.  MVP and I need to go get passports before we leave the U.S. again.  I have always heard wonderful things about San Diego and it's a very kid-friendly place for activities...WIN!  We were aware ahead of time that the weather would not be "tropic" by any means, but our resort offered three very heated pools and two jacuzzis.  We mostly wore spring type clothing.  We purchased the 3-for-1 passes for Sea World, the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park.  This allows for unlimited visits to any of these parks for 7 days.  We decided against LegoLand this time, but would love to check it out the next time we visit.  The best thing about Sea World is the shows.  We saw a very cute sea lion show and the killer whale (orca) show!  We missed the dolphin show, but we see those here at our own Brookfield Zoo whenever we want to.  Margaux had a blast feeding the sea lions.  It was a fun day!



That Slightly Gimmicky Day That Is Still Way More Legit Than Sweetest Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  Margaux and I went to her Kindermusik class and then to a yummy brunch at Crepes A Latte, an adorable little restaurant on Irving Park Rd., for you Chicagoans.  We then went to soccer and my annual eye appointment and then home for Vday gifts!!!  She loved everything and this princess dress up stage is so fun!  I hope everyone out there is feeling loved!

Pinterest DIY

My girl and I enjoyed some Pinterest-inspired arts & crafts for Valentine's Day!  A year ago Patrick was in Spain and this year he will be in TN for V-Day.  Margaux and I will go to her music and soccer classes and we got her another Disney Princess costume as a gift...this time, Belle!

Our Lil' Kicker

Neither myself nor Patrick have a real soccer background, but Margaux asked for a soccer ball for Christmas.  She got the ball and kept talking about soccer, so we took her to one of the Lil Kickers locations in Chicago for a trial class.  She loved it!  She is now enrolled for the remainder of the winter session and we will sign her up for the spring session.  She is currently in a class with 7 boys and they are just adorable to watch.  Kindermusik is still a huge hit with her and we are looking to get her enrolled in another swim class leading up to the summer pool/lake season!  It's been a year since her last swim lesson and "motorboat, motorboat" only gets you so far!  Once the swimming thing is finished she will be trying out a ballet/tap/tumbling combo class.  I love that she is interested in different activities.  We will continue to let her explore and spread her wings to her heart's content...within reason, of course!  I still believe that some down time is important for kids and for the sanity of the parents! 

Sunday Funday!

 Princess Rapunzel & Pascal

 Princess Feet

This magic moment.

What a fun winter Sunday we had today!  Ever since seeing the Disney on ice show last week, Margaux has been asking for a Rapunzel costume AND she wanted to go iceskating...so today we did both!  We decided to try the ice rink at The Park in Rosemont, a bit less crowded than Millenium Park downtown.  She did a really good job on skates for it being her first time.  I am glad that she likes Rapunzel so much because she is my favorite Disney Princess as well.  This is why:  she is sassy and funny and she has GUMPTION!  None of that damsel in distress nonsense where some prince comes to save her, she and Flynn Rider save each other and he is the one who marries into royalty!  I am really enjoying this phase in Margaux's development...my little girly-girl princess who can also be a rough and tumble soccer player and Socker Bopper fighter! 



Dare To Dream

Margaux has really grown into a Disney-loving girl, especially those princesses!  I took her to the Dare To Dream show this past week and we both enjoyed it very much!  The stars of this show were Tiana, Cinderella and Rapunzel...the Tangled story was our favorite.  All of the princesses came out onto the ice at the very end, and she was super excited to lay eyes on Belle and Ariel as well!  I give this production * * * * * !  (5 stars)