Memorial Day Staycation

This Memorial Day I decided to take some extra time off from work to have some extended time with Heather and the boys. We decided on the "staycation" approach and booked a few nights at a five-star resort in Buffalo Grove, IL called "Residencia de la Alsop". Each day this weekend we visited one attraction nearby to enjoy the sunny weather and get in some good bonding time. On Thursday we stopped by the Brookfield Zoo to see lions and tigers and bears! On Friday we spent the morning at our favorite feel good spot, the Chicago Botanic Gardens. I think we love the Botanic Gardens because, well... we don't have our own lawn, garden or anything green! Finally, on Saturday, we bought a mattress for Caden's new bed and stopped by Legoland, since we were in the neighborhood. We found it a little pricey for our end of month budget so we just took a picture outside just to say we were there. The rest of our time has been spent relaxing, reading and avoiding stress. Here are a few pictures from our activities:

These boys are ready for a day at the Zoo.

Here we sat and watched the elephants while eating lunch. The boys got a close-up view in this picture when the elephant came to the fence nearby.

Enough of the elephants. These boys adore their mom.

Caden didn't get too excited about many animals but for some reason he wanted to cuddle up next to the turtles. We suspect that he likes them because, like him, they have very laid back personalities and love to sleep. He seriously just laid down and started talking to them and we had to drag him away.





Here Luke jumped into the cartoon board educating children on conservation and respect for the habitat.

Caden got in on the cartoon board action but, as usual, questioned why we were making him do this. Let's get back to the turtles!

The next day we spent a morning at the Botanic Gardens. Here's Luke loving his stint on one of the many bridges and lakes.

The best part of a warm summer day at "The Gardens" is the water fountain in the middle of the rose garden. Most kids like to get drenched but ours just like to get their hands wet and nothing else. Here's Caden just researching the flow and feel of falling water but notice the distance and separation he keeps from the rest of his dry self. Yeah... cautious is in our genes and he's our most adventurous offspring thus far.

Here's Luke. He absolutely loved racing around the fountain and throwing water to and fro (see the video post below if you have time for a visual). This water fountain was the highlight of our weekend. Oh the smiles we'll remember here.

Finally, we were in the neighborhood of Legoland this past Saturday and thought we would finally take the leap and check it out. We got to the entrance and saw the pricing and decided to come back in a month or two. Budgets stink! Since we stopped by we had to get a picture to use as evidence if the boys ever ask why we never went to Legoland when we lived in Chicago.