When I lived in Florida, I never understood the word seasons. In Florida there are only two seasons, hot and hotter. Every day is green, everyday the sun warms your skin like a kiss from above. Every day is a uniform of flip flops and bare arms.

Growing up I wondered why they used pumpkins to decorate during Halloween. I had never seen a pumpkin patch until I moved to the midwest. Maybe they had them in Florida somewhere, but I’m sure if they did, they are on a completely different time schedule. The only orange fruit I ever saw growing with any regularity were orange trees. Rows and rows of them wafting their strong, sweet scent through the air conditioning vents of our car as it sped by on the highway.

I was sure the snow I saw on the “Frosty the Snowman” special that aired every December was a consistency similar to cotton candy. I was sorely disappointed when, at the age of 12, I saw snow for the first time. I flopped myself down and immediately put some in my mouth. I was shocked and disgusted by it’s cold, bland taste.

It wasn’t until I moved to Chicago that I realized the brilliance of summer vacation. Summer vacation in Florida is the worst time of year to be out and about. It didn’t stop us from slathering our bodies in baby oil and iodine and baking our bodies crisp in the unrelenting sun every single day of the summer, though. Back then SPF 8 was for sissies. We wore socks to keep our feet from burning on the scorching summer sand. We ducked in for some air-conditioning at the local surf shop when it got too hot. And we periodically dipped ourself in the warm, salty water to cool down.

But now that I live here, seasons make sense. Every year I marvel at how much change happens here. Leaves and flowers start growing out of the barrenness, everything thawing out and slowly turning vibrant colors, then days of endless sun, revealing your pasty white legs, burning your pasty white legs, tanning those legs again and finally getting a nice healthy color on them just in time to cover the tan you worked so hard for with pants to combat the cold. Leaves and flowers dying, cold seeping into every crevasse of your being, everything going white, including your legs. Then the long, harsh cold and dark of winter follow.

Finally the leaves start to grow again. The renewal is probably the most exciting part of the year. It feels like the moment the movie “The Wizard of Oz” changes from black and white to color. The anticipation of wonderful weather, of another fun filled, whimsical summer lays almost at your finger tips.

I felt this today for the first time when we visited the Chicago Botanical Gardens.

Our recent observations from our St Louis trip made us realize that wide open spaces are the best places to take out kids. Lots of room to run without getting lost is our new number one factor in picking a destination these days.

Even the big ‘kid’ in our family needs space to run around.

Also lots of things to do and see! It was also nice to slow down and notice nature around you.

Two male Mallards fighting over a female. Probably something our own boys will experience with each other one day…

Viewing the Japanese Gardens leads to talk about Bonsai Plants.

Feeling and Smelling leaves and trees in the sensory garden.

It’s a great activity for kids of all ages, and something that many different age groups can enjoy together. Definitely a destination we will visit many more times in these increasingly warm coming months.

After our trip to St Louis, we came to the realization that less is more for our kids.

And we used that knowledge for Passover this year.

With no family in the area, we were free to decide whatever tradition we wanted for our young household.

We didn’t ask them to sit still, starving, while we read a lengthy prayer book.

We didn’t eat a drawn out, multiple course dinner.

Dieting sucks – no matzoh ball soup for me!

I didn’t even set out a seder plate.

Instead Adam read the boys a story from one of the books we got from the PJ Library, a program that sends free Jewish educational books to our home every month. (Thank you Jennifer for the tip!) The book was titled, “Let My People Go” and describes the 10 plagues in a much more kid friendly kind of way.

I made a delicious  Date and Apple Charoset (which I ended up smearing all over my turkey), matzoh ball soup, and roast veggies with turkey breast.

Then we let the kids eat as much matzoh as they wanted without telling them it would ruin their appetite. We finished almost the entire box, Aaron ate FOUR pieces. I’m pretty sure if you lined them up on top of each other they would be taller than him.

We also kept the tradition of hiding the Afikoman, which is basically hiding a piece of matzoh for the kids to find. Ben found it but Adam doled out money to all of them anyway.

The kids loved the meal.

After tonight I decided to change another family tradition. Matzoh isn’t just for passover anymore…

As a last minute decision, Adam decided to book a few nights stay in St Louis for Jack’s spring break.

It was last minute because Adam didn’t know if he would be too busy with work to go or not. But in the end he thought he could swing it.

Of course, once it was booked and the kids were told, he got busy, In fact, I’m pretty sure anytime Adam decides to book a trip, it gets busy. Hmm, I think I’m onto something here. Next time he is worried he’s not busy enough, I’m going to suggest he book a trip.

Still, it’s Adam, so he managed to juggle it all like the superman that he is.

The kids got to see Lincoln’s cabin on the way over to St. Louis.

Museum at Lincoln’s Cabin in Lerna, IL

Walking the grounds at Lincoln’s Cabin

The boys spent precious few minutes walking around the museum and log cabin, complaining about the bugs. We are definitely raising city kids. Half of them didn’t want to get out of the car for the picnic!

Finally we got them all out and they actually spent a lot of time throwing sticks into the lake (Aaron was in stick heaven) and blowing dandelions. We could have just stopped at the side of the road instead of driving the extra hour to Lincoln’s cabin! Still, it was cool to see them settle in and be boys. 

To destroy the dandelions, throw things, get sweaty and play in the mud. The city is too restrictive for that kind of fun.

Next, on a tip from my friend Debbie, we headed to Laumeier Sculpture Park. Really cool sculptures that the kids were disappointed they couldn’t climb all over.

Instead they spent a huge part of the time throwing rocks at this tree. Aaron collected rocks instead. Raising boys is nothing like my childhood and a constant amazement to me. 

The next day I took the boys swimming at the pool while Adam worked.

Waving to Adam while he works downstairs

Then after the work calls were over, we took in the Gateway Arch.

If you haven’t been, let me warn you – you get to the top by taking a very small, 5 seater tram. All the kids were completely freaked out by it. I thought we were going to be stuck up there but Adam managed to convince them to get back in the little tram to get down.

That afternoon we visited City Garden. This time we climbed the sculptures with abandonment. 

The kids seemed to really enjoy this park. It was small but lately I’m realizing less is more with the kids. A small new park can make for much more fun than a busy museum.

But still we tried the busy museum anyway. We heard from many people not to miss City Museum.

People were right. This place was amazing. Unfortunately, we were short staffed by at least one adult. Ben needed Adam’s complete attention, which left me with the other three. Jack’s interests were vastly different from the twins and he is still to young to feel comfortable exploring alone.

No maps at this museum!

Ball pit fun

Ben and Adam on one of the many slides

I think I’d like to come back to this museum when the kids are older and less scared heights and see through floors. And bugs. Besides we ran out of time before checking out Forest Park. Which means we were already talking about returning even as we were driving home…

Jack had another day off school today, this time it was for report card pick ups.

It is still cold out but not so cold that we were stuck indoors. So we decided to head down to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Lion exhibit

Regenstein African Journey

Black Bear at the Pritzker Family Zoo

Otter at the Pritzker Family Zoo

Now that the twins aren’t napping, we had the whole day to explore!

Climbing Structure at the Pritzker Family Zoo

We even had time to stop by the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Jack likes to count the plastic dinosaurs hiding in the fern room.

Time to stop and smell the flowers.

Frame exhibit at the Conservatory

But the fun didn’t end there! Still we had more time to picnic in the gardens in front of the zoo.

Why walk when you can run everywhere?

The flowers haven’t been planted for the year, and the fountain hasn’t been filled yet. It gave us an opportunity to play in the empty fountain. Did you know the mermen in the fountain were naked?!

Aaron inappropriately touching the statues and laughing hysterically.

And still there was MORE time. We went to the Cummings Playground, located right in front of the zoo, next.

By the end Jack was so tired he was leaning against the stroller from exhaustion. I think everyone will sleep well tonight, including me!

We recently renewed our membership to the Museum of Science and Industry. I love this museum. It’s so large that you can go 20 times and have a different experience each time you enter.

This week (and when I say week, I mean it) I took the twins on Thursday morning to see the new Brick by Brick Lego exhibit. Then, on Friday I returned with Jack and 3 of his buddies from school.

Thursday with the twins.

Friday with Jack and his friends.

The twins spent about 40 minutes exploring exhibit but the older boys were dragged out after two hours of fun, only because their bladders demanded it.

There were many amazing creations by Master Architect Adam Reed Tucker. But the most time was spent in the hands-on exhibits.

The twins preferred to work in the duplo section of the exhibit.

Hope that nose picker isn’t fondling my kid’s legos later…

The older boys took to the more traditional legos.

The older boys also spend a long time at the car building site.

Still there was overlap, exhibits that made sense for any age, like this one where you have 1 and 1/2 minutes to build a structure then see if it can withstand an earthquake.

I’d have to say it is a great exhibit for any age and it’s definitely worth the drive down to Hyde Park to see. So worth it that Ben and Adam are going back tomorrow so Ben can see it too!

As our schedules get busier and busier, it gets harder and harder to have large group gatherings. There were quite a few emails going around trying to find a time we would all be available. But in the end, I was pleased to see so many regular participants were able to attend the annual easter egg hunt.

Sadly we couldn’t get it perfect, so Kelly and her kids were dearly missed. Hopefully next year she won’t be bound by naps. Also Karen and her kids, who have recently moved to Spain were noticeably absent.

Even though the extra testosterone those moms throw off was missing, there was still more than enough to go around.

No one will mess with this gang in the playground.

Wrestling for fun. I’ll never understand boys.

Actually, there was a precise 20 minute time period where all the kids who could attend were present.

We quickly put the eggs out and lined them up.

And then they were off!

Like most activities with kids (meals and laundry to name a few) we parents spend so much time preparing – buying eggs and candy, stuffing them, placing them out for the hunt and then the kids plow through it all in 10 minutes or less.

Time to eat the spoils.

It turned from a windy, wintery morning to a sunny, warm (for Chicago) afternoon and I was glad in the end to have made such an effort again. Nice for the kids to frolic in the fresh air and open spaces together.

Nice for the adults too.

Ben’s Spring Break did not coincide with Jack’s this year. I think it was probably for the best, since our 4 kids need 2 adults to supervise, but any three is okay to handle alone.

We tried very hard to plan something fun for Ben each day of his spring break.

There were surprise sweet treats like unexpected donut stops, a visit to the new Nothing Bundt Cakes shop that just opened, and chocolate from Papa.

Special visit to Papa’s office

Surprise Donut Stop

Nothing Bundt Cake

Also other treats, like his favorite meals, Potbelly’s, Wendy’s, Shine, and McDonald’s.

Shine for Shirley Temple’s and Pot Stickers.

Potbelly’s Pizza Sandwich and Milkshakes.

And there were fun activities like a playdate with his classmate, visits to a few parks, a special visit with his father to the Art Institute, and a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry.

Oz Park

Oz Park

Art Institute

Museum of Science and Industry

Playdate at Jump Zone

After school at Jack’s school.

Montgomery Ward Park

It was tougher than I remember to add an extra kid to the mix and for Ben, I’m not sure having a week off of his normal schedule was particularly relaxing for him. Still, we tried our best to make this a great week for him. I just hope he remembers it that way…