A Visit with Shadow

Remember Shadow from the Danada Fall Festival? And after we went there, Gavin did a school project about Shadow? Well, I sent a photo of it to his owner, Larissa, and she said it made her day, and if we wanted to schedule a lesson with Shadow over winter break, we could. So we did!

Shadow is boarded up in Woodstock, so it was a long drive and clearly a one time experience. Jenny, the barn manager there (Silver Spurs Equestrian Center) was fantastic and explained everything to Gavin in detail, about grooming and riding.

Shadow gives lessons to children while Larissa is away at school, so he is very gentle and patient. Gavin was rather quiet at first, but he listened to everything Jenny told him and he had a great time successfully riding Shadow:

Getting on (with help from these wooden steps):

Listening to instructions from Jenny about how to stop, start, and steer:

And off they went! 

 There were a couple times Gavin didn't turn Shadow quickly enough as they rounded the ring, and they ended up facing a wall. Shadow would just stop and stand there, waiting for Gavin to give him a signal. It was adorable.

Larissa was able to come over and say hi!

 Feeding time after the lesson. Shadow was trying to investigate Francis's coat pockets for treats. He didn't have any, and all I had was cough drops, but Jenny said Shadow actually likes cough drops so I gave him one!

Shadow looks a little shaggy because his winter coat is grown in. I have never been up close to horse with its winter coat!

When we got home, Gavin said," I LOVE Shadow. He's the best horse ever!" 

Brookfield Zoo

We love Brookfield Zoo, all year round. The day after Christmas was drizzly but we went anyway and had a great time!

(This picture is from a few days before that - I'm including it here because it was the best one from that day. I also have a video which is too big to email. I'll try to post that later.) We had a close-up encounter with Mr. Lion:

These are from the day after Christmas:

One of the great things about Hamill Family Play Zoo os that the staff takes out small animals for kids to pet. This was the first time we petted a rooster:

And they had a cat to pet!! Gavin wishes more than anything that he wasn't allergic to them. I let him pet this cat (named Domino) as long as he didn't touch his face and washed hands immediately after:

We spent a long time by the poison dart frogs. Gavin wanted to study them. They are very tiny and active! If you look closely you can see a green one on the branch:

Playing vet in the "Vet Clinic" at Hamill Family Play Zoo:

Gavin points the way in the Swamp:

In the wolf den. It was dark by the time we got to the wolves, so we saw them roaming around, which was cool! In the day, they mostly sleep.

Our hotel "Stay-cation"

In December, we had plans to go to a hotel in Schaumburg for the weekend before Christmas. Despite losing Nana the week before, we still went, because she would have wanted Gavin to be able to go.

Gavin LOVES to stay in a hotel, because he loves the pool and loves to sleep in bed with me. And Auntie Clare travels so much that she was able to redeem hotel points and get us a beautiful room at Embassy Suites.

In the pool with Auntie Clare Friday night:

Gavin beat both me and Francis soundly at Battleship:

On Saturday, the Florys came over to hang out with us. We swam in the pool - here are Gavin and Annie:

And Mark and Tim:

We opened Christmas presents with them:

And went to Legoland Discovery Center:

 We all had a great time. Maybe we'll go back next year for a repeat!!

Lego Train show

I am a few weeks behind on this blog. I will get things posted, but they will be late!

We attended the Lego Train Show at Cantigny in December  - we go every year. The amount of Legos involved in staggering, and the scenes the builders create are amazingly detailed.

This year for some reason, the show was the most crowded that we have ever seen it. It was hard to move around. So I didn't get the best pictures, but Gavin had fun!

Train Set

Gavin was super excited to get out his Christmas train set. He's old enough to help put in new batteries using a power screwdriver, too!

All Aboard! Cue hours of entertainment. 

Ball Factory

Gavin was invited to a birthday party at the Ball Factory. We hadn't been there ever, so he was excited to go.

I had heard from other moms that this place is not set up to easily watch multiple kids, and they are absolutely correct. It's hard to see where anyone is. Luckily, Gavin is old enough and sure footed enough in the climbing structures that I don't worry about him getting stuck. :) He ran around with his friends and had a great time.

He loved the room where you shoot nerf balls across the room, and he loved the cars and tractors you can ride on (it's been quite a while since he was able to do this)!

Ball Factory put wrist bands on Gavin and me, but no one checked us when we left. So security left a lot to be desired. My opinion - it's a fun place if you are watching one child OR several older ones (elementary school age). But if you are herding toddlers who need a lot of help climbing or need more supervision, maybe pick a different place to lower your stress. :)

Surprise Snow

Last Wednesday we woke up to an unexpected snow. Unexpected, but not unappreciated! Gavin and I got some great pictures on the walk to school:

Of course, it was gone by Friday...but we know winter has only just begun! There will be lots more snow!

Setting Up Christmas Lights

We started putting up Christmas decorations this weekend. Of course, several strings of lights that we used last year are not working now, so we didn't finish. But we set up a lot, taking advantage of the relatively warm weather.

Just like for Halloween, Gavin got up on the ladder to hang the lights:

The snowman came over in Grandpa Cermak's convertible:

More pictures to follow, as we keep setting up!