Tag Archives: Andrew

Family Vacations, TheNolands

Chicago Trip 2009

The trip to Chicago turned out to be a lot of fun.

The events started on Thursday when we met up with Rob and Anthony Migliore at the planetarium.  I don’t think Andrew has ever walked so much in one day as the Adler Planetarium was about 2 miles from the hotel.  Andrew was extremely excited to see Anthony and was asking about him on the drive up and was up at 6 am on Thursday announcing it was time to get up.   The Migliore’s joined us for the planetarium and then had to head home at noon for Anthony’s doctor appointment.   The show was shorter than I had hoped but it was amazing on what you could see… we did the “old” show that many of us saw in elementary school, it was very cool.

Andrew and Stacey with the Chicago Skyline

The weather downtown was great and don’t think we could have ordered better, it made the food and beer taste even better.   The rest of the day was a typical Noland event… drinking and eating.  I am pretty sure that we spent more on beer then food at the taste.   The food was great Andrew announced that Chicago is awesome.  He has finally experienced a bit of city life.

stacey enjoying one of the few adult beverages

Saturday was another busy day and we met the Burke’s (Mike, Jack and Will) at the Shedd Aquarium early (well 9am if you call that early) .  Mike said he and the boys have been there a few times as Jack has a shark fetish.  The kids had to get some shark stuffed animals at the gift shop, which Andrew has zero need for any more stuffed animals.  The aquarium has changed a lot since I had been there last.   After chasing around three toddlers for a few hours Mike decided a quick stop for one last adult beverage at the taste was in order before he headed home.

The last activity for the weekend was a trip to Schaumburg to see the old neighborhood and then to Rob’s house for a barbeque, we did not have time to walk around like I originally wanted or stop and see anyone… but it was fun to see the old house.    The barbeque at Robs house was fun to see some old faces, and Andrew got to go in the bounce house they rented… so another sweaty baby.

Andrew loves the bounce house

We got back to the hotel downtown at about 9:30pm and quickly packed so we could get to bed for Sunday’s drive at 6am for the next part of our journey to Bigfork, Minnesota.

The trip to chicago turned out to be a lot of fun.

The events started on Thursday when we met up with Rob and Anthony Migliore at the planetarium. I don’t think Andrew has ever walked so much in one day as the Adler Planetarium was about 2 miles from the hotel. Andrew was extremely excited to see Anthony and was asking about him on the drive up and was up at 6 am on Thursday announcing it was time to get up. The Migliore’s joined us for the planetarium and then had to head home at noon for Anthony’s doctor appointment. The show was shorter than I had hoped but it was amazing on what you could see… we did the “old” show that many of us saw in elementary school, it was very cool.

The weather downtown was great and don’t think we could have ordered better, it made the food and beer taste even better. The rest of the day was a typical Noland event… drinking and eating. I am pretty sure that we spent more on beer then food at the taste. The food was great Andrew announced that Chicago is awesome. He has finally experienced a bit of city life.

Saturday was another busy day and we met the Burke’s (Mike, Jack and Will) at the Shedd Aquarium early (well 9am if you call that early) . Mike said he and the boys have been there a few times as Jack has a shark fetish. The kids had to get some shark stuffed animals at the gift shop, which Andrew has zero need for any more stuffed animals. The aquarium has changed a lot since I had been there last. After chasing around three toddlers for a few hours Mike decided a quick stop for one last adult beverage at the taste was in order before he headed home.

The last activity for the weekend was a trip to Schaumburg to see the old neighborhood and then to Rob’s house for a barbeque, we did not have time to walk around like I originally wanted or stop and see anyone… but it was fun to see the old house. The barbeque at Robs house was fun to see some old faces, and Andrew got to go in the bounce house they rented… so another sweaty baby.

We got back to the hotel downtown at about 9:30pm and quickly packed so we could get to bed for Sunday’s drive at 6am for the next part of our journey to Bigfork, Minnesota.

Kids, TheNolands

Andrew 4th Birthday

What do you get when you take 40 four year olds and let them run around in a bounce house facility for two hours… utter pandemonium

Andrew celebrated his 4th birthday at Pump it up with his friends from school, Tee Ball and around the neighborhood. Andrew had a great time with all of his friends and running around, screaming, tackling and oh yea…jumping.


I believe Andrew is going to be a typical “no fear” Noland as he decided late in the day that taking the stairs up the slide was no fun and to climb on the outside to get to the top. I guess he is living up to his Little Monkey nick name.


This was the first year we did not host the party at our house, so no adult beverages were served. The addition of adult beverages would have made it a bit more fun for the adults I believe. Stacey had gotten back from South east Asia (Indonesia) Saturday around 9 am and the party started at 2:30 pm. We all know she is crazy but this may have been the proof as she setup the schedule…

It is amazing how the time has flow by, it seems like only yesterday we were trying to figure out what to do with Andrew when we brought him home. Well maybe we are still trying to figure it out, but the time has gone by really fast.

Chris

Kids, TheNolands

Tee Ball – Mets at Dodgers

Todays game on October 2, 2008 was against the Mets.

The batting look a strange turn when Korben decided to swing his bat both ways and connecting on the swing back. The other kids decided that look a lot of fun and also tried the new swinging style, luckily Coach Marc was able to help out the team and get them hitting in the correct direction

Andrew was is normal fast self and was ripping up the bases

Blade decided to do some dancing on 1st base as he waited for the next hitter. I think he has a future in a yet to be named reality TV series.

Andrew had one of this friends from school on the Mets, as always he is glad to see his friends.

Kids, TheNolands

Tee Ball – Dodgers at Rangers

Today’s game on September 29, 2008 was against the Rangers. My photographer decided to travel for business so things are a bit lighter than normal as I need to run around the field first and try and take some pictures second.

The team was excited for the nice evening game again and was determined to listen to Coach Marc.

Andrew is starting to listen a little better and the practice at home is starting to help. The consistency of his swing is just improving, also he is throwing a little better, that is an area of focus for our practice I believe.

The kids just cannot stay away from the dirt and just love to the kick up a dust storm. It does not seem to bother the kids, but those of us with contacts it was a challenge to see what was going on.

Well I am back to trying to clean my contacts.

Chris

Kids, TheNolands

Tee Ball Tigers at Dodgers

Today’s game on September 25, 2008 against the Tigers was exciting… well for the coaches trying to get the team to play their positions that is.

I am convinced Andrew is a complete a ham and any time the camera is pointed at him he is striking a pose. He definitely has a future in professional sports.

There were a few really good plays, the best was by Eli with this gab

It was Zach’s 4th birthday soon, and he brought an extra snack and the kids got some yummy cookies. Great to have these and then get Andrew to bed, hmm geez thanks again.