July 4th!

We had beautiful weather for the 4th of July festivities.  We started out our day at the Brookfield parade with friends.  This year we brought ear plugs and the boys enjoyed the parade a lot more.  There is something about the loud drums and sirens that they just don't seem to care for.

Of course our Joshie bear wasn't phased by the noise at all.  He was all about being front and center so he could get the candy that was tossed into the crowd!

Trying to round up the dads for a picture was near impossible!

 After the parade we spent a couple of hours at home swimming and enjoying the sunshine.

 After naps it was off to Pewaukee beach for the fireworks.  The kids enjoyed playing in the water and sand as we awaited dusk.  We had such a fun time with our friends.  Memories that will last a lifetime!

KeyLime Cove

After leaving our hotel in Schaumburg we headed for KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort.  What an awesome place for any family to visit.  This is by far my new favorite indoor waterpark.  It was big enough to entertain the entire family, yet small enough that I didn't have any panic attacks from wondering where my children were!  The life guards were incredibly attentive and friendly.  Between them and the life jackets I was put at ease about the safety of my little ones.  

We let Casey do his own thing as long as he promised to check in with us every once and awhile.  He really enjoyed floating down the lazy river and riding the water slides.  Whenever we couldn't find him we would take a peak on the river and their he was!  Because he is so fast and was not around us often I didn't get any pictures of him (bummer).  He did play with Caleb once and awhile and go down the water slides with daddy.  

Caleb has really begun to enjoy the water over the last year.  He loved riding on the tube slides with daddy.  Another favorite for him was just playing in the kids area.  There were plenty of slides and climbing adventures for him.  

Joshua has NO FEAR!  Thank goodness for life vests.  He really enjoys being in water that is right up to his chin if not deeper.  He kept us moving at the water park.  Back and forth between the kiddie area and the big kid area.  

Due to where we were, I didn't get many pictures.  I was able to snap a few before putting the camera back in the room.  Hope you enjoy!

LEGOLAND and Star Wars!

This past weekend we were able to take the boys on a fun adventure.  First stop, LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Schaumburg, IL .  Not only were we visiting Lego heaven, but it was Star Wars weekend!  Right now the combination of those two things is a huge hit in the Buntrock house.  Even Joshua has the character's names down-pat (not sure I should be proud of this).

We stayed in a hotel the night before and the night of using Matt's hotel points from work trips.  FREE hotel and breakfast...score!  The first thing we did was check out the pool.  

All of my boys (including the big guy) love to swim.  

Casey's in the back swimming laps:)

I predict he swims on his own by the end of the summer.

After working up an apetite we headed over to Woodfield Mall to find a place to eat.  We came across a Red Robin...YUM!  

Cheers!  Bottomless root beer floats!

Bottomless mac'n'cheese as well!

After we stuffed our tummy's full we decided to check out the LEGO store in the mall.  The boys had a great time browsing.  This included making a mental list of all the things they would like to have of course.

As soon as LEGOLAND opened their doors the next morning we were in the building.  First stop was to the the gift shop to pick out a toy.  Thought we'd get this over with right away.  Then it was off to check out the Star Wars Model Display.  

Podrace

Podrace

Life sized Darth made out of Legos and a real Storm Trooper.
  Casey choose to stand back.

 After the Star Wars mini-land we moved on to the Jungle Expedition Room.  Not only did they have awesome animals made out of Legos, they had numerous Naboo Starfighters and Podracers within the display.  We were able to find 25.  I thought there were 28 but Casey informed me that some of the ones I found were butterflies.  Opps!

Do you spy any Naboo Starfighters?

 Next was the Chicago mini-land.  There was also a scavenger hunt in this room as well.   There were so many cool and intricate buildings and vehicles to look at.  Not to mention all of the cool Starwars Ships and characters throughout.  Super fun!  

We also took some time to ride the Kingdom Quest Laser Ride before heading up stairs for some playtime in the LegoCity Construction Site which was basically a huge play land surrounded by tables for building.  They had a fun area where you could build a race car and test it's speed on a track. All 3 of the boys enjoyed this activity.

Really getting into it. 

Built himself a winner!

Serious business

Time to move on to some more fun activities.  Next up...LEGO 4D Cinema.  The boys really got a kick out of this experience.  Dad and Mom were glad it was only 15 minutes (headache).  

My cute little dorks...I mean dudes.

What is he thinking?

 We also got to visit the LEGO Factory to learn how LEGOs are made.  Did you know they are start out as tiny plastic beads?  Interesting tour!  After the tour we had to take a couple of snapshots with the lion...

While we were waiting in line for the Builder Academy a Storm trooper was walking by. 

Joshua was a bit wierded out by these guys.

Joshua even became a master builder as we all learned how to make podracers.  

If you have never been to LEGOLAND we highly recommend it. 

 Something tells me we will be going back there in the future.  

Notice how they are all by daddy.  I guess they feel safer with him.  

May the Force Be With You....