Monster Jam is coming to Chicago!

Monster Jam is coming to the Allstate Arena in Rosemont THIS weekend!  I have always wanted to go to a Monster Jam event!  It seems like every time they come to Atlanta, I have at least 5 friends who are posting from there about what a good time that they are having (and most of these friends are the ones without kids)!  I think this will be such a fun event for not only Ian (who loooves his Monster Trucks), but for Dave & I as well!

(read this in your Monster Jam announcer voice for the best effect)

Monster Jam is the most exciting form of family motorsports entertainment on the planet.  The stars of the show are the biggest performers on four wheels: the Monster Jam trucks! The12 ft. tall, 10,000-pound machines will bring you to your feet, racing and ripping up a custom-designed track full of obstacles to soar over - OR smash through. The 2014 touring season brings more Monster Jam excitement providing entertainment tailored perfectly for your family's budget, and these colorful, larger-than-life beasts are sure to capture the hearts of both young and old.

The Chicago shows are coming to the Allstate Arena in Rosemont February 7-9th!  You can purchase tickets online now at www.ticketmaster.com!  Ticket prices vary according to show so visit Ticket Master for details!


Showtimes:  Friday, February 7 - 7:30 PM.  Saturday, February 8 - 2 PM & 7:30 PM.  Sunday, February 9 - 2 PM & 7:30 PM.

Kids tickets are just $12!

Monster Jam Pit Party-  Pit Party prior to each 2 PM performance from 11 AM - 1 PM.  Walk the track, meet the drivers & grab autographs.  Pit passes available for $10 online and through the Allstate Arena box office! 

Here's your chance to save!  Adults can save 30% off on all performances using code MOM - click here!  Discount does not apply to Front Row VIP or Gold Circle seats.  No double discounts.  Service charges, handling, and facility fees may apply!  All tickets $2 more on day of show!

*Disclaimer:  I am a Feld Family Ambassador, and in exchange for my time and efforts in attending shows and reporting my opinion within this blog, as well as keeping you advised of the latest discount offers, Feld Entertainment has provided  me and my family with complimentary tickets to Feld shows as well as opportunities to attend private Feld pre-show events.  All opinions expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone.

Disney on Ice

This week, my family and I had the opportunity to attend Disney on Ice Celebrates 100 Years of Magic.  We decided not to tell Ian beforehand, and let it be a surprise for him when we arrived!  So he knew when we were heading to the uc that he was going to a surprise, but he kept saying we were going to an "animal surprise"... whatever that is.  If you have been to any other events at the uc, you know that parking can be pricy and you usually have to walk.  That wasn't the case for Disney on Ice!  Since parking is free for all events- we got into a lot right in front of the center- 2 steps and we were there!

when we got inside, we went to a special meet & greet- Mickey & Minnie were there!  Ian refused to have his picture with them, but Isla was more than willing to comply!

Ian did however go crazy for the sword he got!  He's pretty much played with it non-stop since he got it- he even sleeps with it on his dresser.  It has pretty much made his 3 year old life!

 

Now, onto the show!   Disney on Ice Celebrates 100 Years of Magic!  Sixty of Disney's unforgettable characters from 18 beloved stories come to life in Disney on Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic.  There were appearances by Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio and many Disney Princesses.  Plus on ice reenactments from The Lion King; Mulan; and Disney/Pixar's Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Toy Story films.  This was my first ever Disney event, and my first ice skating event!  The show was about 2 hours with a short intermission in between.  I thought it was the perfect length for kids- Ian paid attention from start to finish without getting restless- which NEVER happens!  The pyrotechnics scared him a little (though they were few and far between), but he was mesmerized by everything else!  I asked him after the show what his favorite parts were and he said Toy Story, The Incredibles and Pinocchio.  My favorite part was Mulan.  If you have kids, or you're a fan of all things Disney- you will LOVE a Disney on Ice event- it's definitely one of the best deals in town!  We can't wait to go again!!!  Here are some photos from the show!!

Mickey, Minnie, Chip & Dale!

Aladdin and the Genies 

Finding Nemo

Toy Story

It's a Small World!

Pinocchio

Mulan

Lion King

The grand finale!

Disclaimer:  I am a Feld Family Ambassador, and in exchange for my time and efforts in attending shows and reporting my opinion within this blog, as well as keeping you advised of the latest discount offers, Feld Entertainment has provided  me and my family with complimentary tickets to Feld shows as well as opportunities to attend private Feld pre-show events.  All opinions expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone

catching up: first we had family photos

as i said before my blog sabbatical... we had family photos made.  asking a 2 year old to do anything is kind of a joke, but, ian seemed to do ok.  he had a hard time sitting still (shocker) and had to be bribed with fruit snacks (another shocker!)...  i'm happy with the results though.  julie (dave's cousin's wife) always does a wonderful job.  if you're in the ft. wayne area- be sure to look up king photography.  here are a few of my favorites...

love!

on ian:

polo: the children's place

pants:  target

sandals:  keen

on mommy:  

earrings: forever 21

dress:  it's a sher-bet dress- modcloth

sandals:  outer-bank on it sandal in white (saltwater sandals)- modcloth

these are officially ian's 2 year photos... even though it was 4 months after his birthday.  i think once a year is pretty good for photos.  how often do you do family/children photos?

pumpkin farm!!!!

we took ian to the pumpkin farm last year and had an absolute blast!  so we decided that this is one cool family tradition we want to keep going!  goebbert's is a really awesome place.  you can pick your own pumpkin (they have so many varieties- this year we got a cool grey pumpkin along with our normal soon-to-be-jack-o-lantern-pumpkin), see cool animals (including giraffes that eat right out of your hand), buy fudge and other delicious treats and see pig races!  this is definitely a must if you're living in the chicagoland area.  we like to "beat the crowd" and go on a weekday.  ian wasn't so sure about the animals this year- we finally did get some smiles out of him once we saw the goats and monkeys, but he loved the slide (leaving it induced a tantrum) and had a great time running around.  let's take a walk down memory lane...

(bffs, these two)

what a little peanut!  man, we took a lot of pictures last year... not so much this year.  we got to the farm with only 90 minutes to spare until closing (dave had to work!)...  but we still had a blast!

 fun in the giant rocking chair!

 tantrum slide

 pumpkin fun!

 ian's new bff- melmo

 little bat boy

little family!

and now a little something fun....

he's grown a little bit

what are your fall/halloween traditions?

labor day weekend in atlanta

we decided to go to atlanta to see family & friends for ldw since we had free time off of work, and it had been 4+ months since our last trip.  we were miraculously packed & ready to go when dave got home, so we hit the road.  our road trip was crazy as usual- ian did not do very well.  luckily, we made a stop halfway down in murfreesboro, tn to see dave's cousin who had just moved down there to start school at middle tennessee state university.  

we ended up getting to my mom & dad's house pretty late, and finally we were able to get everyone settled into bed.  since  thursday (our anniversary) was spent in misery on a road trip, we were looking forward to a date night on friday.  we planned a movie & dinner, but the movie ended up having to be pushed back.  we went back & forth over where to eat dinner, but ended up picking an old favorite with six feet under.  I had delicious calamari tacos!  we decided to follow up dinner with dessert- and for that we went somewhere new.  we ended up heading to flip burger and having the milkshakes!  dave had a nutella & burnt marshmallow milkshake, and i went with the krispy kreme.  YUM! 

saturday i had lunch with a dear friend.  we spent 4 hours telling stories, catching up and giggling over yummy mexican food.  it was the only friend i saw the entire trip.  i had a blast with her, and it was tons of fun, but at the same time it was really sad.  i've always had this fear that i would eventually become irrelevant to my friends at home and people would forget about me because we've been away for so long.   that evening we watched the georgia game.  not good. 

sunday we traveled to see my grandparents, aunt, uncle & cousin.  ian had a really good time running around- and swimming in the pool!  he loves the pool!  dave & i may have had more fun in the pool- it was like being a kid again going down the slide and doing crazy diving board jumps! 

we came back monday evening and dave & i took our movie night.  we went to see the help.  loved it.  i'm pretty excited to read the book now.  if i can finish what i'm reading now....

tuesday we took our little guy to the aquarium.  he did pretty well.  he didn't seem to impressed with many of the animals, but he did love the penguins!  when we got up in the tube, it was so cute to suddenly hear him say "hi birdy!!"  so cute. 

and with that, our whirlwind trip was over.  it was back to chicago- a trip that went much smoother than our trip down, tg.  can't wait to plan our next trip- probably around the holiday!  woo!

be prepared for photo overload...  

 telephone!

 wild man!

 this photo is so funny b\c ian was pumped about this giant blow up bulldog, until he got within 10 feet of it.

 enjoying the aquarium

 creepy eyes in the penguin tube!

 ian and dave with bernie & billie

 ooh.  more fish!

 exhausted!

 sweet shark hats!

 varsity!

 reading with granddaddy

 and grandma

family!

smashion

i'm the featured seller on smashion this week- please, go buy my stuff so i can get rid of it.  i want it out of my house.  i beg you.  beg.

ps.  we're in atlanta right now.  lots of family stuff going on.  that's the reason for the absence! 

happy 4th!

hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of july!  i am so far behind on writing blogs and reading blogs this week!  i am at least 3 outfits behind and i know i have some other stuff in store.  we've been gone all weekend and i've hardly missed seen my computer.  bear with me because we're going to be busy AGAIN this week, but i promise to get as much as i can in this week.  hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend & holiday!  i'll leave you with a little picture from ours!

catching up - easter

remember last week (or maybe it was the week before..) when i blogged about how i don't have my head on straight and my bedroom looks like a shipping warehouse?  ai yi yi...  well, much to my husband's delight, i finally unpacked that suitcase, and now my child actually has clothes in his room.  i can't figure out why i've been so frazzled lately.  as i'm blogging, i'm multi-tasking by paying a phone bill that was due a week ago, and yesterday, i found out that i had completely forgotten to make a payment on my credit card.  hello late fee.  sorry, husband.  it's like i've never existed in the outside world before... you spend 2 weekends out of town and your entire world flips upside down...  at least if you're me. 

tomorrow dave turns 30.  ian has been running a fever off/on and is a total crankster today.  i need to run to the post office to mail ebay stuff and i need to run a couple more small errands- but cranky doesn't mesh well with errands.  i have to work tonight (of course), so it has to be down in the next 5 hours... luckily, ian is napping now, but who knows how long that will last.  basically, i'm running out of time. 

i've totally blown it on dave's bday.  i am usually so, so, so good at this, but i'm admitting defeat.  i had 2 absolutely wonderful ideas, but they are both well over my budget.  i'm basically grasping at straws here.  dear- i'm sorry.  :(

so, the title of this blog mentioned easter... i probably should too.  we had the pleasure of spending easter in atlanta again this year where once again it was 30 degrees warmer than it was at home.  we saw family, friends, enjoyed delicious mexican food, and i got my hair cut for the 1st time in almost a year.  delightful.  we went to church w\ my parents for easter sunday and ian lasted about 20 minutes before i decided that he would need to go to a church nursery for the 1st time.  he was fine of course. 

a little from our trip...

 we met with family and friends for dinner.  L: dave & ian with ian's cousin landon, and his daddy, ryan.  ryan is married to my cousin, christi.  R:  our little family.

 

outdoor easter picture.  maybe next year we will learn that this tree casts horrible shadows and to take family photos elsewhere... oh, and you can't tell, but ian is wearing a little vest and tie- presh!

here's me and my little boy, and a shot of me.  i was pretty impressed with how this dress ended up looking on me once i added the belt.  it felt nice to feel thin even when you're not.

 ian checking out his goods from the easter bunny

 ian giving my parents georgia bulldog statue a kiss.  go dawgs!

ian with his grandparents!

ian with his great grandparents- gigi & pop

the whole fam

i would ask you what you did for easter, but you probably already blogged about it seeing as it was a little over 2 weeks ago...