ChristKindle Market in Chicago

This week was sort of crazy.  We had a lot going on, primarily for the weekend.  The week was calm, as usual, but Keira had a lot of friends over.  With Ryan being in a "build" at work, he has been working later, so keeping the kids occupied has been easier with friends over.

On Monday, we had our usual groggy wakeup from Keira.  She got to school fine, and it is finally starting to feel pretty cold outside.  The kids have also really enjoyed finding our elf, Buddy.

On Tuesday, I got Keira up and off to school.  Soren and I went to the gym (which we did every day this week, due to the busy weekend planned).  We also went to storytime, and then did some errands.

On Wednesday, it was pretty cold.  Keira headed out to school.  There was a little tiny bit of snow, and Soren was thrilled.  It did not stick, and amazingly, it did not cause any traffic problems getting to the gym. 

When we got back, we received a Cheryl's cookie package from my aunt. Soren was so confused that I was able to open a present that came, and he was not. Thankfully, he was pacified by a cookie.

Keira got hot, and wanted to practice some ballet at home.

On Thursday, I got Keira to school, and then took Soren to the gym.  I did a swim, and about halfway through, I completely lost the ability to do a flip turn.  I must have just been tired, and then practiced them again at the end. We got home, and Keira had a friend come over.  Soren was a bit crazy, terrorizing the girls, but everyone had fun.  I baked some cookies for the Festival of Nativities that our church was hosting tomorrow and Saturday.

On Friday, while Keira was at school, I did my long run at the gym, so that I could get it done before the weekend.  We had a busy afternoon, Keira had a friend from church over, and her mom and siblings ended up staying and playing for a bit.  The kids had fun.  Once Ryan got home, we attended the Festival of Nativities.  It was really beautiful, and there were a lot of cool nativities set up.  We did not volunteer any of ours this year, since we knew we would be gone when it was time to collect them.

Soren slept in really really late today!

The Festival of Nativities was really fun.

On Saturday, we woke up early and drove to Chicago.  We got in during the early afternoon, checked our luggage at the hotel, and then walked the "Magnificent Mile".  There was this cool silver bean that we walked around and took some pictures.  We stopped into a few stores, and Keira really enjoyed the American Girl Store.  Soren like the Lego store.  We were able to take Keira and Soren's picture with Santa in the Water Tower Place, and it was free!  They didn't have an official photographer, so you took your pictures yourselves.

We did a bit more walking, and then headed back to the hotel to warm up.  We got the kids some hot chocolate, put on their snow pants, and then headed to the Christkindlmarket.  This was our main reason for the trip.  Ryan was impressed by the market.  It was pretty large, and had a lot of fun booths.  We wanted a licht haus, and found a cute train station.  We also got a ski lodge smoker, and more candles.  The food there was great.  Keira and Soren split a brat, and ate more than I expected.  It seemed very authentic.  We also had some great pretzels.  Soren and Keira had cinnamon, I had a pumpkin cheesecake, and Ryan had a traditional.  They were all tasty.  It was pretty cold, so we headed back to the hotel and called it a day.

On Sunday, we got up and had breakfast at the hotel before heading out. 

We had an uneventful drive, and the kids played at home.  We got out our new items, and lit our smokers, as well as our pyramids.  The kids love them!  They always get so excited, and are one of my favorite parts of Christmas.  Perhaps next year we can display the large one at the Festival of Nativities.

Up for next week, we have Keira's last week of school before the winter break!