Cousin Time!

My cousin Angie and her family were here for a visit earlier this week. Oliver loved having Ana and Knox here to chase around, and it was so nice spending time with them here. We had a busy but very fun couple of days with the Metzlers!

Angie, Knox, Ana and Rich at Brookfield Zoo

They arrived Sunday evening and we spent the evening catching up and playing Wii. Monday they set off on their own to the Field Museum while Brian went to work and Oliver and I went to Little Gym. Tuesday Brian took off of work and we all set out for the Brookfield Zoo. When we are in the animal mood we usually head to Lincoln Park Zoo, but this time we decided to try something different. Oliver loved seeing the animals. He's getting to the age where zoos are more fun for him - he can spend more time just watching the animals.

It was a hot day but we kept cool in the misters and sprinklers around the zoo. When we finished up there we stopped at IKEA before heading home. Angie had never been to an IKEA and wanted to see what it was all about. We had dinner there and spent some time dreaming of how we'd like to decorate our houses. And we had a celebrity sighting in IKEA! We saw Jeff Tweedy, the lead singer of our favorite band,Wilco, and his wife shopping in the store. That was a fun sighting for Brian and I.

Knox keeping track of Oliver

The cutest animal in the zoo!

Wednesday Brian had to go back to work, but Oliver and I joined the Metzlers for a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. We love that museum! There are lots of hands-on exhibits for the kids, and even things that caught Ollie's interest. His favorite exhibit was the farm exhibit, where he got to climb up in a big John Deere tractor and combine.

Wednesday night we all went mini-golfing before they had to head out for their next destination. It was a beautiful night for golf - something we had not done in a long time! Oliver 'helped' me golf and laughed every time we hit a ball. After golfing, Angie and Rich and the kids were on their way back up to Wisconsin. We are so glad they came down for a visit. Come back again soon! See more photos from their visit here!

Angie, Ana, Amy and Ollie

Oliver helping Mom golf