Comic Con Chicago 2015

Like last year, we had decided to go to Chicago Wizard World (Comic Con). The kids had decided to go with their Pokemon costumes still.

Adam and I came up with our costumes fairly early. We were going as Mary Poppins and Burt! Adam pretty much had everything already in his closet. The few things still needed were either picked up at Goodwill for cheap, or made with found items around the house. My costume was a bit more of a challenge. Luckily I found the skirt, shoes, and tights already in my closet. For the blouse and bag, I hit up Goodwill. The bag was a lucky find! It was a large stained piece of luggage, and then I found an carpet like valance and was able to glue the fabric to the bag. The red ribbon belt and bow was made with ribbon already in my crafting bins. Now the hat.... I found a few tutorials online and made it myself. The first go was way too big, but with a few modifications the second time around was perfect. The flowers and berries were found at Dollar Tree and hot glued to the hat. Adam made the parrot head on the end of an umbrella we already had. He molded it with clay, then covered in paper and lastly painted it.

I think we look pretty cute!

D was very excited to take her picture with anyone she was a fan of.

The lines for food were crazy long, and then they ran out. So we stayed just a bit longer and the kids begged for Al's beef again.

And as we were leaving Adam suggested we hit up Chinatown for dessert and a nice walk around. The kids each picked out a pastry from a bakery and weren't terribly thrilled with it. But were good sports about it.

It was a very long day, and after walking in heels for most of it, I had blister on my feet, but boy was it worth it! We already can't wait for next year!

Summer Road Trip: California Day 3

Adam, the kids, and I all woke up early, snuck out and picked up cinnamon rolls, Starbucks coffee, and some gifts for our host. It was a special day as well for 2 other reasons. 1. It was our last full day in California 2. It was our 10 year anniversary!  After breakfast, we headed out for our first stop. Our entire family are big Mythbusters fans. (If you recall last year's birthday party) While watching a few episodes the night before, D drew a picture of the entire crew. She really wanted to send it to them, but since I let her know we were heading for M5 Industries in the morning, she agreed to wait.

We took our picture in front of the sign. There was a note on the door that said to please not disturb because they were filming. D happily slipped her note inside an envelope through the mail slot in their door.

From there, we headed into the city again, aiming for the Chinatown area. This was a neat thing we saw on the way. It is seriously a real car flattened and hung up on the side of a building.

We parked in a garage not far from Chinatown. As we came out of the garage at street level, we wandered into a neat Scottish Import Store.

A short walk from there, and we were in Chinatown! The kids had a really fun time checking out all the shops. Andy did show us to this tiny little fortune cookie factory down an alley. As you walk into Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory the first thing you notice is that they are freshly making the cookies in a tiny little room. There is a line of ladies taking the cookies off of the hot press, sliding a paper fortune inside and folding into the unmistakable shape. The lady in charge has a plate of misshapen or broken cookies for you to take a sample of, and there are bags of freshly made regular or chocolate cookies. We munched on these all day long!

After cruising around for sometime, picking up a few souvenirs, and having Vietnamese sandwiches for lunch (yes, they kids happily gobbled them up!), we tried to catch a trolley. We stood right on the corner at Chinatown for a long time, but every trolley was totally packed. A man walking past said we might have better luck walking to the next stop just 2 blocks away. Those 2 blocks were up a very very very steep hill. We made the trek, pausing to catch breath a few times.

1 block into our hike, I noticed this statue of Hermes and thought he just needed a pocket necklace. How else would he carry his messages? So once again I left my mark on San Fran.

After a short wait, we were able to all get on a trolley. The kids were bummed that we couldn't hang on the outside, but they said no one under 16 could do that. We also went ahead and bought a day pass, so that way we could ride it back and it would be cheaper that way.

Once we got to the end, back by Ghirardelli Square, the kids got a picture taken hanging on it once it stopped.

Another duck into the Buena Vista Cafe for Irish Coffee and Sprite before picking up boxes of Ghirardelli chocolate and explore a few shops. Another stop for ice cream for the kids at Ben & Jerry's!

Headed back to ride the trolley back again, but stopped in a really cool spy store. The line to ride back was shorter, and went really quickly.

Once we were back at the car, we headed back home to relax, wash clothes, and pack up for the long ride for home in the morning.