Good Night Moon the Musical

In the great green room, there was a telephone, a red balloon and a picture of a cow jumping over the moon, and three bears sitting on chairs, two little kittens and a pair of mittens, a little toy house and two people from Wisconsin with two little people from Chicago.
Heather and I took Nick and Piper to the Victory theater in Chicago to see the play Good Night Moon performed by the Chicago Children's Theater.  Kyle and Leah had tickets to another concert at the same time as Good Night Moon, so Heather and I decided we could handle this on our own.  Our adventure actually started at Kyle and Leah's place as Heather practiced how to use the Baby Bjorn.

Then we got Nick to put on his pants, bundled up Piper, and headed for the car.  Then following both a map and the GPS on my I Phone, we drove to the Victory Theater.  On the way Nick asked "Where are we going"  and I said "Trust us, Nick."  Nick replied "I don't trust anyone."  That's not very reassuring.  We found parking on a street just a couple blocks away.  Nick liked walking through the puddles.

We picked our tickets at "will call" and were told it was open seating.  We were about 15 minutes early, and only about 20 people were already sitting.  They were all in the center rows, so we opted to sit on the left side, about 5 rows from the stage, a perfect view of everything.
We waited for the play to start.  Heather asked Nick if he wanted to walk around and check out the place, but he declined.  He was perfectly happy to sit and wait.  He did go down to the stage to touch it though.

It was 3:05 and I made the comment that the show is late.  Nick replied "You should just wait." which of course we did.
Good Night Moon is a story written by Margaret Wise Brown about a bunny that doesn't want to go to sleep, and proceeds to say good night to everything in his room, as his mommy keeps trying to get him to hush.  That is pretty much the whole book, so we were curious how this could become an hour show.
Then the lights dimmed, and a man entered the theater through a side entrance, wearing a trench coat and bunny ears, he walked down the theater stairs up to the stage.  On the stage was a Good Night Moon book.  He picked it up and the book came alive.  It started to fly upward.  Nick was astonished.  He shouted, "Its magic."  and some other kid shouted out its flying..Nick reiterated, that "No, it's magic!!"

Then the man got on the stage, took off his coat, had on his all in one blue sleeper, the curtain opened and the stage lit up.  If you are a Good Night Moon fanatic, you would see that nothing in the room is missing, from the bedside clock to the Runaway Bunny book on the bookcase.

Basically everything in the room comes alive, and creates a story that keeps the bunny from going to bed.  There is a live band playing, humorous songs sung by the bunny, a mouse that is played by a girl with a very squeeky voice, and an older women dressed like a cow.  Alex Goodrich as the bunny, does a fantastic job including the audience in all the action.  And the action never stops.  Dancing, singing, story telling, there isn't any downtime.  Its no wonder that Piper sat wide eyed for the whole show, completely entertained.

 Nick understood the theme of the story when he said to me "He doesn't want to go to sleep, just like me."  and at the end the man in the moon talks to the audience..and Nick looked at me so surprised, "I didn't know the moon could talk!"  

When the show was done, Nick and Piper sat on the stage for a few pictures.  We all had a fun time, it was a very entertaining hour definitely designed with kids in mind, and for adults that are young at heart.   Heather reasoned that was why the man came out in the beginning, that even though he was an adult, he longed for the days that he was a young bunny with a great great room and a wonderful imagination.  

Our adventure was not done.  We then drove to Panera for dinner followed by a quick stop at Kohl's department store.  Not an easy task when you are driving in Chicago, but we had no problems at all.  Thanks Leah for the tickets, and allowing us to take Nick to his first live play.  I think we smiled the whole time!

McMiller Sports Complex

We (Heather, Scott Z, Dan, Suzie, Suzie's dad Steve and myself) enter the parking lot, there are over 100 cars lined up, packing both sides.  Wow, what a popular place to be.  Then Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom.  Sounds like the finale of a fireworks show but there is not a spectacular light show in the sky instead we are at a shooting range a week before deer hunting season opens.

We have been to McMiller's Shooting Center Sports complex many times in the past...starting back when the kids were really young they always enjoyed shooting at clay pigeons.  I couldn't find the pictures from the 80s but I did find these two, different times by how we are dressed.  No membership is required, its open to the public and located in Eagle, Wisconsin.

Its fun to compare these to what follows..how the place has changed ovr the years..even the color of the trash can!!!


What is needed to go skeet shooting?  There was a box and a half of leftover clay pigeons (5 inch clay discs) from a previous outting but Dan purchased a couple more boxes and some gun shells the night before.  I asked Kyle permission to use his  break-action 20 gauge and Dan brought his along too.  We brought along stylist protection for eyes and ears  (since its needed for each person whether they are shooting or just watching).  McMiller charged $9.00 a person to use the range for an hour.  Pick out a couple stalls and 3, 2, 1 FIRE!

This was Scott Z's first time skeet shooting but he was confident because of his wii and xbox shooting expertise.  So he took his first shot and shattered the clay!

Heather still has her brace on but that didn't prevent her from squeezing the trigger.

Ow, was Suzie's first comment after firing her gun.  The kick back hurt.  Her dad suggested she hold it tigher against her to avoid the hard recoil.    She must have adjusted because she never mentioned it again.

My turn.  It was fun, and you feel like such a hunter without killing anything!!  Here is some more info.  Each 20 gauge shotgun holds two shells and after firing, you move the release, bend or break open the barrel and the shells fly out...or if you break it slower you can simply pull out the spent shell and replace them.

Everyone shot and then we made it a competition (of course we did!).  One person shouts "Pull" and one person releases one or two clays, then a second later the other puller releases another one.  Two shooters fire.  "How can you tell if your shot is the one that hit the clay?"  Hmmm, try and watch your shot, or wait until someone tells you... was the response.

Steve, an air force and army veteran, chose not to fire the shotgun at the clays, instead he had brought along a couple pistols to use at the 25 yard range.  Sorry I have no idea what kind but they did have a magazine that I watched him load.  The cost for the pistol/gun range was $11.00 for an hour.  A paper target costs .50 and you head over to either the 25, 50, 75 or 100 yard range.  There is also a price for all day shooting and also a 200 and 300 yard range that costs $17.00 for an hour).

We were all impressed as we watched him destroy the bullseye.

Overall what a fun day, everyone had a great time!  Of course its always more fun when you succeed at something, and everyone had success at shattering a clay disk flying through the air or showing that even after a few years no target is safe.

Here are a few other weapons that we saw being used.

McMiller's also has a 3D archery range, a shooting clay walking course and a plinking range.  It has a pro shop and is open almost every day, all year round.  Their website has specific information on times.  www.mcmillershootingcenter.com

Runway Show

A couple Fridays ago, Heather joined me on a small escape downtown to the third ward.  The Aveda Institute of Beauty and Wellness teamed up with ABCD (After Breast Cancer Diagnosis) and hosted an open house complete with a silent auction, in house contest and runway show.  We meet Matt, Jess, Bill and Angie just before the runway show and all sat together.

There were many sponsors supporting this event, (boutiques and spas) After a few introductions were made, thanks you were given and a donation check given to ABCD, the runway show started.
Though I was not a fan of the bouffant hairstyle, I did like many of the outfits that walked past us.
Then the model we were there to see..
Amy, a student at the Institute of Beauty and Wellness was one of the models and of course, in our opinion was the star of the show.

A fun night for a very good cause.  Thanks Amy, for letting us join you.

Glacier Rock Farms

A whole bunch of us (Lori, Julia, Amy, Kaylee, Suzie, Maggie, Judi, Amy H, Weston, Lawson, Leah, Nick, Piper, Heather and me) all visited the Glacier Rock Farms on a beautiful and hot October day.

With visions of pumpkins dancing in our heads, we arrived bright and early and were the only visitors there.  We went into the store.  There was an indoor corn maze visible right through the door, in front of us, so it was decided WE HAD to do the corn maze first.   (future note, gotta resist the corn maze!)   We walked through the indoor maze, then back outside, up up up a hill, then down down down a hill and the maze beckoned.

           Eventually it got too hot for Heather, Piper and Leah so they ditched us, but Nick and I kept going!

 The object of the maze is to get the the tower, which did have a pretty nice view.

  Enough time spent in the maze, time to retrace our steps to get out.  Our group got fragmented, some went one way, others went another.  Here, Nick is directing me on where to go next.  Congrats to Amy H, Judi, Lawson and Weston who made it to all 10 stops, and also found the bridge.  They got all the stamps at all the hidden spots but there wasn't any prize for accomplishing this (geez, they could have given them a sucker or something)..sorry guys, guess the prize was the satisfaction you got doing it.
As Nick and I made it out (hurray!!) we decided to pace into the pumpkin patch and pick a pure pumpkin.

                         One for Nick and one for Piper, and one for Grandma!  These were only $1.00 each!

The Petting Zoo was free.
There was Doug the Turkey, standing proud!

a lot of horses,

Piper hung onto the horsey.

geese were all at attention!

chickens everywhere,

yes, it was ok to hold these younger chickens

peacocks, cow,

Doug the Turkey, here he is sounding off

a hedgehog,

bunnies,

 a chinchilla, goats, other turkeys, and did I say Doug the Turkey.  He followed wherever we went and Suzie did not like being shadowed by him.

Then it was Pony Ride Time:  Howdy Partners, you guys are so cute!!!

and Juice Pak Time:

Maggie looked like she was doing some window shopping:

                       

                                 Then Leah performed some emergency surgery (darn sliver)

and we all decided it was time to leave

Overall I liked this farm better than the one we visited last year.  The animals seemed to be healthier, it was cleaner and it was a larger farm.  The cost was similar.  Glacier Farms offers the Petting Zoo for free, $6.00 for the Maze for everyone 3 years and older (I think  ages 3-12 should pay less).  $3.00 for a pony ride and there were larger horses for older kids and adults to ride with a small child).  $4.00 Hayrides.
Mining Fun and the Apple Shot costs were not listed.  (I saw a bullseye near the pumpkin patch, I believe they have something that shoots apples into the air towards the target).
Dark Side Haunted Adventure, not sure what it entails but it appears to be take place at night.
Best Buy:  mini pumpkins and gords (about the size of your palm) 10 for $1.00.
This farm is very popular with school groups as they show how to milk the cow, and have lots of hands on activities.
Glacier Rock Farms   N1255 Hoard Rd, Ixonia, WI
 
Reviews from the others in our group.."I liked it more than last year, less poop, less people." "Seemed the pumpkins were cheaper than last year, and this one had pony rides."  "Liked this one better, less crowded, but not a fan of the corn maze." 

Another Successful Adventure!