As many of you saw on my Instagram my family and I took a quick little trip to Chicago this past weekend! Brynley & I were invited to an amazing event with Abercrombie Kids and Shed Aquarium. The staff with Abercrombie was so kind to let me bring Ross & Brecklyn, so we decided to stay the night and make a weekend out of it. Many of these pictures will be of Brynley, and that is mostly because Breck isn’t big enough to fit in A&F kids clothing quite yet, and this was of course a sponsored event with Abercrombie Kids! I also should note that it was quite challenging to capture pictures as some rooms we weren’t able to use flash photography (have to protect those animals). So bare with me with the inconsistency of the photos!
For starters, lets talk outfits shall we! We were asked to wear comfy shoes that could get dirty as we were going behind the scenes and up close with a lot of animals! I chose to wear a denim jacket and sneakers because thats my vibe! Of course I layered, because lets be honest, I used to be a manager for A&F way back in my day and layering is the name of the game! These high waisted black jeans I wore are absolutely hands down one of my new favorites! They are LONG (so if you are tall you know the struggle) and the material is so stretchy and so soft. I am wearing a size medium in my top, and my denim jacket, and a size 27 long in the jeans. I chose a sweatshirt for Brynley because truthfully we were rushing from school to the event so I wanted to make sure she was comfy in the car! I adore the sweatshirt she wore – so cute, so soft and of course girly!
We had a private tour through the Shed Aquarium which was so fun! There were a few other bloggers at this event with their kiddos. I had met Hollie and Sarah before at a blogging event in New York, so it was fun to catch up and see some familiar faces! I also loved meeting their kids! You feel like you know everyone through social media these days, so it is fun to actually get to see their cute little families in person! My new friend Amanda on the far left is super mom, and saved the day with a stash of snacks (why can’t I have my life together). The kids enjoyed running around with one another and it was so helpful to keep the littles (Brecklyn) entertained! Our first stop was the shark room! What a cool experience, and still equally as creepy! I don’t know about you but sharks creep me out! As you can see on Brynley’s face she was so mesmerized in the shark room!
(this is one the I’m talking about, haha)
Next stop were the penguins! But first, we must walk like a penguin to get there.
I am pretty certain that the penguins are the cutest little things ever. I had no idea what a penguin would even feel like, and I’m happy to report that they are incredibly soft! For some reason I thought they would be prickly and scratchy feeling! Took me back to all of the days of watching the Penguin movies on repeat! Especially this little fella…
From there we headed over to meet Mr. Sea Lion. I was so intimidated by this guy! He was 500 lbs and kept turning around hissing at us (or I don’t know, doing whatever sea lions do). We are lucky to have even gotten this pic because one of us was making a crazy scared face at all times! The staff did a wonderful job with the animals when we were near them, but I’m just a scaredy cat at heart!
(Brecklyn is thinking “Are you Fluke or Rudder from Finding Dory” , Ross is thinking “What do I do if this thing comes towards me”, and Brynley is all “Okay take the pic lets hurry this up”)
This was a quick little walk by the Dolphins on the way to see the Belugas (my kiddos loveeeee dolphins)
Our final experience was with the Belugas! We actually got to go back and interact with them which was a once in a lifetime experience! Again, the Abercrombie Kids staff and the Shed Aquarium staff out did themselves with this event!! Brynley was able to feed one of the Belugas, and assist with a few tricks too. So cool!
After this we all gathered and had a few cocktails and some snacks! The kiddos were given goodie bags and Brecklyn immediately decked herself out!
I want to thank Abercrombie Kids & Shed Aquarium once again for having us!! This was a sponsored event, however, all opinions and reviews of this experience are my own. Make sure you check out all of the adorable Spring Abercrombie Kids fashion, and if you are ever in the Chicago land area MAKE SURE to stop by the Shed Aquarium!
xoxo,
Jena
