GNO, Chicago Style.

10-11 November 2015

One day I got a promotional email from Frontier Airlines about a BIG special they had going.  I emailed it to both sides of the family in hopes that it would facilitate someone coming out to visit.  Within a few hours Rach and Starla had bought tickets!  We kept it on the down low so that it would be a surprise for you kids.  Dad had plans of visiting Utah and attending the Provo Temple while there, but this would be my one chance to attend the temple for November.  We decided it could be a dual purpose road trip so Rach, Star, Bry and I started scheming.  We decided that Brie would enjoy coming along and that sweet little Miss Aimee needed to come along (to be with her M.O.M. = Maker of Milk), so I got a babysitter for Tuesday afternoon to watch the boys til Dad got finished with lectures, and Dad said that he'd take care of the rest.  I had the car packed with overnight bags, snacks and even (the top portion of) Aimee's bassinet then picked you, Brie, up from school with an excited grin on my face.  When you climbed in the van and spotted the stuff you wondered what was going on.  I handed back a snack bag with a clue in it, it mentioned something about "the snacks for our GNO road trip to Chicago"!  I had to be pretty tricky to not let on that we'd just happen to be meeting up with two surprise visitors as well :0)  The drive up was great and I tried to be sneaky when Aunt Rach called to give me updates of their location. We made a side stop at McDonald's to pick up a little food and do a Pit stop AND so that the timing of "our pickup" would be spot on.  After our stop we got back in the van and I had you cover your eyes so that "the next stop" would be a surprise.  We drove the 5 minutes to the O'Hare Airport, slowed down and pulled alongside the curb Just as I was opening the van door and you uncovered your eyes, they stepped over to your seat and said surprise!  You were so surprised and excited.  It was the best!  I LOVE when surprises work out :0)  Anyway, we went to Portillo's for dinner then drove over to a courtyard Marriott for the night.  Aimee was beyond tired so I was especially grateful that her little bassinet fit perfectly in the closet.  She slept while we had fun.  I pulled out little "Chicago GNO" popcorn snack boxes I'd put together, Aunt Rachie pulled out some really fun coloring books and colored pencils and we colored, snacked and watched the Food Network.  

The next morning we stopped by Mariano's (an AMAZING grocery store that Sharon Sagers recommended) to get pastries for breakfast.  Oh my goodness, the selection blew us away!  We definitely got our fill of sweets as we passed around our {group selected} sampler of donuts, pastries and such.  Afterwards I got dropped off at the Chicago Temple to take part in initiatories.  I came out to the sun streaming and a gorgeous fall day and felt so much love from Heavenly Father.  I was so grateful for Aunt Rach and Starla making time in the day and watching you girls so I could attend the temple.  The rest of the day we spent in downtown Chicago: walking Michigan Avenue, doing an architecture boat cruise, eating more hot dogs :0), going to Dylan's Candy Bar and visiting the American Girl Doll Store!  And can I just add that those two were SO sweet (and stubborn ;0)) and wouldn't let me pay for anything??  THANK YOU, GIRLS!!

In order to not get home too too late we decided that we get dinner on the way home.  We found a pizza place that was about an hour in the direction of home.  We ordered a Chicago deep dish pizza with tomatoes and sausage, we were really excited about it, but none of us really liked it.  Maybe if we had gone with different toppings?  It was fun to at least try.  Aunt Rachie was such a good sport to drive us home in the crazy CRAZY weather!  It was a complete deluge of rain with lighting and almost constant wind.  We were so grateful to pull up to the house safe and sound.  And I was so thankful for Dad working from home on Wednesday AND watching you boys so that us girls could enjoy our day in the city.  Thank you, honey!!

Chicago.

10-12 April 2015

 When realizing that Aunt Emmie had already been out to Normal 3 times without visiting Chicago like she'd been wanting, and with plans of her roadtripping from Utah and visiting us over her Spring Break, we decided a weekend trip to the windy city was a must!  We all drove up on Friday afternoon, checked in to our hotel and Aunt Em very sweetly agreed to hang out with you kidlets (took you swimming, ordered pizza, watched some cartoons, put you to bed) while Dad & I had a quiet dinner at Maggiano's and then did sealings at the Chicago Temple.  It was a lovely evening!!  The next day I was feeling pretty nauseous (it may have been from eating my unrefrigerated shrimp pasta leftovers too late at night), but thankfully Dad gave me a blessing and I felt so much better after that.  We drove in to the city and spent the majority of the day at the Museum of Science and Industry.  Thanks to someone telling me about the reciprocal children's discovery museum passes we got free admission and only had to pay ($22) for parking.  And what a COOL museum it was!  You kids especially loved the transportation and farm areas.  Once we got loaded in the van (around 3pm) you boys were out like lights, so Dad dropped us girls off (Brie included) to go check out the Bean while he circled the block.  The weather and temperature was PERFECT!  Not hot, not cold, not windy...just a slight breeze.  We definitely blessed out!  At that point everyone was awake so we stopped at a sandy area along Lake Shore Drive.  I sat down in the shade (feeling very large and immobile) while Dad played with you kids in the sand.  He is such a great dad!  Little by little I'm trying to be a more involved mom.  Too often I've opted to take a break while Dad plays with you...but I'm missing out on too many great moments.  For dinner we tried out Cassava, a gluten-free café that serves a variety of empanadas.  It was laid back, family friendly and had great-tasting food.  That evening (thanks to Bompa getting us an amazing discount and Em paying the tab) we checked in to the JW Marriott downtown.  It was an amazing hotel!!  You kids enjoyed a bath in the BIG tub and Dad put you to bed while Aunt Em and I went out on the town for a GNO.  Our awesome bell boy advised us to leave the van and take taxis instead, glad he did.  We got dropped off on Michigan Avenue in front of Millenium Park.  We walked and window shopped and walked some more, trying to find a unique place for dessert. Unfortunately most of the places close early, but we did get some fun night shots along the river, bought chocolate togo from Fannie Mae's, then took a taxi back to the hotel's restaurant, the Florentine.  There we ordered a delicious gluten-free pasta dish and two decadent desserts to share--the Torta and the Semifreddo (Thankfully our second server was more familiar with all of the gluten-free menu options otherwise we would have just ended up with sorbet.)  We chatted and fine dined til this pregnant lady's cankles were ready for bed.  Thank you, Bry, for making our GNO possible.  What a catch you are!  And what a fun evening out, Em!!  The next morning we were up early, dressed for church, packed up and back on the road.  We dropped Em off at the Midway airport and said our goodbyes :0( then drove the 2 1/2 hours to Stake Conference in Peoria.  It was a wonderful weekend and I look forward to our next venture up to Chicago.