Brynlee is 3

Brynlee turned 3 today! Which means that we've lived in our house for 3 years now too.
This morning I woke up to the pitter patter of little feet running down the hall and Brynlee yelling "It's my birthday!" So cute, we've been talking about this all week and it was fun to see her so excited.
It's been a great day of family time, but I realize that our kids are way too spoiled.
We went to the YMCA this morning and then to the farmer's market. Today was actually one of the first times this summer that we've all been home and had no other projects going on. It was nice to all be together.
After lunch and naps we went to the splash pad, the mall playland, and McDonald's. We went to Micky D's to get ice cream and to play in the playland. The kids had a great time playing, but didn't want anything to do with the ice cream. Are you kidding me? Me and Jer would have done anything to go get ice cream at McDonald's when we were little. Too spoiled, we'll have to stop buying them so many treats.

We then came home and had a backyard barbeque for dinner.

Bryn picked out Funfetti cake with strawberry icing and chocolate ice cream. Quite the combination, but hey it was her choice.
When blowing the candles doesn't work just try waving your hand over them. Just don't get burned!

She loved getting sung to.

If it is pink or has a princess on it then Bryn got it. She has a cute little cupcake purse from grandma that she's been toting around all day. Grandma also included a comb, mirror and lip gloss in it. She knows her granddaughter too well!

She loves her butterfly wings and her new pink, princess outfit. A great day for our sassafrass princess. She is our opinionated, independent sweet girl. She is so smart (which can be scary sometimes) and so helpful, but is definitely going to give us a run for our money.

Louisville

Here is the last installment of our trip to the east coast. On our way home we decided to stop in Louiville for a day and a half and see the sights. I'm glad we did, too. I've never thought of going to Kentucky, but it is so pretty and Louisville is a great town.
We drove through West Virginia on the way there and I guess I was expecting to see some barefoot guy walking down a dirt road holding a jug of moonshine and smoking a corncob pipe. Maybe that can be found back up in the hills, but I didn't see him. It was actually really pretty and green and a lot better of a drive than going through Wyoming or Nebraska. We stopped in Charleston (WV capital) and went to one of the cleanest gas stations I've ever been to. I'm not a huge fan of public restrooms, but these were some of the best. I just wish there were more places like that around.
It was hard to narrow down what we wanted to do in Louiville, but we definitely wanted to go to Churchill Downs. What surprised me the most was that it was in the scary part of town. We took the scenic route to get there and saw some pretty funny places along the way.

I can't imagine what it is like when the Kentucky Derby is going on, I'm sure this place is crazy.

This is Brynlee's kind of animal. One that she can pet and that won't lick her or even move.

Jeremy and the kids dressed up like jockeys. The museum that we went through was really cool. We got to tour the track and then go through the museum. They show a movie on this 360 degree screen that was really good. It's amazing all the work and preparation that go into getting a race horse ready for this one race. And the horse is only eligible to run in the Derby once. A must see if you're ever in Kentucky.

The kids loved sitting on this horse in the starting gates. They were loving it. Maybe we could have a dog like this. Then I wouldn't have to feed it, walk it or clean up after it.

Jeremy was also able to go to the temple one morning. It's a smaller temple and remids me a lot of the St. Paul, MN temple. It's in the same place as the stake center. It looks almost like they took part of the stake center parking lot and built a small temple. It was really pretty. That's been one of my favorite things from our trips this summer; seeing all the different temples.

We drove down to the river and had dinner at a restaurant that sat right on the river. There was a park/splash pad right next to it and we played there for awhile. We walked along the river for a little while, but it was hot and muggy and I'd rather be inside that sweating to death outside.

We also swam at the pool. You can tell you've been on vacation too long when the kids get sick of swimming in the hotel pool. This particular hotel had a great workout room too; each maching had it's own TV.

We had a ton of fun, but it sure was nice to get home and be able to sleep away from the kids. I do love being home and back into our routine. And I have definitely had enough riding in the car to last me for a LONG time.

Ms. Fix it

Today started out as one of those days....One of those that makes me want to scream and pull my hair out and it wasn't even 8 am yet. So I dug in my heels, got what needed to be done around the house and set off determined to set a better tone for the day.

We headed off to Old MacDonald's Farm at Bever Park. Always a good little getaway for us. Price went there about a year and a half ago with his little playschool group. Apparently that was a memorable trip because he kept telling me all about it today.

The kids kept posing by everything saying "Mom, take my picture". I think I trained them well while we were on vacation. Brynlee is very much into posing. A little diva in training.

We finally got Kylee in an action shot, not just sitting or sleeping in her stroller.

The kids loved seeing all of the animals, but I had to laugh at what animal freaked them out the most. It was a cat...I just about died at how ridiculous they were.

We then had a little picnic lunch and played on the playground. It really saved the day and I'm glad we got out and had a little fun.


In the 3 years that we have lived at our house we have been given 2 different lawn mowers. Neither of them are new or even that nice, but you can't complain when you aren't paying for it. Last summer the handle bar on one mower snapped off and then this summer the other one isn't running too well. So me being the Ms. Fixit that I am, decided to take the handle from the broken one and put it on the running one. All in the hope that we will 1) have a running mower and 2) I will get to spend the money saved on something a little more exciting. I can now add a little small engine repair to my resume. Aren't I just multi-talented? As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. At our house it is more like cheapness is the reason Lynnie does most of the repairs.

In other news: Kyle is cutting one of her front teeth. That's probably why she hasn't been sleeping and she cried most of the morning. Now if only the other two had this excuse for being so whiny this morning.

The Beach..Part 2

Another installment of our beachtime fun.

Jeremy's sister Jessaca and her fam came and met us at the beach. And in true Hodson fashion somehow the dates got screwed up, but it all worked out in the end and we are glad we got to see them. They are always a ton of fun.

Sunday night after the Madsens left we went to Old Dominion University to walk around. It was so quiet and peaceful and a beautiful campus. Despite sweating profusely we had a relaxing evening and some great family time.

These cute fish were on the path to the beach. So cute! Price also conned us into getting this boogie board for him and of course he hardly used it. I guess we'll just have to make another trip to the beach to use it.

There was this huge slide on the beach that you could ride down. Price loved it. Brynlee wanted to go on it too, but we were afraid she'd get to the top then freak out. Maybe next time.

All of us crowded underneath the umbrella trying to stay cool. It was a hot day at the beach. I sure wish the girls would have liked the water more, then we might have stayed a little cooler.

The boys out in the ocean. Price loved the water, although I think he got tired of being knocked down by the waves. I love seeing them having some "guy time". It just melts my heart.


We never did get some really good "fresh" seafood. I think next time we'll ask for some suggestions rather than just relying on luck to find some good seafood. You live and learn I guess.

Love the beach! So glad we went, just wish it wasn't such a long drive.

THE BEACH!!

After we left DC we headed down to Virginia Beach. I've been asking Jeremy to go on a family vacation to the beach for sometime now and we finally found the perfect opportunity. There was a lot of traffic so it took awhile to get there, but once we got there it was so fun. I loved driving out on the bridge and then it goes into a tunnel under the water then back to a bridge. So fun!

We stayed in Chesapeake, but then drove to Virginia Beach. We found a really cool spot right by this HUGE Neptune (the Greek god not the planet) statue. There was a playground, a kid's sand area and a place to rent umbrellas. Everything we need all in one location. Plus the bathrooms weren't too far away. Perfection.
The first day at the beach parking was only $10. The next day (Saturday) it was $20.
I'm sure if we'd done some better research we could have found cheaper parking, but it was right across the street from the beach and only a block down from all the other stuff.
Brynlee and Trevin playing in the kids' sand castle area. She would get so red and hot, but would refuse to get wet. I would get wet to just cool down, but anytime we took her near the water she would scream at the top of her lungs. At the end of the day when showering all that sand off I felt like I was practically drowning her. But back at the pool at the hotel she had a great time in the water. She even has made it down to the bottom step. That's huge progress when only a few months ago she wouldn't even come near the water.

Trev sure loved being around Kylee! I think he learns this from his dad though! And if you know Todd you know what I mean

Price loved playing in the waves. He got knocked over pretty good a couple of times. He loved it when on our 2nd beach day the Madsens brought boogie boards. We had to drag him out of the water. He was having such a great time.

I got Price this water shirt so I wouldn't have to rub on a galon of sunscreen. And it worked great and he loved wearing it, but it gave him some serious chaffing on the nipples. I've heard that happens to guys who run, but never from the beach shirt. It was quite the sight to see. But they healed nicely and now we know. But I think chafed nipples are better than a sunburn anyday.

Here's the girls playing in the sand. Brynlee didn't want to get wet and either did Kylee so I sat under the umbrella most of the time. It was nice and relaxing and fun to people watch.

This is about how far we were from the water. Great location and great fun. Can't wait until the kids are older and will hopefully enjoy it more.

Other highlights from the beach include:
-the large lady in the ity bity bikini. smallest swimsuit ever, or maybe it was just her size that made it seem so small.
-Jer's bad sunscreen application. His shoulders were white, but back was burned and he had one white stripe across his burned stomach. It was the most random sunscreen application ever. We did better the next few days, but by then the damage was done and it just looked a little weird.
-The girl that brought around "popsicles" everyday. They were melted Otter Pops that were cold, but definitely not frozen.
-The girl offering to rub lotion on Todd (wink, wink).
-One family payed for an umbrella then went to get their stuff. Meanwhile another family came and plopped themselves under it and didn't pay and then all left to go swimming. It was funny watching it all unfold. I guess I should have said something, but it was fun to just watch.
-Tons of dolphins swimming just out past us.
-Trying to find someone as white as me on the beach. There was one lady who may have been, but I was most likely the winner in that category. I just like to think I am very good about not getting skin cancer. And I'll be glad when I'm 80 that I was so careful.

Arlington Cemetery

I have come to the realization that I took a ton of pictures on this trip. I can't find a happy medium. I either do too few or too many. Hopefully I can figure that out soon. So onward we go....
On our way out of DC we went to the Arlington National Cemetery. I read something recently about the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier so I wanted to go see that. Plus my grandparents are both there (I would say buried, but they are in a mosoleum so that wouldn't be correct).
This is after we left the cemetery and headed toward the beach. I take one of these everytime we travel. Price makes the funniest faces when he sleeps. I always say he's going to freak his wife out when he gets married, but it does provide us entertainment when travelling.

This is a gate that we walked through on our way back to the car. It says "Rest on embalmed and sainted dead dear as the blood ye gave no impious footstep here shall tread the herbage of your grave".

This is one of those places that pictures cannot capture and words don't do it justice. It's just breath taking and heart breaking all at the same time. It really is amazing.

This is the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown. It is so precise and amazing. I love the inscription on the tomb that says "Unknown except to God". A really cool experience. Glad we trudged up the hill to see it.

It was yet again a sweltering hot day and we were still down a stroller at this point. So the kids weren't too cooperative, but I'm glad we went anyway. We did stop on our way to the beach and get a new stroller. We did not however find where may grandparents were. The printout we got had bad directions that even the grounds keepers didn't understand. I should have called my mom first and she could have directed us a whole lot better. I would have loved to walk around more if I didn't feel like I was slowly melting into the pavement.

Animals gone wild

To say that we aren't an animal loving family would be an understatement. I mean, I like animals on tv, in cartoons, at the zoo, just not at our house. I have enough to take care of without having to worry about a pet. Maybe when the kids get older and more responsible they will get a pet rock, but for now we are petless and happy. Besides Brynlee screams bloody murder if cats or dogs come near her. She likes them from afar, but not up close.

But this hasn't stopped all sorts of critters from taking up residence in our yard. I love the bunnies, they are cute and haven't wreaked any havoc on my garden so they can stay. But everything else needs to go. Raccoons lurk around the neighborhood (I've seen them at night) and sometimes tip over our trash. And if you're a faithful reader you will remember our adventures with the mole from last year. Well now we have a new resident here.

Today while my visiting teachers were here Jeremy noticed some sort of critter in the back yard. When my vt's left he said he saw a beaver in the backyard. Since we don't live by a pond I thought that was highly unlikely, but a few minutes later the said critter came back and it really did look beaver-like in the body. Although I think it is more likely a large gopher or ground hog.

Thankfully we have some gun toting neighbors next door. As I was leaving for church he was out there with his gun hunting the thing down. He's such a great neighbor, he hid the gun when the kids came out because he didn't want them to see it. So hopefully he will be successful in hunting this critter and getting rid of him.

I looked gophers up on the internet and it talked about them being "ground squirrels" and described them as the size of a rat. Well, this guy is humongous. He's like the size of a large cat. I guess it's been quiet while we've been gone and he's been having a grand time.

Now Jeremy thinks we need to get a dog to drive this guy away. I don't think we'll go to that extreme, I'm just hoping the neighbor and his gun are successful.

And in defense of my no dog policy. I think it is cruel to have a dog here in the winter in the sub zero weather and we are not going to have a house dog. So for now we are petless and happy. And if you like to gopher hunt, come on over.

Sightseeing in DC

After all the times Jeremy has been to DC he has never gone sightseeing. So after work one day we took the kids downtown and decided to see the sights. It was swelteringly hot and we were down a stroller (since I'd run it over earlier that day). But we did see a few things and we had fun, and that's all that really matters.
Here we are riding on the metro. On the way to dowtown we hit rush hour and it was pretty packed. I don't know if there is no ventilation in those things, but it sure was stuffy in there. Luckily the kids were really good and people were really nice about us getting on and off. We sure do take up a lot of room, that is for sure

We walked up to the Washington Monument. This is one of my faves. One day I will actually go inside of it, but on this day we were just on the outside. It was interesting to see as we were walking around that there were tons of sports leagues going on. They had soccer, softball, ultimate frisbee. You just never think of people playing sports next to these national monuments.

The kids' favorite part was getting a hot dog from a street vendor. Later at the Washington Monument there was a mishap with the rootbeer. After that we decided to call it a night and head home.

Kylee is not in a lot of the pictures of our trip and this is why. She spends a lot of the time sleeping in her stroller. Sorry Ky, hopefully when you get older you'll get more face time on the family trips.

The kids standing outside the White House. It sure is a lot smaller than you'd think.

We saw some guys in a car heckling an old lady walking down the street. The secret service hurried and pulled them over. It was quite the sight and of course we were the crazy tourists that stood there and gawked.

Average Day

I am taking a bried respite from our trip posts and going to do a post on an average, ordinary day. I need to be better at remembering the plain old regular days that we have and enjoying them too.

Yesterday Jeremy headed of early in the am for Youth Conference in Nauvoo. I was still feeling gross so decided to just have a lazy day at home. Thankfully the older two are easily entertained by PBS kids on tv and on the computer. And if letting them do it all day makes me a horrible mom then so be it. One day won't rot their brains (too much). But it gave me a chance to rest and start to feel better.

In the afternoon we had a little movie time and watched Scooby-Doo and had snacks. We did a little family favorites and had cheesy popcorn and no bake cookies. I love making no bakes because I always have the stuff around and they are so easy.

So here's the recipe, but it's mostly here so we can remember what we liked to eat back in the day.

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
3 cups rolled oats
Combine sugar, cocoa, milk, butter and salt. Bring to a full boil and boil for 1 min. Add vanilla, peanut butter and stir until smooth. Add rolled oats and mix well. Cool slightly until mixture holds shape. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper and put in fridge.

When I was a Laurel we had an recipe exchange activity. It was during my senior year and was a great way to get some recipes before leaving for college. This particular one was from my BFF Tracy (aka Trixie) and is definitely used a lot. Most of the others are from her Grandma and are quite tasty too. Thanks Grandma Munns, you are the best!

I gave Price a buzz last night. He looks so different with short hair. I like his hair long, but it's so thick and he gets so sweaty. I guess I should have done it earlier this summer, but I kept forgetting.

Today we went to the yearly tri-ward picnic at Thomas park. It was really overcast and I thought it might rain, but luckily it didn't. They have a new playground there that the kids had a blast playing on. It's a whole lot safer than the death trap one they used to have.
There was also a band playing and lots of food. Although Jeremy cleaned out the van after our trip and forgot to stock it with my essential items (i.e. the stroller) so I had to lug Kylee around the whole time. I appreciate him cleaning out the van, but there are certain things I like to keep in there at all times. Such as my quarter for Aldis, bags to put my groceries in, stroller, suncreen, sunglasses, etc. But he likes to clean everything out and then I forget to put it all back.

Throw in a little yardwork this afternoon and a little lounging and that is a regular, ordinary day for us. Sometimes it's nice to just hang out around the house and not have anything to do.

More DC-playing with the Halls

I think my body is revolting from all this fun. I have felt horrible for the last 24 hours. I'm paying the dues from all the good times and crappy food we ate. Luckily it's a rainy day and we can stay in and watch movies.

The Halls used to live here in Cedar Rapids, but they moved away a few years ago. They are now living near DC and we decided to go and visit them for the day.
Price took this picture as we were getting ready to leave, thus why it is from such an unflattering angle. Sarah's hair is super cute and we had a great time visiting. We sure wish they would move back here.

Makaya doesn't look too happy here, but I think she had fun. Brynlee had a blast playing with her. Makaya has all sorts of princess dress ups and Barbies. Bryn was in heaven and could have played with her for hours.

Kason is still as cute as ever and hardly says a word. Price had a great time since Kason has a DS and a Cars room. I think we've found what Price wants for Christmas, now if Santa will only spring for it maybe he too can have a DS.

We met the Halls at their church where a lady was putting on a little dance class for girls. It was the biggest hit. They learned to hula, do some kicks and spins. They even got to run around with a ribbon and other fun dance stuff. Such a great idea for little girls that aren't old enough for a real dance class, or if you don't want to pay huge bucks to put them in a formal class.

Ever since Brynlee has been doing kicks and spins and showing off all her ballerina moves.
After the dance class we went and had lunch at their house (so adorable and in a really pretty area) then we headed to the park for some more kid fun. The park we went to was in the trees and had some shade for the moms to sit in. A great day, one of my favorite on the trip.
Although as I was leaving the park I ran over the stroller (just our old umbrella one and majorly bent the wheel). Luckily it wasn't too expensive to replace. I just get too busy and don't pay attention sometimes.
Yet another day I'm glad I had the GPS, I got back in one piece and was successfully able to navigate the streets of a big city.

More of DC-the zoo

We went to the zoo one day with my Aunt Windy. It was cloudy, but super humid.
One thing I love about DC is that everything is free. This is the Hodson family's favorite vacation spot!
This panda was so funny. He was perched on this branch and he was dead asleep. He kept twitching, but he never fell. So cute! I think it was at this zoo where they had a panda baby (which is rare, I think) and he was recently sent to a zoo in China. They had a huge panda exhibit talking all about where they live and what they eat.

This was probably my favorite part of the zoo. They have these towers all through the zoo and ropes connecting them. The orangutans can then go from one end of the zoo to another high above your head. It's a little weird to think they aren't in a cage while doing this and that if they fell they'd be right in the middle of the crowd. But it was cool to watch them go across, just don't stand directly below them.

This zoo even had dinosaurs! Ok, only some models. But the kids loved it.

Price comparing his hands to the tiger paws. This zoo had a lot of cool things to read and do for kids.

This was probably the weirdest thing I saw there. The goats had this playground thing to play on. They looked so silly laying on top of it.

A great day and definitely a great place to go if you have kids. That's one thing I've learned this summer: vacation is a whole lot more bearable when you do what the kids enjoy and try not to do too much.

Vacation-Part 2-DC

Our whole purpose in going on this vacation was because Jeremy had to go to a training thing in DC so we decided to tag along and have some fun. We drove out and the drive was so pretty. I love driving through the mountains of West Virginia and Maryland, it was so green too. I do not, however, love the traffic of DC. It takes forever to get anywhere. Thankfully we have GPS or we'd definitely be lost. I don't think we would have survived without it. And I especially love that if you do make a wrong turn it recalculates and still gets you there.

My mom's side of the family lives in the DC area so one night we went to my Aunt Windy's and had dinner with her and her husband and then my Uncle David and his wife Nancy came with their kids. It was so much fun to see them. We don't get to see each other all that often so it's great when we can get together.
This is my cousins and my kids all together.

After dinner we went to see the temple. On the way back we realized that we need to program the GPS to go the easiest route rather than the direct route. It took us through Georgetown (which was fun to see), but man it took forever.

There is a park just down the street from where we were staying in Arlington. We played there a few times, but it was so hot and humid it didn't last too long. This was near the High School where Katie Couric and Sandra Bullock both went. A little trivia tid bit for you.

Outside the FDIC headquarters. The hotel we stayed in was connected to this so Jeremy didn't have very far to commute.

This was our parking spot under the hotel. We literally had to fold in the mirrors and pray when pulling into this spot. Luckily we didn't scratch the van or this other car. On the other side we were next to a cement pillar.

Since Jeremy brought us along we got a really nice room. It was bigger than our first apartment. It had a big living room and a kitchen. Then it had a seperate bedroom with a walk-in closet. We had plenty of room to spread out and not be all on top of each other.

We also had a nice work-out room and a pool that even had a lifeguard (I've never seen one at a hotel pool before).
Everytime we came in we had to show ID which got a little annoying. But I love the grocery store we were next to. They had these flossers that are AWESOME. It's the only place we've been able to buy them. I should have stocked up on them a little more.

Vacation-Part 1-Indiana

We've been M-I-A for the last few weeks. We went on a much needed vacation and now are back and getting back into the swing of things.

We first headed to Terre Haute, Indiana to visit my sister andd her family. We took along a couple of Waterloo-ians with us. We took Brianna and Logan so they could visit their buddies in IN. It was great having extra kids with us. Logan had his DS and that kept Price entertained for hours. Brianna was there to keep Kylee entertained and to help hand out treats. We need them with us whenever we go on road trips.

We left pretty early in the morning so the kids could play with their cousins for awhile. We went to the park and saw some plays for the kids. There was the Emperor's New Clothes and 2 others that I forget the name of. But Price remembers that you need to remember to keep your clothes on so you don't go around naked like the emperor. I guess that was very memorable for him.

We then headed to the local pool for some fun. The kids had a great time. I had a run in with a big, mean lady who told me I'm a "miserable excuse for a mother". But she's crazy so I won't listen to her.

The big hit was jumping on the trampoline and running around with all the kids.



The kids also loved sleeping on the Love Sack, although I spent most of the night with them there too.

We always love going to Terre Haute. There's always good food and tons of fun talking to the Williams. We miss them living in Iowa and are excited to see them at Thanksgiving.

More Chicago Pics

Here are some more pics of our fun weekend in the big city. Thanks to Brigie for taking so many great ones. I realize I need to be better about taking lots of pictures. I just seem to forget. Probably because I'm busy chasing after kids.

Just before we headed out to see the city. I think Brynlee was bugging Kylee. Her face is so sad, it just makes me want to cry too.

The singer at the restaurant. I didn't even notice he was up there until Brynlee was looking up at him. If you weren't watching you could walk right by him without even knowing he was there.

At the taste of Chicago. The weather was great, a little hot, but better than rain.

The kids loved playing in this fountain. We were there early in the day so it wasn't crowded. Later we went by and there were a kazillion people there.

Jeremy and Price on the skydeck. It was a great view, but a little scary to only see plastic between you and a great big fall.

Chicago, Day 2

Now on to Day 2 of our Chicago adventure.

In the morning we went down to the park and let the kids play a little. There was also a fountain that they could play in and get wet. Price got wet, but Bryn barely got her feet in. Which isn't that shocking because she never gets wet when we go to the splash pad.

We then walked down to Navy Pier and looked around. They had rides and a mall sort of thing. We walked around there for awhile. The kids rode the carousel and then we caught a magic show. The guy was pretty entertaining, but I wasn't too impressed with his magic. Maybe I'm just old and "wise" or maybe he's just really bad because some of his tricks were pretty obvious. But the kids sat and watched for about 45 min. so it must have been good to them because they never sit that long.

After Navy Pier we went and walked down "the Magnificent Mile" which is Michigan Ave. It was ok, nothing too impressive. I was most impressed by the 7-11 they had. It smells the same as the 7-11 I went to as a kid. But other than that not much to see. Later in the day we went on a water tour of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River. Our tour guide was really good. He was funny and he also knew a ton about the architecture of the buildings. He really sold Chicago and I learned a lot. I wish we would have done the tour first then we could have skipped Navy Pier and gone to the zoo or aquarium. I loved his comparison of the Navy Pier; he compared it to the Black Eyed Peas, American Idol and the I-Phone. He just doesn't get why they are popular. His other funny line was when he was talking about this dancer, he called her the Kim Kardashian of the 1920's. Meaning a spoiled rich girl with no talent. It was a great tour and really got me liking Chicago and gave me an appreciation for all the great architecture.
We finished the night off with some authentic deep dish pizza, which was ok. But I think I like the regular pizza better. We went to Gino's East which was of course packed. He sat in this back room with no windows. It was a little creepy because the main restaurant was across this breezeway. It felt like we were the outcasts, but it was fun nonetheless.

The kids had too much fun. Thank goodness for the strollers, we would have never survived without them.


The view of the skyline from the lake on our tour.

This is us on the bridge over the Chicago river looking toward Lake Michigan.

The entrance to Navy Pier. Was not as great as expected, but fun if you like to people watch.

Highlights of Day 2 include the Tina Turner impersonator we saw on Michigan Ave. The dog in the stroller, now that's what I call loving your pet a little too much. We walked A TON, but had a great time and I can't wait to go again.

The weekend went by way too quick and now it's back to real life. Although I will really enjoy sleeping in my own room and not 2 feet from the kids. Hopefully this means I get a full nights sleep. I could definitely use it.