Chicago!

The first week of August (also the last week of summer break) we went to Chicago! Just me and Matt!!! We left early Monday morning to catch a flight to Memphis, the kiddos were spending some time with Nana. And I'm still not sure why we had such bad luck flying this summer but this trip was no exception. After missing three flights, the kids and I were able to board a flight to Memphis. We left Matt behind. We got to Memphis and I talked to Matt. He had decided to take a flight directly to Chicago so I quickly got the kids to Nana then checked back in on a flight to Chicago. I was exhausted and looking forward to a nap on the plane. But I was also very excited. I've wanted to go to Chicago forever. And since my sister just moved there we had a great reason to go. So I was so excited that I couldn't even sleep on the flight. Just kept looking out the window waiting for Chicago to come into view. But I got some fun shots out the airplane window. The sky was sooo blue that day.





Finally I got my first view of the urban sprawl.



I don't know what this is but it looked cool from the air.



Flying over O'hare.



Chicago! And Lake Michigan



Shore line.



So I knew Lake Michigan was giant. It is a Great Lake after all. But I really wasn't expecting this. Water as far as I could see.



Another shot of Chicago. We flew past the airport, past downtown Chicago, over the lake then circled back around to O'hare. It was delightful.



I landed in Chicago, then found out that Matt's flight was delayed. Big surprise. So I hung out in the airport until he got there. My sister picked us up from the airport and we headed to the North Suburbs for some dinner. We learned that in the few weeks my sister has lived in the Chicago area her husband has fallen in love with deep dish pizza. Eats it multiple times a week even. So we went to a famous Chicago pizzeria. Real Chicago style deep dish pizza is like nothing I have ever eaten before. And it was awesome.

Then we got to see their cute house, played some cards and settled in for the night in their guest sleep number bed. The next day...Chicago!

First we went to Navy Pier.







Amzie and I had fun in the fun house mirrors.





A shot of Chicago from the Pier.



We needed a snack so stopped here.



I had to take a picture for obvious reasons. The popcorn was sooo good. Matt got the cheese and it stained his lips and fingers orange. That was awesome. My favorite was the caramel cashew. So delicious!

One of the things I loved about Chicago was the art. It's everywhere. And this was just irresistible. Really.



Do you think we're the first people to take that picture? Not likely.



That couch was SO uncomfortable.

We left the pier and walked over to Millennium Park. I really wanted to see the bean. On the way we crossed this drawbridge over the Chicago River.



My sister was really nervous. It was cracking me up. But this is why, the road part of the bridge looked like this.



And a shot of Chicago from the bridge.





We made it to Grant Park and there is this really cool bridge over to Millennium Park.







The bean was so cool. Evan and Amzie had fun looking at themselves in it. And I got some fun pictures.













More art in the park. Evan thought this dinosaur was pretty cool.



We didn't really know what to think about this one.



I asked Evan what this one was.



His reply...trash.



This fountain is really cool.



There were tons of kids playing in it. I was wondering who you have to be to get your picture on it.



I was also wondering why this guy thought it was alright to put on his swim trunks, take off his shirt and splash around in the fountain. Did he not realize he was the only fat naked guy there? Because he was. The only one.



A couple more shots of buildings. There is so much great architecture in Chicago.





Marlena went back for the car while we were at the park. When she picked us up we were going to get lunch but her car was saying zero miles to empty. That's right. Zero. So Matt took over the driving and the Great Gas Hunt 0-10 commenced. Does anyone out there know how hard it is to find a gas station in downtown Chicago? We told the GPS to find gas but apparently that task was too much for it. It kept taking us to convenience stores. But we didn't need cigarettes or lottery tickets. We needed gas. Desperately. We started searching on our iphones but couldn't find anything. We asked a cab driver and a traffic cop and finally a doorman then a random pedestrian pointed us in the right direction. We wanted to get Portillo's for lunch but by the time we found gas we figured we would just head north. "Paul" was home from work and waiting for us. But guess what. The gas station was right next door to...Portillos! It was meant to be.





Matt was getting tired of taking dumb touristy pictures with me. But he loved his sandwich.



Portillos Italian Beef. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. So after a delicious lunch we went home. The guys went and played golf and I helped Mar hang some curtains and stuff around the house. When the guys got home Mar made waffles for dinner and we played some cards. Again. Then it was back to the sleep number bed. The next morning we did some more stuff at the house. Hung pictures, a little decorating and organizing. I'm pretty sure my sister thinks I'm mental or have OCD or something. She's probably right. But that afternoon the guys played golf again and we went shopping. Marlena's kids are great shoppers. They were so good. And there is a lot of good shopping in the Chicago area. Good luck J. Paul is all I have to say about that.

We made chicken bryan when we got home. So good. Then we played Sequence. And Mar and I smoked the boys. Twice. And you know what's next...sleep number bed. Then it was time to get back to our kiddos. We checked the flights, Mar took us to the airport and we didn't make the flight. Now that's a big surprise. Everything to Memphis and Atlanta was crazy all of the sudden. So after spending most of the day at the airport Mar and J. came back to get us.

While we waited we had to charge the phones. After a day in the airport searching for flight they were dead.



And I was seriously regretting my choice of footwear. So not practical. And my suitcase went to Memphis without me.



They picked us up and Mar wanted to go to Old Orchard Mall in Skokie. Skokie. Anyway they have a Crate and Barrel. They also have an Anthropologie. It was her first time in both of those stores and I was glad I could witness it.

They also have a Benetton, I haven't seen a Benetton in years. And a Swatch store. It was like going back in time to Junior High. But so awesome.



We had some yummy sandwiches for dinner and even better ice cream sandwiches for dessert. Then Mar and J. went to Macy's and Matt and I took the kids to play.



So there were all these little hills with dragon heads attached to them and the kids LOVED it. Go figure.







It was a really pretty outdoor mall and the weather was great that night. Actually it was great the whole time we were there. But I wonder how that whole outdoor mall thing works at Christmastime when it's ten degrees and four feet of snow on the ground.

So we got to sleep in the sleep number bed an extra night and took the first flight to Atlanta in the morning. Matt had to work that night so he was going to go home and I was was going to fly to Memphis. But of course the flights sucked. So I went home and took a shower and went back to the airport a few hours later. I made the flight and got my kids then spent another several hours in the airport in Memphis because there was bad weather in Atlanta. We finally landed in Atlanta and it was CRAZY. Hundreds of misplaced passengers all over the airport. We got to the baggage claim and it was complete chaos. It was 1 am, I had been up since 4 am, I had five kids and I had to find three suitcases, a car seat, and a set of golf clubs. Then figure out how to get all of those people and things to the car. By myself. I almost cried. Then I almost called Matt and tagged out. Then Caveman grabbed our bags off the carousel, all the kids helped and we made it out to the parking shuttle. On the way to the car everyone on the shuttle were swapping horror stories of the day trying to get to Atlanta. It was decided that I had the winning tale. When we got to the truck the driver loaded all my stuff into the back while I put the baby in. And he didn't even let me tip him. And we all made it home, safe and sound, no tears shed. And while the sleep number bed was nice, it was so good to sleep in my own bed that night.

Chicago, you're awesome. I can't wait to see you again. Michigan Avenue, I can't wait to meet you. And Marlena and J.Paul, thanks for a great time. Let's do it again soon!

My Marine: Take 2

Upon considering my last post, I think maybe I should have just posted this...

This is Matt.

He was a Marine.

Yummy!

Happy Birthday Marine Corps!

My Marine

This is Matt's boot camp graduation photo. I met him just a couple of months later. And I have to admit that I had no idea what being a Marine meant. I grew up in a town that had a Naval base nearby. It was where the Marine's fresh out of boot camp came for their A school. So I remember seeing lots of young Marine's hanging out at the Raliegh Springs Mall, jeans tucked into their combat boots, dog tags on their chest, picking up on high school girls. I avoided them at all cost. Until I met Matt. Granted, I didn't meet him at the mall. It was at a church activity.

As we became friends I visited him at the base and met his Marine friends. I knew they were really proud of what they were doing but I still didn't really get it. Until Matt graduated from A school and I saw all Marines in their dress blues. Some of them were married with families. Some were fresh out of high school. Some, like Matt, were falling in love. But they all got orders for their next duty station that day. And I, like every other woman in the room, was so proud and so worried at the same time. That was when I knew how much of a sacrifice these guys were making. And how brave they were. And I understood why they were so proud to wear that uniform.

He was stationed at Cherry Point in North Carolina. He was assigned to a Harrier training squadron. I stayed in Memphis. He came to visit whenever he could. And eventually, I became the wife of a Marine.

We were really lucky. The time Matt spent in the Marine Corps was between the Gulf Wars. And he was in a training squadron so his planes never went anywhere. That meant he didn't either. We watched our friends and neighbors deploy, come home and deploy again. I was really grateful. Matt was too. And a little bit jealous. He served his country for four years but never got to leave the country.

I'm really proud of my Marine. I'm thankful he was willing to serve his country. I'm thankful for all the men and women who are currently serving so bravely. I'm thankful that I now understand what it means to be a Marine!

Happy 235th Birthday to The United States Marine Corps!

The Summer Story: Part 2

We started the month of July with a visit from Matt's mom, his sister Joanna, and nieces Hallie and Rozalyn. We were also finishing up piano camp and scout camp that week. And it was Rockstars birthday. We celebrated her birthday with cupcakes at the pool. Matt's family left Friday afternoon and my sister arrived that night with her kiddos and in-laws Jeff and Glenda. They came to celebrate the Fourth with us Peachtree City style.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early for the parade.



We met up with lots of great friends and waited for the parade to start.



We love the parade. The kids love getting candy thrown at them. And Matt loves to heckle the participants. But he didn't come with us this year and it was definitely not the same.



Caveman had fun with his friends too. I barely saw him all day.



We went home after the parade and had lunch then Matt and Jeff went to play golf and the ladies went up to the city. I had to pick up my race packet for the next day and Glenda and Mar wanted to go to Ikea. Then we hurried back home to pack up and head out for fireworks. We met up with a bunch of our friends at the golf course and waited for the fireworks to start.













Lots of good times with lots of good people. And I'm sure the golf course didn't mind that our kids used their bunker as a sandbox.

The next morning Matt and I woke up super early for the Peachtree Road Race. We drove to the MARTA station then boarded a train to the city. The closer we got to the city the more crowded that train got. I couldn't believe how many people were crammed into that train.

We finally made it to our stop and met up with Matt's brother Brent. Then walked to the start. I hadn't run a race since high school and was totally excited. And a little nervous. And I couldn't believe how many people were there. Over 50,000. It was really fun. And hot. And did I mention how many people were there? Craziness. We met up with my sister and kids after the race and decided to wait until the trains were less crowded to head home. We took it easy the rest of the day, then made Rigatoni D for dinner. It was a good day.

My sister and her crew left the next day. (We're only five days into July, this is going to be a long post.) After they left, I talked to Ami and her brothers were in town. So the kids and I headed north for the day. But then decided to spend the night. We got home the next day just in time for me to get ready for a hot date. Matt was taking me to see Phantom of the Opera!

Matt and I go out on dates a lot but not very often do we get to dress up. And I didn't take any pictures. We went to Maggianos for dinner. So delicious! And then headed over to the fabulous Fox theatre for the show. It was our first time at the Fox and we both were amazed by it. It's a beautiful theatre. My favorite part of the night was watching Matt get so excited to show me our seats. He did a great job choosing them. It was perfect. We loved the show, it was my first time seeing it, but the guy that played the Phantom was having an off night, hit a couple bad notes. But other than that it was great. And it was the last time the tour is coming to Atlanta so I'm glad we got to see it. We definitely need to go to the theatre more often!

I spent the next day packing then Thursday we flew to Memphis. And I'm pretty sure we were bumped off at least one flight, flying was soooo bad this summer and all of our trips are running together. Anyway, we made it to Memphis. I mentioned earlier in the post that Rockstar had a birthday. Well it was her 8th birthday so it was time to get baptized. And she wanted to get baptized with her cousin Carly. Carly is about three weeks older than Rockstar and they were blessed on the same day. So it just seemed right for them to get baptized on the same day too.





My mom bought two baptism dresses a few years ago before the oldest cousins got baptized. She had to buy two because we have some twins. So it worked out great for these cute girls.



I love the pictures of them as babies smooching on each other. Too cute. And the picture in the middle was taken on their blessing day.





It was a great day. The girls asked Nana and Uncle Chad to give talks and they did a great job and the girls sang a song together. It was fantastic.

After the baptism we all went swimming at Aunt Dodie's house. She doesn't have a very big pool. And my family is huge. Four brothers, one sister, five spouses and 21 children. Oh, and my friend Pam came over with her four kids too. It was a lot of fun. And really great to reconnect with Pam! We grilled out steaks back at my parents house and just had a great day with family. We were flying out the next morning and all the kids were begging to stay longer. The oldest three were able to talk aunts and uncles into letting them stay longer. So Matt and I flew out the next morning first thing with only two kids in tow. That is so strange.

We thought we'd have a peaceful week with only two kids. Turns out we left all the easy ones in Memphis. The ones we brought home are the ones that make messes and need help with almost everything. But it was good. One day that week we got to meet up with some old friends. Mary Henrie, one of my favorites, was visting from Alaska. We met her and her family for lunch and it was so good to see her. Matt flew back to Memphis on Thursday to pick the kids up. He had no problems getting there but missed several flights back to Atlanta. They finally got home about midnight that night. And it was so good to see them. The noise was even nice. For a couple of days.

The next week was Sassy's 11th birthday. She invited a couple of friends to come to the pool and then sleep over. I can't believe she is already 11. She is so fun and loud and strong willed and tender and as much as I hate how fast she's growing up, I'm excited to see the person she becomes.

We finished up July getting ready for school to start, spending as much time at the pool as possible and getting as many sleepovers in as we could. We got to go the lake too. It was such a great summer. Too bad it had to end.