Chicago Day 1

We got up early on Sunday morning. For me, it was slightly over 2 hours of sleep. Why? Someone was shooting off very loud fireworks all night. Also, some neighbors were having a party and were loud.

Anyway, either way I was fine and very happy to be on vacation! The train was a bit late, but that did not matter a whole lot because we made up time on the train. All of us snoozed a bit at some point on the ride. We arrived in Chicago 15 minutes early!!

As is typical, there was some large event going on in Union Station. It was Disney's Christmas Carol. It looked cool, but I'm not into Christmas in July--sorry.

We took a quick cab ride to our hotel (same one as last year). We were able to check in and get a great room view.

We decided to walk to PF Changs since it was still a bit early. We had plans of visiting the Pier and the beach. The walk only took like 10 minutes. Lunch was very yummy and much needed. Since we thought they had discontinued the free trolleys, we took a water taxi to Navy Pier. Turns out they hadn't discontinued the trolleys completely, just scaled them back A LOT! Aliyah was pretty animated on the ride. She was cheering about everything we saw. The captain told her to have fun on the Ferris Wheel.

Again, as is typical there was another event going on...the AB Clydesdales were all on display at Navy Pier along with their stagecoach and dalmation. I have seen them before (obviously a different group of them several years ago). Josh and the girls on the other hand, haven't seen them. They are MASSIVE, beautiful, muscular, and amazing. What do you know, I left my camera in the hotel room--duh! We enjoyed looking at Scott, Curly and others. It seems like it would only take about 1/4 of one Clydesdale to pull that Stagecoach =).

Navy Pier was busy and we only stayed a short time to look at one little shop. We took the short walk to the Ohio St. Beach to check out the water. It was a bit chilly, but we managed to enjoy it. We got to ride the trolley back =).

Following a quick nap, we were back out in the city again. We visited American Girl and picked up the items that were on Aliyah's birthday list as well as a few books that she wanted to read.

For dinner, we went with familiar and chose Chili's. It was tasty!

Since everyone was pretty tired and I was battling a cold, we headed back to our hotel. We chilled out for the rest of the evening and enjoyed the gorgeous view from our hotel room. Every night, we made sure to keep the curtains open every night to take in the gorgeous lights and sights of the city. We were on the 27th floor overlooking the river. In the picture, you will see NBC tower on the right, the Hancock building in the background (white line across the top), Tribune bldg. etc...

Stay tuned for the rest of the fun as well as many more pictures!

Summer Stuff

I haven't posted in a few days because it seems I just can't get the stuff done that I want to. Sometimes I remind myself that summer goes by quickly and I do not need to spend it at a computer!! On Monday night, I spent a lot of my time working on a Shutterfly book. I always love them when they come in.
We have a new spot we enjoy going to most nights--the stadium. It is WONDERFUL for walking--probably because it is so quiet and peaceful. Usually at most there may be 6-8 other people there. Aliyah loves to run out in the middle of the field and around the track. She runs 2 laps and doesn't even become winded (wish I could do that). She also runs up the stairs to the very top. Maybe she has track in her future. Even Keirah runs around the track. She made it over 2 laps around running/walking. I think that is a lot for little legs!
Tonight, we enjoyed some time with some people from our church SS class. Actually, it is our teacher and his wife. She has been on full bedrest for awhile now since she started having contractions several weeks ago. She is in her 34th week so they feel ok if she has the baby in the next few days. We took some yummy pizza over there and ate with them. Afterwards, we sat and talked for awhile. It was nice.
Ebay...I am liking the buying side of it right now. I think that's because I get my share of the selling portion every day. It's fun to sell, but some of the people and questions they ask are downright annoying. Anyway, EBay has been a great source lately for items that I am looking for that I can't find in the store AND it has been for a much better price!! The better price is what I love most. I am working on getting as much of Aliyah's homeschool stuff on there as I can. There are some items I will have to buy new, but we can certainly stand to save 50-75% on reading books and stuff.
Master bath...we're getting closer and closer. We are super close to the painting phase. After that, Josh will install the vanity and all of the other good stuff. I can't wait--a private bathroom!! No more running downstairs at night when you've gotta go!!
Well, we are going to try to work on our fins a little bit more tomorrow and our tans. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for a trip to the pool. It does actually FEEL like summer now.