My Kind of Town!

I love Chicago. Love it. Love it. If it weren't for the winters, I would live there.

We went to visit Jeff's parents last weekend. They live in a suburb with a beautiful yard and a nice patio in the back. The first night we were there, we sat outside watching the birds and "critters". My first reaction to the word "critters" was EWWW!! I thought she was referring to mice or rats or something. And why on earth would she enjoy watching them?? Actually, they are ground squirrels. That's not so bad. They're actually kind of cute.

Jeff and Brendan were able to go flying with his dad on Thursday. They had a great time. We (me, Jeff's mom, and Jake) didn't have such a great time. On our way to meet them at the airport, Jake threw up in the car. That was awful!! (I should have known something was up when he fell asleep in my lap before we even left the house. He never does that!) Poor guy was not well at all for the rest of the afternoon. The evening improved though, and the boys all went to the playground in the neighborhood after dinner. Jake loved the swings, and Brendan ran around the tennis court chasing stray balls. Easy and cheap entertainment! :)

Friday we all met up for lunch at Portillo's near Woodfield Mall. What an awesome place! They have a HUGE selection, and everything was delicious. We will definitely go back again! After lunch, we split up again and the big boys went home to hang out at home while the ladies and Jake went to the mall. I stopped in the Disney Doorway to Dreams. It's a storefront which is used for the Disney Vacation Club - Disney's version of a timeshare. They have mock-ups of 2 different rooms at the Animal Kingdom Villas. They are absolutely beautiful! Jeff and I would LOVE to be a part of DVC. Unfortunately at the moment, we can't afford it. I really wish we could! Disney World is the place where we, as a family, can all go and have a great time together. We ALL love it, and hopefully that won't change for a long while. Maybe one day they'll be saying "Welcome Home" to us!

Saturday we took the train into the city to go to Navy Pier. Brendan, Jake and I rode the big Ferris Wheel and took in the sights. We had fun walking around and checking out the shops and then we ate some lunch. We spent most of the day there, and then took the train back home. It was a hot day (by Chicagoan standards), and we were all tired and ready to get home.

We flew home on Sunday and had to take a connecting flight through Shreveport. This wouldn't mean anything normally, but if we didn't have to stop there, Brendan probably wouldn't have done what he did. We got off the plane and set our stuff down in some chairs near the wall to re-charge the DVD player. Brendan wanted to finish watching the movie he had been watching on the plane, so he sat down and watched for about 10 minutes. I was watching Jake play and then noticed that the plane we had just been on was taking off to head back to Chicago. Right then, Brendan came over near me and said "Oh no. Mommy, please don't hate me." WHAT? Oh, please. What could you do that would ever make me hate you?? He starts digging through his bag and then quietly tells me that he thinks he left his DS on the airplane. OMG!!! OK, I don't HATE you for this, but I am certainly going to be a little upset! Sure enough, it was not in his bag. Or my bag. Or Jake's bag. Or Jeff's backpack. We checked. Twice. So not cool, kid!

Jeff got on the phone with everyone he could think of to try and help us locate it. No luck. 2 people met the plane and called him later to say they couldn't find it. My guess is that the person sitting there (or maybe near-by) found it and stuck it in their bag and figured it was just their lucky day. I really wish that there were more decent people in the world that do the right thing. I really wish that maybe the person that took it will have a change of heart and turn it in so that we could get it back. I realize that Brendan was at fault for leaving it in the seatback pocket in the first place. But when you find something like that, the right thing to do is to turn it in because you know it's expensive and IT DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU!! OK, rant over.

All in all, the trip was fun. We don't get a chance to visit them often, so it was nice to hang out for a while.

Pictures to come... :)

Our New Swimming Pool

Yes, we finally got a pool... It's wonderful! The boys love it and I like it because it's easy to keep clean. Actually, Jeff keeps it clean - I just watch him do it. :)