Friday, July 3, 2009

Here We Go…

I have already posted that we went to the Pride Parade on Sunday, so lets start with Monday. 

I met Erin and Gage at my mom’s work and we went to the park across the street.

img_1918

img_1923

Everyone was hungry, so we stopped off for breakfast at a favorite diner.  That’s where Erin introduced Emerson to her new favorite breakfast, a toasted bagel with cream cheese and bacon sandwich.

img_1925

After breakfast, we went over to my dad’s house where the kids played in the back of the El Camino, golfed and used sidewalk chalk.  They were so well behaved playing together. 

img_1926

img_1929

100_2418

100_2420 

For dinner, we went to a local beer garden to meet up with friends.  We had a wonderful time catching up.

img_1932

On Tuesday, it was cold.  It was 63 degrees out, and for July, that was cold! 

I took the girls downtown to my mom’s and we all hopped a bus and went to the Taste of Chicago where Emerson ate frozen popcorn on a stick.   

100_2428

Gage fell asleep on the bus and slept through the whole thing.  My poor sister had to carry him all over the place.  100_2426

100_2427

  He finally woke up after we walked all the way to Macy’s.  My sister had a gift card burning a hole in her pocket.   We went to the children’s department and they had all of these FAO Schwartz stuffed animals for 50% off.  When we were looking at them, the sales lady told us that they were actually 75% off and the sign just wasn’t up yet.  That’s when Vivi found Kevin.  He’s the bird from the movie UP.  He was $25 and with all the discounts, he only cost us $6.50.  She hasn’t let him out of her sight since.  I have a feeling that Kevin is going to accompany us on quite a few adventures.

up005

Tuesday night brought us to Rivinia to see what my mother calls “The Fake ABBAs”.  Their actual name is “Arrival from Sweden” and they are an ABBA tribute band.  The Rivinia is an outdoor theater that is AWESOME!!!  They have pavilion seats, but to me, the lawn seats are better.  Everyone brings picnics, wine and candles to sit out under the stars and listen to some wonderful music.  

100_2435

100_2439

100_2446

My kids have been ABBA fans since they’ve been born, so they danced their little booties off.  True to form, Gage slept through most of it.  It was sort of like “Flat Stanley”, we just took pictures of Gage asleep at different places.

100_2442

100_2445

100_2452

Wednesday brought more cold, rainy weather and one other thing…pain!!!  My sister was so sore from carrying Gage all over the city, she had to opt out of the adventure for the day, KiddieLand.  

img_1947

img_1948 

As sad as we were that Erin couldn’t go, we were happy that Matt got some time off and could go.

img_1937

KiddieLand is a small amusement park that sort of caters to smaller children.  The little kids could ride most of the rides, unlike some other parks.  We spent a few hours there and then it started raining a little harder so we called it a day.   We headed back to mom’s and had dinner.

img_1941

img_1944

img_1939

img_1946

Thursday was very low key.  Erin was still a little sore, so we didn’t do much.   I went and picked them up and took her to my dad’s so she could say goodbye.  After that, we went back down to mom’s for dinner.

It was a pretty laid back visit this time.  No drunken nights at the bar or anything, we were well behaved and were able to do a lot of connecting. 

100_2423

img_1952

Matt drove them to the airport this morning. (Gage was asleep) I didn’t think I could handle an airport trip emotionally.

Now, it’s back to real life.   Today, I have to clean the house, pack and run to the store so we can leave bright and early tomorrow morning.

Matt has two days off in a row and has decided to take the fam to  the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!!!!  I am so excited!!!

9 comments:

LadyStyx said...

Looks like it was a blast. What a find, a licensed stuffed animal and for less than $7??? Friggin AWESOME!

Toriz said...

Sounds like you all had a great time (other than Erin ending up sore from carrying Gage so much). He sure sleeps a lot, doesn't he? How old is he?

thatgirlblogs said...

I love flat Stanley-Gage!

Funny in My Mind said...

Don't you love family visits? Makes me miss my sisters! I love you hair in the 8th photo. Ah Abba, a blast from my childhood, mom loved them. Have a great road trip and enjoy the museum.

Deanna said...

I had to laugh at all the Gage sleeping mentions. Poor kid missed the entire trip. You are so lucky to be so close to your sister.

The entire week sounds like a blast even if it was a tad cool and rained!

Keeper of the Skies Wife said...

You and your sister are so pretty!! I love how close the two of you are!!

Looks like a totally awesome visit!!! So much fun!

I love that Gage was asleep a lot and you all documented it!!

I LOVE ABBA!!!!

betty said...

I never heard of frozen popcorn on a stick; interesting!

loved all the pictures and reading about your adventures with your sister and Gage; sounds like it was a wonderful visit!! its always neat too when the cousins can get along and play well together; makes it more of an enjoyable time for all

Enjoy your road trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

betty

Intense Guy said...

Gage... wake up... two hot smoking babes your age... and you are sleeping?!?! :)

Wow.. you look like you had a blast and half and then some!!!

You are going to need a week to "do a Gage" and rest up!

Lacey said...

Gage is living the dream life, I'm tellin' ya!

I've never even heard of frozen popcorn on a stick, but it sounds so yummy! I am totally going to look up a recipe online... one day.

I'm so glad you guys had so much fun together, and as bummed as I am that there were no jail stories thrown into the mix, I guess I'll put on my big girl pants and be happy no one got arrested also... :-)