Birthday trip

My mother-in-law, Lori, turned 50 last week. To celebrate, Don planned a trip to Chicago for all the siblings. We told Lori about the surprise trip just 3 days in advance so she would have time to pack. But Dillon had no idea they were coming. They flew in on Thursday (22nd) and Dillon was so cute when he saw Grandma Lori get out of Daddy's car. His jaw dropped and he said very calmly, "I didn't know you were coming." Over the next hour he realized what had really happened and had a perma-grin on his face for the rest of the weekend. He LOVES his grandma! We had Chicago-style pizza that night to welcome them to the city.

On Friday the kids and I stayed home while the rest of them headed to the opera--Faust. From what I hear, it was pretty amazing.

That night we all went swimming at the hotel where Lori was staying. Our ridiculous silly impromtu pool games were probably the highlight of the trip for me--I haven't laughed that hard for a long time! I have such awesome in-laws!

Saturday we went into the city to see Navy Pier and walk the Magnificent Mile. We got some fun pictures from the huge ferris wheel at Navy Pier.

That evening we ate at the "All Aboard Diner" and then left the boys with a sitter while the adults went to see the Broadway production of Thouroughly Modern Millie. It was such a fun show! I highly recommend it.

Sunday was Lori's actual birthday and we were able to spend some nice time just together. Our awesome friends staged a delivery from Lori's favorite fast food place--Fiesta Ole!

We presented Lori with some sentimental gifts everyone had been working on and then enjoyed dinner and cake with some cousins.

Lindsay's birthday was three days later so we got to sing to her too!

Monday morning they flew back home.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. We stayed up way too late every night, but it was because we were having too much fun. I am so lucky to have married into such a wonderful family. Thanks for coming fam! We miss you already!

Undocumented Fun :(

On Thursday I drove into the city, picked up my wonderful friend, Christine, and went to the Shedd Aquarium. We haven't been for 2 years, so it was time. The best part of the day for me was when we found street parking and the meter was almost full, so we paid 50 cents for parking instead of the $16 I was expecting!!! As always, Dillon's favorite part was the dolphin show. Unfortunately in an attempt to delete a couple blurry pics, I deleted all them all!!! So you'll just have to trust me--it was a great day!

Pumpkin Farm

Thanks to some of our friends, this last Saturday we took a spontaneous trip to a local pumpkin farm/zoo. They had lots of animals that you could pet and feed. Wesley loves animals especially now that he is learning to make all their sounds so he was really fun to watch.

We were able to hold little baby chicks. Dillon thought it was really fun... ...until it started to flap its wings! (Please excuse my wind-blown hair!)

The highlight for Dillon was of course the train ride. He also loved all the big blow up toys. It was hard to get him to leave.

Of course we went on the coldest day we've seen yet, and since. Wesley was a trooper!

The pony rides were another highlight

Thanks Nate, for playing with these pics and making them even more fun!

Wesley was "neighing" the whole time.

His face looks so serious, but he really seemed to enjoy the ride. He liked feeling the soft horsey!

Before leaving we got apple cider donuts---Mmmmm! It reminded me of good old Carter Mountain in Virginia---man, I miss that place. But we're sure having a lot of fun here!

I LOVE this face!

First Day of Preschool

My big Dillon started preschool this week. They had an open house on Monday where we stayed and played with him (and personalized his tote bag) and then Wednesday was his first day to go to preschool all by himself. Some of the kids were crying and having a hard time saying bye to Mommy---not Dillon! I barely stole a kiss from him before he ran off to play. He loves preschool and wishes he could go every day, not just 3 days a week.

His hair is so hard to do! It is so thick and so straight and has a definite direction it wants to go.

Wesley loves Dillon's school just as much as his brother. Each time we drop Dillon off it's hard to get Wes to leave with me. He's growing up faster than I want. He wants to be big like his brother.

Family photo shoot

While at the beach, our awesome friend Amy took a few family pictures for us. We should have gone before it got so sunny, but we still got some pretty decent shots. THANK YOU AMY!

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The coolest part was watching Amy work her magic with photo shop as we were looking through the pictures. She is one talented girl! Love you lady!

p.s. Vote which one you think I should put at the top of the blog! I've numbered them for your convenience.