Last Friday, we drove to Chicago to visit our good friends from Durham! It's less than a five-hour drive from Cincy and we've wanted to visit them for a few years now...AND the kids and I were yet to pay the Windy City a visit! It was time!
Did you know that when you drive from Cincinnati to Chicago, you go through
Wind Turbine Country, Indiana? It's true. For miles and miles and miles...
We gained an hour traveling to the Central Time Zone, which got us to Chicago in time to check into our hotel and then drive over to Danielle and Chris's apartment...and then walk to pick up Abby from school. They walk everywhere, which our kids loved. It helped that it was 70 outside (very unusual for Chicago in October)--lucky us!
Their part of town is full of beautiful homes and lots of local businesses...it was a pleasure to pretend that we live there, too! See? Brie's already got something lined up in case elementary school doesn't pan out... ;-)
The five kids were
very excited to be reunited after a year.
They played together beautifully all weekend long.
And enjoyed sharing meals...
and movie nights together!
When we planned our trip months and months ago, we (of course) had no clue that our visit to Chicago would coincide with the Cubs making it to the World Series. It was REALLY exciting to be there over the weekend, especially since Danielle and Chris live within walking distance of Wrigleyville! No matter where we went, everybody was in Cubs gear and in a terrific mood (despite two losses at home)!! We watched the games in their home with the windows open...on big plays, you could hear the cheering in the stadium!
On Saturday, we took the bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo...
And it happened to be the day that the zoo celebrates Halloween, so the kids got lots of treats and candy!
(We also saw a few animals...)
And did a few crafts (with more candy)!
Look! Rhino buns!
I love this photo of the big kids walking home after our trip to the zoo. It reminds me of an old L.A. Gear commercial. Watch out, world!
On Saturday afternoon, I met my old friend Jodi (we hit it off in Algebra I on the first day of 8th grade...shortly after I moved to Northern Virginia) for tea! It was really fun to catch up with her after many, many years and hear all about her life in Chicago (and her family). Neither of us keeps in touch with a lot of friends from our school, but it was still fun to swap stories and play "Where are they now?" Yay, for decades of friendship (and delicious
tea and macarons)!
On Sunday, the kiddos got on their costumes, so they could go and enjoy some major Halloween fun!
First we went to Abby's school's "Halloween Hoopla!" There were games, treats, a magician and a DJ...the kids (and adults) had lots of fun!
Then the kids participated in a first: trick-or-treating at local shops and restaurants!! It didn't take them long to figure out that this is tons of fun...
And then they ran from business to business!
We had SO much fun with our dear friends! And we loved Chicago...we'll be back!!
Then...Early Monday morning, I embraced my inner Pinterest lover and made these spooky treats...
Picked up Sebastian from preschool....and headed to Maple Dale for some Halloween celebrations! Sam's class brought in pumpkins and estimated how many seeds were inside. Then we carved them...
And got to see how many seeds were actually inside! Sam's had about 360!
At Brie's party, the kids played games...
Bonded with besties...
And then headed out to the playground for the parade! There's my favorite Reds vendor!
After school, we ate an early dinner and then headed out to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood! Good thing it was a beautiful. warm fall evening!
Game time!
Sebastian caught on immediately! He asked, "One more trick-or-treat?" after every house.
Look! Brie found a (baseball-loving) kindred spirit in our neighbor Kevin!
Oh, no! Watch out for Jason Voorhees! (And, yes, that is Sebastian in the back right...looking for Kevin's sweet dog Roxy...)
We definitely had a Halloween for the record books. Can't wait for next year (and by that I mean my kids are already brainstorming costumes for next Halloween)!!
P.S. Halloween laughs were abundant this year...so many good costumes! The faculty and staff of Maple Dale picked the Olympics as their theme...check out the 2-man bobsled!
And it's a good thing that the parents at our school have a good sense of humor! :-O
Beth's friend Rachel and her coworker won "Best Pair" in their office costume contest on Monday when they dressed up as contestants on the popular hit 80's game show "Double Dare." (Can you tell I loved that show??)
And here is Sam's buddy Eli demonstrating that "Bustin' makes me feel good." Haha.
P.P.S. Speaking of Halloween, have you tried the Snickers Crisper?? It's like a combination of Snickers and Nestle Crunch. I mean, how could you possibly go wrong?! (And, as much as I like watching my kids eat all the same candy that I ate in 2nd grade, it's exciting to see something new!)
P.P.P.S. On a not-Halloween-related note, this is a picture of Danielle's organized shirt drawer...with the clothes folded just like I read in that Japanese decluttering book (I even
wrote about it). We just might be organizing soulmates!!
P.P.P.P.S. This just in: after a 108-year drought, the Cubs won the World Series last night!! Woohoo!! How thrilling that we could be a small part of their historic win!!
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