CHICAGO, What a Wonderful Town!

I don't mean to sound braggy, but I have the BEST best friends in the whole wide world. The five of us became friends years ago while living in the same ward/neighborhood in Gilbert, Arizona. We became very close and decided, once we each started moving away, that we would keep our friendship intact no matter what! So our solution was to get together at least once a year, just the girls! The tradition began last year with a trip to the Oregon coast. We had the best time and laughed the ENTIRE trip - what therapy! In deciding where to go this year, we all wrote down a city or place we wanted to visit and put it in a hat. We drew...CHICAGO! None of us had ever been there and I wasn't sure how I felt about going to such a BIG, UNFAMILIAR place but from the minute I got there and reunited with my girls, I knew I would have the best time...and I did!!!

Highlights included:

THE AMAZING VIEWS...

THE FOOD...mmmmm!

(This little breakfast shop is RIGHT under the L-train track,

but the cinnamon rolls were to die for...what noise??)

THE SIGHTS...

We were quite the sight, 5 old ladies riding our "cruisers" around town. I was extremely hesitant about making a fool of myself, but we had SO much fun, it was well worth it!

THE MANY "L" TRAIN RIDES...BEING PRINCESS FOR A DAY...
(some people thought I may have let the crown go to my head,
but I actually wore it with all the humility I could muster...sheesh!)

AND THE ULTIMATE HIGHLIGHT?...

AMAZING!!

The ONLY lowlight...

WAAAHH!!

Blogging Because I "Half" to!

Today is the official half-way mark for September, so I figured I'd catch you up on about half of the things we've been up to these past few weeks in a pathetic attempt to redeem myself for weeks, and I suppose months of half-hearted blogging:

1. We drove for half a day to reach destination CANADA (specifically Lethbridge, Alberta)!!! We caravan-ed with Suzanne and her kids and my mom. We had sooo much fun visiting all the Peterson relatives and doing all the things we love to do: eat, play and relax (okay, mostly eat!) Here are the Seeley and Lancaster boys at "Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump". Yes, that really is the name of a cliff that is now a popular tourist attraction. Quite an interesting story, actually...

Suzanne, me, Grandma P. and my mom at Fort McCloud

2. The boys started school - I cried for half the day, and did the "Happy Dance" for the other half (we had just returned from Canada the day before, mind you).

Jason - 1st grade, Tyler - 4th grade, Adam - 3rd grade
(Tyler and Adam are clearly only half as excited as Jason is about the first day of school.)

3. Rachel got half the Birthday Party that she deserved, due to my issues with throwing parties. She's only 1 though, so she doesn't know what she's missing...yet!

Fortunately, we compensated for lack of a party with a little extra attention

(as if she needed any more!)

As always, only half of the birthday cake ended up in her mouth.
Of course, we wouldn't have it any other way.

4. Cade decided it was time to free up half of his weekends by teaching the boys to mow the lawn (conveniently at the onset of college football season...hmmmm). Tyler did half...
...and Adam did the other half. Awesome job, guys!!
5. Soccer season started, meaning we get to spend half of our lives running to and from 3 different practices during the week and attending 3 different games at 3 different times and locations with a baby and a 3 year-old in tow! Aaahhhh, the joy!

Jason's team - The Black Widows
Adam's team - Green Eggs & Ham
Tyler's team - The Red Dragons
6. Hannah started dance lessons - the day I've waited half my life for. Hannah could not be any more excited for "ballerina class" and would wear that dang pink leotard all day and night if I had half a mind to let her. Don't worry, I don't.
(Did I just insult myself?)
Sweet little Rachel spends half of the time getting in to things that she shouldn't...
...and the other half getting into things she shouldn't (you do the math!)

Now that I'm half-way asleep (and you probably are, too) I'll give it a rest and go to bed and dream about...Chicago! Did I mention I'm going there in less than 36 hours?