Christmas in Chicago, The End, Finally!

Apparently I hate blogging because I rarely do it. Or maybe it is just the procrastinator in me that lets things drag on as long as I do! Christmas was over 4 months ago.

Here we go, the final installment of our trip!

Just after Christmas, I started coming down with something, allergies, or a cold, I'm not sure. One evening everyone wanted to go bowling, except for my parents, who were staying home for various reasons, and me, because I was feeling crappy. I wanted to read and not have to move. It had started snowing again. Raymond loaded up the boys in my parents' mini-van and April rode along with them. Danielle and Sam drove separately because they wanted at least some alone time while he was here visiting. We had some momentary freak outs when Dani and Sam arrived at the bowling alley first and Raymond and the crew did not show up. Neither April or Raymond had a working cell phone so we were all praying they had not had some horrible accident. In the end, they were fine, they had just gotten a little lost, but they did have the little adventure of being unable to make the van stop at a stop light because of the snow, so they coasted through, and very slooowly, I'm told, lost control of the van and spun around. Raymond was driving and swore everything was okay and that they were fine. WHAT?! Why did my sister let a born and raised Californian drive in the snow? I'm just thankful that God protected them, nothing bad happened, and they made it home safe and sound after bowling.

Raymond was given strict orders from me to take pictures since I didn't go bowling. He took a LOT of pictures! Here are a fraction of them.

Nathan was a very enthusiastic bowler. He'd dance and move all around after he bowled.
Oh dear, you can tell we're homeschoolers. I let poor Jonah wear pants that were way too short for months before I finally bought him some new pairs of jeans.



Wow, yeah, those pants look ridiculous...

I don't know what Nathan is doing with his belly hanging out...
Dani must have gotten a strike or a spare here...



The first Sunday we were there, we went to my dad's church. He is a pastor to a small deaf congregation. The second Sunday we planned to attend the church my sisters attend. Unfortunately I was still feeling crummy and then Jonah became super nauseated that morning so we all 4 stayed home. I needed to stay in bed and sleep so Raymond was stuck tending to Jonah. My mom was also not feeling super well so she stayed behind, too. We were so disappointed to miss going to church and seeing my sisters' friends and April's in-laws.

A couple of days later, we were all well and ready to head out to downtown Chicago. We wanted to see The Field Museum.

Raymond took pictures of the skyline as we drove.






There were a lot of people who had the same idea so the museum was pretty crowded, especially as the day went on.

Blake cruising in his stroller.

We were able to see T-rex Sue's massive head and see her menacing sharp teeth. A guide was there to tell us about the dinosaur. Each tooth was serrated, like a knife, so that they could tear through flesh and bones easily. Scientists think that if a tooth broke, a dinosaur could regrow a tooth over and over again. Fascinating!

I'm signing what the guide is saying so my parents could understand.

It was a beautiful and very large museum. So much to see and do!

Standing in a dinosaur's footprint.

The kids wanted a picture of themselves by the monkeys... and the butt?




Someday we'd love to check out the Shedd Aquarium.

While at home, we took pictures of the three grandsons together. We discovered that Blake and Nathan had the exact same shirt so I wanted to get a picture of the two of them wearing it.

And *ahem* a couple of days before we were to fly home, my sisters and I may have jumped the gun a bit and decided we should go look at wedding dresses. We were just sure that Danielle and Sam would be getting married in the near future. I wasn't able to be there when April was engaged and looking for a dress, so we thought since I was here now and that I probably wouldn't be visiting again until the probable wedding was happening, we should do it! Mom and one of Danielle's close friends came with us. I won't show you pictures of her in any dresses, but I will say that we found *the* dress.

Baby Blake was the only boy allowed to come along. :) I bet he's thinking, oooh, Aunt Dani looks pretty!


Our two weeks came to a close. It was New Year's Eve and we were going home the next day. We all spent the evening at April and James' place and had a delicious dinner together. It was so hard knowing we had to leave.

Papa with Blake.

I cuddled my little nephew, knowing he'd be so much bigger the next time I'd get to see him.

Hugs and tears were shared as we said our goodbyes.

The next morning came quickly and it was time to pack up and go. My parents drove us to the airport. It was cold. Goodbye snow! Goodbye toll roads that are everywhere! You have to pay tolls to drive on a lot of the freeways, and you even have to pay a toll to take an exit off the freeway in some spots! My parents have an I-Pass that allows them to drive through the toll booths instead of stopping each time. The device sticks to your windshield and it automatically deducts the toll fee (I think you get a discount with the I-Pass though) each time you drive through. You have an online account to pay for it, you put however much money it is in your account, and once it gets down to $10, they automatically charge your credit card to put more money on your I-Pass. Driving gets very expensive there!




We had a fabulous and fun trip. And guess what? A couple months later, my sister Danielle DID get engaged and bought *the* dress. We'll be flying out again in July for her wedding!

And in other important news, little Blake is going to be a big brother! Sister April is expecting baby #2 in November. Aaaaah! Our family is growing and growing. Hooray!