my weekend in chicago

remember when i was having a sappy, sentimental moment about my dad? all of that was true. i only let out one little bit. when i said, "i wish i could be there" - i was trickin' you. i was going to be there. all of us were. in fact, there was never a time we weren't going to be there, pending flight cancellations that we were threatened with thursday night. as soon as my dad announced he was retiring, we all got to planning a trip home. we were all so excited. we knew we were going to knock his socks off. and boy did we ever. but i'll get to that part in a little bit.

heather arrived first, heidi & i flew in a little less than an hour later and we all headed towards the sears tower. my mom was downtown having lunch with my dad on his last day, which is kind of a funny story in and of itself and they weren't back yet, so we ran around the corner and grabbed some deep dish pizza for lunch. nothing like chicago pizza [and food, in general!] and boy did we get plenty over the weekend. i could do a whole post about the food alone. while we were at lunch, holly landed and started her trek to the sears. my mom's security got a little mixed up so my dad left her down in the lobby as we waited for that to get worked out. finally, she was up and we met holly in the lobby of the sear's tower. we had to get security passes and get through security and by the time we were getting to the elevator banks, a lady from my dad's office came down to meet us and show us where we were supposed to go. all of a sudden, my parents step off the elevator and rounded turned in the opposite direction of where we were standing or else the surprise would've happened right then and there.  we all freaked out because we almost got caught. the lady, kim told us that they were headed over to the other elevator banks and that we'd be fine, so we relaxed a little. 

all of a sudden, i was staring at my dad though, as they rounded the corner again. he gave me the most confused look i have ever gotten from him. heather and i were standing right there, there was no avoiding it, he walked right upon us. he later said that he recognized kim but that he didn't know who i was. the first words out of his mouth were "you're not supposed to be here."  he was in shock. he just couldn't place us there. it was really quite funny. finally heather started yelling "surprise! surprise!" and we all caught on to what was happening. we definitely surprised him!

the work party was pretty amazing. big wigs from united came and talked about what a guy he is. his hard work, his dedication, his abilities, his heart & sense of humor. all things we all know, but love to hear. he got awards and presents. stories shared that we all laughed through. his boss had flowers for my mom and us girls, which was incredibly thoughtful. [she was the only person in on the secret, my mom needed her to help us with security and just to help work out the kinks of the details. she really came through on her end, too.]

after the party, we headed over to a greek restaurant with a bunch of my dad's friends who came into the city for his party. it was an adventure to get there but the food was delicious and it was nice to warm up. we eventually got on the metra and headed home. 

saturday we grocery shopped and got the house ready for my mom's party on saturday night. it was a hopping party, too. lots and lots of my dad's old work friends and old family friends came. it was so much fun to visit with everyone. the food was delicious, too. it took all 6 of us to keep people greeted, coats put away and entertained - it was crazy.

sunday was our day to relax and just enjoy being together. [not that we hadn't been enjoying all along.] the girls out voted my parents and we said, "sorry but no church & we're going sinning." we had shopping and more food we wanted to enjoy. we hit woodfield and lou malnati's. it was such a fun day. i loved being with my parents and my sisters. we haven't all been together since mikey's blessing. and i don't think we've ever been just the "core" family since heidi left for college. it was a treat. we never once went to bed before midnight. it was surely not a weekend for sleep!

the only hard part of the weekend for me was leaving my boys. i hadn't left mikey before. the last few days up until i left were hard. everytime mikey was sweet or cute, i'd break down and think, "i can't leave him!" but i knew i had to. i survived with only a few minutes while i was gone where i cried. thank heavens garrett was so good to me, sending me pictures and videos of their weekend. i watched and rewatched them almost constantly. i knew all along that mikey would be fine - he'd be with his dad. i knew garrett would be fine, he's a pro. i just didn't know if i'd be fine, but i was ok.

 

all in all, it was an amazing weekend. i'm so glad i was able to go and be a part of my dad's last day of work. i'm so thankful for united and for the life we've had because of it. i'm excited to see what this next chapter in life brings for him - i expect him out here for a few days with us no later than march. [dad, i'm not joking about that part.] i loved getting to spend time with my parents and sisters. we definitely made memories!

not everyone has an iphone...

i'm a huge dork. i know it. but one of my favorite things in yellowstone is to find as many license plates as possible. and having an iphone - it makes it much easier [holly, that is a dig...] to make notes as you go. [holly, also note that this is an instagram picture....'nother dig.]

here's the states that we saw. if there is an h after - i spotted it. if there is a g - garrett. mind you, he was driving & i was scouting. but i do feel good about myself for seeing so many! and i took the hawaii picture because mikey was asleep at the lower falls & garrett wasn't with me as i drove around the parking lot & hit the hawaiian jackpot. i didn't want him to think i made it up, so a picture was taken.

1. Alaska -h
2. Arkansas -h
3. Washington -h
4. Montana -h
5. Colorado - g
6. California - h
7. Oregon - h
8. Nebraska - h
9. Illinois -h
10. Arizona -h
11. Florida -h
12. Minnesota - h
13. Pennsylvania - g
14. Wisconsin - h
15. Kentucky -h
16. Maryland -h
17. Tennessee - h
18. Texas - h
19. New York - h
20. Missouri - h
21. South Dakota -h
22. Oklahoma - h
23. South Carolina - h
24. North Dakota - h
25. Ohio - h
26. West virginia - h
27. Louisiana - h
28. Kansas - h
29. Massachusetts - h
30. Iowa-h
31. Hawaii - h
32. Virginia - h
33. North Carolina- h
34. Michigan - h
35. Maine - h
36. New Mexico - h
37. Indiana- g
38. Vermont - h
39. New jersey -h
40. Mississippi -h
41. Utah - Deb (Thanks for the reminder!!)

a slew of "dog" pictures

 

we went to yellowstone with garrett's brothers and parents this last [long] weekend. it was so much fun. we stayed in island park. on the drive up, we stopped at bear world...  which was way cooler than i could've ever expected it to be. garrett's parents were so generous & took us on a feed-the-bears tour. we fed bears. we rode through the park in a truck and then threw food at them. they followed us around and then sat and caught the food that we threw at them. it was amazing. [there was something about babies on this trip that i couldn't get over. probably because of someone named mikey...]

then we drove to rexburg and drove through campus quickly...  talk about a change [growth] from when i was there from 97 - 99. they now have a temple. craigo's no longer has the twisty breadsticks, but they do have some delicious gourmet pizza. and there are tons of homes, apartments, restaurants - that place is huge compared to the last time i was there. and yet, when i walked into the gas station - still small town, friendly country folk. that did my heart good.

yellowstone was gorgeous as always. we drove all over the park. we didn't see any moose or bears in the park, but everyone saw moose at big springs [a place about 5 miles down the road from the island park condo] and we saw bears at bear world. mckay spotted some bald eagles flying over a river. we saw plenty of buffalo and some elk herds. it was a great time. 

yesterday morning, the day we were leaving, everyone was sleeping in a little bit. well, everyone without small children. we'd contained mikey in our room without toys for about an hour and had pretty much maxed out our happy before breakfast time, so we decided to jump in the car and drive up to big springs. i was the only one who hadn't seen moose in the wild yet & it was my last chance. so we jumped in the car. and we hit the jackpot. we didn't even get to big springs before we found one moose on the side of the road. watching her for about 10 minutes, all of a sudden i spotted 3 more moose off in the distance coming straight at us. the four of them sat and played right behind our car - less than a bus length away for about a half hour before they crossed the road and went into the other trees. i was beside myself with excitement. mikey was too - he'd look out the window and say "gog!"

the only thing that i was excited about while driving home yesterday was sleeping in my own bed. so, i don't want to force anyone to watch our videos...  so i will provide links in another post. you can watch them if you please. [also, i'd like to credit garrett with these pictures... he took 99% of them.]

p.s. mikey calls all animals dogs. or "gog" in mikey tongue. kinda melts my heart.

notes on austin

• i don't understand how 10 days can go by so fast. especially while living out of a suitcase. but they did. we're home now and trying to get unpacked. i might still be living out of a suitcase for another 10 days.
• hanging out with heather and just doing whatever is still so much fun. with a husband and a baby. although the husband worked. when i was single, i made it to her house about once a year for a long off track visit. i've missed those visits.
• austin is hot. hot. HOT. i had sweaty lip mustaches way more often than one should. i had sweaty everything.
• i got stung by a scorpion twice. then looked down and saw that it was sitting on my chest. 
• my "scorpion on your chest" removal process is very different from scott's. i froze in fear. scott moved. 
• garrett got stung, too. but only once. 
• mikey never got stung, thank heavens. 
• getting stung by a scorpion isn't fun, but it isn't that bad. they're just creepy.
• i ate a lot of good food there. chuy's. rudy's. mighty fine. the mighty cone. double dave's. round rock donuts.
• mikey LOVED rocky. he also loved his cousins.
• i loved watching his cousins play with him and love on him.
• i finally accepted the fact that hunter isn't sick and that he's just got a deep voice. that was a hard one, but i like 15 year old huntie. he's a cool kid. who rocks vans & nike. 
• we're still working on his sock situation. :)
• it is kinda nice to have a niece willing to stay home and be there when he wakes up from his nap to watch him while we ran errands. 
• speaking of chuy's... i might have to make "the dip" tonight. 
• i loved getting to see garrett every day. 
• loved going on little late night runs to CVS with him, too. dates with your husband - no matter how simple... fun.
• i didn't take enough pictures! stink!!!
• james avery is still one of my favorite stores. 
• mikey pooped up his back in james avery. that wasn't chaotic at all. 
• there were a couple of things that happened on this trip that we laughed about so hard. but we will keep to ourselves. as hannah said once, "what happens in this house, stays in this house." probably better for us all.
• 2 flights = 2 extremely interesting rides. 2 psychos. one in front of us, one in back of us. that might be a whole 'nother blog post. 
• mikey did pretty good on the planes. he was tired and squawked a bit... but it surely could've been worse.
• i heard hopey say "i don't care" a lot. and i keep hearing it in my head now and i miss that girl.
• austin was bad for my eating better and exercising more. i wanted to eat nothing but junk. cold junk. and i wanted to sit as possibly still under a fan. while sipping ice water. oh well. there's always september.
• i love my sister's kids. they're all growing up. way too fast. they're good kids though. i enjoyed each one of them... i hate that i don't get to see them as often as i'd like. not only do i love them, but i really like them, too. 
• hayden very generously gave up his room for 10 days. no complaining! he also melted my heart on a daily basis with his getting down and playing with mikey. it was so sweet. hayden was sooooo good to mikey. 
• i was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. and mikey seemed happy to be back to his toys today. but that's about the only thing i'm happy to be home about. i mean, i'm happy to be home, but i wasn't dying. i wasn't wanting to be home... i felt so at home there. that's saying a lot for a long trip like this. 
• and now, after writing all of these memories out, i sigh and try not to cry. good memories. heather, thank you.

monster jammies make my world go round

•  garrett had a business trip to austin last week. i am so jealous that he gets to see heather and her kiddies so often now. one of these trips, mikey & i are going with him. 
• i still hate being away from him. we're joined at the hip & i wouldn't have it any other way.
• i went on my first trip with mikey. alone. to holly's in st. george. we had a grand time. my mom also came to town. connor and will loved mikey. he loved them. now mikey is getting a little cold. slight fever. runny nose. a little congestion. still smiley. just extra tired. 
• yesterday, shawnie was driving through town and we met her and her boys for lunch. i love that girl so much, so thankful she was one of my roommates freshman year. 
• last night, we met megan and cory for dinner and then went to the provo library for an evening with markus zusak, the author of one of my all time favorite books, the book thief. [if you haven't read it yet, you clearly don't love me. and something is definitely wrong with you.] he was charming and witty, and i could've sat and listened to his australian accent forever. thank you, thank you, thank you megan. another one of my favorite people - another one of my roommates from freshman year. 
• i really lucked out with roommates @ ricks.
• friday night, i got some new nail polishes. i painted my nails. it is all part of my start-looking-better- program. next week, i'm going to get serious about a gym membership. i also got a cute new shirt at costco. i'm going to try to fancy up my style just a tidge. i always wear very plain shirts and jeans. not super femme. at holly's this week, i was impressed on how cute she looked just for going to target. part of my problem is that i literally have 4 shirts that fit that aren't stained right now. so. aside from doing a lot of laundry, my choices are limited. i'll never be super fancy like hojo, but i can jazz it up a little. 
• i'm reading pioneer woman's book. i'm enjoying it. she's funny. i love the heat in that book.
• i decided to corner round project life. getting caught up was in itself a little project. but i'm sooooo glad i did it. 
• i woke up this morning with body aches and a headache. i'm skipping church because mikey is still sleeping and it is half way through our first hour. i feel that when your baby is sick, you shouldn't wake him up. even for church. we're both having a relaxing day. i am pretty sure we won't regret it.
• my dad got home from moscow. thank heavens, no injuries this time. i like having him on american soil.
• today is my punky's birthday. my niece. she's 8 now. i can't believe it. through the thick and thin of the last decade, she's always been nothing but a source of pure joy for me. when i was down, all i had to do was be around her and all of my problems just slipped right away. when she was a baby & someone knocked on their doorbell, she shook in anticipation that it might be me. nowadays, we mostly do special sleepovers... i still just love her.

that's a darth vader ring on his toe

this week, garrett had a business trip. and since i was kinda depressed at the thought of spending 4 days alone after just spending 10 whole days with him, i roadtripped it down to holly's house. these pictures are just a few of the ones i took. boy, are those boys adorable. they're growing up way too fast & i already miss them so much.

chicago trip pictures

saturday: driving around the 'burbs, portillos, and alice in wonderland

sunday: church, long grove, & a drive downtown

monday: field museum and lou's

tuesday: shopping with neddie and buffalo wild wings

wednesday: shedd aquarium and ed debevic's

thursday: home day waiting for computer, then massive computer setup. yay garrett. he's my parents' hero now.

friday: museum of science and industry, r.j. grunts and a visit to my old friend lindsey's house. curses on me for not taking an pictures of lindsey's. [more lou's at lindsey's]

saturday: another trip to portillos & blindside at the catlow.

sunday: churchy, last minute computer stuff, and packing.

all in all - it was a wonderful trip. i had so much fun showing things to garrett. my parent's brand new computer finally came, garrett was able to set that mofo up - he seriously is wonderful. he's patient and capable. more than i can say for mike, marleen, or hayley. [no offense padres] i mean, there's tons of stories, and i might share them bit by bit, but i'm pretty sure that no one else really cares except for me. maybe garrett. maybe my parents.

tickets are bought

chicago, here we come.

there are very few things that make me more excited than this trip!

i get to take my favorite person to my favorite place.

thanksgiving wrap up

the way to this girl's heart is anything Ha-Ha. aka Princess stuff:

hanging out. being silly. altogether good fun.

the food was amazing. as always.

we went on a roadtrip friday - to get Rocky. the cutest little golden puppy ever. i'm so excited for christmas now. thanksgiving really got me in the holiday mood.

tonight, i made a delicious dinner while garrett put up our christmas tree.

in case you were wondering - yes, i did completely biff it yesterday at the airport while trying to go up some stairs. no, i can't kneel on my left knee anymore. i also have a bloody knuckle. and tonight, as i've sat here & loaded pictures, putzed & blogged, we've sat here in the dark listening to the ipodular on my christmas playlist and sipped some frango mint hot chocolate. too bad no fireplace. it has been a completely lovely evening. [you should try that soup. thanks tara.]