This time two weeks ago we were prepped for launch on our vacation. We set out bright and early on Sunday morning for a trip up north. We planned on making it as far as we coudl the first day and finishing the second day out by making it to my parent's house.
The kids are champion car travelers by this point in their lives, having spent days at a time in it. : ) We knew early on that Thor would be great in the car since his first trip was about 19hrs long at 4 days old. We did buy a new car dvd player and the kids each have their own screens now too. That didn't stop them from playing the age old game of "she's looking at me mom!" or an animated (all be it screwed up) game of I Spy With My Big Eye.
We made it as far as our old hometown in ST Robert, MO the first day. We got there around 930PM and took the kids swimming. I had packed everyone's swimming suits but mine unfortunately. That didnt' stop Thor from trying to drown himself and me having to jump in in my clothes to get him though. Kids.
We got back on the road for day two and made it to my mom and dad's by early afternoon. We just visited with the family and the kids had a ball seeing the menagarie of animals and taking ride after ride on the 4 wheeler. Baleigh was a huge fan of that. During a crazy rain storm my brother Chad's wife Emily gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Ivy Marie Kate Zimmerman. This is their first and I was so happy to be home to see the baby so soon after she was born becasue I missed their wedding last fall due to a school i was in.
Tuesday we all went to visit my Great Aunt Skip and my Grandma Zimmerman (who just moved up to Freeport from Bloomington). My grandma was in the hospital due to an infection she had so rather than overwhelm her with visitors I just took Baleigh in with me and Jake and THor took a walk. She was so happy to get to see us but was just getting ready for therapy so we only stayed a few minutes. Then we headed back to "the farm" as the kids call it for naps (which the kids never took) and then we took off to see baby Ivy. This is the first teeny baby the kids have ever been around. They really liked her and it was a nice visit.
I took the kids to the Lena Drive in for icecream afterwards and they LOVED it. I got an amazing upside down split!!! Did I mention it was AMAZING?
Wednesday we had a family meal and every one came over for a family picture as well. Par for the course my younger brother and family were late of course and the kids were all gettitng antsy so only a couple turned out. I will post them when my mom sends them. I also got to visit with my grandma and Skip sans kids this day and it was really nice.
That night Thor came down with a crazy fever and kept me up all night. No fun. We had planned on taking the kids to see grandma before heading to Chicago but didnt' want to get her possibly sicker.
We realized the value of the occasional 22 hr car ride on the way to Chi Town. It makes a 3 hour trip seem like cake. : ) Grandma Cori wanted us to go to the sprinkle park a few blocks from the house so we went there for a few hours the first evening before Brother In Law Adam and Cousin Wylie made it in to town from Indy. They made a special trip up to see us that evening and for the next day. Wylie is an early sleeper so he had to head to bed soon after we got there but Jake stayed and hung out with Adam until the wee hours having some much needed brother bonding time. The kids and I went back to the hotel and they had some much needed quiet time. This was about the time Thor started begging to go home and 'see his Nika (cat) and sleep in his bed and watch his tv.
Friday we hung out at the house and then when Wylie went down for his nap with Grandma we "stole" the van and went to Portillos for lunch. One word. DELICIOUS! THat night we had my birthday cake [atomic cake from fleckensteins bakery] after dinner. There was bit of a food theme going on that day.
Saturday we took Grandma Cori down town with us to the Shedd for a morning of fun. It wasn't so much fun for me since Baleigh came down with the same crazy fever thing Thor had thad on Thursday. I carried her around almost the entire time we were in the aquarium and i did feel that the next day. We only spent a little while there before heading home. It turns out that teachers and Military (+family members) get in free with an all acces pass. woo hooo!
On the way home they dropped me at my best friend Katie's house to prep for my 30th Birthday celbration. Oh, Saturday was my birthday. : ) She took me out for a pedicure and then we went shoppign for hoochie mamma clothes. Once we got done shopping it was back to her house for more prep. Another great friend from college, Mandy came up to go out with us as well. We went out to dinner and then over to another college friend's house for drinks. Back in the day we all used to go out together. WE had intended on going to a bar up on the south side but a few friends bailed on the idea so we just went to a local place for about an hour. As much fun as it was we were all toast by midnight. My phone was dead and I wanted to get home and check on the rug rats. Katie dropped me off at the hotel and I walked in to find a still sick little girl. So my buzz was pretty quickly lost in mom mode. All in all it was one of the best birthdays I have had in a long time.
Monday morning we headed back to Texas. We made it as far as Oklahoma city on day one and even had time to stop in Springfield MO at the Bass Pro Outdoor world for an hour or so. The kids thought it was amazing and I have to admit while not being a huge outdoor person I had a fun time.
Tuesday we hit home at about 2PM and it was a glorious thing to sit and do nothing as Monday Jake and I had both come down with whatever the kids had. We didn't get a fever but we did come down with a horrible cold that has lingered for close to a week now. I am feelign better and ready to head back to work. THis was a super long blog so I am going to just wrap this up by saying that we had a fantastic time and it was really relaxing for once instead of being hectic and stressful. Life is good.
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