Chicago

I just had the opportunity to go to Chicago twice... within two weeks.  What an awesome time I had.... both times!  The first time was just Don and I (for 2 nights), then we took the kids with us last Wednesday and stayed until Monday.  So for a recap of both trips, via Instagram... stay with me.  :)

I absolutely love driving into the city... especially on a clear, bright day.

We stayed at the gorgeous Palmer House, which has a fabulous ceiling in the lobby...

And wonderful, retro-styled rooms.

Ooh la la!  This meant we got free snacks in the EXECUTIVE LEVEL (because we have so many points...)

And of course, Don brought his bike along...

I got to wear my new-to-me thrifted shoes...  I love new (to me) shoes!

And we got to enjoy SUSHI!!  Yum!

Then, when we went back with the kids, there was more fun to be had...

We had an amazing view from the 39th floor in our hotel room right on the Magnificent Mile.

We were within walking distance of what Bub called "heaven on earth" (an 8-story Sports Authority).  Ha.

We even shopped at Trader Joe's.

 The kids and I had a fabulous day at the Museum of Science and Industry while Don was in a meeting.

And we even braved public transportation on our own!

That evening, we went for a long walk around Chicago...

 And passed Iron Man and the Hulk (who gave Bub a bro-fist).

Saturday was Don's birthday, and we had a fabulous day!

 We walked around and hung out in phone booths...

 We went to Dave & Buster's and played video games.

Then that night, Don and Bub went to the Notre Dame/Miami football game at Soldier Field while Sis and I had a GNO... we went to Ed Debevics and a movie.  What a fabulous night!

Sunday, we woke up early to watch a part of the Chicago Marathon, which came right by our hotel... we were almost exactly at the one-mile mark.  There were runners everywhere!

We finished up our day by heading to Six Flags - Chicago (which is a fun way to use our St Louis season passes).

 Overall, it was a lot of fun, and we were all sad to leave.  Although it IS good to be home.

Reliving the Summer

I've been working on a photo book all evening from our summer trip to Colorado.  We chose Colorado because Don was going to do a 50-mile mountain bike race in Leadville, CO there, anyway... so we decided to make it our vacation!  So, of course, being us, we bought a pop-up camper and made it part of our adventure.  *ahem*

I thought I'd throw up some of the photos from the trip to relive it with you.

We loaded the car UP, and the camper, and the Thule cargo box on top...

Don registering for the race.  We just got in the night before, Bub had thrown up all night (altitude sickness, most likely), and we were ALL a little tired.  What a way to start a race!  Didn't seem to bother Don, though!

Don crossing the finish line...  he did AWESOME!

Right after Don finished his race.  The kids and I were so proud of him!

The kids and I doing what we do... self-portraits

My best friend from college, J, now lives in Denver, so she and her family met us in Leadville for lunch.  :)

J chasing her two youngest, twins... 

We found the cutest, most quaint theater in Breckenridge to go watch the final Harry Potter movie

Leadville has the most gorgeous views from every single angle!

Bub rock-climbing at the Y resort we stayed at in Colorado

Roller Derby Princess

Heading up the mountain for some alpine slide action!

Flipping

Gorgeous sunsets!!!! (I made Don stop at the side of a highway, so I could take some pictures of the sky!)

Archery

We were only a LITTLE competitive!  ha.

Ziplining Bub

Ziplining Sis

This was the biggest deal of all to me.  I'm PETRIFIED of water, so I had to confront some major fears to get out on the water.  ALL DAY.  In Class 4 and 5 rapids!!!!  We had such a great time, though... I'm so glad I didn't let my fear stop me!

It was a wonderful vacation.  Thanks for letting me re-live it with you!

Hotlanta

Part of the joy in no longer working full-time is to (hopefully) be able to travel even more.  Two weeks ago, Don had to go to Atlanta for training, so we pulled the kids out of school (yay for straight A's!) and jumped in the car with him!

During the days (and some of the evenings), Don was of course busy with training and networking, but the kids and I had a great time.

One of the days, we spent the day at The World of Coca Cola.  Even being a Pepsi family, we had a great time!  ha.

Even the lobby was filled with Coca Cola stuff!

There was so much to see!

My gorgeous children

They got to hold actual Olympic Torches from the Olympics held in Atlanta

We saw a 4-D movie (thus the lovely glasses), which the kids LOVED!

I don't remember this "girl" from any Coke ads, but she was in the movie and was walking around afterwards.  She (understandably) freaked the kids out, so I had to get a picture with her so she'd leave the kids alone!

Then that night, we went to dinner with Don and his business cohorts.  It was vendor night (not sure they called it that... that's just what it was... vendors EVERYWHERE), and Bub became quite the hit!  He had vendors chasing him down to give him stuff from their booths.  The boy came back to the room LOADED down with stuff (Sis and I gave up WAY before he and Don did and had already headed back to the room).  We had fun beforehand, though, with a silly photo shoot outside our hotel room.

Finally, we visited the Georgia Aquarium another day.  While that wasn't as fun as the World of Coca Cola (AND it was more expensive!), it was also enjoyable.

This is the weirdest looking fish I've ever seen!  Doesn't it look like a Pixar fish?

SHARK!  (maybe, I'm not sure...)

My posers

It's like a screen saver

Bub

It's not a real trip to a museum until you throw up a few gang signs!

Most of all, our trip was fun because we all got to be together.  Don and I worked out in the hotel gym together, we got to all be silly together, the kids and I got to have adventures together, but most of all, we got to be together.  :)