Vacation 2008

So this year's vacation was a longer roadtrip to the midwest, more specifically the Chicago area. We were supposed to be a bit more versatile, travel outside of the city, but with the various things that happened, we were centered around Chicago. We drove straight to Uncle Brian's and stayed there for a couple of days and spent the Fourth of July in the city with family. It was an experience we will never forget, and that's all I'll say. Well, I WILL say that I'll NEVER be found with my family at the Taste ever, never, ever again. Wow. Glad I know, though. After that we headed to the Dunes State Park for a couple days of camping. It was fun, despite the fact that we battled MAJOR mosquitoes, rainstorms, and thunder/lightening storms. It was actually scary at times, but we kept our wits and sense of humor about us and laughed it off and dealt with it. At one point, we even took shelter in our van. Back to the city after camping, a SUV ran into our car. Bummer. We had to get a rental at that point, as our car was drivable but without a headlight and the ability to open the driver's side door. The rental thing has been a BIG headache. As I type, Eric speaks to a representative for the millionth time trying to figure a way for us to get back home, and this happened over a week ago. After the accident, the VERY same day, I fell off a step and broke my foot in Wrigleyville, and we didn't even get tickets to the game! What a mess.... Next is Hadley's birthday, which went so well, so that was a big plus and a very welcome change. Since then, I've been camped out on Andrew/Abbi's couch while the kids are entertained by Aunt Abbi and Cousin Morgan and an occassional trip out. I, however, have not experienced much, as a trip down the hallway has been exhausting. I go back to the doctor in Sarasota on Monday, that is, if we are able to get home by then. The foot doesn't feel quite right but, hopefully the doctor will tell me otherwise. We'll see... I'll post updates and hopefully, everything will work out......................................

Camping Pics

And Broken Me

Yeah, I'm broken and COMPLETELY useless.

And Some of Our Special Guests

Not that the rest of the guests aren't special.....

Hadley Turns Cinco!

Hadley turned five last week and it was a total hit!!! Aunt Abbi made ALL the arrangements and if it wasn't for her, it might have been pretty dismal. We celebrated with family and friends on a beachfront park in Evanston, IL. It threatened to rain and it was pretty hot but it really was perfect. Wally and EEEEEEEVAAAA were the theme and on the cake that nearly melted in the heat. Morgan was more than thrilled with Hadley's ability to blow her Wally party favor. He laughed and laughed. It was just a great day and Hadley and the rest of the fam. will be able to put it in our memory banks and think of it fondly. A special thank you once again to Aunt Abbi and the rest of the family and friends for being there to help us celebrate.

Moving, Moving, Packing, Moving, etc.

So this week has been a bit .... scattered. As everyone knows, we're moving-STILL. Because there's not this strict deadline, and knowing that Eric and I are procrastinators, we've been dragging this process out and to top it off we're leaving tomorrow evening for vacation! I hate moving, especially when you get to the odds and ends stuff AND, since I'm not at all organized, there's ALOT of little stuff lingering around. So yeah. Also, I have LOTS of people to call and catch up with and I'm VERY sorry and I promise to call soon. I'm thinking once we're on the road and all is quiet, I'll make those calls. You're not forgotten, I promise.

The girls are crazy as ever. Lots of dressing up lately. They come up with the wackiest outfits, I swear. Imogen can't get enough of puzzles these days. She's really into a few she got for her birthday. Hadley continues to make her own paper dolls and cuts things out continuously. There are scraps of paper EVERYWHERE!!! She's really into drawing and cutting out chinchillas. Go figure. Actually, she wants Eric and me to draw these chinchillas, claiming she's not good enough at it, and then she cuts them out afterwards. She's a funny one.

So yeah, it's on the road tomorrow evening and then....hopefully it'll be smooth sailing. We're picking Tater Tot up on the way. It's been four weeks since we've seen her! We can't wait!!!

Wish us luck!