#376 - #379 - Chicago Firsts (Days One-Two)

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been away so long. It has been a crazy couple of months here. I'll try to post more regularly as I notice new things in our lives! In the meantime, I just got home from 10 days in Chicago and have a handful of new things to share:

#376 - Waterfall Swimming
The first hotel we stayed at had an indoor pool with a giant (fake rock) waterfall. It was beautiful to look at but GOOD GRIEF the water was cold! We swam anyways, since TLG loves to be in the water... he thought it was the greatest fun to swim back behind the waterfall. Of course we couldn't stay in there long because our lips were turning blue.

But I would be remiss in talking about Chicago if I forgot to mention the

#377 - Rental Car Upgrades!
Leftover from my previous job, I have a membership as a Hertz Gold Club member. Somehow we got upgraded from a mid-size SUV to a new Cadillac Escalade... which was awesome! Leather seats with warmers, tons of room to spread out, a smooth ride, a satellite radio, and best of all, a GPS. OK, we knew we were getting the GPS because we paid extra for that - but thank goodness we had "her" with us. We were only 90 minutes late to the...

#378 - Major Family Reunion
One of the reasons we took this trip was to attend a major family reunion in Auburn, IN. There were about 35 members of my husband's extended family in attendance, including a bunch of kids. We were late NOT because of the GPS but because we failed to double-check the driving time in advance. Oh well, we still got to visit with everyone and eat a good meal. While we were there, one of my hubby's cousins gave TLG a...

#379 - Fishing Lesson
I'll admit I've never been fishing. I'm not even sure if my hubby has, either? Outdoorsmen, we are not. The park where the reunion was held had a small fishing pond, and the cousin's children clearly had plenty of experience. While we didn't let TLG actually fish any, the two of us stood there for quite some time watching. I asked our cousin to explain what he was doing (since I obviously was at a loss for words), and he did a great job telling TLG all the steps to catching a fish. I don't think they caught anything, but that wasn't really the point.

#375 - TLG's First Sleepover

As part of our date night last night, it was also TLG's first sleepover at Grandma & Grandpa's house. In over three years, he's never spent the night anywhere without either me or my wonderful hubby. I will tell you TLG loved, loved, loved spending the night at my in-laws' house. I don't know all the details about what they did, but we did get a few cute photos like the one here. (That's a popper hooked to a push-toy that TLG likes to run in circles with.) I'm not too proud to tell you that I was nervous and a little sad unless I was distracted by a trivia game or a movie... I had trouble falling asleep and kept listening for him even though I knew he wasn't here. *sigh* He had a blast, went to bed late and got up early, and fell asleep in the car on the way home (just the way a sleepover should be).

#374 - Wings & Games

My hubby and I went on a special date night tonight and had dinner at a new place: Buffalo Wild Wings. We chose it because it's right next to the movie theater (and we chose to go see "Monsters vs. Aliens" without TLG tonight). It's a bar/grill type of place, and it was pretty crowded, but we got a table right away. We enjoyed the food, I had delicious wings with medium sauce (pretty spicy, actually, but they were great) and we shared some cheesy potato wedges. Hubby, who doesn't like wings, ordered a burger and said it was great. But the best part of dinner: I had heard about the trivia games they have, and our waitress brought us an electronic console so we could join in... it was really fun! The first game was popular music trivia and we didn't do so well, actually. But the second game was general trivia and we did great - though what do you expect when out of 10 questions, one was about the Muppet Show and two were about cars? We came in 5th in the restaurant out of 20 people playing. I can definitely see us going back here again sometime soon!

#373 - Emergency?

As you probably know, TLG had his 3rd surgery in February and it was a great success. All the work the surgeon wanted to complete was done, and he has been healing quickly and completely. But I admit it, I am a worrywart of the first degree. This weekend I noticed some things around his scars that didn't look quite right. So this morning, I called UC Davis to ask a nurse about it. The receptionist didn't even let me talk to the nurse, and told us to come right down for an afternoon appointment! Well! Let me tell you how much I flipped out. I assumed this was an emergency and had a terrible time calming down. Turns out what I saw was just scarring and was completely normal, the surgeon actually made me feel quite silly for coming in to see him, but HEY you can't be too careful with MY CHILD. Right?!? This was the first time we had to rush to UC Davis - all our other visits were carefully planned - and that drive is not fun when you're a nervous wreck.

#372 - Violin Lesson

I don't know what possessed TLG to ask to see my violin tonight. I hadn't mentioned it in ages, I didn't think he even remembered I own one. I know I've never shown it to him. But tonight, of his own free accord, TLG asked to see my violin. So I brought it out of storage and TLG used the bow while I did the fingering to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." He was very careful with the violin and understood that it wasn't a toy like his little guitar (also shown in the photo). But he loved making a song come out of the violin and wanted to do it over and over again. I'll be interested to see what instrument he chooses to play when he decides he's ready.

#371 - Landlocked Marina

After we left the movie, we headed someplace else I've never visited: the Sparks Marina. This man-made marina is near I-80 in nearby Sparks, and boy was it crowded on this windy (but sunny) day! There's a nice playground that was crawling with kids, so TLG didn't play there for long. Instead, we wandered down to the "beach" which seemed to me to be so windblown that the dirt under the sand was showing through. TLG loved running up and down the lifeguard stations, which weren't being used at this time of year. We walked down the beach to three different stations before heading back. We didn't stay too long, since the wind was pretty fierce, but we might have to check it out again on a day when we could wade in the water. I wonder how crowded it is in the summertime?

#370 - $30 I'll Never See Again

We thought we were being fun, exciting parents when we tried to take TLG to see the movie "Monsters vs. Aliens" in 3D today. Instead, TLG (who admittedly was the youngest kid in the theater) got really scared of the things coming out of the screen... and we chose to leave the movie after about 20 minutes. With the extra charges for the 3D glasses and the popcorn/soda we bought, that's a good $30 we can't get back. I knew the movie was rated PG going in, but he loves Madagascar and has seen Shrek, so I thought the people at Dreamworks were on a roll. TLG also loves Monsters Inc. (which is a Disney/Pixar movie but, hey, it's about MONSTERS). Oh well, at least we tried.