Sunday, June 28th-Tour (A Long Ride, Potty Breaks, and an Asterik)

This was our travel day to get home from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Alton, Illinois. Bleh! After the harried ride up, we were NOT looking forward to making the trip home. After the breakfast of champions: Dunkin Donuts and milk, we packed up for the last time and started home. We made a few unexpected and profoundly urgent potty breaks (for Patrick). Then we met Gwen in Bloomington for lunch. She was heading to Chicago for a conference. The Merry Band of Hooligans wrapped up tour and arrived home early this evening. The kids had dinner and went to bed. I think we seriously tested their limits with all that we did. They were really great tolerating all the activities and new environments we threw their way. I'm very proud of our family on this trip.
Thanks to everyone to kept us in your thoughts as we traveled. A special shout out to Gwen for feeding Libby and Moo daily and collecting mail and to Andy for mowing the yard and playing with my furry kids on Ladd Street each day. We appreciate you both holding down the fort.

Finally, I must put an asterik at the end of this trip...*we intentionally ate like kings because we're starting a diet tomorrow (Monday). I'm not kidding here, we planned it this way. This sort of caloric consumption is highly dangerous and should only be attempted by professionals... like us.

Saturday, June 27th-Tour (Summerfest: Canoli and Good Weather!)

The kids and Sam and I hung out at the hotel until late morning and then we headed over to Nora and Jim's house to pick them up. We all crammed into our vehicle along with the carseats, stroller, baby carrier and diaper bag and took off for Summerfest. This is a music festival along the lakeshore in Milwaukee, but let's be honest folks, we were there for one reason: the food. The six of us spent the day eating our way through the bands and doing fun stuff with los ninos. Eva even had her first taste of canoli! A very proud moment for me and Sam.

We got there early and got a super-duper parking spot. Woohoo! There's nothing worse than using up half your child's energy walking TO the intended event. Afterwards, we took a stroll around the pier. The weather was gorgeous...mid-seventies, partly sunny, and very breezy. Couldn't have asked for nicer weather!

We went into nap mode again in the afternoon. During this time, Sam got to log into WoW and I went and hung out at the hotel pool with a few magazines and my ipod. An hour of uninterrupted mommy time...hooray!

We woke up our youngsters and went back to Nora and Jim's for our final pizza endeavor of the trip. We hung out with their friend Brent and his son Holden. The boys played well together and we went to the park. Fun Fun.

Friday, June 26th-Tour (Swimming, Mexican Food, and Berry Cobbler)

On this day we slept in and went to the pool at the hotel mid-morning. Patrick had a great time jumping in the pool, climbing out and repeating. He was hilarious! Eva enjoyed the pool for about 15 minutes and then went poolside for the most adorable nap of the trip. Yep, that's her little foot sticking out of the towels. It was too breezy up there to leave here exposed. She snoozed happily for an hour. Below is a link to a video of Patrick live at the pool...totally unexpected outcome for me. It was so funny I couldn't get mad.

Patrick at the Pool

We met Nora and Jim for lunch at a restaurant called Botana's in Milwaukee. This was some first class Mexican food with a very understanding and generous wait staff. El Mezcal, eat your heart out. This place ROCKED. Some of the best guacamole I've ever had. Sam even enjoyed some. The servers were so sweet to my kids even with all of their shenanigans. After lunch Sam took the kids back to the hotel for a much needed nap.

Nora and I went and got pedicures and caught up. Yay for getting a chance to complete sentences without putting food in a mouth, picking up a dropped toy, scolding or begging a toddler, or wiping a face!

For dinner, we grilled brats at Nora and Jim's new house. It is a super cute home. Congrats Nora and Jim! We figured since we're in Wisconsin, we should sample some bratwurst. This ended up being a late night for the kids, but Jim made berry cobbler that we enjoyed with "homemade" ice cream. Yummmm.

Thursday, June 25th-Tour (Waiting, A Boat Ride, and a Nervous Docent)

Late in the day on Wednesday, we discovered that there was a free trolley from very near George's condo to Navy Pier. Even though 5 blocks doesn't seem like that far, with the heat, two little kids and the fact that they're city blocks, we decided to try it. We found the stop and waited...and waited. Patrick was excited and impatient. We played every waiting game you can think of while awaiting the much anticipated "blue bus." We had purchased tickets for an 11:30a boat tour, so we finally had to leave the stop. We took one 3 year old boy literally kicking and screaming the final 4 blocks to Navy Pier. He really wanted to ride that darn trolley. We snagged a lemon ice and dreamcicle float and headed for our dock.

We got on the boat and met our "docent" (pronounced by him with a French accent) named Kevin. This man was educated and entertaining, but took his job VERY seriously. Our kids and his architecture tour on the Chicago River did not turn out to be an ideal combination. Nevertheless, Sam and I enjoyed the ride, shady and breezy at times. Kevin however was terribly distracted by the kids getting too close to the rail. Sam had his back to the rail and was holding Eva as she stood on his lap. Seriously dude, we weren't letting our kids get close to the damn rail. At any rate, overall, we really enjoyed this hour-long tour of Chicago's historic architecture. I will suggest though that for little kids, the 30 minute skyline tour on the lake might be a better idea.

We headed back to the condo, loaded up the Highlander and headed for Milwaukee. Unfortunately, this trip took twice as long as it should have due to a fatal crash on the highway. We finally made it to town and headed to the Masterson's house for dinner. Sarah is Sam's cousin and their daughter Casey was excited to play with Patrick. They had a great time working on puzzles. We were pooped from the day, so we headed to the hotel near the airport. This endeavor proved to be hilarious as the GPS kept sending us in circles. We were too tired to get upset.

Wednesday, June 24th-Tour (Bus Driving and Deep Dish Pizza)

Today would be our first day as "tourists." We slept in a little and then George pointed us toward Navy Pier. We walked down and it was HOT by mid-morning. We decided to forego outdoor sightseeing and jumped right in at the Chicago Children's Museum. The kids both loved this place. Patrick got to play in the water with a raincoat, call 911, drive a bus, go grocery shopping and put mail in a mailbox. They had many exhibits for "non-walkers" (read: babies). Eva got to get out of the stroller and explore too!

After all this fun, we left the museum and went to a pirate show. Eva and Patrick both really enjoyed this. Eva was really digging the bright colors and music. She danced on our laps the whole show. We had McDonald's for lunch and then headed back to the condo. We didn't quite beat the rain, but it was a relief from the heat. The kids slept for 3 hours at naptime this afternoon.

After the kids finally woke up, we went to Gino's East for some authentic Chicago-style deep dish pizza. Sam was hesitant at first as he's not a fan of thick crust. Once we got the pizza, we were both in pizza heaven. YUMMMMM. We finished with pizza and headed back down to Navy Pier with Pam and George. Sam and the kids and I went up in the giant ferris wheel. It was scary for me because Patrick had no fear and kept leaning on the door and sticking his head through the bars. I tired to hold on to his shirt tail, but he wasn't having it. Sam kept Eva tucked safely in the baby carrier, but she loved looking at the lights and hearing the sounds from up there. We went back to Pam and George down on the boardwalk area and enjoyed some fireworks. At this point, it was about 10:15pm and the kids had been run ragged this day. It was a challenge to get them the 5 blocks home in the city traffic and crowds. We made it back and went up to the roof of their building to see the city at night time. It was beautiful. Patrick was exhausted, so he curled up on his blankie on the rooftop. This day: priceless.

Tuesday, June 23rd-Tour (Goodbye's and a Bunny)

So about 6 things happend today that I wanted to be sure to remember so that I could share them with Hooligans' fans. I have finally arrived at the end of this day and now that I'm sitting down to record these precious memories, they're gone. Let me scour my brain...

This morning Patrick slept in a little later than the rest of us. Around 8a I went in to do a gently wake him up. He really wasn't interested in getting up. I went and recruited Sophia for help. We went up and I laid down next to him. He opened his eyes and closed them. He opened them again and saw Sophia. He popped up, climbed over dear old mom, and lept at Sophia, wrapping his arms around her and they tumbled to the ground in a great big hug. I think I'm heartbroken.

After a few hours of chillin we packed up all our things and went to the mall in Aurora. We met Sophia and Jaime there and took the kids down to the food court. After lunch, they rode the carousel. We did some shopping and let the kids check out the fountain and some other fun stuff there. Finally, after a last minute, super-urgent stop at the Macy's restrooms, Patrick and Sophia had to say goodbye. They were both really sad to part.

From here we drove in the city. Leaving Aurora at 3p wasn't a great idea. By the time we made it near downtown, it was all out rush hour. We were headed to Sam's Uncle George's condo at Michigan and Illinois. Needless to say our marriage was tested in this endeavor. Luckily the kids were sleeping in the back in the car, so they didn't hear mommy and daddy saying bad words!

This night, George made dinner for us (very yummy) and then Pam and George took us on a walk to Millenium Park where we saw some great stuff-the fountains with faces, the bean, the bandstand, and a bunny rabbit (the highlight for Patrick). P was not so keen on getting in the fountain with everyone else because he was afraid of getting his shorts wet. In the end, we enticed him out, but then wanted to take off his shorts. So he rode around in his undies in the stoller for a while afterwards. Eva did venture to dip her toes in with Aunt Pam.

After hearing fire trucks earlier in the evening, Patrick was dead set on seeing a darn fire truck. Pam and George routed us on the way home to go by a fire station. We went to a Chicago Fire Department Station and they let P get in a fire truck and turned on the lights for him. They were very hospitable. Great ending to a great day.

Monday, June 22nd - Tour (Portillo's and Aurelio's)

We got up today and hung out with Jaime and Sophia, and Izzy too! Patrick and Sophia were like two peas in a pod. They ran around all morning playing inside and out. We grown ups stayed in mostly and played with Eva and Izzy (their new puppy). Jaime and I traded duties since I love puppies so much and she loves babies. For lunch we headed to Portillo's (Sam's fav) and we all enjoyed some chocolate cake.

After a quiet naptime, it was time to figure out dinner. Sam ordered (with much research and planning) Aurelio's pizza. Peggy and Katie came over to hang out. Rob got home from work just in time to enjoy the yummy goodness. We had a great visit with everyone. It was a great day to just hang with the family and kids and relax. And eat...did I mention we ate well this day?

Sunday, June 21st - Tour (The Best Laid Plans...)

We planned on leaving around 6:30pm as soon as Sam got home from work, but of course, these plans were not to be. He got stuck on a few reports at work and we didn't get to leave until about 8:45pm. We stopped at McDonald's and Arby's on the way through Bethalto to grab some dinner. We were sure that leaving so late, the kids would fall asleep. Nope. Eva is teething, so she was cranky and growled most of the way up. Patrick was wired and so excited to FINALLY be going to "Tago" (Chicago) that he jabbered all the way up. He did slow down for a bit to watch Aladdin on the portable DVD player. I swear he didn't blink for an hour!

After a run in with a crazy lady at a rest stop and one gas fill up later, we made it to Jaime and Rob's house in Oswego around 1:30am. We brought in the essentials and crashed. Holy Moley.

Hooligans On Tour!

Ladies and Gentlemen-

Me and my merry band of hooligans are going on tour. That's right, you heard it hear. Me and my crazy husband are going to take a 3 year old boy and a 8.5 month old baby girl for a VERY long car ride to Chicago...then we're headed to Milwaukee a few days later. I know, you're thinking, "What the hell are they thinking!?" Well, we're just nuts people.

We are going for a long overdue visit to lots of Sam's family that lives up north as well as my very dear friend Nora Elizabeth. They make the haul down this way often enough, so we're going to reciprocate. I'll be sure to blog about our trip while we're gone and post lots of pics.

As usual, we've been busy with work and the kids. Eva is getting her top teeth first...wierd child. Her bottom two are close behind. She is crawling up a storm and she now doesn't hold still-EVER. She's 8.5 months old and still weighs about 13.5 pounds. She's tiny, but she's mighty! Patrick is just growing up faster than we can believe. He's talking up a storm and says the funniest stuff I'll ever hear. I'm serious. If I could remember it all to write down, you'd pee your pants. Although I'm sure some of it is only funny in the moment and you'd all think I'm crazy for passing it along. Anyway, he's learning shapes, colors, numbers, letters, songs, and skills like jumping on one foot. This last one is really posing a challenge and he's working hard on it. He's also learning to use his new scooter...see below.




Now that's a close call!

Nuggets from Patrick

So I’ve got a few gems straight from the mouth of Patrick Joseph:

• “need a towel paper, Eva’s pitting out!” = "I need a paper towel, Eva’s spitting up.
• “sombrella” = umbrella
• “tuna” = cartoons (As in, “I wanna watch some tuna mommy!”)
• “I’m a bad guy jabberbox!” = WHAT?  I have no idea on this one.
• “What’s you’re doin?” = What’re you doing?
• “I can’t found it!” = I can’t find it!  (Who needs conjugation anyway?)

A Letter to Patrick: Your Third Birthday

Patrick,

I want to tell you about your 3rd birthday. We had your party at my mom's house this past Saturday. There were so many people that love you. The following people were there: mommy, daddy, maw maw, papa, nana, papa, grandma Colleen, grandpa Fordie, Gigi, Bunny, Keith, aunt Emmie, Steve, Andy, Katie, Becky, Pete, Amy, Jon, Aunt Susie, Megan, and Jackson...oh and Evie! We decorated with lots of balloons and Wonder Pets.

We had lots of good food: hot dogs and chicken breasts, cheesy potatoes with corn flakes, pasta salad, and a Wonder Pets cake that nana made. You got a LOT of gifts...too many to mention here. When we sang "Happy Birthday," you were so cute...you stood there and listened and smiled, even though you'd been singing it for weeks leading up to this day. After dinner, cake and homemade ice cream that maw maw made, you went outside and played in your bounce house. Later we went outside and Katie took pictures of the 4 of us.

You played and celebrated until you were just plain pooped. At the end of the night, Amy, Jon, daddy, you and I went out in the field and watched the lightening bugs come out. It was magical and so are you. I've loved all three years of you.

love,

mommy