May already??

May 4, 2016

Dear Sister Kristina,

The other day I saw this post from a friend:

That’s how I felt when it turned May.haha We had such a fun April though, but it just flew by. We had two weeks with Kirk and Sarah and Addie, then we turned around and flew to Chicago for a week. And oh ya, in the middle of that I flew to Provo and went to Alex and Savannah’s graduation.

Our trip to Chicago was a lot of fun. It was cold, windy and partly rainy, but it was so fun being there and having Sean and Blair as well as Alex and Savannah be with us. Leah and Nikki said they had a fun time, but they were very unprepared for the amount of walking we did and of course, they let us know how they felt about that. We had had family nights, talks, family walks, walking the dog, etc to get them ready, but they still said we didn’t tell them it would be THAT much walking. haha Before the trip, we were talking about going back east in August to DC, then New York to see Alex and also to Niagara. The girls thought it was a great idea until they went to Chicago. Nikki says she’ll still go, but Leah says absolutely not. So now we’re not quite sure what we’re going to do. I have never been to New York and was really looking forward to it and I thought going to these cities would be a great learning experience for the girls, etc. It’s all on hold for a while.

We got up last Tuesday at the crack of dawn and flew to Chicago. Alex and Savannah had been there since the Saturday before staying with Sean and Blair. Then they moved to our hotel downtown. We rode the subway the whole time or the “L” as they call it there. Sean and Blair had fun things each day for us to do. We went out to eat at their favorite pizza place, their favorite hot dog place (I never thought I’d say I would eat hot dogs on purpose, but at Portillo’s they have the best tasting dogs ever and the rule in Chicago is that you never, ever put ketchup on hot dogs. So I didn’t and it tasted great. We also ate deep dish pizza which the city is known for. Boy was that filling. I actually couldn’t finish one whole piece. I think I’m more a thin crust person. We also went to the Shake Shack which is a famous place there and to Wildberry’s for a beautiful breakfast one morning. As you can see, we ate a lot of good food and walked a lot so I didn’t gain any weight. Leah and Nikki and dad all gained weight though despite all the walking and stairs we did every day. :)

Here we are at CoalFire Pizza the first night.

Now we’re at Lou Malnati’s.

Sean got us tickets to a Cubs game, but that was our rainy day and the game actually got rained out before it started. We were all disappointed, but Sean, Blair and I had gone to the game early. I was so happy I went cuz I got to see Wrigley Field.

The pitcher who was supposed to pitch was Arrieta who had just recently pitched a no hitter, so Sean was particularly excited to see the game. Because it got rained out though, Sean now has 8 tickets to use for when they replay the game.

It also happened to be the weekend of the NFL draft and it was being held in Chicago, so we went to the festivities and it was really fun. So many booths, free food, ESPN broadcasting live, etc. There was one booth set up just like the draft podium and they said they were going to be giving away prizes. So we stood in line. Once you get up to the podium, they said if the phone rings you were supposed to pick it up and either the NFL commissioner or a player would be on the other end and they would tell you what prize you won. Most people just stood at the podium with no phone ring and just had their pictures taken there, but NO not Alex. He got up there and the phone rang. It was a hall of famer player (he said he couldn’t understand him when he said what his name was). Alex won 2 tickets to any NFL game!! They had video cameras and people there to film the whole thing when he won. Very fun!

Here’s some pix from the park where it was held:

We were trying to feel a little closer to you here.

Skittles was one of the sponsors.

We also went to the Contemporary Art Museum, but Nikki said she didn’t understand how people could call that stuff art. haha

This is the famous Bean at Millennial Park.

Here is Sean and Blair’s cat Scout wearing Sean’s ice cream cup from Wrigley Field.

One day we went to Sean’s new lab and eyeglass store. Leah and Nikki got to make their own lenses and then he took us to this cool new place called Top Golf, a driving range where you try to get points based on where you hit it and you compete with your group and have lunch too. It was very fun and actually very good food too. They’re building one of these in Utah this summer.

Savannah actually beat Alex one game and I don’t think he was real happy about it. haha

This picture kind of sums up how difficult the trip was for the girls. :) And we weren’t even walking much this day when we were in Sean’s car.

We came home late Saturday night and I’m already ready for another trip somewhere. I just love it. Alex moved over the weekend to New York. He called yesterday and said things are going really well. His dorm room is super small and can’t wait for Savannah to join him. She has to finish up some classes she’s teaching and some choreography she’s doing in Utah before she can move. When she gets there, they’ll get a larger place, but not much larger cuz things are so expensive in New York.

It’s odd to know that only Kirk and Sarah are left in Utah now. No one in Provo until you get there. Kirk loves his new job so far and Sarah is probably going to be induced on June 1st because the baby is measuring very large. I can’t wait for this new little girl to come join our family.

I also can’t wait to talk with you this weekend!!! Let me know what time and what method…facetime, etc  I love missionary Mother’s Days.

I hope your past week has gone well. Can’t wait to hear your stories.I have an RS luncheon today, then a meeting with a financial planner, then the girls have a special mutual for the stake getting ready for youth conference in June. Leah just called and asked to go to lunch today with Allie Peery at her house, so it’s pretty normal things around here now.

I haven’t heard anything back from the missionaries that I sent to Rosemary’s house a few weeks ago. I may just have to stop by her place and check on her. Spring is very beautiful here this year. Our house is looking so pretty and I love being outside. We eat almost every dinner now on the porch. It’s great. Here’s our front yard yesterday.

I hope you have a wonderful day and a great week and can’t wait to see your beautiful face this Sunday!!!

Love you sooooooooo much,

Mom xxoo