Roadtrip!!

We just returned from a whirlwind trip to Chicago and Team Anders is pooped! We had a wonderful time with Team Locallo but WOW 650 miles in 48 hours with a toddler is quite the "adventure". It was well worth the trip though and I can't believe it had been almost a year since last time we saw Team Locs...awww, look at our little monkeys...

Easton: 6 months; Jack: 5 months
October 2011

Catie is flippin' super mom and had all sorts of fabulous activities planned for our visit -- I'll step you through each one in a minute :) Unfortunately, though, I forgot my camera but we all did a great job of snapping shots and videos on our phones. This will be an all iPhone blog...a first for me!

The drive there was great for about 95% of the way. It was sunny, we were excited about seeing our friends and the 2 hour nap and huge wind farm on I-65 as we headed northwest for Chicago didn't hurt either. Once Jace pointed out the "round and rounds" (as we like to call fans because he does this round and round motion with his hands) Smallz wouldn't stop saying "Ma-Ma"...random right? Maybe a look like a wind turbine to my son. Watch...

Well the good vibes that graced our trip thus far came to a screeching halt on the south side of Chicago. For a moment I thought we had been magically transported back to Beantown but come to find out Chicago is also a contender in the top "Cities with Craptastic Traffic". At that point we had about 20 miles to go and it took us more than an hour to finally weave our way up to Morton Grove. Only positive to that loveliness was Joe re-routed us from I-94W to Lake Shore Drive so I got to see a little of Chicago. My soul was happy :)

Terrible picture but you get the idea :)

We arrived at the Locallo's house around 4, maybe a little earlier, and the boys got to playin! Team Locs' basement is like a toy store and the boys had so much fun playing. After getting settled in we took the tikes to the local park so they could burn off some steam before dinner. I was...um, correction, still am...so jealous of all the parks they have access to so close to their house. This one was awesome and made for little types just like E and J.

Jack just a cruisin along...took Easton
just a bit to realize he could actually
walk across the bridge :)

Still testing it out

Little surfer dude, Jack! LOVE LOVE LOVE
this kiddo's hair :)

Playing ball at the park (video)!

We headed home, fed the little monsters and headed for the bath. It was cute to see them in there together but Easton wasn't really feeling it so we separated them the following night. After the boys were finally asleep the parentals grilled out and relaxed :)

Saturday morning we were up and at 'em around 6:30 and ready to tackle the fabulous day Catie had planned for us all. We headed off to "Jack's" Gymboree for their 9 am playgroup but we were the only families there so the teacher just let us play for 45 minutes! It was awesome. They had so many different things to play on but Easton's favorite was a big improv slide the teacher put together. Here's a similar looking gym...

After Gymboree we refueled with a Starbucks stop, got the boys a little snack and then walked around the outdoor mall. Another fabulous idea!! The weather was a bit overcast but that turned out to be perfect because the boys just cruised around and it wasn't too hot. They checked out the goldfish ponds, the water fountains and also the kids play area. This place was AMAZING and Catie and I even snuck in a wee bit of shopping at Bath and Body Works and I scored a new Bears jersey :)

Fish!

Joe and Batman!

After all that excitement it was time to grab our Auntie Anne's pretzels and hit the road for home. The boys chowed down some lunch and then hit the sack for a recharge. While they were doing that Catie and I ran some errands and got our nails done because we had a hot date with our hubbies later that night. Dinner in the city here we come!! But first...Teams Anders & Locs grabbed the kiddos and hit the Kohl Children's Museum just up the road in "The Glen" area of Glenview, IL. Now it's here I must pause and geek out for just a second...sorry. OK so "The Glen" was once Naval Air Station Glenview and was closed during a Navy restructuring in 1995 and deeded back to the village. The architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (yep, same firm that designed the USAFA chapel) updated the Village of Glenview's reuse plan to a master plan and developed the area in 1998. It's now a super fabulous area where I could quite easily spend all our income...residential areas, shopping, dining, soccer fields...and the awesome museum!

How fun to incorporate the air traffic control tower

Ok thanks for the indulgence. :) The indoor portion of the children's museum was packed and a bit overwhelming for Easton but they also had a nice outdoor section where he was a little more happy.

On the way in 

Checking out a video on caterpillars and butterflies

Still nerding out. Love it.

The boys heading out on the town -- um that's
kinda sad to think about in reality can't they stay
this little?

Jack teaching Easton how to paint

He was a good student and caught on quickly

"Painting" together :)

A fish airplane. I had to take this for my dad!!
Speaking of whom is pulling in to Pearl Harbor at any minute :)

Apparently E weighs about 25 lbs...
or 3 full milk cartons :)

Here's a cute video of their outdoor fun with some wolves:

We headed home from there and it was almost time for dinner already. Once we got the boys fed it was time for the babysitter to arrive so the parentals could get ready for our night out. We headed in to Hugo's Frog Bar and had a seriously fabulous dinner. Despite Joe's chianti ending up all over his left sleeve and Jace's intimate relationship with about three other diners' derrières we all had such a great evening. I was so full after dinner it looked like I was pregnant again. Yuck. Seriously? Who eats that much? :)

Sunday morning rolled around and it was time for us to hit the road. Catie made sure to feed the food baby inside my stomach one more time with a killer breakfast spread and then we packed it up.  Such a bummer that we don't live closer to them...but we're thankful to know we have such great friends all over the country!

Well it's night night for us here...we're absolutely exhausted!! Happy Labor Day tomorrow and hope the weather cooperates so we can get out and play a bit more :)