swim meet #2

Up bright and early for the 2nd swim meet of the summer. Annabelle signed up for 5 races and Gwyneth signed up for 4. The sun was shining and the races moved along quickly. The girls swam so hard and fast. We all had such a great time. It was such a great meet!

Their loot!

After the meet B had to head to the kitchen for a birthday party and we had some friends coming over for dinner. The girls and I were baking fools and our first creation was pineapple upside cake.

We also made a chocolate, marshmallow, caramel brownie. That wasn’t sad either.

We set up a create your own pizza station for the kids….and then I put my camera down and didn’t take any more pictures that night. We had such a great time with fun friends and no pictures to show for it. I guess that’s ok, but I sure do like taking pictures.

rockies vs diamondbacks

Another great night at the baseball game and the Rockies pulled off the win!

painting pizza

I taught the girls how to sponge paint this evening and we made awesome pizzas! We had a great time painting together and our pizza slices turned out great.

sweets

After our long trip, we were all pretty happy to be back home. I love to travel, but it’s always great to be back in our own beds.

Gwyneth invited her friend Ella over for a mellow sleepover and we decided to get out for a bit and grab some ice cream. We are definitely taking our time getting back in our groove.

chicago with cousins

My sister Becky and her family live in the suburbs of Chicago so we took a Lyft out to spend the day with her. The girls were beyond thrilled to have more time with their cousins. I’m known around town as a baby-hog so I was pretty excited too!

Pretty happy to be spending the day with this little guy.

We spent the morning exploring the Chicago Botanic Gardens.

Afterwards we grabbed lunch at Portillos

The girls spent the afternoon climbing and sliding at Funtopia.

We finished off our day with yummy ice cream treats.

We had such a great time visiting with family and will miss them terribly!

chicago family day

We had another day of big adventures planned in Chicago. Luckily today, Annabelle and Yaya decided to joins us! We were so happy to have them with us for the day.

While we waited for them to drive down, we walked on over to “the Bean”.

We walked over to the fountains — it was a pretty happenin’ day in the city.

After meeting up with my mom and Annabelle for lunch, we walked over to Navy Pier.

They have done so much work to the Pier and it was such a fun stop. I’ve always been a fan. It’s a big tourist spot, but the great thing about not living there anymore is that I AM a tourist and can freely enjoy the tourist hot spots.

Gorgeous afternoon

Can’t beat that view!

YaYa treated the girls to these delicious, smoky snacks.

My mom took the girls back to her house while B and I enjoyed a night out in the city. We hit a few of our favorites and had a great time catching up on our favorite Chicago memories.

the 4th in Chicago

After lunch we took the Amtrak from Milwaukee to Chicago. It’s a quick, easy trip and the girls thought it was pretty great.

We checked into our hotel and met up with my mom. We stayed at the Omni Hotel in Chicago which is in the best location; walking distance to trains and so many great landmarks. We were in the heart of the city and loving it.

We cruised Michigan Avenue and went to a few of our favorite stores. Everything was closing early because it was the 4th of July but we still got to do some great window shopping.

A quick stop at the American Girl Store.

Then, of course, the lego store next door.

dinner at Ditkas

Dylan’s candy bar

We walked to Lakeshore drive and fought the crowds to get a sight of the fireworks. As we were walking back to our hotel we got caught in quite the downpour. Annabelle is pretty freaked out by thunderstorms and was not liking that one bit. We cowered in a covered bus stop with several other tourists and waited for the rain to let up. We were finally able to grab a cab, but we couldn’t all fit. The storm was letting up so B took the girls in the cab and my mom and I walked back to the hotel. It was a crazy night!

When we got back to the hotel, Annabelle begged YaYa to take her home with her. She got YaYa all to herself and was able to spend the next day with her cousins. She was a pretty happy girl and G didn’t seem too disappointed to be spoiled by us.

milwaukee | day 2

My sister, Becky and her family drove up to Milwaukee to spend the day with us. I was so glad to have them join us! The girls were thrilled to have the day with their cousins. It was kid day at the ballpark so we were able to get some pretty cheap tickets for the game. We had so much fun and the day was full of baseball and laughs…and everyone fighting to hold that little baby.

Luckily we are Chicago bound after this, because Becky and her family headed home for the night and the girls did not get enough time with their cousins!

milwaukee | day 1

We were up bright and early for our flight from St. Louis to Milwaukee. It was a super quick flight – just one hour! We had one day to explore the city before my sister’s family drove up to meet us. We were all so excited for them to arrive — we all love that little family and were ready to get our hands on that little baby.

First stop: Pabst Mansion

Then off to the Lakefront Brewery for lunch

We spent the afternoon exploring Discovery World. It’s a great children’s museum right on the lake. Gorgeous views.

We finished off our evening with dinner at Mader’s Restaurant. It was a busy day with a bright and early start and we were all ready to crash into our beds that evening!

saint louis arch

We grabbed lunch at Fitz’s, which has delicious root beer, and then headed downtown to check out the arch. We parked a few blocks away and cut through the Old Court House. It’s so beautiful and up next for renovations.