Yikes! Has it been that long???

I realized after ttalking with Kim today that it has been a really long time since I have posted anything. I had every intention of posting Simeon's birthday and our trip to Chicago and everything else that we have done, but somehow time got away from me. Anyway, I do not hink I could possibly catch up, so i will just post some of the pictures from our fun trip to Chicago. We had a great time visiting Grandpa, all of the aunts and uncles, and the cousins. it was a very action packed adventure, and it seemed like we were going from sun up to sun down (or well past sun down). Every night we dragged the kids into the hotel at around 11 or 12, plopped into bed, and slept very soundly. We had a wonderful time riding a train, going to the beach, having a fireworks show in Grandpa's back yard, going to a waterpark, and having a wonderful time with family. Here are some of the many pictures that we took while we were there. They are not in any order because I am having trouble getting them to move around, but they are there.


We got to go to a private beach with the family. It was very fun. the cousins were all very nice to help the boys build a big sand castle, and we all had fun sitting on the beach, playing in the sand, and wading in the freezing water.

We definitely wanted a picture of the family while we had everyone together. It is not often that all of the cousins are able to get together.

Auntie Laura and her girls took us to a children's museum. It was really a fun place for the kids, and they all enjoyed gettin individualized attention from their cousins and aunts.

The fourth of July party was a blast and the boys enjoyed just being able to run around in Grandpa's big back yard with their cousins. The firworks show was also very fun and quite impressive. I discovered that allen is a little bit of a pyromaniac as Uncle Doug taught him to light fireworks and he seemed to enjoy a little too much. I unfortunately could not get any good pictures of the fireworks, but we were completely surrounded by them as we were not the only people in the neighborhood that were putting on a show.

We took a little trip downtown one day for the Taste of Chicago. It was fun to walk around Grant Park and see the city. It was a little chaotic and very hot, but we enjoyed seeing the sites and tasting the food.

The train ride to and from Chicago was an adventure in itself. There were some rocky parts, but it went mostly very well, and it was fun to be able to get up and walk around whenever we wanted to. I am so grateful Cristina went along, or we may not have survived it.

Anyway, that is a quick glimpse into our little adventure.