The Windy City

In June, Mom and I met up in the Salt Lake City airport and flew to Chicago together for an extended weekend. The windy city! While the city definitely has a breeze, it was originally dubbed "windy city" due to the excessive wind produced by its citizens in the 1890s as they bragged about and defended their beloved town. The large cities in the country were competing for the opportunity to host the 1893 World's Fair, and Chicago was out to prove that it was as modern and worthy as the others of its time. Until this point, it was known primarily for being the location of some of the largest hog slaughter facilities and people associated the smell of death with the place. I read Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen and enjoyed learning about Chicago's architecture, the creation of the World's Fair (which Chicago hosted) and the man responsible for the deaths of an unknown, probably large number, of young adult women during the time the fair was being built. Fascinating on all accounts.

Why Chicago? Several reasons brought us to the edge of Lake Michigan. Keven was the biggest reason we made the trip. The son of my Nana's sister, he and his siblings were raised in Spain and he travels the world for his job and was going to be in Chicago for a conference. I haven't seen him since my study abroad in 2001 and I'm not sure the last time and and my mom have visited face-to-face. We arranged to meet in front of a museum one morning and when he saw us on the steps, Keven took off his baseball hat and ran over, just like a kid seeing an old friend for the first time in many years.

Two of my Bop-bop's three cousins also live in the Chicago area. On our first afternoon in town, we met all three cousins (one flew in from Phoenix for the weekend) as well as my Bop-bop's best friend from childhood, Aldo.

Both my mom's parents grew up in the suburbs of this huge city, and Aldo was the best man in their wedding. I think Mom has met him before, but it was so fun to look at old pictures from their childhood and youth, wedding photos, and listen to the childhood history of school, friends, and such. He reminded me so much of my grandpa....same twinkle in his eyes when he found something amusing, great smile, and a quiet chuckle.

It was interesting to spend 3/4 of a day with both sides of the family. Keven knew my Bop's parents and aunt, Hilda (mother to the three cousins) and they share a lot of the same memories from when they were children. Since he didn't spend much time in the States as a youth, he had lots of questions on the timing of things like elementary school, high school, marriage and such for his mother, my great-aunt Shirley. Keven reminded of a sponge, soaking up as much information about his mother and her family as possible. I should have been taking notes.

Despite a goof in the planning which left Mom and I in different rows on the plane from SLC to Chicago and a two hour wait in multiple lines to pick up the rental car (which wound up not being in the parking lot, requiring more line-standing to figure out where the darn thing was located!), we had a great vacation. Side note: NASCAR was also in town that weekend and the rental car agencies had double booked vehicles or didn't plan ahead well enough to make sure the inventory was available when needed. There were a lot of cranky customers and frazzled employees that afternoon. Oh, and the zipper of my suitcase was half undone. Luckily, my underwear didn't fall out, though I was missing the zip lock of deoderant, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. I thought it was weird that only that item fell out, but I was grateful to have everything else intact! I remember asking Chadwick if it was at home and he looked with a negative report. Walgreen's supplied the missing items and we moved on with life.

I found my bag when I got home. In the kids' bathroom. Right where I left it.

My favorite activity was the Architecture Tour - we loaded up on a double decked boat and motored down the Chicago River, taking in the skyline and learning about the buildings. It was fascinating to learn when each building was created, what was happening at the time in the city itself, and see how they all kind of fit together despite the massive differences in style.

The river itself has an interesting history - at one point, engineers re-directed the flow of the water to allow for better drainage of the sewage and debris people had been dumping into the waters for years. Part of the reason Chicago's entire downtown went down in ashes in the fire of 1871 is the fact that debris and trash on the surface of the river caught fire and spread the flames throughout the entire area. I can only imagine what the locals thought....fire spreading on the water? Must be demons involved.

We walked and ate and visited. Dinner with the cousins one evening, taking in the sights of the Green Mile like the Bean, and wandering through a couple of the museums. My mom is a huge Chicago Bears fan and I had to take her picture outside Soldier Field. The weather cooperated most of the time, though the last day was rain and more rain. We had a running tour of The Pier in the wind.

The library....it was ginormous!

 

One of the highlights was taking in Hamilton at the historic CIBC Theater Saturday evening. At the time, I wasn't sure if the musical was amazing because of the creator's talent or due to the charm of a theater built in 1906....now I'm realizing that it was the perfect combination of both.

Gourmet dinner in our hotel room before the show. Flowers and all!

Chicago - thanks for the memories! Where to next, Mom?

As Summer Began

Because we are attending a school that follows a year-round calendar, my kids don't get done with academics until the middle of June. Like, two weeks after the rest of West Ada has been released into the world of summer activities.

But first - kindergarten graduation! With the best songs.

I love that she wants to be a Mom. Her future children are already lucky.

BFF Macie

The weather was finally heating up and we quickly jumped into lazy mornings, late nights, and playing outside!

Swimming lessons at the Nampa Y are always great - the kids have lessons at the same time, it's indoors which keeps us warmer in the mid-June mornings, and they love it. Both girls graduated from their respective levels and Spencer made good headway to mastering the list of checks required to move up.

Chadwick "won" a paddleboard from a work holiday party and we were able to find a weekend to head up to Lucky Peak with the Wards for the day. We parked, canoed across the reservoir and spent the day eating, paddleboarding, and enjoying time away from the daily grind. Turns out, successfully working a paddleboard isn't super easy when standing on one's feet. I declined learning something new as I didn't want to end up in the water. I'm a wuss when it comes to being cold! Chadwick and the girls all loved it, and Darwin loved the idea of being with Chadwick, even if he didn't love the rest of the experience....

Chadwick stayed the night as the young men were heading up to work on their water safety badges. That water was cold and I didn't envy the youth having to swim a mile Saturday morning....though it didn't stop the kids or dogs from jumping in! Darwin, of course, found a tree trunk to haul around for the afternoon and the Ward's Golden, Paisley, entertained herself by splashing water into the air and then trying to eat it. I think she's part fish. We love these friends and have made so many fun memories together with them over the last few years.

The girls were invited to a neighbor's house for crafts the first week they were off school. They loved the activities and the pie they brought home was delightful!

And, of course, the barn. I can't get enough of this view. Turns out, the people right behind us bought their house partly because they love their view of our red barn.

My family out toiling in the garden, led by our fearless Master Gardner, Dad.

...and I'm Four

This little man of ours has really blossomed into a full-fledged preschooler. He is gregarious, especially with men, and will happily tell them his name, how old he is, and that he now has his own room complete with dinosaur comforter. To those he knows and those he doesn't, he repeats this information proudly and without hesitation.

Bubs still has the best belly laugh, a full smile complete with underbite, and loves to show off when people come to the house.  Quick to apologize, he makes up for his mistakes with a snuggle and head hung low. And he doesn't hesitate to ask me if I'm sorry for getting upset with him, if I haven't apologized on my own at that time.

He is a delightful mix of all boy - launching off furniture, high places, and creating guns out of sticks to shoot bad guys - and is comfortable with a sensitive side I'm attributing to the influence of his sisters. The other morning, he was playing in his room as I got ready for the day. It was a little quiet so I peeked in through the door and found him meticulously lining the My Little Ponies side-by-side in his white bookshelf. He loves to look at books (bugs, dinosaurs, and Star Wars are favorites from the library), watch movies, and play with his sisters. "When I'm five, I'll get to ride the bus and go to Chaparral Cougars, just like my sisters," he likes to inform me.

First sunny day above 55 degrees. Why not swim?

His imagination is constantly going and he still has his friend, Later Gator, who can be counted upon to make his presence in the midst of any and all conversations. "Oh! Later Gator...." or "Later Gator's baby does/has/is...." I have to admit that there are days I am tired of hearing what Later Gator thinks, says, or knows. This is the longest imaginary friend any of the kids have had. I think this character has been with us for at least a year, maybe longer.

For his birthday - back in May, I should add - he was all over the place for a theme for the cake. Batman won and the cake turned out well. It poured buckets the afternoon of his party!

Pretty sure he spit all over the cake....

One of my favorite traditions....the decorated chair. My hubs has talent!

I can't imagine our family without this charismatic little man. He makes me a better Mama.

A Moment

Several days ago, Mallorie came into the bathroom I was attempting to clean with dirt on her nose and giant alligator tears. She'd fallen, face-first, onto the grass from her little bar hanging in the willow tree and was feeling sad about the whole experience. (Spencer, I might add, solemnly followed her up the stairs and proclaimed that he had nothing to do with this fall. He's been in trouble recently for his part in tears shed by this older sister.)

We got the dirt off her nose, dried her tears, and as I sat snuggling her for a moment, I had this feeling of peace. Confirmation that I made the right decision April 2018 to walk away from practicing as a veterinarian to stay home full time with my little circus. I want to be the one kissing boo-boos and wiping dirt off faces. I want to be the one providing snuggles for tears and snuggles for joy. And thankfully, I can.

It was a lovely moment.

Look Mom - I'm a librarian!

Hard Things

For about two years, I've been trying to manage some extreme muscle tightness in my shoulders, neck, and chest. Tension headaches are the worst symptom! My functional medicine practitioner recommended an elimination diet to see what foods, if any, were causing inflammation in my gut and thus lending to the pain in my neck/shoulders. Man, am I addicted to food and the buffering provided by putting something in my mouth!! It was the hardest 2.5 weeks I've had in a l o n g  t i m e.  No beef, dairy, eggs, peanuts, soy, gluten, or sugar. Gone were my go-to items for breakfast and snacks. I was having so much anxiety about what I would eat! Seemed silly, even at the time. Luckily, a dear friend had been through something similar and provided ideas for substitutes. She probably saved me from a major meltdown (thank you, Megan!). 

I tried enchiladas with zucchini in place of tortillas (bigger zucchini would have been ideal), making bread with almond flour (it was nasty, but the chickens enjoyed it), oat and pumpkin pancakes (not bad), and having the most delicious salads at lunch (feeling so grown up not eating peanut butter and banana every day). 

I was obsessed with food - what I could eat or couldn't. At the end of said diet, you are supposed to introduce one new food item back for three days and keep track of how your body feels. Well, I had just driven ~900 miles to Albuquerque with my kiddos and Mom and planned to stay a week before driving back to Boise. The willpower to stay on the diet was wearing thin (I cried the first night back home when my parents and children ate pizza and I had dry salad with chicken) and I didn't do so well introducing one thing at a time. But the bowl o'papas with green chili from Weck's had never tasted so amazing! 

No, I didn't feel any amazing changes in my shoulders and neck but I did learn that I could do hard things. That having to feel my feelings instead of eating or drinking something was possible. It's a baby step in the right direction. Now to keep stepping......

Life in Pictures

Photo dump. Two legs or four, someone is always doing something goofy. Unfiltered, unedited bits of my life over the last two months.