Chicago

Oh, what a trip we had!! We left Friday, July 3rd at about 4:30 AM. We always make a stop is Des Moines- it is about the halfway point, and our old college roommate still lives there. As a spur-of-the-moment decision, Ashley decided to hop in her car and follow us to the Chi for the annual 4th of July party before heading to visit her mom in Ohio! Who hoo!!

We were basically thrown into the 4th of July madness as soon as we arrived, getting the house ready and all (after everyone stopped ogling the children like they were the last ones left on earth, of course). The 4th of July was a ton of fun, as always. For our family, it's practically bigger than Christmas! Well, maybe not bigger, per se, but it's the one time of year where you are sure to see everyone who is anyone to us!

The girls had adorable matching sundresses from Wal-Mart this year- Sassy's was red and Little A's was blue. Here is Sassy showing off her 4th of July attire:



Sassy sitting on Uncle Mikey's (aka Uncle Monkey's) shoulders:



Me and one of my besties, Miranda:



We also celebrated my cousin Kaitlin's high school graduation. She is going to Illinois State next year for communications. She is as smart as a whip and super funny. Oh, and she's also drop-dead gorgeous, she just doesn't know it yet. Ah, to be 18 again... not that I was EVER DDG...



Here is a pic of the girls. Kelli and I are only 4 months apart, and we grew up like sisters. Kait came along 9 years later, and the rest is history!



Here's one of Ash and I. It was SO great to actually be able to spend more than a half hour with her in passing. Suffice to say, we did a lot of catching up!



Here's one of Little A and my dad, affectionately known as Graycop by my girls! Oh, you need the story behind that one? OK. We used to refer to him as grandpa, and Sassy would sort of say grandpop when she first started talking. Well, then we referred to him as grandpop, and she started calling him Graycop. We thought it was hilarious, it totally stuck, and now he will be Graycop forever more!



Fast-forward to later in the evening... it is complete tradition that several people get thrown in the pool, fully clothed, every year. It's just a fact of life. It is how you are "christened" into our family. Several of the guys make it their mission to traumatize various party-goers. The only people I have ever seen spared are the very young, the very old, and the miserably pregnant. After many years, they have gotten it down to a science. Someone works on making sure that cell hones and wallets are removed from pockets well in advance. Then, the sabotage begins.

This year, Kelli's fiance Randy heard that he may be a victim to the heinous crime, so he decided to cry Uncle and jump in himself. Then, he threw Kelli in. Well, the guys decided that it didn't count unless he was thrown in, so off he went. Here is the aftermath:



The following day, we just laid by the pool, ate leftovers, and relaxed. The sun actually made an appearance, unlike the previous day, and we had a nice time. Sassy terrorized everyone with the squirt bottle that Uncle Joe gave her to play with:



Little A enjoyed some bonding time with Uncle Mikey:



Here is Kelli and Randy's adorable Labradoodle puppy, Morty:



We spent the next few days staying with Kelli and Randy at their condo in Rolling Meadows. Monday, Ty and I took the girls to Woodfield Mall and did a little shopping. Tuesday, we drove up to Grayslake and spent the day with my parents. Here are a couple of cute pictures I got of Sassy in Auntie Kelli's yard:





Wednesday, Kait and I went with Kelli to look for a wedding dress. She and Randy moved up the wedding from next May to July 25th of this year due to a combination of health concerns and financial reasons!! We are so pumped, but it is crazy tyring to put a wedding together in 2 1/2 weeks. More to come on that front... Thursday, we went to The Motherland Ikea:



We did wedding stuff all night Thursday evening. Friday, we packed up the car, said our good-byes, and headed to Rockford to spend the day with Miranda and the gang. We took the kiddos to Sappora Playworld and got a few cute pics... the twins are now officially bigger than Little A:





Miranda made us some fajitas and her world-famous guacamole. YUM! We turned in early, and let ourselves out the door at 4:30 AM. After a long car ride, a horrible pit stop at a blazing hot Cracker Barrel with no working air conditioner, a subsequent free meal, and listening to The Little Mermaid infiltrating the front seat 672 times, we arrived back home, safe and sound. Ah, Kansas... There's no place like home!


So, now we leave town again, we jet-setters, we... See you all next week!