Chicago part I

FINALLY! Pictures from our trip to Chicago and Northern Michigan!  This will be a multi-part series due to the insane amount of pictures I took.  So, here's the first of our time in Chicago!

Leaving Waco at 5 in the morning.  Jackson jumped out of bed and ran out of his room saying "I have to go check the map!"

Sloan is a little slower at waking up than his brother.

Stopping in Arkansas for lunch.  At 10:00.  Because we ate breakfast at 4 am before we left.

Can you believe that we saw Thomas on the highway?!  He was on his way to Chicago, and was probably sleeping, which explains why his face was covered up.

As soon as we got to Chicago we headed to Navy Pier. 

Playing

An anchor on Navy Pier

Mr. Frowny Face made an appearance, but we weren't having any of that for our first day in Chicago...he cheered up quickly after this.

One of the times we came to Chicago before, Jackson was 1 year old and he rode this train.  Now, it's a tradition every time we go to Chicago.  We have to ride the generic Thomas train.

Waiting to get on the Ferris Wheel.  Trivia: Did you know the very first Ferris Wheel was invented and used in Chicago for the Columbian Exhibition (i.e. World fair?)

On the Ferris wheel.  The rainclouds passed over before we got on and then CAME BACK!  The wind and rain and dark clouds made me a little more than nervous.

Riding the city bus like he's been doing it his whole life.

the mean streets of Chicago.  :)

The world needs one more Blackwell.

Because I am TERRIBLE at keeping things from people, and because you are kind enough to read my blog, I am sharing with you FIRST (after family, of course) that we will be welcoming a new bitty Blackwell in early April!!

I literally found out two days ago. The day after we got back from our trip up north. Funny thing: on the drive home, I made Jesse stop and pullover so I could go to the bathroom a lot more than I did on the way up. He complained, and I said, "hey, maybe I'm pregnant" to which he replied that it would be weird to have to go pee so early in a pregnancy, but it was the same way with my other two. Fast forward one day and HA! I told him so! What I like most about his reaction when I told him was the high-five he gave me. What a guy thing!

So, I'm about five weeks along. It's early, and I was going to wait and publish this news on the blog and Facebook after my first dr appointment, but I couldnt' wait. SO.....those of you who know me on FB, keep it on the DL for a few more weeks, please! (yes, I know it is ridiculous to ask this to be kept on the DL when I am posting it on the internet).

We are SO excited to welcome a new little life into our family! And all the wine I bought at the wineries in Michigan will have to wait 9 months to be drunk...

guilty

OK, Ok, Ok. I know I've been promising to post pics of my trip up north, but man oh man, it takes a lot of work to get back into the groove of things and readjust after two weeks away! Not to mention, I also have all the daily stuff that needs to be done.

Anyway, the only thing standing between you and pics is my aunt's will. Strange. Actually, I'm making her will and I told her I'd have it done by Jackson's birthday party, which is next Saturday. Yikes! I'll be spending my last free day (the last day the boys are in school until regular school starts (which, by the way, is NEXT Thursday for Jackson...what?!--I never got any of the emails from the school, so this was a big surprise for me when we got back.)

So, I'm guilty of being a slacker and procrastinating on the pics. I'm a bad, bad blogger and need a timeout. there.

Beautiful and Amazing

Today, our last day of vacation in Michigan, we went to the BIG lake.  Lake Michigan--a part of the lake where Otter creek runs into Lake Michigan.  We used to come here a lot when we lived here before, and just as I remembered, it is an amazing place!  I took a bajillion pictures, so you will definitely see them soon when I get a chance to upload all 500+ photos onto my computer at home! 

One of the many highlights of the day:  Papa (my dad) caught a couple of little fish (they looked like sardines to me, but who knows) and they were "adopted" by Sloan and Jackson as pets.  Sadly, this adoption did not end happily...the fish were man-handled, or rather, boy-handled and died, but that didn't keep them from being held in hand as pets... 

Jackson's adventure up north has left him grasping for adjectives to describe his experience.  This morning, when he got his little fish:  "This fish is BEAUTIFUL papa!"  and when he found a rock that he liked: "this rock is AMAZING!"    sigh.  It's been a good vacation.  We have made lots of memories.  I would love to make this a yearly trip, but we shall see.  We definitely have to come back so Sloan can have more vivid memories of the place.

Hope you all get to have, or have had a chance to have a wonderful, memory making vacation such as this!

almost over

Well, vacation is almost over. Only one more full day after today. We've been so busy having fun and relaxing!

I still can't figure out how to get pics from my ipad to Blogger, so any and all pics will have to wait until I get home and use the ol' desk top. Maybe I need to find an app for blogging. Any suggestions?

Being back up in Northern Michigan, I realize how many things I miss about this place and how many things I don't. FOr one, I miss this weather!!!! It's been perfect weather, with even a day of rain, which is more than welcome for this Texas girl! Most of you know, Texas has been SO dry and SO hot. I will not be missing this place, however, come January and February. I miss the water up here. Every.single.body.of.water.is.crystal.clear. I have taken lots of pictures, but pictures don't do it justice. It's breathtaking and awesome to swim in. You'd be hard pressed to find a lake that I'd love dunking my head underwater in in Texas. Not so, here.

Anyway, time to get back to vacay. I am meeting up with some mom friends that I had here. I am looking forward to seeing their kids another 3 years older!

So much to say, so little time

I've been wanting to blog about all sorts of things lately, but it has been an incredibly busy summer for us! I guess it's because Jackson is old enough to be in lots of camps and we have been busy with weddings and our vacation coming up SOON to Chicago and Michigan!

I've got lots of home improvement projects lined up, so I'll have those to blog about. I'm still trying to figure out if it's possible to upload pics from my iPad onto blogger....so far, no luck, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. I'm like in the 4th grade level of computer stuff...

I'll be blogging lots aboutnout trip up to chi-town and Traverse City...and probably have lots of fun and not so fun stories about the 18 hour drive with two young'uns and my hubs... Now that I thik about it, I may just have more gray hairs when we are through with the drive. But, it'll be worth it!!

On another note, one more thing that has been using up time I would otherwise spend blogging or doing something productive, is pinterest.com. Check it out! It's like facebook but about stuff you find on the internet basically. Yeah, just go check it out- I totally can't do it justice by explaining it here.

Summer slacker

I've been neglecting this blog because it's been a busy summer so far! I think we have entered that phase in life with children where there is always something to do, someplace to be, some camp to go to. It's great but leaves little time for things like writing a blog update.

I do have plans to fancy up my mudroom/laundry room. Well, in truth, I am making up a reason to put more glass tile in my house. I am addicted to the stuff! Hopefully I will get to work on it this week...I am doing it all myself! Hope it doesn't turn out crooked!!