Tag Archives: Vacation

Winding Down in the Windy City

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Friday morning I flew out bright and early to visit Karin in Chicago!  It was a relaxing and fun trip!  Strange to be without Maria, but very relaxing!  And such a quick trip, that my one bag was only half full! (We took more to Maria’s cousins birthday party today than I did to Chicago!)

  • Landed in Chicago right before 9.
  • Took the el back to Karin’s. Stopped at Starbuck’s before going home.
  • Watched Grey’s and 30 Rock.
  • Went out for lunch.
  • Went to The Bucket List. A good movie for a Friday afternoon.
  • Did some shopping on Michigan Avenue (Ann Taylor Loft, Pottery Barn, Room and Board)
  • Met Aunt Marilyn for an early dinner at Bandera’s
  • Headed back to Karin’s for magazines, internet surfing, and more talking!
  • The next morning after showers, we had brunch at a place called Yolk.
  • Then went out to do some typical shopping at Target, DSW, and the grocery store.
  • Headed to the airport, where I watched part of the 2nd quarter of the Packer game before boarding my flight!

All in all a good time! Got home, and watched the 2nd half of the Packer game (they won in the snow!) on the DVR, while I made Luke’s birthday cake.

This morning, Maria and I went to Target and then home to decorate the cake. Then Luke’s birthday party this evening!  Good (busy) weekend!   Topped off with a Dallas loss, so the Packers will be HOSTING the NFC Championship next week! Woo hoo!

My Mini-Vacation

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Friday, I dropped Maria off at daycare around 8:30 and then went and picked up Karin at the airport shortly after 9 am. From there we went straight to the Mall of America. Arriving before the stores were open. So we hung out at Starbucks and waited for Heather to arrive and the shopping to begin!

At noon, we went for our scheduled manicures. Karin was the only one of us who ended up getting one, as the manicurists Heather and I were scheduled for weren’t there 20 minutes into Karin’s appt, and we figured it useless. We ended up hanging out with her while she had hers done, and Andy (who was doing her nails) gave us files and Aveda samples to occupy us!

After the manicures we went to Twin Cities Grill for lunch.. YUMMMMM!!!

And then on to a little more shopping, before heading back to pick Maria up.

After we’d been home for a while, Chad got home from his week in Omaha. We ordered Chinese. Maria was a complete doll, and napped well and then went down for bed really easily.

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Karin and Maria

Saturday morning we were up, had breakfast, Maria went down for a nap, we showered and got ready. Maria woke up, so we headed out for some more shopping. DSW (since we didn’t have time at the mall on Friday), Kohl’s (to check out the new Vera Wang line), and then the brand new Target!

After shopping, home again for a quick bite, then Chad stayed home with Maria while Karin and I met Heather for a movie – The Jane Austin Book Club – which was very good! On my way home, I felt like I was just coming home from a relaxing vacation!

When I got home, Chad went to mow the lawn, so Maria and I went for a nice walk around the pond a couple times! Then she came home and napped. (She has a cold, so has been napping very well!)

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Ready for our walk!

Last night after she went to bed, Chad and I watched the latest Christopher Guest movie, For Your Consideration. Also good, but I fell asleep a few times (we didn’t start it until almost 9)All in all a great weekend, so far! Still have one day left! Hoping to watch the Packers and get Maria a new carseat… maybe some new shoes for Chad!

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5 minutes ago – Waiting for Mommy to Quit Blogging!

Our First Family Vacation

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This weekend the three of us headed north to Ruttger’s on Bay Lake for my company’s summer outing. It was Maria’s first nights away from home, and she was perfect!! She slept almost the whole way there and through the night both nights (in her pack’n’play), plus a lot on Sunday including the whole way home as well!

We had a great time getting to know my co-workers better and relaxing at the resort.

On Sunday morning, Chad played in a golf scramble and I met my brother’s family (their cabin is only about 20 minutes away) for church on Church Island. It was Maria’s first boat ride. She was not liking the life jacket by the time I got my camera out, so I don’t have any pictures.

After church, I went back and picked Chad up. His team won the scramble, so he got a trophy! After we were all loaded up, we went to my brother’s for a late lunch, before heading home. All in all a great weekend preceding my last official week of maternity leave! 😦

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Chad and Maria on the beach. She didn’t want to sleep in her shaded play dome, so our beach time was limited.

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Maria watched ESPN with Daddy in the room.

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Maria’s biggest admirer of the weekend, Hailey was sure that Maria liked her.

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Cousin Elizabeth and Maria. Both were tired so getting even this picture was tough.

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Maria a few minutes later… She found her thumb and that was all it took. She was out.