US cellular field - check

over the years we have been to various baseball parks

we would love to some day say that we have been to them all
but we'll see ;)

we've been to wrigley before
but never to us cellular field
so when we found out the twins would be in town
the same weekend we were - it was PERFECT!



we got bekah to join us

and hopped a busy train to the south side

it was a nice stadium
and it had a GREAT kids area
unfortunately -
kids couldn't play in flip flops
so ben was the only one that got to participate



but he LOVED it
he loved that he got to practice pitching
and my favorite part was the batting area.
he got positive feedback and also some helpful hints as he took each swing



the game started a little rocky
the white sox took a quick lead
and i figured it'd end up being similar to our miller park experience

BUT ...
the twins pulled it together quick
and gave us a GREAT show!

it doesn't get much better

we closed out the game with our tradition of helmet sundaes

and had some fun meeting up with our old neighbors

who also made the trek to chicago

it was a perfect game
with a bonus perfect ending

for the first time ever we got to see a stadium go completely black

before lighting up with fireworks that were choreographed to music

and as we left ... the stadium glow was soft and peaceful

but the MANY twins fans that were heading out -

not so much.

the boys gave out tons of high fives

and although it was 11 pm

you never would have known by watching them

thank you twins for giving us a good game

you have redeemed yourselves

and even if you go nowhere for the rest of the season

you gave us a fun time in chicago

and it's ALL good

we {heart} chicago

it's no secret that we love going to chicago

of course the #1 reason is because we get to see a few of our favorite people -
bekah (my sister) ... ryan ... troy (stacey's brother) ... liz ...
AND
ellie ... will ... owen and marley ;)

BUT ...
that doesn't mean we don't have a few 'side' reasons we love to go as well:)

one of those -
portillos
i LOVE that place!
the boys love their hot dogs and i love their chopped salad
but MOST importantly
we ABSOLUTELY can't get enough of their chocolate cake
it is to die for

we stopped in at portillos on our way into town for dinner
we left with chocolate cake shakes for everyone
figuring the last 45 minutes of the drive would be SO much sweeter



in the morning i was reminded of another reason i love chicago -
WALKING to starbucks in the morning :)
as you can see drew was ALWAYS wanting to give piggy back rides
and it didn't take much convincing to get a rider.



i love waking up in the morning and walking a block to starbucks
i love having so many fun shops and restaurants surrounding us
and
i love that there are so many people out everywhere

although we live in a big city -
we don't live IN a big city.
so living this 'urban life' for short chunks of time
is fun for the boys -
they love all of the parks that we walk to
they love having a SUPER good cupcake shop around the corner ;)
and ...
they LOVE riding the train





they also love doing things we can't do here in mn
this trip we decided to ride the train downtown
and then hop on a tour boat to go out onto the lake and river

the boys have been curious about the lock here at st anthony falls

and
so we told them that sometime when we were in chicago we would take them on a boat to go through the chicago lock



this trip was the time
and we got double the fun ...
as we pulled up there was an emergency out in the lake.
a coastguard boat needed to get through immediately
so they opened BOTH sides of the lock!
apparently they only do that on average 2 times a summer!

we were in the right place at the right time.

in more ways than one this trip ...

on top of the other fun we already had going on
the twins were in town playing the sox
when we realized that a few weeks ago,
we decided it'd be fun to make our first visit to US cellular field
and i will fully describe our game in a separate post

all i'll say is ...
the twins showed up to play
they gave us a SWEET game
and it ROCKED!

the next day we spent time checking a few more things off our 'chicago loves' list

* we spent more time with bekah
she took me to my very first bar method class and it was SO fun
and yes i am still slightly sore

* we went to pequods
seriously the BEST deep dish pizza E.V.E.R
when i am home i crave it like crazy!

* and then ... as if deep dish pizza and fried zucchini slices don't fill me up enough
we finished it off with sweet mandy b's cupcakes

it was close to a perfect day ;)

sadly ...
that was our last day and the trip ended WAY too soon.

i wish i could have bekah closer
and
i wish that i could have a portillos, a pequods, a bar method studio, and a sweet mandy b's closer

there are SO many reasons we LOVE visiting chicago
there are many reasons why sometimes i think we should just live there
BUT
then i sit in traffic and am reminded of a few reasons why we shouldn't

thanks for the fun, chicago ;)

we'll miss you!!

just teasing

i know ...
it's been too long.

we were in chicago all weekend
and going nonstop.

SO ...
i promise i will update with our chicago adventures tomorrow

until then ...
here's a tease ...

a peek into turning FIVE

* waking up to decorations and signs



* having a 'golden' pancake breakfast

* going to chuck e cheese with some friends for lunch

*winning lots of tickets -
and having your brother help you ;)

* ending the day with the tavern -

the choice dinner of the new FIVE year old
with the BEST part of dinner being ...
the smores for dessert

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX!
i hope your year of being FIVE is as fun as today was!

F*I*V*E

today marked golden birthday #2 for our family this year

alex turned FIVE on the FIFTH!!



it seems crazy to think that my 'baby' is FIVE!
BUT ...
as he reminded me, and everyone else we saw today,
he is stronger
he is WAY faster
he is smarter
and he has bigger muscles
all because today HE IS FIVE!

alex ...
there are SO many things i love about you
but since today is all about the number FIVE ...
i'm going to focus on FIVE

ONE.
i love your big brown eyes
i love how expressive you are
and
i love how those big brown eyes light up when you are telling a story

TWO.
i love watching you be passionate about the things you love :
baseball
your friends
watching your favorite shows
(which is anything on nick jr, phinneas and ferb, looney toons, and tom&jerry)
basketball
jumping on the trampoline
playing your DS
chewy
swimming
playing webkinz
no matter what it is
you make it fun and aren't afraid of trying new things

THREE.
i love how much you love drew and ben
i love that you want to dress like them
do things just like them
and
be with them ...
always.

FOUR.
i love that you always want to be with me
yet aren't scared to try new things
you are SO brave.
you love to meet new friends.
you can start up a conversation with anyone
and
you are SO excited for kindergarten.

FIVE.
i LOVE that you love to snuggle.
i love that you come in and give me good morning hugs
although sometimes i wish it wasn't QUITE so early
i love that you know when i'm sad and know how much a hug means
i love that at night a snuggle from me can put you so quickly to sleep
and
i love how throughout the day
your mood can so easily change with just a few snuggles.

you are such a special little FIVE year old.
my favorite little five year old, actually ;)
we are SO blessed to have you as part of our family.
i hope you had a wonderful birthday, little buddy
and
i hope that your whole year of being five will be simply golden.

happy birthday, alex.
we LOVE you.

happy 4th

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!

we had a fun day spending time as a family, with friends, AND of course ... good food ;)

we spent the afternoon at a friend's house
having a bbq and a fun afternoon of swimming

and i decided last minute to use it as an excuse to try a pinterest idea

the boys swam NONSTOP for a good 4 hours

alex started the day finding just enough nerves to jump off the diving board into my arms

and ended the day jumping off the diving board ALONE
and then swimming the entire length of the pool!

he was SO proud of himself

and loved how being brave got him the freedom
to play with the big boys
and more importantly their tubes with built in squirt guns ;)

we ended the night with some neighbors

playing with sparklers ...

and watching our very own pyrotechnic show

compliments of mr.barnett himself ;)

a very fun, very full day -
and if my kids don't sleep until at least 8 tomorrow morning ...
there is something SERIOUSLY wrong ;)

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, EVERYONE!!

happiness is ...

FINALLY having a bowl that is big enough
to EASILY make monster cookie dough



now if i just had 3 more ovens ...
and a way to make the cookies not go straight to my thighs ;)

a sweet treat

it's a pretty sweet day
when
you're busy playing with a neighbor,
the ice cream 'truck' shows up on your street,



AND
instead of a healthy lunch ...
your parents let you enjoy the sweet 'meals' on wheels
that ONLY the ice cream truck can bring

what a sweet way to kick off a long weekend!

slippin and a slidin

when the temps hit 90...

and stay that way for days on end ...

this is how we roll ...