Friday, October 9, 2009

Vandal Week in Illinois - Chicago Trip

Two weeks ago was a very special week for our family. The Idaho Vandals were coming here to play NIU for football. We had this day circled on our calender for over a year now, and just like that, it was time. The game brought Cisco' s parents and our best friends from Idaho to DeKalb. Just like we thought, the time spent with them went by super fast, and it was probably the best week we've ever had here, because of many reasons. It was so nice to get a taste of Idaho, even if it was only for a few days.

They all came in on Wednesday night, not without drama. Mike and Erin's flight leaving Boise was delayed, so they missed their connecting flight in Minneapolis. They thought they were going to have to spend the night in Minneapolis, but fortunately, they were able to get a later flight. As for Cisco's parents, his mom's luggage never arrived. And their GPS system was packed inside that lost suitcase, so they had no directions on how to get here. After many phone calls for directions and some yelling, they finally arrived safely *whew*.

On Thursday, we passed by Cisco's office just to check it out and say hello to a few people. We then headed out to Geneva to do some shopping. Then, we were off to Midway to go pick up Cisco's mom's suitcase, and drive around downtown Chicago for some sights and sounds. Mike and Erin wanted to stop by a Wells Fargo to deposit some money. No big deal, so Cisco looked it up on his iPhone, and there was one a few minutes away in Naperville. This is when the adventure started. We get to the "bank" in Naperville to find that the bank has been closed down. So Erin called and we found another Wells Fargo on the other side of Naperville. We headed down there to find out that they were only a home mortgage branch, not a bank. So we asked them where we could go and they mentioned that Wells Fargo and Wachovia has merged, and the closest Wachovia was in Elmhurst. So we headed out there, which took awhile because of traffic. When we got there, Mike and Erin ran inside, since it was almost closing time. They talked to the banker to find out Wachovia couldn't process any Wells Fargo accounts, since the computer systems haven't merged yet. He said the closest Wells Fargo bank was in Wisconsin. So in other words, we spent about 2-3 hours driving around for a bank that didn't exist! At the time, we were all frustrated, but looking back on it, it was pretty funny.

Cisco got some flack for his Idaho pride during the week at school. But let's see who had the last laugh.....
Representing for Idaho......

So we headed to Midway to pick up Cisco's mom's luggage. That took awhile because of traffic. We did drive through the ghetto, which Mike enjoyed. He may be a skinny, white kid on the outside, but he's pretty "hood" on the inside, which Cisco loves. After, Kaui and Erin had a craving for Boston Market. Fortunately, there was one close by Midway. By the time we ate, it was dark and we were tired, so we scrapped our driving through Chicago idea.

On Friday, we headed into Chicago for them to walk around and see the city. Below are pics from that day trip.


Cisco's parents with the Chicago River
Us with the Chicago River
THE BEAN!! (Cloud Gate)
Kaila with Grandpa and Grandma Aiyeese

The Girls......
.....the Boyz
Kaila holding up the Bean all by herself.


We all had a nice lunch at Giordano's. Awesome pizza.
Us at the Lakefront, at Museum Campus
"Whatchu talkin' 'bout" Willis Tower
By coincidence, Kaila's Nanny Jana and her family happened to be in Chicago the same week. So Kaila had a nice dinner with Nanny Jana.
At night, we headed to US Cellular to catch a White Sox game. None of us are Sox fans, but it's always nice to go to a professional sporting event.
Our view from the nosebleeds, which actually weren't that bad.

One last pic before we headed out.
Excuse the blurriness, trying to get pic with the city lights.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Brookfield Zoo...

The Flewelling family was so kind to invite us to the zoo with them on Sunday. It turned out to be a beautiful day with the weather being nice and cool, although we did hit a downpour as we drove home. It was a good thing we had left the zoo when we did. We had SO much fun just being outside and enjoying the day with our friends. I almost think the adults had more fun than the girls, due to the fact that by 2pm they were ready for a nap.

Entering the zoo...
Morgan reaching out to Kaila probably thinking "loosen' up a little, girl!"
Brushing & petting the goat...
Brushing another goat...
Looking at the ducks...
Amy & Morgan walking on the stepping stones...
Daddy & Kaila's turn...
Fathers with their daughters...
Kaila's favorite exhibit...the monkeys, which she stills talks about 'til this day...
Our little dragonflies...
Family picture on the Brookfield Zoo lion...
Getting ready to ride the carousel. By the way, Kaila did not choose the animal, Daddy did...
Action shot...the carousel was actually moving & Kaila didn't seem too thrilled...

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Kite Fest...

On Sunday, we attended Kite Fest for a little bit. We went last year, but it was very cold & rainy and there was rarely any activities going on. This year was a different story; it was a beautiful, sunshiny day. We didn't stay for long, but Kaila was able to walk through some of the displays and enjoyed it so much she didn't want to leave.

The reason she didn't want to leave: 'cause she found Nemo...
Another neat display...

Disney on Ice...

On Saturday, we took Kaila to see Disney on Ice at the United Center in Chicago. We were excited to take her because as of lately she has been into Disney Princesses and we knew for sure we would see some Princesses. We all know she loves Stitch & Nemo, but we weren't sure if we would see them. Low and behold we did, and she was ecstatic! For the first half of the show, she was very quiet, almost in shock at seeing all the characters. But during the intermission, we asked her if she was having fun, and she said, "fun!" So for the second half of the show, she was clapping and waving and dancing. I guess we can say that she really enjoyed herself and we did too!

Daddy & Kaila in front of the United Center...
The start of the show...
Mickey & Minnie...
Marlin, Dori, & Nemo or as Kaila calls him 'Memo'...
STITCH!...
Showing her excitement during intermission..
Princesses with their Princes...
Stitch & 'Memo' all in one shot...
Us after the show...
Cisco had to get a picture with the legendary Michael Jordan statue...

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Our day at North Avenue Beach - Lake Michigan...

We have been wanting to visit a Chicago beach this whole summer and finally got around to it on Saturday. We went to North Avenue Beach and swam in the cold waters of Lake Michigan. It was such a beautiful day; perfect for a picnic on the beach. Although the water was a freezing 60 degrees, Kaila could not get enough of it. She had SO much fun and did not want to get out of the water. We finally had to drag her out before her little body got too cold. On the ride home and even when we got home she had a lot to say about her visit to the beach. She told Sadie all about it. The only thing she did not enjoy was having sand on her feet. She had to have her shoes on when walking in the sand. Anyway, here are some pictures of us at the beach...

Playing in the sand...
Hugging mommy...
SO cold, but SO excited...
Playing with daddy...
All wet...
Kicking the water...
View to the left...
View to the right...
She just kept wanting to walk out further & further...
Too much fun...
Posing with the skyline...