Chicago recap & Moving update

We've been back from Chicago for almost a week, so an update is long overdue! We had an amazing time, and I'm so thankful we were able to go. I had a great time meeting so many family members. Special thanks to Aunt Myrna for not only letting us stay with her, but for giving up her bed for us (which Ziva subsequently threw up on!) and being so understanding and flexible with us and Ziva's sleep (or lack thereof at times).

We got in Saturday night, and on Sunday we had the big reunion/birthday party for Grandma. We took TONS of pictures...this is Grandma with her grandkids and their spouses/significant others. She was such a good sport, sitting through so many pictures. It probably lasted about an hour for her...we were all joking about the paparazzi. Finally we had just one camera finishing up and every one got a disc. Next reunion, we'll remember!

Here's Grandma with her great grandchildren. Pretty amazing!

On Monday we went to Lincoln Park Zoo and spent most of the day there. It's a great zoo, and we all had a lot of fun. The weather in Chicago was beautiful the whole time we were there....it was a perfect zoo day! We got most of the family that was there together for a group picture by the flowers.

Thursday night we got to see Mexico play (and beat) Costa Rica in one of the Gold Cup games at Soldier Field, where the Bears play. It was awesome! The stadium was packed out...I've never seen so many Mexican soccer fans in one place! It was exciting, and quite an experience. When Mexico scored for the first time toward the end of the game, everyone was throwing beer in the air....we got a little drenched, which wasn't so fun, but it was kind of funny. Like I said, an experience. :)

We had planned on seeing Cubs game, but ended up just going to the soccer game instead. However, we took a drive down to Wrigley Field just for fun and to get some pictures. We were there during the game, so it was crowded and there were lots of street vendors selling Cubs stuff, and we stopped and got a stuffed Cubs bear for Ziva. She napped during the drive, so she'll have to see Wrigley next time.

All in all, we had a wonderful time. Our favorite part was just spending so much time with family. A couple other highlights were the food (amazing!!) and going to Millenium Park downtown, where we saw the Bean and played by the water towers. Ziva adjusted pretty well to sleeping in bed with us (after a couple nights, that is) and she loved having her cousins to play with. It was a great trip, and we're thinking we should just do it every year!

Back on the home front, we still haven't moved....now it's looking like NEXT weekend. I am praying even harder that we actually get to move before I have to go back to work on the 17th. Apparently the fire marshall in charge is on a little power trip and keeps finding new reasons to postpone approval of the certificate of occupancy. Oh well, we'll make it eventually. I'm just still waiting for a good reason to start packing!

Just a few more hours...

We are finishing up our packing at this very moment, and in a few hours we'll be heading to Chicago for a week to see family. We are so excited! Check back in about a week for pictures!

But before I go, we got a special treat last night in seeing my Aunt Julie and Uncle Dave, who are in Tulsa for the weekend. They came over with my cousin Katie, and Dad, Norma, and Mitch came too. We had a great time just hanging out, catching up, and reminiscing. Aunt Julie hadn't seen Ziva since she was about 3 weeks old, and Uncle Dave had never seen her, so that was fun. This was Vince's first time to meet Dave too. Ziva was a little shy at first, but eventually warmed up to them and had a lot of fun. Julie and Dave brought a child table and chairs that used to belong to my mom and Aunt Kristy, so that was pretty special and we're looking forward to setting that up in Ziva's room once we move. The bad news: I totally forgot to bring out the camera and get some pictures, despite thinking about it all day before they got here. Bleh! Next time...I just hope it's not too long! We love you Aunt Julie and Uncle Dave!

Funny Face

I've started packing a few boxes....they are Ziva's new favorite seat.

This face cracks me up!

She wasn't doing a cheesy pose, although it turned out that way :)

We took a little road trip to Arkansas today to have lunch with Cherissa, Max and Maggie. We got to stop by and see Vicki too, which was a treat, especially since Vicki was feeling pretty good. Ziva was a great trooper in the car, even though she only slept 30 minutes on the way back, and that was it for the whole day...contrary to the "plans" I had made!

Park Play

Yesterday wasn't quite as hot and there was a great breeze, so I took Ziva to the park for a little bit. She gets so red in the face it scares me, so we only stayed about 25 minutes, but it was fun. Rayola Park is so different than I remember when I was a kid....they've got toddler sized gyms, which Ziva liked climbing around on, and which I liked because I didn't have to worry so much about her falling off!

Ziva likes sliding down the slide, but she LOVES trying to climb back up it! This tunnel slide proved a challenge, though.

Procrastinating

I'm procrastinating. Ziva is sleeping, so I should be tackling my to-do list. Blah. I made the bed, washed some dishes, and got a load of laundry in the dryer, but none of those things were even on my to-do list, so I don't feel like I've accomplished much. Maybe I'll go back and add them to the list so I can cross them out. (I LOVE crossing things off lists!)

My biggest to-do task is to start packing, since we're hoping and praying that we'll get to move to our new apartment before next Saturday, when we leave for Chicago. Even if all we do is get everything moved in but not unpacked, I'd be happy. I know the time will fly once we get back from vacation and it will be time for school to start before I know it, so I'm hoping all that time in between will be time where I can focus just on unpacking, organizing, and getting settled. BUT, since we don't have a definite date, I'm unmotivated to pack, and also overwhelmed. I used to not mind moving too much, but I guess the older I get, the less appealing it becomes. I know once I get started I'll be fine, but it's sort of like writer's block at this point. I have packer's block...instead of staring at a blank page, I'm staring at empty boxes. As a teacher, I would instruct students to just write whatever comes to their heads, whether it makes any sense at this point or not. So I guess I should just start putting SOMETHING in a box.....

Okay, here I go.

Happy words, happy heart

Vince came home from work yesterday evening, and as he walked in the door he said, "I love my new job. It's so great to come home and be happy!"

Thank you, Lord, for Your good gifts!