September 13, 2013

Oh, Sweet Chicago

 

We took a short Road Trip to Chicago last weekend for opening weekend of NFL Football and we had an absolute blast!  It's amazing what a weekend getaway can do for your marriage!  We both got off a little early of Friday & hit the road. 

 

 

We made quite a few stops on the drive and arrived at our Hotel at about 8PM.  We stayed at The Waldorf Astoria, which is one of the best Hotels in the World & the Suite that they upgraded us to was amazing.  This soaking tub is only one of the luxuries in the room!  After settling into our room, we headed out for dinner.  We dined at Lou Malnatis which is known to have the best Chicago Style Pizza.  It did not disappoint.  I had a few Voodoo Lou Cocktails w/ dinner which was a Pear Infused Vodka w/ Vanilla Stolli & Sprite & it was rather good.  After dinner, we walked back to the room & crashed like old folk do ;)

 

 

Saturday morning, we ordered room service and laid around until I swear noon.  Who gets to do that anymore?  I know we usually don't & we took full advantage!  Breakfast was amazing.  The granola in the parfait was outstanding & like nothing I'd ever had before.  The potatoes were baked, and then flattened & fried so they had this soft filling with a crisp outside which was phenomenal.  So, so good & worth every penny of the $85.00 it cost us! 

 

 

Saturday afternoon, we took a cab to Roscoe Village for the Guinness Oyster Fest.  Oysters, Oysters & more Oysters is what we had & we didn't have a bad bite to eat.  We also had a few lamb tacos & a cheese plate which were also pretty tasty!  I'm usually not a fan of raw oysters, I'd tried them a few times & never really liked them.  Creag & the server talked me in to trying them, and I'm glad they did because they were so fresh & so good!  The Bienville, I can never complain about, either!

 







 

 

After the Oyster Fest, we cabbed it back Downtown.  We stopped in a few shops, along with Garrett's Popcorn, where we finally tried the Chicago Mix; Caramel & Cheese Popcorn!  That night, we went to our favorite Italian Steak House, in Chicago, Harry Caray's!  

 

 

Sunday was game day!  We got up pretty early & packed up and then went to a little spot for Breakfast.  We talked about how great it was to finally get away for a weekend and how we couldn't believe that the last time we traveled together was in April when we went to Hawaii!  We discussed where we'd go next and decided to not wait that long again.  After breakfast, we trekked it all the way to Soldier Field by foot!!  That was a long walk and surprisingly, a very calm one.  The fans were very laid back compared to Cincy.  They only let out their emotions during the game, which was a change.

 

 

The Stadium was nice, and it was a pretty intense game.  I think we could've won that game, but our coaches blew it for us by mismanaging our time-outs.  They also had the best stadium food.  We ordered a burger that was almost gourmet.  So, so good!  All in all it was a great trip and we can't wait to see you again, Chicago!





September 6, 2013

Preseason is a Great Time to Take Your Kiddos to a Game!

 

 

The Bengals played a few weekends ago, on a Saturday night & we were given 4 Club Level Seats so we took the kids to the game.  It was Wyatt's first time, everyone else had been before.  We had a great time as a family & snuck out a little early, because you can do that at pre-season games!  This weekend starts regular season, though & Creag & I will be in Chicago, rooting our Bengals on, at the game!  I couldn't be more excited to get out of town for the weekend, with my man!



September 3, 2013

Back to School 2013

 

The kids went back to school a few weeks ago.  We were all as ready as ever to get back into a routine but waited until the night before to get the boys fresh new cuts & I took the girls to get their nails done.  They were excited to get a little pampered, what girl isn't?  I was going to also let them get pedicures, but we found out the day of that Skylar would have her first soccer practice that night so we skipped that part and I gave them a rain check.

 



 

 



 The first day is always the smoothest & this is the 3rd year at our house for the first day of school and they all knew the traditional pose I wanted when it was time to take pictures.  I didn't even have to really tell them what to do!  I'm sure the older they get, the more awkward that kneel down pose will be, but I love it!!

As they were getting on the bus, I had a moment, realizing that this would be Skylar's last year of Elementary School as next year she'll move on to Jr. High.  With that being said, I then realized that as soon as she moves on, next year I'll be putting Wyatt on the bus with the other kids for his first day of Kindergarten!  That may be a rough one, but until then here's to a great year!

 



August 26, 2013

Let's Take it Back a Few

 

I swear I'm going to get back into posting on the regular, and I'm gonna start now!  I'm not too, too far behind, but there are a few things that I don't want to miss out on posting about, so I have to rewind a little bit today.  I know I've been doing this a lot lately and I'll try harder from now on, promise! 

 

A few weekends ago, we went on a pretty eventful bike ride on Saturday morning.  Creag had to run quite a distance, so we decided to put the kids bikes in the car & go to Lunken Airport to hang out for a bit while he ran.  Skylar ended up taking her bike and riding along w/ Creag while he ran and I took the boys on what I thought was going to be just about a mile and a half ride.

 

 

Wrong!  The ride, I swear ended up being about 6 miles!  We took a wrong turn & I got us lost which is why I usually never venture off anywhere by myself.  The boys did great though & really never complained.  There were a few pee breaks along the way and we saw a few deer which was really cool!  It turned into a fun morning with the boys!  Afterwards, we headed to Mellow Mushroom for lunch to load back up on our carbs, then after lunch, we headed back home to get ready for the Reds Game that we were going to that evening.  We had a sitter coming over from Silverlake to watch the kids which was a first & ended up going really well.

 

 

This was our second time in a Suite for a game this season, the first being Opening Day which was our Anniversary.  We had 6 tickets so we took two couples on our street.  Phil & Becky & Mike & Tami.  We had a BLAST!  All you can eat & drink is never a bad thing.  All of the ladies, including myself about died when they brought in the dessert cart.  Killer Brownies from Dorothy Lane Market...the best chocolate covered strawberries I've ever had...shots of Godiva Liquor in souvenir shot glasses, OMG it was amazing!  We went by The Yard House which is a new restaurant at The Banks after the game & then took a cab home for a little late night swimming at Phil & Becky's.  Creag actually threw me in the pool fully clothed when I wasn't expecting it.  Swimming fully clothed is definitely a first for me!  It was definitely a great night!





August 23, 2013

A life without Love...

 

 

Is like a year without Summer.

 

Even though Summer is unfortunately coming to an end, I wanted to share this little addition to our kitchen décor.  I got this cute idea & printable off a blog, Landee See, Landee Do & I absolutely loved it so I had to do it in our house.  The glass vase & picture frame is actually sitting on a round Lazy Susan on our kitchen table & I can't wait to change it out with the seasons!  This was pretty easy to replicate, I already had the vase, so I just bought 2 packs of Styrofoam Balls, a few cans of spray paint & (1) 5x7 picture frame from the Dollar Store.  I sprayed the balls & the frame & viola!   



August 16, 2013

It's Been Awhile

 

We have lots of stuff going on.  I feel like it's been forever since I've blogged, but really it's only been 10 days!  I have several things that I could jam into one long post, but I won't do that.  Today, I'll just give a little update on Football.  We're in week 5.  Hank's had 2 scrimmages so far & Sunday is his first regular season game against the Spartans.

 

He's been practicing 3 times/week & he's slowly catching on.  Practices are a little intense & they don't really mess around.  They have several hitting drills/games that they play.  He's not a great/aggressive hitter as of now & he doesn't really like that aspect of the game but we're hoping the longer he plays, the more he'll catch on.  They also run a lot in practice, as in run up hills!  The coaches definitely don't mess around.  I can quote them saying to the boys, "You guys are getting tired, you're breathing hard & you're not in good enough shape!  If you're not in good enough shape, we're gonna run that hill like the big boys!"  And they did, they ran up that hill 5 times one night & 7 the next!  What's surprising is that they all did great!

 

 

 

Their first scrimmage was called the Jamboree.  It was also a weigh in for the entire league.  It was awesome to watch my boy from the sideline!  The whole team played both offense & defense and they played really well together.

 



 

He plays Sunday @ 11:00 & I'll have my Dixie shirt on, rooting for #56!

 

 

 

 



 

 

August 5, 2013

Hank is 8!

 

We did a lot of celebrating over the weekend for Hank's 8th Birthday!  Before I get in to the party details, let me just say I cannot believe he is 8 years old!  

 

Friday:  After my Uncles Funeral Service, we dropped the kids off to their Dad & he had his party with that side of the family.

 

Saturday:  I picked them up around 1 and we headed home to get ready for his party with his friends.  Creag had been working on installing his Basketball Hoop since Wednesday night, so we were both ecstatic to finally be able to show him!  I sent Creag a quick text when we pulled into the neighborhood & he had his basketball wrapped in the driveway with a little note that he came up with on his own.  It said..."To Hank, Kentucky is known for it's Horse Racing & Basketball.  Come to the back yard to see which one you got!" 

 

 

 

He quickly walked with us behind him, and when he saw the hoop, he smiled so big that I could see his grin from behind him!  He was so excited.  He also had Jordan's in the driveway that he tried on & then shot a few hoops.  He hasn't really quit playing since.  We had his friends coming over at 4, so I had him change & he got a look at his cake & all of the goodies that I had for everyone.  This years theme was a "Take me out to the Ballgame."  I had Popcorn & Cracker Jacks and we ordered Pizza! 

 

After dinner, we rounded everyone up to sing Happy Birthday, but before we could even sing, Hank put his face in his own Cake!!  I seriously could not believe it.  He just gently placed his face on it, like he was making a mold or something.  Lets just say that big spot where his face was, was his piece & he didn't even put a dent in it.  There was a lot of it left!

 

After cake & presents, everyone played outside for a bit until Conner, Mason, & Wyatt's parents started showing up. 

 

 

Sunday:  I got up pretty early to make Hanks requested Chocolate Chip Pancakes & then we got ready for his Football Game at Dixie.  My parents came to watch him & they won 12-6.  We had the rest of the family over for dinner at 6 & more cake & ice cream.  There was no face in the cake this time & the only pictures I got were of Willis being his cute self.

 

 

I really think that he really enjoyed & appreciated everything that we did for him!  Happy Birthday, Buddy, we love you!!