Chicago Rotation

16 hours after leaving North Carolina (not kidding- it took us 4 hours to go the last 80 miles of our trip. We drove in on the same day President Obama came to town so they shut down our freeway...) we finally made it to Chicago. Day 2 we were suprised with some of the best Cubs tickets in the house. We were 3 rows back from the Cub's dug out! Way to deliver Tom. We got all decked out and rode the train in. Such a fun day!

Not pictured: Emelina and Abigail who decided Aunt Nancy's pool is funner than a cub's game. Tom, who met us there from work, and cousin Lexi who is the photographer.

Sidney, Joe, and Rock. The Where's Waldo faces in the background are Jenny and Lexi.

Riding the train was definately Rockwell's favorite part of the day.

He slept through the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field!! This is him waking up about an inning later.

Another Where's Waldo shot. Hi Sidney!

The preceptor at the hospital Joe is doing the rotation through volunteered the Pharmacy staff to be in charge of games at a community picnic. It was fun to get out and be the only white person again. Seriously, it had been too long.

Rockwell was the only baby there, he was also the star of the picnic.

Rock's new favorite snack is animal crackers.

Abby is practicing for the circus. Her words, not mine. Although I can tell Rockwell is going to be a fan.

Sidney is practicing her sand sculpture skills. Feast your eyes on her hammer head shark.

Thank you city of Morton Grove for the patch of land behind the house so that we could have our very own Fa'anunu Volleyball court.

A good word for Aunt Nancy's house, FUN!

Having a blast at Aunt Nancy's pool!

Rock already knows what's coming...

Rock loves being tossed around! Joe looks like he is transforming into the Hulk!

Oh look! Rock found a giant gorilla!

The first time Rock found Aunt Nancy's giant staircase I thought he was so big that he could climb the first step! Much to my suprise he chased a kitty all the way to the top by the next time he found the stairs. Way to go Rocky boy!

He loved those stairs...

Nancy's teeter totter can't lie, Rockwell is heavier than his cousin Olivia.

The Nature Preserve:

All around Jennifer's neighborhood they have these nature preserves that are so beautiful. We loved exploring in them.

I'm not sure why Emmy and Abby both seem to be so confused about why I am taking their picture...

Lake Michigan:

The lifeguard said this was one of the coldest the water had ever been all summer long. But that didn't stop Joe, or Rocky.

All of the Fa'anunu ladies

Little Olivia giving mama loves, and playing with rocks.

Rock is such a happy little guy. I love when he gets his smile on camera.

We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary in Chicago. Jenny and Tom had their anniversay the following weekend so we both went all out and took turns watching the kids so we could spend the night in the city.

Thanks to Hotwire we landed us a stay at the Hilton in Terminal 2 at the Chicago O'Hare airport! This is the stunning view from our room.

Northbrook Days:

Emmy is loving the carousel at the carnival.

It never ceases to amaze me what kind of freaky rides they have at carnivals.

Rock's very first lollipop! He really liked it, even the paper stick. Half the time we found him chewing on the wrong end!

I can't help but post all lollipop pictures, he's just so cute!

Lake Geneva:

One of the funnest things we did all summer, Joe and I both agreed, was our trip to Lake Geneva. My cousin's friend was generous enough to offer one of their lake homes to all of us for the weekend. I saw some of the most gorgeous homes up there-

The home in the background is where we stayed.

Rock had an endless amount of grass to roam around on. He loved it.

Their own private dock.

Abby moored safely to it at all times!

I think Jennifer just won king of the floating dock, with Sidney. Way to go Jenny!

Sidney and Abby decorated Joe with lake weeds and called him King Tritan.

Do I look like Tiger Lilly from Peter pan? That's what I was going for...

Abby can fall asleep anywhere as long as she can twist her hair and suck her thumb. Bless her heart.

Have you ever had lunch on the 96th floor of a building? We most definately have.

Joe pointed out the County Hospital, it's out there somewhere.

The McNunuSpoon Bowl:

As a parting farewell we held a football game, the Mcmahon's vs. the Fa'anunu's and Weatherspoon's.

We did not win.

The game was over when Lexi and Zack collided and Lexi's forehead met Zack's elbow. The neighbor's might have heard the crack.

Despite Lexi's injury and our defeat, it was really fun. Aunt Nancy even sang the national anthem, which even SHE couldn't believe she did, and we had some pretty cute cheerleaders.

One day we walked to a bakery shop and everyone got a treat. We looked around at a few other shops when Emmy realized she lost her new koala bear purse she recently got from Aunt Nancy! It was a tragedy until good big sister Abby found it sitting on the bakery bench right where Emmy had left it.

Rock, you were such a lucky little man to have spent so much of your summer with all these awesome ladies! We miss you girls-