This year we spent the holidays in Small Town, Illinois with my sister Kim, her husband Josh, and our nephew Jake -- for TEN days! We were so excited to go, and of course it took several shopping trips for appropriate clothing and way too much baggage (thank goodness for Southwest Airlines' free baggage policy) to have us prepared for this trip. We had a wonderful visit, just loved being there and were even told we could move in if we want. I guess we didn't overstay our welcome!
Here are a couple favorite photos and memories from our time there (in no particular order):
- Click on any photo to zoom -
* Happy Traveler. Adam was spectacular on the airplane. At one point the two flight attendants had our son back in the galley entertaining him. We, of course, loved all the 'best baby' comments from fellow passengers -- always great to hear!
* When in Chicago... Just a couple miles from the airport we found Giordano's restaurant to try out their "world famous" deep dish pizza. We ordered a large... and after just one slice we all called it quits. Filling and delicious! Box up the rest for dinner, please!
* Let it Snow! We arrived to a blanket of white, and on the Monday before Christmas we received LOTS more snow and then EVEN MORE on Christmas Eve. We loved being cozy inside while the snowflakes floated outside. It made for the perfect holiday setting.
* Family Reunion. For a few days -- and for the first time ever -- all the Elders and their families were together under the same roof. With us girls all spread out from our parents, it's been difficult to have us in the same place at the same time. Dad, Mom, 3 sisters and our spouses, and 4 nephews were together for a pre-Christmas morning. Oh, and older cousins make great babysitters!
* Double Dose. Adam and his cousin are only 7 weeks apart and we're setting them up to be best buddies. We spent so much time just watching these two crawl, explore and play together. Adam taught Jake how to stand up in the rocking chair (You're welcome, Kim!) while Jake tried to teach Adam how to curl his lip like Elvis. We couldn't get enough of these two together.
* First Snow. Since it was Adam's first exposure to snow we just had to bundle him up and set him out in the white stuff.
* Walking in a Winter Wonderland. Adam also took his first consecutive steps! Michael came to me and told me to hurry downstairs because our son wanted to walk right now! Sure enough, for the next 20 minutes he walked back and forth between all of us (up to 8 steps) and laughed giddily each time he sat down. After that he forgot his new talent for a few days, but lately he's been practicing steadily. Any day now we'll have a walker! We'll post some video soon!!
* First Christmas. With an 11-month old, Christmas is different now. We went to the 4:00 Christmas Eve service as it wouldn't interrupt dinner/bedtimes, and in the morning we were on Adam and Jake's schedules. The boys haven't learned the art of gift
* Chicagoland. Since we flew into Midway airport, a 2-hour drive from Small Town, we decided to stay overnight in Chicago the night before. We arrived in the Windy City in the evening, checked into our Marriott a block off Michigan Ave (thanks, Kim!) and then bundled up the boys to walk to dinner. The next morning we extra-bundled the boys and did some shopping along Michigan Ave in the morning and then went over to the Navy Pier to check out the
* Mauneyland B&B (you make both). A special THANK YOU to Kim and Josh for hosting us for TEN days! We felt right at home in your warm and welcoming house. We can't wait for our next visit to Small Town -- perhaps next time in the summer so we can actually see your community!
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