Spring Break Part 1-Chicago

The kids and I just spent 5 days in Chicago (Jason was stuck at work).   We had a nice time with my dad, and were able to meet his new girlfriend, Christa.   Christa is a very sweet person and quite an accomplished musician--she plays the harp.   Dad met her on a hiking trip.   They seem to get along great, and it is really nice to see him so happy.

Anyhow, the Chicago weather was a bit chillier than last year when we visited.  On Tuesday morning, Alaina woke me up by squealing, "Mom look out the window."   The ground was covered in about 2 inches of snow!   Enough to make a snowman.

The snowman didn't last, but Alaina sure got a kick out of it.

The kids had a lot of fun playing with their cousin Zachary, who is talking up a storm.   It was the first time that he could really play "with" them, so that was a treat.  We also got to celebrate Dad's 69th birthday!

We also visited out friends the Kurinsky's (forgot to snap a picture :( ), whose kids are getting big, and of course, went up to Wisconsin to see extended family.   My grandma looks great at almost 95, and she enjoyed seeing the kids again--it had been since July.   We joined Aunt Judith and my Dad's cousins for lunch.   A highlight was meeting Kris and Rod's granddaughter Paisley, who at 1 year old, out-behaved my children by a mile.

On our last day in Chicago it was a bit more seasonably warm, so we headed downtown and walked to the kids new favorite--Maggie Daley Park.   After plenty of romping around for the kids, we introduced Christa to The Berghoff for lunch, before catching the train back to Park Ridge.