Trip to Purdue

This weekend was filled with FUN. Marcus was asked to go on a recruiting trip to Purdue and everything fell into place so that we could take the whole family for one last hurrah to Indiana. We drove down Wednesday and the drive went really well until we hit traffic in Chicago.

Chicago and I have never gotten along well. Delayed flights, missed flights, and traffic have killed our relationship. Even though we made it to this blessed city by 2:45 in the afternoon we still hit crazy traffic and ended up spending more than 2 hours sitting on the freeway.

I won't go into details but during this delay I had a major bathroom emergency. We ended up in the heart of south downtown Chicago at a KFC right off the freeway. Probably not the safest place. I didn't care. Marcus ran inside to make sure they had a bathroom and once I had the all-clear signal I headed in. Inside I was pulling on the bathroom door and it wouldn't budge. I tried a couple of times and then decided I was going for the Men's when an older black gentleman yelled, "Hey, a lady needs the bathroom! Buzz her in." The worker behind the bullet proof glass taking the food orders didn't hear the first time but caught the second time. After being "buzzed in" another 3 times during the next 30 minutes we were finally on our way again. It wasn't until we left that I realized we were the ONLY white people to be seen and our surroundings were a little wild.

Other than the Chicago incident, the drive down was great and the kids did a great job.

In Indiana we were lucky enough to stay with our good friends Justin and Dani. Marcus and I will often talk about how hard it is to find great couple friends. It is bad enough to find a match when you are dating but throw in two spouses and it really complicates things. Justin and Dani are one of those awesome couple matches. When we lived in Indiana we did a date night trade with them (and one other amazing family that has already moved) once a week. Our kids get along great and our parenting styles are very similar so it is just good times all the way around.

Reagan remembered the entire family and the trip became one giant play date. She and Gracie played non-stop and I don't think they had a single fight. Ainsley was 7 months when we moved so she didn't remember anything. We learned that she doesn't do well with change and she started asking to "go home"the moment we arrived. Ainsley did really well though and her and Ashby were good friends by the end of the trip.

The girls helping to make the yummy Cafe Rio dressing

Tasting the limes

ADORABLE Brian. This kid is so darn cute! He would always flash me huge grins.

My own adorable boy. Will is just about 4 months younger than Brian.

Reagan was able to go with Ashby on a preschool field trip on the city buses and through the bus wash. She had a great time. I was able to catch up with two of my old Mia Maids and had a great time hearing their updates and all the exciting things happening in their lives. Oh to be 16 again:).

We managed to go on a date with Justin and Dani Friday night and then Dani and I made it shopping without kids on Saturday morning. Oh how I miss Hobby Lobby! Thanks to Justin, we were able to watch General Conference on the television and then Marcus attended the Priesthood session at our old stake center. We seriously had a great time and it was hard to leave.

This picture was taken just before loading in the car for the drive home. Reagan was begging for, "just six more days mom!"

The trip also reminded me of a few things:

- Indiana has the worst water

- I really love driving through corn fields

- That eating healthy is a good thing and the fact that my kids enjoy healthy food is normal.

This trip reminded Marcus that:

- He is grateful to have a job that is pretty cool.

- That his wife is not as paranoid and crazy as he thought (Thanks Dani for reminding him that I am normal:))