My adorable boys!!!

Love, love, love this picture that my mother in law took of my boys while Virginia and I enjoyed girl time in Chicago.  

One more post on Chicago!

While we were in Chicago, Virginia and I got to spend a little time with my cousin Matt, his wife Lindsey and their adorable daughter, Harper.  It had been WAY too long since I had seen Matt -- long enough that this was my first time to meet Lindsey or Harper.  Needless to say, we are going to try and be more intentional about visits -- we had such fun!  Here are a few pictures from our visit . . . 

I love this one of the girls holding hands . . . I would love to know what Virginia was showing her!
It was a HOT day in Chicago!


So much fun!!!  Thanks Matt, Lindsey and Harper for taking the train into the city to visit with us.  We can't wait to see you again -- SOON!

Back to School!!!!!!!!!

Today was the day!  Summer ended for Ford and Virginia and it is school time!  Ford is in 2nd grade and has Mrs. West and Virginia is in kindergarten and has Ms. Gordon (Ford also had Ms. Gordon and we love her and so does Virginia!!!).  Ford was so thrilled we were taking him to school today.  Virginia, on the other hand, wanted to ride the bus but settled for riding with me so I wouldn't cry! :)

Ford and Virginia at Reed School . . . 

Ford and Mrs. West (2nd grade) . . . 
A rare group shot -- too bad Jeb was at home with a sitter!
Virginia with our neighbor and fellow Birmingham friend, Jake Lager . . . this twosome is pure trouble but we will let the teacher figure that out!
Virginia and Ms. Gordon . . . and that is Ryan the guinea pig in the background (Virginia is so happy to be with Ryan who we kept at our house for 2 weeks last summer!).
Now, if I can just survive the 3 1/2 weeks until Jeb returns to preschool! :)

Seeing Chicago . . .

We traveled by train, bus and taxi . . . so much fun!  Amtrak from Union Station in STL to Chicago, buses and taxes all over the city.  It was great!  Here are a few of our favorite things!

The awesome fountains at Millennium Park -- Virginia didn't believe me that eventually those smiling faces would spit at her!!!

The "bean" . . . amazingly fascinating!  And we saw two wedding parties being photographed at the bean too.  Virginia loved watching the brides!
Making chocolate at the Hershey store . . . 
The swings at the Navy Pier.  She would have ridden them 100 times and I just had to stay focused on not being sick!!!
On top of the world -- the view from the top of the Navy Pier ferris wheel . . . 
A lego lady . . . 
The ridiculously hot double decker bus tour!
A little love from Obama . . . 
The Navy Pier as we departed for the fireworks cruise -- a must do if you are in Chicago!
Another shot in Millennium Park . . . 
We had a great time!  We also got to visit with my cousin Matt and his wife Lindsey and daughter Harper.  Matt is going to send pictures soon and I'll post them!

The Tastes of Chicago . . .

Food is very important to me.  So, I had to fit in my favorite Chicago things!  Thankfully, Virginia was up for it too!!

Portillo's for an amazing Chicago style dog!

The incredible pizza at Giordano's . . . worth the LONG wait!

And probably Virginia's favorite stop . . . Garrett's popcorn.  Cheese and caramel mixed!

American Girl Chicago

Virginia and I were in need of some girl time, so I planned a trip to Chicago for just the girls!  The main focus of the trip was American Girl, but I will share about the rest of the amazing things we did too!  But first, for every little girls dream store . . . seriously, I would have LOVED this place as a kid.  I had a hard time keeping it under control at 37!  It was amazing!!!

Within 2 hours of arriving in Chicago, Virginia was seated in the floor at AG with a store clerk trying to decide which big girl doll was the perfect match for her!  This process took about 45 minutes and countless flips through the catalogs and personal viewings of specific dolls.  

But the "joy" of the experience was quickly evident!  Chrissa, the 2009 girl of the year, was the clear winner!
The following morning we arrived at AG at 8:15 in the morning for a little salon time!  Rather than simply let them fix Chrissa's hair, Virginia chose to take a class and learn to do hairstyles herself.  So cute!
That was followed by brunch in the AG Cafe with Chrissa, sporting her beautiful new do!
And a photo op for American Girl magazine!
This place is seriously amazing!  And overwhelming and expensive and a marketing GENIUS!  But we will be back . . . we will definitely be back.  We still have a spot in our heart for Rebecca and Kit . . . one day!

The Final Days of Summer . . .

Not sure where the time has gone, but I know we didn't get in all the things we wanted to do this summer!  Next year I vow to be more organized!!!  Here are a few pictures from our final days of summer.  Ford and Virginia return to school Monday -- Virginia for her first year of kindergarten and Ford to 2nd grade.  Jeb, sadly, does not get to go to school until September 11th so we will have plenty more quality time together! 

A lunch date with Jeb at his favorite spot -- Nachomama's!

Tropical Moose snowcones -- Ford always gets orange and blue and Virginia and Jeb got "monkey snot" . . . seriously, can you imagine ordering anything called monkey snot?  Only a child!!
This summer we found a new love in St. Louis -- The Kolache Factory.  A serious addiction for us that is not so good for the waistline! :)
A little marshmallow ice cream from Maggie Moo's -- not sure why it is neon yellow!!
Pool time with Annie Wood, Capi and Molly Kirby and Virginia.  Jeb was off swimming somewhere and Ford was playing pool basketball with Christopher -- nothing like pool fun!

A date with Ford at City Coffehouse and Creperie -- yummy!
Only the weekend left!

A weekend with the boys . . .

What an awesome weekend for my boys (and Virginia and I enjoyed it too!)!!  Brent and Cy Powell came from Birmingham to enjoy a weekend in St. Louis with Brent and Ford.  And they had great time showing the Powells areound STL!!  Day 1:  Lunch at Nachomama's and a tour of the AB plant, Day 2:  City Museum, lunch on The Hill, and a Cardinals game and Day 3:  The Gateway Arch!  We packed in a lot of fun in a short time and our house feels so quiet and empty without our two extras around!!!

Here are some pictures of the fun . . . 

Ford and Cy with the clydesdales at AB . . .
Brent and Ford longing for some Budweiser race apparel . . . 
Brent and Cy in the ball pit at the City Museum . . . 
City Museum . . . Jeb was off to the side pouting, because he was officially done with City Museum at this point! :)
Cardinals vs. Astros and the Cards WIN!!!

A visit from Fredbird . . .

Brent and Ford at the game . . .

Brent and Cy at the game . . .

Now we just have to get the remaining Powells to St. Louis -- Misty, Gracie, Lydia, Alice and Amelia, we missed you!!!!