Oh, Baby Don't You Want To Go?

It was nearly a year ago that we made our last visit to Chicago while we were back in the States over the Christmas holiday. That trip was difficult for us, because at the time we still hadn't found our place in Denmark and we were excited to be back in a place we knew well and with people we knew well. There were tears at many different parts of that visit, from seeing Cian and Niamh again after four long months to driving past our old apartment building on Prairie Ave and feeling like we could just walk right in. Being back in a place and with people we had known so well reminded us of what we had left behind in making our move overseas, and it wasn't a gentle reminder.

This past weekend we took a short trip to Chicago to once again visit friends and to introduce Oliver to some more new faces, and the emotions felt on this trip were on the far end of the spectrum from our trip last December. Once again we were excited to see people and to see how the kids had grown, but now this brought the happy tears of friends reuniting rather than the sad tears of longing to be together. Driving through our old Evanston neighborhood did the same and also brought along a flood of memories of our years there, and this weekend we made many more happy memories to add to the store.

We drove down on Friday and Oliver was wonderful in the car. We met up with our friends Lisa and Mark and caught up in the afternoon. We had dinner with Amanda and Anthony (of Amanda) and with Anthony (of Northwestern) at Penny's Noodle Shop down in Chicago, but Oliver did not enjoy the car ride there whatsoever. We ended up stopping to feed him in the parking lot of a payday loan joint, and after that he did better. I don't know how he can do a 5+ hour ride with no problem, but wail continuously for a short 20-minute ride. But the drive was worth it because we had a nice dinner and enjoyed catching up with everyone that we hadn't seen in some time. We stayed with Lisa and Mark that night, and though Oliver did wake a few times in the night he was nice enough to let the two of them sleep.

Amanda and Oliver at Penny's Noodle Shop

Mark, Lisa, and Oliver

Saturday morning we made a visit to our old neighborhood of Central St., where Oliver and I picked up some coffee and visited the library book sale while Amy wandered through the Paper Source to get some craft ideas. After this short stop we drove over to Park Ridge to meet Dave and Cian and Niamh for lunch. It was a happy reunion after so many months away. After a quick lunch we headed to the ice rink where Niamh had some lessons. Matt and Becky were coming through town after visiting Becky's brother in south Chicago, so they hung out for a while during the free skate. It was nice to have them there. Cian showed off how much better he has gotten at skating since we saw them last. We were also surprised at the rink by the arrival of Mama Bar (Cian & Niamh's grandma from Tulsa), and enjoyed catching up with her. After some downtime at the house we were back at the rink for Cian's practice, and after that had some pumpkin enchiladas at Don Juan's; I had really missed that meal while we were in Denmark. It was a long day and we hit the hay pretty early, with the kids joining us in the basement for a big slumber party.

Niamh and Oliver

Amy with Niamh, Cian, and Oliver

Matt, Becky, Brian, and Oliver

Sunday was a good day too. We had a nice breakfast and spent some time in the morning playing chess (or 'chuck', as Niamh calls it) and Mario Kart with the kids and catching up with the adults now that LaDonna was with us. Amy and the ladies went shopping for a bit around noon while I joined Cian and Dave for pre-game baseball practice. The ladies later brought Portillo's (yum!) to the field for lunch during Cian's baseball game. After the game and some time visiting at home, Dave and I left for a Wilco concert (it was great) while Amy stayed back and hung out with the ladies and kids that evening.

Cian suiting up to catch

Brian, Mama Bar, LaDonna, Amy, Cian, Niamh, and Oliver

Monday morning was a rush as the adults got ready for work and the kids got ready for school. Once they were out the door we rushed to pack ourselves in order to make it over to Evanston in time to visit my former advisor at Northwestern before he was tied up with teaching. We did make it there and had a nice visit with him and the few others in the department that we still knew, and saw Lisa once more before saying farewell. After picking up a Dunkin' Donuts hot chocolate for Amy, we were on the road again. We stopped for a nice lunch in Milwaukee with Paul and Mireille and then made what progress we could. Oliver was real fussy on the drive home, with both the long weekend and some certainly-soon-to-arrive teeth causing him trouble. So our drive back was both slower and more wearing than we would have liked, but we made it home in one piece.

It was a very busy weekend, but we were so glad to see everyone that we did. This time leaving was a little easier because we know it won't be 10 months before we see everyone again, and we can't help but smile at that fact.

(You can see more pictures from our trip on our gallery.)