Spring Break

Spring Break seems to have vanished just as quickly as it appeared, but we have a lot of fun memories to keep with us.  We kicked off Brian's break by taking a day trip to Madison to see our super great friend Stacy and take the boys to a Justin Roberts concert with some family.  Oliver was really looking forward to the concert.  Every day leading up to it he said he was hoping Justin would play his favorite song (Backyard Super Kid).  I sent a message to the band on Facebook putting in Oliver's request and we hoped and hoped his song would be played.  The concert was awesome, and it felt like we were getting a private showing.  There were maybe 12 kids there along with their grown-ups.  Not a great turnout for the band, but a fun and personal show for us.  And yes, Justin said he had a request from Oliver and he talked to Ollie a little bit and then played his song.  Oliver sucked his thumb intensely with a smile for the first half of the song but was bopping and singing along by the end.  That, along with lunch at Ella's Deli, made for a very fun trip.

We had a couple of days to rest up before heading to Chicago later in the week, and we needed it.  Both of the boys and I came down with the stomach flu and were out of commission for a few days.  We delayed our trip by a day but were raring to go early Thursday morning.  When we started talking about going to Chicago we asked Oliver what he wanted to do there.  He said he wanted to see Mr. Jeremy, his Wiggleworms music teacher.  So that's what we did!  We visited our old Thursday morning Wiggleworms class and got to sing and dance to some great music and we even got to see some old friends who were still taking the class. 

Brian spent the afternoon at Northwestern catching up with his former boss/advisor while the boys and I did some playing.  Thursday night we went to our friends Amanda and Anthony's house.  They were sweet enough to open their house to us and we had so much fun hanging out with them.  Right away Oliver got busy in the kitchen and helped prepare to dinner. 

Anthony and Oliver

Friday morning we met our friend Misha at Tre Kroner, a Swedish restaurant.  Yum!  Then we set out for Shedd Aquarium.  Oliver was on the lookout for whales and big sharks and he wasn't disappointed.  Henry had a great time taking it all in too.  What a fun place to spend an afternoon!

Ollie and an Octopus

Henry, Amanda, Oliver and Anthony

Saturday we had kind of a lazy morning.  While Amanda was at class, Brian and Anthony took the boys to a playground.  That meant that I had a little time to myself. Woo-hoo!  I hit up Paper Source and Uncle Dan's and enjoyed having some rare free time all to my lonesome.  (Thanks for the break, guys!)  We all got back together for a quick lunch and then we were off to visit Dave and LaDonna and the kids.

When I started nannying for Dave and LaDonna, Cian was 10 months old.  Now he's 9 years old, and Niamh is nearly 7!  Where these years have gone I do not know, but I am so grateful that we can still be a part of each other's lives even though there are miles between us. We had dinner at Brian's favorite restaurant, Don Juan's, where we got our fill of their delicious pumpkin enchiladas.  We spent the rest of the night hanging out and catching up.  The kids played and read stories, and Ollie had a blast with Cian and Niamh. We had breakfast the next morning and then we had to say our farewells.  

Henry, Amy, Niamh, Oliver and Cian

Buddies

On our drive to Chicago Brian and I both wondered if this visit would leave us wanting to move back to the area.  We both thought it might.  But on our drive home we realized that there are some things that we miss.  We miss our friends, we miss the amazing variety of restaurants to choose from, and we miss the parks.  But there were also things we did not miss.  We did not miss the traffic or the crazy fast pace of life there.  We both realized how much we love La Crosse, with its close connection to nature and slower pace of life.  Chicago will always hold a place in our hearts, and it will always be a fun place for us to visit.

Spring Break is over, and we're pretty much back to our normal schedule. The boys and I are thankful for the extra time we had with Brian, and we're all thankful for the hospitality of our great friends.