Guys Weekend...

This past weekend while the ladies where doing baby shower things the guys got out of town & headed up North to a friends cottage in the UP!

Word has it they had a great time golfing, bonfires, and just hanging out!!

April Showers bring June & July babies!

This past weekend we came together to shower two of girls: Macare & Anna and their upcoming bundles of joy!!

And our mom's came too!!

All the ladies!

Sophie stole the show :) what a sweetie pie!! She took this toy for a test drive :) It's kid tested!

Lu & I...

And then dessert! The cute cute cupcakes we had made!!

Little birdies hatching just like the invitation..and they were yummy too!!

It was a great shower and all the planning went off without a hitch!

I am so excited for my girlfriends and can't wait to meet baby Dunn (in June) and baby Lumbrezer (in July)!!!!

Chicago Visit with the Halls....

This past weekend I joined some ladies in Brian's family for a girls weekend in Chicago! Here is the fun we had....

We started the weekend (while we waited for Christy to get in) by heading to the Chicago French Market...

Where we of course ordered crepes for breakfast! With Nutella :) YUM!

Heading out to shop Michigan Ave: Terri, Ashley, Christy, Cindy and I!

Taking a little break from shopping..

After a full day of shopping- we took a snack break to have some Garrett's Popcorn!

Yum! I was starving and couldn't resist! :)

Then headed to Gino's East for a little early dinner of Chicago style pizza!

As you can see..it was a successful day of shopping!

Friday night we went to see Billy Elliott!

Champagne before the show- it was great!

Christy & I...

Our night cap after the show..we headed to the Signature room at the top of the John Hancock Building.

Each table in the place has a great view-but the best view is from the lady's bathroom..where this was taken :)

Saturday morning we headed up to Lincoln Park to make purses at Lill Studio...

Waiting outside to make our purses..

It was SO fun! But hard to decide what purse to make, what fabric to pick, etc!

The creative juices where flowing...

All of us- happy with our new purses! Can't wait to get them :)

The we headed up the street for tapas at La Baba Reba meet Shannon for lunch!

Then we headed out for a big adventure! SEGWAYS!

Yes- Segway! It was so fun! And yes, we know we look like big dorks :) oh well!

Cindy and I pre-adventure! Little did we know what fun we had in store!

After our segway tour we walked over the Institute of Art & Millennium Park..to see the Bean!
(that's me taking a picture)

The group at the Bean...

I loved taking pictures of it..cool how the skyline reflects in it!

The Bean...

Then we headed over to walk around Navy Pier...

Saturday night we headed to Fogo de Chao..for an amazing meal! And celebrated Shannon's upcoming birthday!

Cindy and Terri displaying their red and green cards!

My sisters...

The meat men surrounded us! Cindy with one of them...

Ashley, Cindy, and Terri at dinner...

Shannon & I with another one!

Then we headed out for drinks...a martini bar & then a champagne bar!

What a fun night!

And even more fun weekend! Thanks ladies!!!

Spring Fun...

This weekend brought beautiful Spring weather! So Brian and I spent most of the weekend outside enjoying it! Running, biking and hiking. Our hike at Hickory Hills gave me an opportunity to use my new camera...as you can see Spring is sprouting in the forest!

Brian pretending he is a monkey on the random monkey bars we found!

My new camera has great up close capabilities...new Spring growth on the evergreen...

A great view from the top of Hickory..if you look close you can see both bays!

Spring clover...

You might recognize this picture..this is the same bench Brian was standing on when we went snowshoeing here this past winter!

tree love!

The monkey again - traversing the fallen tree in the air!

Tulips = Spring

Thanks Mom for the tulips...great photo props!

After our hike, I decided to make a healthy snack! Homemade granola bites..

They turned out very yummy!

Nuts + oats + honey = a sweet treat!

Yummy goodness! We hope you are having a "sweet" Spring!