ROAD TRIP!!!!

In early November we took a LONG road trip to see some friends, the Cowans in Chicago (well, Naperville to be more exact), and the UTES play football in South Bend. It was a 12+ hour drive each way...when we planned the trip we weren't quite aware of how long the drive was but I must say, the kids did AMAZINGLY well!!! We split the drive up into 2 days both ways and had a great time!

We were so happy to see the Cowans who we met in Connecticut-Aaron and Steve worked together at the FASB, they were in our ward, and then they both went to work at PWC in Manhattan when their internships were over. They are such great friends and our kids LOVE their kids! They were kind enough to let us stay at their house while we were visiting.

Our first full day there they took us sightseeing in Chicago-a short train drive from their home. Our first stop was to the Willis (which used to be the Sears) tower. This place was SOOOO tall-second tallest in the world. They had these crazy glass look-outs up on the 91st (? is that right) floor where they hang out over the side of the building...it was the weirdest feeling stepping out onto them with nothing below you for stories and stories. Abi thought it was super cool. Emma and Jason slept through the whole thing in the stroller-they actually both ended up sleeping for THREE hours!!!

After a quick stop at McDonalds we headed off to the BEAN. Have you seen this thing? It's pretty neat. It's this HUGE reflective bean. The kids LOVED this part-they were laying under it to see their reflections, putting their hands on it, making funny faces, etc...I must admit, Steve and I kinda got in on the action too.

After the bean we headed out to Navy Pier-what a beautiful place to view the city at sunset-it was AMAZING!

The next day was the Utah vs. Notre Dame game. We left all 6 kids with some babysitters and made the drive into South Bend. We went early to enjoy some tailgating and to check out the ND campus. Also, some of Steve's family came out to the game so we were able to meet up with his parents, Mike & Jill, Scott & Kellie, Matt & Alisa, and Doug before the game. It was SOOOO great to see them, it had been a few months. Well, that was about the extent of fun that day-the UTES STUNK!!! They got creamed and it poured rain on us almost the whole game. Despite the crummy football, it was still enjoyable seeing Notre Dame and spending the day with Monica and Aaron.

This was a fun trip and a new experience for us. We love doing new, exciting things with the kids. The long car drive wasn't the most fun part of the trip, but it was fine. Taking the kids in to see Chicago was great and even more than that, just letting them go play with their old friends made it worth it!!! Thanks again Cowans for hosting us! :) :) :) :)