Chicago!

So, I forgot to blog about it at the time (because I came back and dived right into end-of-school madness), but . . . I got to go to Chicago!

And why I got to go is even cooler: my family threw a surprise birthday party for my grandmother! (Who reads this blog faithfully - Hi, Grandma!)

She turned 90 this year, so my aunt and my mom decided to make a Very Big Deal of it, and my awesome husband took charge of the kids for a few days, and so I got to be a part of it.

My mom and dad flew out first, and then, a day later, my brother and I joined them, and we all stayed at my aunt and uncle's house (they were such good hosts!) and then, the next day, we drove out and surprised my wonderful, amazing grandma:

Here we all are, posing after the surprise was sprung (I don't think Grandma was quite over her shock yet . . .):

Later that day, we went to her church, where so many people (100 maybe?) also showed up to honor her. My Grandma's such a woman of faith and prayer, and it was so cool to be there and listen to people talk about what she meant to them. It was so good to see her again, and to see her being celebrated.

Annnnnd, I got to hang out with my cousins! I've never lived in the same area as my extended family, and so it was so much fun to get to spend a few days getting reacquainted with my cousins and rediscovering how much I like them.

While we were there, my cousin Natalie indulged my brother and I in our desire to play tourists and took us on a tour of downtown Chicago. It's such a pretty city - the architecture's amazing. Here are Nat and I on the L:

Here are my brother and I on one of the bridges over the river:

And here are the three of us enjoying real Chicago pizza (oh-my-goodness-it-is-SO-YUMMY):

Other highlights included hiking with my dad through much greener woods than we have here in SoCal, watching my mom and her sister interact, getting to go to my uncle and aunt's church (my uncle's a great preacher!), discussing books with Nat, listening to my cousin Nic plan her wedding (and meeting her fiancé), talking with my youngest cousin (who's only a few months older than my daughter!), enjoying lots of good meals with everyone there, and hanging out with my brother (airports are much more fun when you've got good company).

And I'm sure even now I'm missing parts. It was such a good trip. I kept wishing that Adam and the kids could have come with me, but I'm so grateful for their generosity in letting me go.