Chicago

Over Labor day weekend we decided on the drop of a dime to take off for Chicago. So we packed up the family mini-van and made the 6 1/2 hour drive. To maximize the kids sleeping we left at 5am. By some miracle our kids slept until 9am and then we decided to stop in Madison Wisconsin to see one of the greatest Capitol buildings in the U.S. It was pretty impressive. Some of the stone that was in the Capitol steps was from 100 million year old stone that had fossil shells in it. Pretty cool. Does that make me seem nerdy? Well I just loved the tour of the Capitol.

When we arrived to Chicago we stopped at the temple for a visit. At our home we talk about the temple nearly everyday. You see its an important part of the princess stories, you know... Belle, Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White, when they live happily ever after it's AFTER they get "married in the temple". Brainwashing, teaching, same thing. But Maisie loves temples.

We headed into Chicago and decided to park at the airport and take the L-train into the city to our hotel. We feel like pros with public transportation after our time in NYC. We walked along the Chicago river to get to our hotel, and we were all excited about how cool the city looks with that River running right through it.

Our adventures include: Navy peer, magnificent mile window shopping, saw street entertainers, ate deep dish pizza, hotel pool (Maisie's favorite), a Chicago river boat tour, Sears tower, House of Blues, walked the river walk and carefully followed food recommendations from our sister-in-law Brittany, a real foody.

We loved our time in Chicago. The most important thing we learned was that the "windy city" got its name NOT from weather patterns but from people in the city talking up the city over 100 years ago. Well, we can see why they still talk it up. What a fun, energetic and beautiful city.

Minnesota

At the ward campout. Maisie loved playing in the river with friends. She kept saying, "I love my friends." And this is our Tanner, always so smiley and happy. Last Sunday he was talking and laughing so loud he couldn't even come into Sunday School.

Maisie at Mall of America's theme park. Every Tuesday there are free toddler activities. We went and Maisie had a blast with a couple friends we've made here in MN. They were giving away free cotton candy and Maisie had some for the first time and loved it of course.

Tanner Boy.

Well here we are in Minnesota. Crazy. We never would have guessed we'd end up here. And we love it. We were originally going to move to Arizona, so the change to MN was quite the shocker! We are a one mile walk through the woods to the Mississippi River, where there is a dam we can walk across. We have seen deer every single time we walk to the river. What a beautiful place to live.

Graduating with an MBA- check.

Since I met Ryan 8 years ago he had planned on getting his MBA. He knew he needed some work experience, and went and did that very well, and then got accepted to BYU and finished his MBA this spring.

The extraordinary thing about my Ryan is that he really put so much energy into doing great throughout the program in every little way. We are so proud of him.

Tanner Boy

Surprise! We had a baby! For those of you who had seen me over the pregnant months, this was no surprise- but to those of you who haven't- yes, we had a baby boy 8 lbs 1 oz. C-section again, less comfortable when the anasthesia doesn't work- but we are doing great.

I should make every post this exciting. But that would be a lot of kids.

If you're thinking he looks yellow, you are absolutely right. He had major jaundice for 4 wks.

Maisie is crazy about him. Every morning when he came home, she would wake up and ask where baby Tanner was. She couldn't resist climbing in his pack n play to play with him- which has taken lots of my energy to keep him safe. He only made in one week without a fall of our bed with her help- scary, but he didn't seem to mind. (check in with me in a few years and lets make sure there wasn't any lasting damage).

Joy joy joy.