Almost Home

Somehow, quite by accident, we planned the majority of our exciting summer trips back-to-back in June. That, along with a heavy work travel schedule, has led to action packed adventure with little time at home (or for blog posts). We're closing in on the final trip, and I'm almost sad to see it over.

A quick report and photo highlights follow...

Memorial Day - as mentioned, Ben, Stella and I headed east on a big adventure by ourselves. We hit T-town to visit aunt Carrie, a great stop where Ben was able to meet his personal fan club (shout out to fan club leader Chris), and have lunch with his other 'aunts' Megan and Rachel.

From there we hit my p's house for a surprise visit (mom cried). My dad was on the mend and totally appreciated the visit from the little bear.

And then on to the east side to visit all the cousins...oh the spoiling (!) We took in a couple of Jack's baseball games, Ben was mesmerized (for at least the first three minutes), caught up with aunt Deb and Cathy, grandma Marsha and Joe. It was awesome.

Back to Chicago Monday. Orlando Tuesday. 'Burbs Wed. Vegas Thurs - Sun. Whew!

We had a blast in Vegas, hubby and me. Carrie met us, along with Joe & Molly (bro/sis in law), and several friends. Worked out every morning (a Vegas first), cabana all day, amazing dinners, and gambling into the wee hours of the morning. Contrary to my earlier speculation however, Vegas is not that fun without alcohol, and I would recommend avoiding this scenario yourself if at all possible.

My p's came to hang with Ben and he seriously didn't look like he missed us one bit while we were gone. I came home last night to him perched on grandpa Ted's lap with the biggest smile ever, laughing. Perfect.

A big thanks to them for putting their life on hold for five days to babysit. I think they had kind of a good time :) but we appreciate it a ton!

Photos to follow...