WAY BEHIND

The last few weeks have been jam packed with wonderful family fun. The boys came and what a GREAT time we had. I am ashamed...the grandmother NEVER stopped long enough to get the camera out, charge it up, and take pictures. I have asked their mothers to take a picture with them in their tie-dyed T-shirts that we made. Coming Attraction.

Charles and I left, Saturday morning, June 28, 2008 for Chicago. We arrived at Kacy's apartment around 9:00pm...tired...but was so glad to see her. She lives in a precious apartment with Huxley, her dog and Talula (SP?), the cat. I can't believe we stayed 4 nights with her. Here is an overview of what we did...Charles and I braved the Red Line to downtown Chicago. I appreciate my two light town even more! We got off the line at the square of the Water Tower (the only building that survived the Chicago fire). As you can see, the jacket indicates it was a bit rainy and chilly. I thought it was GREAT!

Being the Chocoholics we are...it was such fund to find ourselves and the corner of Hershey's and Ghiradelli. Of course whe headed in to Ghirdelli and sampled the wares. We looked across the
street and I spotted a store that would have caused Kacy as a young girl to go wild, so I thought of my 3 granddaughers and convinced Charles that we could go up a notch in the grand parent meter if we visted American Girl. Not only did we vist, but Christmas is now taken care of for the girls. Charles kept looking at me with skeptism, until you noticed a lilttle black velvet coat ensemble and picked it out for one of the dolls. We really did have a good time. The dolls we found were created to match the doll to the child. We studied each of the 30 or so possibilites to find one that matched Claire's suacy smile, Kali's dark eyes, and Alie Grace's animated face. As I was cashing out...he found a seat and watched hundreds come an go with a doll in tow. When we got back to Kacy's apartment and shared our advneture, she had a look of "wish I had been with you." She started reading American Girl books when they first came out...I guess at 12? It has gone a long way from a book collection. I have never seen as many outfits, different hair styles, a beauty shop for worn out har, and an emergency room for dolls who may have been handled too roughly by a brother or the family pet.
Kacy had gone with some friends so Charles and I decided to find lunch. The rainy weather made the SOUP BOX sign pop out! We both enjoyed soup and sourdough bread. So simple...so good. I wonder if I could open up a SoupBox in Eupora?

After the fun day, we went underground to catch the Red Line and listened to a young man play and sing for money. American Idol maybe?

Kacy, Charles, and I all chipped in to tasks to create a wonderful evening meal. Amy (who came to Mississippi to buy one of Greta's puppies...Eloise) came over to eat. Huxley and Eloise were so funny playing together. Off to sleep went Charles and Kacy and I visited until after midnight. On Monday morning I had such a wonderful experience. OK...this will bring grandmotherhood to a whole new level...Please view the next photos and imagine 30 or 40 dogs runnig the beach with owners near by throwing frisbies, tennis balls, wading in the COOOL water, and sunning.

The rules are posted...
Huxley sniffing out the big dogs. You can see others running by. It was such fun watching these dogs have so much fun.

After the beach we picked up Charles to go eat pizza that we have waited all year for. Last year we ate at Leona's and we couldn't wait for a return visit. Charles odered the ravioli he had before and Kacy and I shared a spinach pizza. It was as good this year as last. After Leona's it was tennis shoe shopping time. Made it back to the apartment...sleep...wake up to another fun day. We decided to forgo the TASTE of CHICAGO due to the crowds and too much walking. We will have to consider that on our next trip up.

Instead we went back downtown on the Red Line and found a Louisiana restaurant...Heaven on Seven. Needless to say...we ate good again. I can't believe it is getting close to leaving. We had to walk down to Fannie May's Candy Store to purchase Amy Sesser (daughter-in-law) her favorite Trinidads. Of course we got us some also. ;-)

I haven't mentioned that early every morning I would get Huxley and he and I would go walking. It was very comical to notice passerby's reactions when I would say, "Hello" or "Good Morning!" It was almost like a shock went across their face to be spoken to...I loved it!

OK...back to the downtown visit...here are a few snapshots!

Michigan Ave Big City...Tall Buildings
Well...it goes without saying we had a great time in Chicago!!! Please visit the Photo Album located somewhere on the blog for more pictures. Kacy...we will be back next year if I haven't convinced you to come back closer to home!