Family Visit... part 1

Well it seems like I was just counting down the days until my family arrived, and now they're already gone :/ But we did have such an amazing time while they were here!!! Sorry for all of the photos I'm about to post... I love to look back on posts like this, so I tried to take LOTS of pictures ;)

Friday morning, I drove Z to work and then headed to the airport to pick up my dad, mom, and brother! I was SO excited to see them! I showed them around our new little neighborhood, and they got settled in our little apartment. {Yes, all five of us stayed in less than 600 square feet, ha!!} I took them to a little place around the corner for lunch.. Del Seoul. Yum! We shopped around near the apartment and then headed to Nordstrom Rack and Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue. Fun! After Z got home, we grilled burgers on pretzel buns {so yummy!!} and relaxed at the apartment... everyone was pretty tired after such an early flight and a full day of work ;) Somehow I didn't take ANY pictures Friday. I think I made up for it the rest of the weekend though, ha!

Saturday... Bryant and I drove over to Ann Sather's to pick up some of the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had!! Such a delicious start to our day!! We all got showers and such and then headed to the Lincoln Park Farmer's Market. This is one of my favorite Saturday morning outings! I was super excited to have my family there with us!!!

My sweet Z ;)

Mom and Dad at the Farmer's Market

Purple Bell Peppers?!?!

Quick family photo minus Z {he insisted on being the photographer!}

After the farmer's market, we walked around the duck pond and nature trail in Lincoln Park and then headed to the Zoo.. so fun!

My three favorite guys watching the rhino

The giraffe exhibit

The whole family!

Again, Z was the photographer

Love my parents! This was at the duck pond

We went to the Conservatory next. My mom said this was her favorite ;) It is like a ginormous green house with so many beautiful and exotic plants.

A really sweet guy took our family pic in the garden. Such a lovely area of our city!

These guys are crazy together...

After the conservatory, we walked back home to rest for a while. {And to eat some snacks, ha!} I'm such a go-go-go person, but it was nice to have some down time. My mom and I also did a little more shopping at Loft and Nine West down the road, where we both found some great deals! Once we were all rested up, we changed into warmer clothes {the weather was SO strange and quite chilly!!} and took the EL to Michigan Avenue. We walked around and did some people-watching and window-shopping and then had a crazy good dinner at Giordanos... so.so yummy!! We topped the night off with a train ride and a movie back home.

Waiting for the train

Giordanos... yummy!

Walking around Michigan Avenue

Love spending some time with my parents!

Family dinners are the best!

Love these two so much!

On the train headed back home!

Such a fun day!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

I am so thankful for you, and so very glad we got to spend the day celebrating you here in Chicago!

We love you so much!

Love,

Z&B

Weekend Review & Hurry Up Friday!!

Hi friends! I don't have much to blog about, but I really want to get back to posting more regularly... so here I am ;) We had such a great weekend. So busy, but good. Friday night, Z and I had a few errands to run, and then we grabbed a quick dinner at Taco Joint close to our apartment. It was super yummy and really hit the spot... {My class is obsessed with a book called "Dragons Love Tacos". We read it a bajillion times every day! On Friday, we made paper "tacos" after reading the beloved story... hence my taco craving!!} Saturday started bright and way too early. Z went on a deep-sea-lake trip with guys from his work. He left at 5:30... and stayed out until 6 pm... you can imagine how tired and sun burned he was when he got home! Meanwhile, I met up with some teachers from ACA that were in town for a conference. It was such a fun day sightseeing and hanging out with them! Sunday ended up being catch up day since we were both so busy on Saturday. We went on a hunt for a frame from a thrift store.. no luck. We also went on a hunt for a doughnut from Glazed and Infused... again no luck. Still working on both of those missions ;) Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and went by way, way too fast!
In other news, it has been chilly here the past few days. So weird! I'm not complaining though! I hope it sticks around for a few days... especially because MY FAMILY WILL BE HERE FRIDAY!!!!!! I can't wait!!! Hurry up you guys, we can't wait to see yall!

Happy Birthdays... and so Many Other Things to Say!!

Wow, friends, I have been so terrible at keeping up this ol blog. Somehow it is already the middle of July.... this summer is going by so.so.so fast! Crazy! Since I haven't blogged in forever, I feel like I have so much to say .... so here we go.
- First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to two very special people!! Z's brother and Z's Mimi both have birthdays today! We so wish we were there to celebrate with both of you. I hope you have the happiest day ever... We love you both so much!!!!

-Second, it is HOT here. Like Alabama hot. Ugh! I {like a crazy person} decided to go for a run along the lakeshore after work this afternoon. Oh.my. I thought I was going to die. I do not miss this heat or humidity one little bit!
-Along that same topic... summer camp {aka my work right now} is outside for about 75% of each day. Usually that makes it super fun and enjoyable, but this week, um no thanks. I'm pretty much a sweaty hot mess from sun up to sun down. Oh well.
-I have been working 8:30-5:30 most days this summer. I love getting the extra hours, and I especially love having more of a lead teacher role, but it sure was nice to leave at 2 today! Also I'm going to go ahead and blame this working full time thing on why the blog has been so neglected all summer ;)
-We finally have been able to hit up the beach a few times! It's nothing like going to the coast in Alabama, but it is really pretty and quite relaxing. Love it! Now if we could just find some yummy seafood...

-We have also been exploring all around our new place. We still love to put on our sneakers and walk for hours when the weekends roll around. We walk to the beach, to Wrigley stadium, to get yummy ice cream, to bike shops {and lots of other shops too!}, so much fun!

-Last weekend we went to one of the infamous street festivals here in Chicago. Every weekend during the summer there are at least 3-4 festivals going on, so we finally made it to one! Sister Hazel {a band that we used to loooove} was playing. It was such a fun night!{After I got over the panic that set in considering the crazy amount of people piled in the street block, ha!}

-Z and I have been making little improvements around our apartment lately. Well actually just buying things that make it a little nicer ;) Thank goodness for Craigslist! I found a bookshelf for $30 a few weekends ago. I've now purchased a couch, a loveseat, a dining room table with six chairs, a kitchen cart, and a bookshelf from good ol Craigslist {over the past few years}. I'm officially obsessed...
*pictures of the bookshelf and apartment in general coming soon. I promise!
I think that's all of the randomness I have to share. My family is coming to visit next weekend and I am over the moon excited!!!! The countdown has begun!
I'll be back sooner than later for another post... for real this time ;)