The Sugden Kids: July 2011

Time to play catch up! As usual when it's summer time, we've been so busy I've hardly had the chance to stop and blog it! The midwest summer is like one long festival! Everyone is so deliriously happy from their long winter's nap... that every day is like a celebration! We get to come out of our respective 'bear dens' and shed off our winter coats! Hallelujah! Summer is finally here!! Albeit it brings with it aunts, mosquitoes and humidity... but we'll take it!

In June I turned another year older I am now 23.... opps, I mean 32 :) I'm a bit dyslexic when it comes to age! Now I realize that 32 is no monumental year or anything... but for me, it was something to celebrate... and celebrate big!! Here's why... it is the 1st year in 6 straight years that I have not been either nursing and/or pregnant!!!! So what do you do when you are no longer nursing or pregnant? You LEAVE your children for the first time ever over night.... other than when you're going to the hospital to birth a sibling of course.

Yes, we left the kids (with Heather our fabulous babysitter, thank you Heather) for a whole 24 hours, and spent the night in the city of Chicago! And guess what... no one died! :) It was awesome!!
Jeff and I have been dreaming of doing this since we moved here over 5 years ago, playing tourists in our own town! We had a blast! We walked all over the place and I took over 300 photos! I love the energy in the city... and the blend of history, culture, industry and agriculture! It really is my kind of town! We walked to Buckingham Fountain (featured in the old opening of the tv show Love and Marriage), we went and saw the big bean at Millenium Park. We walked along Lakeshore and looked out over beautiful Lake Michigan and then we went up in the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower)... all the way up to the Observation Deck... 1,450 feet high! Willis Tower is the 3rd tallest building in the world! It was amazing views, we could see Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, all of Illinois and even Missouri! It was so high, that you could actually feel the building sway when the wind blew... it kind of gave us sea legs once we were back on the ground!

We even went out into these glass boxes they built to hang off the edge of the building... it was insane! I was so proud of Jeff for doing this, because his biggest fear is heights!! Later that night we went to dinner at Texas de Brazil, if you haven't tried it I highly recommend! Delish! And what a fun atmosphere with the 'all you can eat' meat on skewer servers who come around to your table and the flying trapeze wine goddesses that fetch the wine while flying through the air by trapeze wires in their 2 story wine cellar!
We ended the night or shall I say morning... at Howl at the Moon, dueling piano bar... where we drank not one, but TWO buckets.... yes BUCKETS of some fruity drink that tasted like there was no booze... oh but their was. The next morning required sunglasses just to walk to the restroom!
Mission accomplished, I'd say! :) Happy Birthday to me! HAhaha, hangover and all! In all seriousness.. it was one of theeee best birthday's I've ever had, thank you to Jeff for making it happen, I love you honey!!!
Here's a flood of pics (and a video) from that adventure!