Going Fourth (and before)

I'm a day late and a dollar short, but I figured better late than never, right? Happy {late} vIndependence Day!

I took this is Chicago, in between buildings. Love some sun flare! :)

We've been on the road and visiting family in Illinois since June 25, but we left today to head back to our Tempurpedic bed….errr I mean because Matt has to get back to work. ;) 

We started our fun mini vacay in Branson, MO where we stayed 2 days, which was 1 day too many. It was our consensus that Branson USED to be really awesome, say in the 90's, and the poor town just never turned the century. We attempted to eat at a couple places on the main strip, but struck out. We also attempted to check out what they refer to as "Moonshine Beach", which is on a manmade lake. Personally, it reminded me of Chester Frost (for all you Chattanooga folks), but smaller. ;/ I didn't think that was possible, but sure enough! ;) We also checked out the Titanic Museum, which was alight. If you're a frequenter of Branson, please do not be offended; like I said, I'm sure it rocked in the 90's! ;)

It wasn't a complete wash, though, the last night we were there, we finally discovered 21st century Branson- The Landing. It's, well, a landing on the water that is packed with updated restaurants and shopping. We ate at this really good upscale Mexican restaurant, and Henry rather enjoyed it! :) He's such a trooper! heh

Then we headed to Illinois on Thursday to hang with fam and prepare for the baby shower on Sunday. 

Speaking of baby shower- all I can say is beautiful decor, good food, and GREAT company! Courtney and AManda put so much thought into it; made a girl feel special! Some highlights: the Cold Stone Creamery Cupcakes were delish (along with the BLT bites, and strawberry cheesecake bites...mmm), they requested guests bring a book for Henry in lieu of a card (LOVE that he already has a library started), and I can't leave out that the guests made Henry a wonderful selection of bow ties during the festivities-a staple for any dapper dude's wardrobe, I must say! Everything went very well and Henry got some really great things! Thank you to Courtney and Amanda and to each of the guests that took time out of their busy day to spend it with us! our hearts are full of love, and now the gapt will be full of baby stuff! ;)

On Monday, we headed to Chicago. We scoped out the Bean (aka the Cloud Sculpture) and the rest of Millennium Park.

Matt checkin out the bean

inside of the bean

Where's the pregger?

Then we trekked up the road to the Sears Tower. We rode up all 108 floors and even walked out onto the glass skywalk to peak over the city. It was pretty cool. Baby Henry didn't get vertigo, so I guess we're good!

We headed back to the parking garage where I admired how swollen and large my feet had become. Yikes. Needless to say, we could only do a drive by of the Navy Pier, which looked like a pretty happenin' place. Wish my feet had been up to the walk. ;/ 

After that, we headed to Michigan to revisit the beach that was mine and Matt's very first outting. :) Sadly, it was cold and rainy so that trip was postponed to another time. SO Sad. BUT we did eat at this really great Italian Restaurant in New Buffalo, MI. It had great food, but what was REALLY memorable were the Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies. OH.MY.GOSH. Needless to say, the recipe for those babies will be up the bloggie blog soon! (well as soon as I figure it out) I'm still dreaming of those, people! Don't judge! :)

Fireworks happily consumed our time last night with Amanda, Drew, Jim, Donna, Bryan, Matt, Baby Jack and myself! They were pretty good. I loved watching them through Baby Jack's eyes! He kept saying, "Wooooow", and his eyes would get really big! So sweet!

And finally we get to today- July 5. This is actually like my 4th of July; I met Matt 5 years ago on July 5. It was at a 4th of July BBQ, but happened to be the day after, and then we visited the Warren Dunes in MI the day after. Soo, happy 5 year anniversary (of meeting)! The next 5 years should be quite a ride! Let's spend them carefully, I have a feeling they will fly by once Henry arrives!

I hope you all had a happy and safe Independence Day! Stay tuned for our Week 28 post! :) Gotta go rest these kankles after all that adventure! ;)

Heisel Rules!