Annie's Wedding

This past weekend I was in LA for my best friend's wedding. That's right, Annie got married! I was blessed enough to have been a bridesmaid in the wedding and help make sure everything was perfect for the big day. It was also my first trip by myself since I moved to Chicago! Although I was extremely happy to be on my own for a few days and not have the responsibilities of being the "mom", we were so busy doing stuff I don't think I even sat down. I just can't even verbalize how excited and happy I was to be a part of the wedding. Annie and I have been friends since we were 4 years old, and although we don't talk that often, we are always there for each other. Annie was a beautiful bride and everything went well. Her husband, Prince, is just the nicest guy ever and they are so good for each other. It was fun to see all of Annie's family and to meet Prince's family. Everyone was so nice and we had such a great time.

Decorating the hall (at midnight on Thursday)

Annie and me before the ceremony

The first dance

Breanna(Annie's sister) and me at the reception


Annie and I at the reception

Australia's Strange Fruit

Last Monday Ella and I ventured down to Millennium Park to see a group called Australia's Strange Fruit. They are a group from Australia that describe their performance as a mix of theater, dance, and circus. We rode the El downtown from our house and walked over to the park for the show. It was actually a very neat show. They perform atop of a tall poll that sways, then they basically do a dance up there.

Ella only lasted about 15min watching the show :( It was nice while it lasted though. When she had enough we walked over to the fountains in the park and Ella got to run around. Ella had a great time in the water. She even laid down a couple of times.

We were able to meet up with Marc afterward and grab some lunch before heading home. It's always fun to be able to go out and do or see something new.

I have to throw this video on this blog too. The other day Ella and I were leaving the gym and as we are walking out she just starts doing this little dance. I asked her what she was doing and she told me "choo-choo, choo-choo". I asked her if that was her choo-choo dance and she said "yah". When we got home, I asked her to do it for me, so I could get it on video. She definitely didn't do it as much as she was at the gym, but she did want to show Mona it. So, I got a video of her showing Mona how to do the "choo-choo" dance. It was so cute. Oh, and note the dress she is wearing, she picked out her own outfit that day.

Trip to MN

We were in MN a couple of weekends ago (July 11-13th), and had a great time. I always love going home, even when it is to compete in a triathlon. The main purpose of our trip was so that I could compete in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon. I have done this triathlon twice in the past, but I have not participated for 3 years (moved to Chicago, and had Ella), and thought that I should try it again. So, I have been training since about April and I didn't do too bad! My brother also competed and we had a really good time. My family, Marc and Ella all came out to watch us. Marc wasn't able to get any picture of me while I was actually racing, but here is one of Ella and I afterwards.
Besides the Triathlon, we were very busy with family stuff. Ella loves being a big girl and playing with all of her cousins. Her and Kaia were very happy just playing in the pool in the back. Here they are getting all wet.

We also took all the kids to get a haircut at the mall. This was Ella's first "real" haircut. She did pretty well, but had to sit on mommy's lap.
The salon was very nice and worked with Ella, even through the fussing. One lady even had a bubble gun to keep Ella's attention. Once we got started she did really well and sat fairly still. Here is a picture of Harley after his cut.
The kids played for a little while after their haircuts at the indoor playland in the mall. They really enjoy playing with each other and just running around. Then as we were leaving they all wanted to hold grandma's hand so this is what we ended up with walking through Kohl's.


Marc and I were also able to visit our friends Nicole and Chad while in MN. We had a lot of fun with them and it was nice to just hang out without Ella for a few hours. It was a good trip, even if Ella hardly slept! Although on the way home, Ella slept for the first 4 1/2 hours of the drive.

My Birthday

Yes, I'm 29 now! My birthday was on Monday, 7/7. Crazy, because I don't feel 29. I don't really know how old I feel, but not almost 30. Besides noticing bags under my eyes this last year, I don't think I look 29 either. I had a great birthday this year. Marc and Ella were so excited about the presents they got me that I actually opened them a day early. Marc got me an ipod nano, an arm band to hold it, and the Nike ipod chip (it goes on your shoe and works with your ipod to calculate your mileage and calories burned while working out). I was definitely surprised with the presents, not what I was expecting at all, but I love them!!! Here are some pictures from opening my presents (with Ella helping).
For my actually birthday my day was the same as any other day, but it was good. I went to the gym like normal, Ella and I had lunch at home and she took a good nap. Then we went and picked Marc up at work and headed out to Oak Brook mall to eat at the Cheesecake factory. We had a gift card, so it was an easy option for going out. Plus it's a nice big restaurant and easy to bring Ella there. She was really good during dinner and we had a lot of fun. Here are a couple of pictures from dinner.

Ella's new silly face!

Two straws!

After dinner we drove to our friends house to pick up a playset that they were giving us. It's a Step Two climber with a slide, and Ella is really excited about it. We need to wash it off still and put it together, but I'm sure we'll be getting lots of hours of play out of it.
It was a good birthday as usual!

4th of July Weekend

We had a nice 4th of July weekend this year. My sister, Alicia, was in town all week and we had a lot of fun. Ella enjoyed hanging out with someone else instead of just Marc and me. It was Alicia's b-day while she was here, as well as Marc's brother, Adam (who lives here). So, we took Alicia out for her birthday on Monday night and then we took Adam out for his birthday on Thursday night. That is the most eating out we have done in about 3 months!!

Alicia blowing out her candles

In between that stuff Alicia, Ella and I ran some errands and did some fun stuff. We visited the farmers market, went to the beach, and took Ella to a water park. We also went to watch Marc play softball. Here is a picture of Alicia and Ella listening to music at Marc's game.

Ella at the beach (not happy because there is a bug on her)

Alicia and I even managed to get in a 10 mile training walk for the 3day. The walk is approaching fast, so we need to get in walks when we can.
On the 4th we didn't do much, just hung around home. Alicia and I managed to sneak away for a little bit and walk over to some stores by our house to look around. Then we grilled some steaks, chicken and veggies and had a nice dinner outside. Ella had to go to bed before the fireworks, but she didn't even know that she was missing anything. Marc, Alicia, and I (along with all our neighbors) watched the fireworks from our rooftop deck. You can see about 5 different cities from the roof, plus all the ones that are going off illegally :) There were fireworks going off for about an hour and a half straight.

Alicia and I watching the fireworks

Sometime over the weekend Marc and Ella washed the car. Alicia and I were out and we came back to them washing the car. Ella was in her swimsuit and really proud that she was helping daddy. Here is a picture of her helping