So you want to nanny your nieces..

When I first moved here, I spent some time catching up with people.
"So I see you moved to Chicago."
"Sure did!"
"So, um, what are you...doing?"
"Well, I'm still in school and I'm a nanny."
"A nanny?"
"Yeah. I watch my nieces. It's the best."
"What exactly do you do?"

So, although this is late-coming and perhaps only possible that way, here is the answer-book and ultimate reference to my up and coming book "So you want to nanny your nieces.."

So you want to nanny your nieces.
Get ready. This will surely present itself as a challenge.

Expect to say no...and even if you don't start out being able to say no as often as you should, you'll soon find yourself comfortable with the word..even though it's really really cute how she says 'cookie' and wants one before dinner. Trust me, it becomes easier to say as they get sassier.

Expect slobber. Slobber and snot and all things of that type. Expect that. Everywhere. Your clothes, your hands, your face, and all over your phone. That's coming soon and you might as well embrace the thought because there's no stopping it or delaying it. That's going to be a part of your life. But, don't worry. You'll get used to it. You may actually pick up your phone some days and wonder why it's dry.

Expect tears. Being the nanny means that you can't be in full aunt mode, which means that you can't always give them what they want even though they're really really cute. The cute thing works every time when you're in aunt mode, but being a nanny is a different thing. That will quite possibly mean tears when they really want to watch the puppy movie even though it's really time for them to be asleep. Don't worry. Tears dry and they will love you again when they wake up (unless the puppy movie is on, in which case, you will have to wait).

Expect surprises. Things like checking them while they're sleeping and finding one completely naked will, without a doubt, take you by surprise at first, but you will get used to it eventually. At some point, your brain will make the switch from having a reaction of surprise and slight fear to just finding it hilarious and will take a photo that will never be seen by anyone but your immediate family.

Expect blurry photos. At first, you will think everything they do is cute (and this will never go away..that's how aunts are made to see their nieces) and needs to be captured by your camera. You will soon realize that life doesn't stop for a camera. Photos will come out blurry and you will soon learn to just put your phone down and soak in the great moments as they come and before they leave. No time to unlock your phone and focus a camera. You'll learn. Don't worry.

Expect to want to go home. You will get tired. You will have rough days and they will have days that put your rough days to shame. It's okay to have rough days because we're all human and rough days are a part of life. Don't feel bad when you really really want to go home. It's going to happen. There will also be days when you stay late because you were just having so much fun dancing around to Christmas music in their room. It doesn't just even out-rough days become a small sliver of the equation. A sliver you will forget about during all of the other days.

Expect giggles. Expect snuggles. Expect kisses.
There are so many wonderful parts of this job that you will treasure forever. And if you're ever wondering if you're doing a good job, just remember:

If you go home with some kind of glitter on you, you know it was a great day. 

PS, always check your ears for yogurt at the end of the day. You can never be too sure.

November 17, 2013: That Facebook Trend.

There's a trend going around on Facebook right now where someone will post some number of random facts about themselves and whoever likes the post gets a number and has to put up that many random facts about themselves for the Facebook world to learn.

I haven't been very good at blogging consistently, so here are 15 things about me that you may or may not know.

**I ended up writing a lot more than I planned because I'm extremely narcissistic, so here's a shortened version for people who either don't like to read or just don't care that much.**

1. I have Hashimoto's.
2. I'm an introvert.
3. I like a man who can speak Spanish and dance.
4. My hands fall asleep a lot.
5. I went to a tiny school.
6. I've started dressing a lot better since I moved to Chi-town.
7. I live a simple life here.
8. I have a personal trainer here.
9. I <3 traveling.
10. I am clueless and ask for advice a lot.
11. I don't care about celebrities.
12. I have weird allergies.
13. Kristen: 1, Walmart: 0.
14. I appreciate proper grammar and spelling.
15. Surprise!

1. I have an auto-immune disease called Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Basically my body is attacking my thyroid constantly and will for the rest of mi vida. Because of this, I have a really slow metabolism, am tired constantly, and get sick easily...unless I take my medicine. I hadn't been taking it in protest to my body and my other health probs, but I learned that protesting my body didn't make me feel better. It made me feel a lot worse. Aaaaand my doctor said that all of my organs could shut down, I could go into a coma and die if I just act like I don't have this disease. *enter Levothyroxin*

2. Despite what many people might assume, I'm an introvert. I can certainly be outgoing and friendly (and am most of the time), but being around people absolutely drains me. I have to be alone in order to recharge. I don't understand how being around new people can actually give energy to someone, but fortunately (for all of us) I'm not God and I don't have to understand everything.

3. The top two things on my 'wish list' for a future man in my life (of course, wish list meaning that this is the non-essential stuff..) is that he speaks another language (Spanish, preferably, but I'm not tooooo picky) and that he can dance. I love a man who can dance.

4. My hands fall asleep a lot. I wake up once or twice a night because my hands are asleep. Someone let me know if this is a real problem, otherwise, I'll just keep waking them up and going back to sleep.

5. I went to a teeny tiny school. There are a lot of pros and cons about going to a school like the one I went to. In a small school, everyone knows your business. Everyone is involved. That can be a good thing and can be a bad thing, you know, depending on what you're up to. There's more freedom, but there's more responsibility. People expect a lot from you. Teachers are watching your character as well as your school work. I found myself in the principal's office in 8th grade because a teacher was concerned about my heart. I don't think that would happen in a public school.

6. Since I moved to Chicago, I've definitely grown up a lot. I love the person I've become (and am still becoming). People assume I'm older than I am just because of the way I act. Part of me growing up is that I dress much better every day. I used to wear sweat pants and a hoodie and not really care about what I looked like, but I haven't stepped outside of my apartment building in anything like that. It's so important to dress the way that you want people to perceive you. And an adorable cardigan and a scarf never hurt anyone.

7. My life in Chicago is super low-key. I have kept things simple. It's perfect for someone like me (introvert) because I have lots of good quality time with myself. I call my connections that I've made here "being established" because I have a couple solid "groups" of people that know me, but I don't have a real social life. I have my church family and Sara and Austin and recently my gym people.

8. Speaking of the gym, I have started working out with a personal trainer. His name is Michael. He's fantastic. I worked out with a PT my sophomore and junior years of high school and lost a significant amount of weight and was in really good shape. Then I had ankle surgery and, well, yeah.. So, I'm working out with a PT here and have been for about a week. I know I don't have a lot of time left here, but I'm making every second count (and counting my calories like a crazy person)! But today I accidentally didn't eat until about 6pm so that was bad.

9. I love traveling. I have been to the Dominican Republic 5 times, soon to be 6. I adore the Dominican culture. I think it's such a cool privilege to be able to travel and experience new places, which is one of the reasons I moved to Chicago! I have an opportunity to live in THE CHICAGO, so why not!? I have a passion for missions and would love to spend at least a year or two on the mission field after college at some point.

10. I ask for advice a lot. I am so fortunate to have so many adults in my life who pour into me on a regular basis and I love chatting with them about things I can improve on. I am really close to my mom and I can talk to her about anything. I know that's really special so I try not to take her for granted. She has given me so much advice about life and boys and school and boys and budgets and anything that I could possibly need guidance on.

11. I think celebrities are stupid. Well, let me rephrase that. I think that it's stupid that people care about celebrities' lives. I do not care that some celebrity did something stupid. You telling me that Kim Kardashian is preggs with Kanye West's baby is like telling me that a girl from Alaska that I've never met is pregnant. Congratulations, but I have no idea who you are and you have no idea who I am. Let's carry on with our lives.

12. I'm deathly allergic to icecream. There's some preservative in icecream that makes my throat swell up in about a minute. It's pretty bad. Same thing with avocados. But that's what my epi-pens are for! Oh, I'm also allergic to gluten and dairy but YOLO, am I right?

13. I worked at Walmart in St. Joe for three months. I learned a lot when I worked there - mainly how to relate to other people..especially people who were unlike me. Here's the secret to surviving in any social situation anywhere ever: Ask questions, listen to their answers, and care about what they are saying. Even if you're listening to someone explain why dog food is a pretty good snack, listen, hold back all of your judgement until you can talk to you mom about it, and stay active in the conversation. Oh, and another thing I learned about people who were not like me...if someone is making you uncomfortable, it's okay to be rude or blunt and tell them to stop or leave. They're being rude too. There were a few occasions when this was the case at the ol' Wally world. I don't know if I actually had the power to do this, but I kicked a guy out of the store one time. Ohhhh Walmart.

14. If you're going to text me, please use proper grammar and good spelling. Please.

15. I'm pregnant.






AHAHAHA JUST KIDDING
I AM NOT PREGNANT 

Have a good night!

Late Night Thoughts.

Disclaimer: This is a jumbled mess of thoughts and emotions. I will probably disagree with half of the stuff I wrote about in the morning, but hey, that's a woman's brain for ya!

I spend a lot of time by myself (because I live by myself, not because I'm a loner. Well, i am a loner, but I interact with people pretty regularly) and so I have a lot of time to think. I think about people and cities and decisions and emotions and society and all sorts of things. Not politics or violence or war. Those things confuse me and/or bring me down so I save those thoughts for when there's someone around who can explain it to me.

Anyway, although I am a loner and apparently an airhead (don't worry, I know you were thinking it too), I still think about a lot of other important things. Priorities. That's a big one. Just about every day I find myself readjusting my list of priorities. What really matters to me today? Last week, during my voice lesson, my teacher said "You have to decide if this is something you're serious about; if voice is something you really want to pursue."

Obviously I want to pursue voice. I wouldn't be coming to lessons every week just to waste our time and my parents' money. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I live in an apartment building and I'm not sure that my neighbors really enjoy me singing (or trying to sing) opera at 11 PM. It's difficult sometimes to practice. Anyway, voice IS important to me. So I pushed it closer to the top of my list and found a different place to practice, which worked out great. Priorities.

Today I was riding the bus home from the gym and an older, rough-looking man was intoxicated to some measure and was hitting on all of the young girls on the bus. The bus driver wasn't doing anything. Fortunately I was sitting next to a young man about my age and Mr. Intoxication assumed that he was my boyfriend. So his flirting session with me didn't last long. Nevertheless, I got off at the next stop, even though it was 11 PM and grabbed a taxi.

I was talking to the cabbie and was telling him why I asked him to drive me 5 blocks. "Sorry. I know we're really close to my address. I was on the bus but there was a bit of a situation." Of course my cabbie asked what happened and I told him. "But I have common sense...and pepper spray, so I'm always alright." He laughed at me and said "That's all you need."

Anyway, safety is a priority of mine.

Here's another late night thought that's been gracing my mind recently: I am absolutely falling in love with Chicago. I love living here with absolutely everything within me. The first two months or so were pretty bad. I was sad. A lot. I really didn't have any friends (still working on that), I wasn't connected into anything really. I would just work and then go back to my apartment.

But now I'm involved in a church, in a bible study, attending a college group, working out with a PT at the gym, working, hanging out with my sister, AND staying up on New Girl. My life is exploding with excitement. Well, more than it was a couple of months ago.

And I've just become so comfortable here. I finally got my apartment arranged perfectly. I can now get the girls' stroller in here with ease! It's just cozy here. My toilet doesn't work perfectly and my faucet is leaky sometimes, but it's my home.

I have a great hate/love relationship with the CTA, as all chicagolanders should and do.

Anyway, it's hard to leave this city. But I have to just take my emotions and my decisions one day at a time. I would love to stay here, but the smartest decision for me right now and for me in the future is to go back to Missouri Western and finish out my schooling there. I will probably move back here again someday, though.

The fact that a creep-o on the bus squeezed himself into my bubble and hit on me tonight and yet I still love this city tells me a lot.

And in all of that, I am still extremely excited to return back to KC. There are so many people there that I love and can not wait to be near again. Distance sucks.

So, I guess I'll end with that. Distance sucks.

Goodnight.

November 2nd: The Announcement.

I have learned a lot in these few months in Chicago. I have grown and changed and become more adult and less teenager. That’s inevitable, I suppose, and it became real when I got my first electricity bill which came with a fee because I never got my first month’s bill. There hasn’t been one day that I have left my apartment with a light on. I understand electricity now.

There are a lot of things that I understand more now. The first time I went back to my parents’ house, I was amazed at how much silverware they have. Silverware. There’s something I never thought I took for granted. And, another thing, another obvious thing, their house is huge. My apartment is half of the size of my old bedroom. The one I thought was small. And my apartment includes a kitchen, closet, and a bathroom. What was I thinking?

I have a different perspective now. I just had a conversation with my mom and I used the word “compensation”. That’s a first. I’m just more adult and less teenager. And really, I have to be. I have to take care of myself and plan out a budget and stick to that budget, because as much fun as it is to run out of money (which I have), I would much rather stick to a budget than hit $1.65 in my bank account and literally have nothing to eat in my apartment. (Thank the Lord for my sister, though.)

I was looking at Kate the other day and I realized something. As much as I absolutely love her, as much as I would move five hundred miles away for her, and as much as missing out on her life scares me, I realized something. I am going back to school because, like my fabulous budgets that help me to stay not broke, in order to not run out of options, planning is important. I have thought for so long, “What if the world ends and I’ve spent all my time in school?” That thought numbs me. Absolutely numbs me from head to toe. “I should travel the world and experience new things!” I tell myself. But I looked at Kate the other day and I figured it out. I know what matters. It’s not about where you are or what degree you’re chasing or how close you are to your nieces that matters. It’s what you do with the time you have where you are.

I am figuring out what’s important to me. I am really lacking a social life, but the world keeps spinning, so I’m not too concerned. I’m studying Spanish again and listening to opera just about every chance I get. I’m working hard at my schoolwork and becoming friends with the guys who work at Starbucks. I am happy.

So while I’m here, while I’m in Chicago, I am loving every single moment that I have. I am snuggling with the girls when they want to snuggle and I am jumping around their room with them when they want to jump around their room. These are moments that I will never get back. And I am treasuring them. I am treasuring every single moment I have here.

And I think that’s what really hit me, when I looked at Kate. Because I looked at her and my heart got sad and I started to think about how much I will miss her when I move. I will miss her giggles and her temper tantrums and how she brings my shoes to me when she wants to go to the park. But while I am here, I am treasuring it all.

That’s what Chicago has taught me. I treasure electricity and the ability to pay my bill. I treasure silverware. I treasure the ability to spend time on what I’m passionate about. I treasure my nieces. And when I go back to Missouri Western in the spring, I will treasure every moment I have there.

Life is short and I have no idea when my life is going to end. And even though my heart says, “Kristen! Life is short! Go travel and do whatever your heart desires,” I have to be responsible. I have to budget. I have the time that I have and I will spend it wisely. I will plan for the future, however, I will cherish every single thing I can afford to spend my time on in this moment.

So if I can develop honest, healthy relationships with people who care about me and invest myself in things that I am passionate about, at least I’m on the right track. 

September 17: Sara Hey.

Kate and Grace are adorable. I mean, that's obvious. But one thing that they do is just so precious to me. If they're separated for any amount of time and then they see each other, they yell "SISSYYYY!" It's the best. If you ask them where their sissy is, they will run to each other and hug or hold hands or something. So cute. 

So anyway, I am so glad to have my "sissy" near me again. It's been a really long time since I've been this close to my sister (distance-wise)...like 6 years or so. My sister is my best friend and I love her so much. We are alike in a lot of ways and always have fun together. So, it's definitely on the 'pro' list for Chicago that she's just a ten minute walk away from me. 

I'm taking online classes this semester and one of those classes is US History. I hate history. I always have. After this class, I will never have to deal with it again. Online classes are a little frustrating in themselves but I enjoy my sociology class WAY more than my history class. Anyway, I was having a rough night with my history homework and had just done terrible on a test. I was talking to my sister and she had me come over just to have some company while I worked on my homework. 

I worked my way through it after a few pep talks and tons of high fives. Oh and one extremely beautiful and artistic "Congrats on doing your homework" card, handcrafted by Sara, of course. 

To say the least, I am extremely grateful to be so close to my sister...distance wise and relationally. We get each other. Always have. Always will. 

-Kristen

September 2, 2013: Let me tell you about my best friend.

It's finally here. September. There were many days when I didn't think I'd make it to September, but here I am. Still in Chicago (by God's grace alone). I won't lie. It's been difficult. This last month has pushed me. I've spent many days and nights wondering what I'm doing here and I am so blessed to have people in my life who reassure me that God has a plan for my life. One of those people (which include my mama, my seester, my lovely mentors (the McMahons), and others!) is my best friend, Emily Hogan.

Emily and I have been best friends since first grade. That's fourteen years, y'all.

--side note--
I just said to myself in my head, "Fourteen years? That can't be right. I didn't know Emily when we were three." Oh, hey, Kristen? You're nineteen.
--end side note--

Anyway, she's my best friend. Has been for a really long time. I have always felt extremely comfortable around her family and it's the same with her in my family. We're sisters (Emily and I) and I know we will be for the rest of our lives.

Okay, that was enough cheesy talk for the rest of the year.

So, Emily has really been there for me when times have been hard here in Chicago. She's been supportive of me every single time I call her asking for some explanation of why I'm in this city. She truly has a heart for God and never fails to give me some perspective on the situation at hand.

I've missed her since I've been here and we were actually just talking about how being apart but in the same state is easier than being so far away. This last month of being apart has felt like three months at least.

But can I get a hallelujah for Labor Day Weekend?
Emily has family who lives in the suburbs of Chicago, only about an hour from where I live. This weekend, I was able to go up to the 'burbs and spend the weekend with Em and her family.

I'm not even going to try to act like I didn't cry when I saw her.

We had a great weekend and are planning her next trip up so she can stay in my itsy bitsy apartment with me. :)

Here are some photos from the weekend!

at auntie laura's house!

we did tie dye!

TESS!

- Kristen

PS - Here's a song that will help you understand Emily and me and our friendship from seventh grade through present day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fijggq5R6w

enjoy that.

August 28: My new doctor!

I know it's been a while (again) since I've blogged. Sorry Grandma. Sorry Mama.
These days have been exciting, exhausting, repetitive, and different. Things have been crazy; I don't even know where to start.

My mom just came in town! That was great and the girls loved seeing her. She's the bomb.
I bought (my mum and pop helped) a keyboard for my apartment to help me practice for my voice lessons, so that's good. It was a stupid, long, weird process, though. (one that I'm still dealing with)
I also went to a new doctor to follow up with my ER visit on the 7th. My new doctor, Josh, was THE BEST. Seriously.

So my mom came in to town for my doctor's appointment because she's my mama and it was a good excuse to come visit. She came up yesterday, spent the night in my apartment, and left this afternoon. I love seeing my mum. Obviously I know that I live in Chicago, but it is still kind of sinking in. But when my mom came to visit me..because I live here..anyway, that was weird.

If you hadn't read my blog about my ER trip (you should), I went to the ER on the 7th because I was having really intense pains in my stomach. They did a CT scan and found a kidney stone and "an innumerable amount of lymph nodes scattered throughout the abdominal mesentery" (which is what I had to follow up with my doctor about today). It was such a late night in the ER and all I heard was kidney stone so I figured that was the problem. Well, my doctor explained to me today that they didn't find the problem and they just kind of sent me on my way since the pain had stopped. Fabulous.

Let me tell you about this doctor. It's hard to find a doctor in Chicago who takes insurance from Kansas City, but I seriously lucked out. I called the insurance company, they gave me three doctors, and Josh (the one I went to) had the best reviews, so I scheduled an appointment with him. The building is in downtown Chicago (where I live), on Michigan.

The building was beautiful. Dr. Merok's office is on the 16th floor. Fabulous. As I'm working on paperwork and whatnot, I saw allergen-free granola bars available and crackers. Okay. Sweet. So then we go back and the nurse was so great. She was super fast and efficient. Then we waited less than ten minutes and my doctor came in. "Hi. My name is Josh. It's so good to meet you." So. Nice. We went through the papers and everything and he was super thorough and engaging. He told us what the next steps were and he left. (Oh, by the way, instead of a usual clip board, he was carrying around a tablet, no big deal.) So I had to get some blood drawn and I didn't even have to leave the room! The blood taking nurse lady (probably an official name for that somewhere) was really nice. I didn't even feel the needle go into my arm. My mom and I thought that it was maybe because that vein had been conditioned to getting blood drawn from it (because of my hashimotos, which requires a good amount of blood tests). Then she gave us both some refreshments. After my mom and I were super awkward and asked a lady if we were supposed to leave AND me fulfilling a life long dream of mine, rolling on a doctor's chair, another nurse brought us some papers and we headed out. My mumsy had to use the bathroom so I went to the waiting room for her.

They have TV screens that show different slides for the patients. One of them said "Have to wait a while?" and then it gave some ideas of what you could do. "Grab a complimentary snack. Play some sudoku. (They had sudoku pages for us) Or you can check out a laptop from the front desk and use our free wifi."

WAIT WHAT

I thought, "Surely not. There's no way."

And then a man with a Macbook Air walked up to the front desk and asked for the password. YOU CAN CHECK OUT MACS! ...

So, all of that to say that my new doctor just rocked my socks off.

Well, that's that story.

Have a good night, folks.

(Although I feel like my life is now a lie, I don't have any pictures for this blog..)

-Kristen

August 18th

It has been way too long. The ER thing happened and then I had a terrible cold and then life happened and here we are. Finally.

This last week or so has been great. Obviously I love my job and I still have yet to get tired of the girls.. (it's never going to happen). Even when they're screaming and throwing temper tantrums, I am simply happy to be holding them and happy to be near them. I love Chicago.

And I am thankful for FaceTime. Through FaceTime I have been able to see my mom and my friends' faces pretty regularly.

Since before I moved up here, I have been praying that I'd be able to find a community group of some sort that I could get connected with. I figured a small group through a church or something. Today I went to a new church, Church in the Loop, which is not too far from me (only four stops away on the L). This morning I decided to be adventurous and try it out on my own, while navigating the streets of Chicago and the oh-so-foriegn public transportation system. Yes, I was praying for protection on my way down to the train. Yes, I was fine. Yes, I did get lost. Yes, I did walk an extra mile. And yes, I was half an hour late. BUT! I made it. And it was awesome.

It's a brand new church-I was one of eight people there today. But the pastor (who went to William Jewel and calls KC his second home) has a huge heart for the city and has an amazing vision for his church...a vision that I am so excited to be a part of. I am going to start leading worship (!!!!). God has really answered my prayers by bringing me to this church. I have found Jesus-loving people who are down to earth and have a heart for seeing good things happen. I love my new community!

That's all for tonight. I start school tomorrow and have a full day with the girls!

Here's some photos!

someone stole my camera.

we love puppies and pictures

grace emery

eyes :)

favorite

it was so funny!

playing with benny the bull, of course

such a ham

yes the box is definitely a chair

mama, this is my taco salad! you asked me to take a picture for you :) 

-Kristen

August ?: What day is it?

These last few days have been crazy. I have been feeling really under the weather (head cold) and Wednesday night (?) had severe pains in my stomach for about an hour which ended up taking me to the ER. But, no worries. A CT scan showed a kidney stone, a test result came back with a UTI (which I hadn't had any symptoms of), and the CT scan also showed "an innumerable amount of scattered lymph nodes throughout the abdominal mesentery" (which is unrelated to anything I went to the ER for)... whatever that means. No worries, I'll be setting up an appointment with a doctor for that here soon. So, after a long night in the ER (9pm to 6am) which included 3 hours in the waiting room, 1 hour of me laying in a bed in a hallway waiting for someone to roll me back to my room, and an IV of contrast leaking all over my arm (around 3:45 am...during the middle of my CT scan..) me and my trooper of a sister made it out alive. I've been taking my prescription and am feeling better. My cold is going away too. Yay health!

Fortunately, during my hour waiting in my bed in the hallway, I got to hear some lady chanting about dandelions during her x-ray. Middle of the night ER entertainment at it's finest.

Anyway, I'm feeling so much better. (Really, Grandma, don't worry!)

I don't really remember what day these pictures are from, but nevertheless, here are some adorable pictures of the girls and the whole Hey family at the park! Enjoy!

PS I am absolutely loving being here and being Kate and Grace's nanny. It's my most favorite job I've ever had! Even when they're not happy and I'm lost somewhere in Chicago, I still love it. I love every second of it. Kate and Grace are the best. Sara and Austin are the best. And well, me.. you know about me.. :) To say the least, I fit right in. ;)

Photos!

"woah woah woah"

(favorite)

-Kristen

August 6th: Day Two.

Today was just a half day (12-5) with the girls. They woke up from their nap once I got to the apartment and then we ate, got ready, and went to the children's museum at Navy Pier. This sounded like a fabulous plan at first, and totally was. But I didn't really plan too well for the whole walking there and finding it part. I took the long way after completely forgetting the correct directions that my sister told me. Then, we went in, (we meaning me and the girls) had so much fun and then it was suddenly nap time and the girls hadn't had a snack. So, back home we went. But oh, adventerous Kristen decided to try a different way back and ended up walking an extra two miles with very unhappy babies in the hot Chicago sun. Anyways, we made it back and then it was 4:30 and it was way past nap time. But at least I got some great exercise!

Here are some pictures from our very fun day!

food is important!

those curls!

she was having fun, i promise.

really. so much fun.

curls curls curls

..it was a blast..

happy :)

water!!

and the comedy show/snack time

unnecessary walk down lake shore drive

smiles!

mama!

aaaaand my dinner. :)

-Kristen