Uda's invade Chicago: Sister Time!

Last month all of my sisters came out to Chicago! I was the happiest girl in the world. 

 On our first day together we left the kids with a sitter and went out to lunch. I could hardly eat I was so excited to be having lunch with all of my sisters together, at the same time, in the same place! It was just awesome!

I had a perma-grin the whole time

 After lunch we went over to a little salon to get our eyebrows threaded. It hurt like the devil and I may or may not have cried...

 But afterwards our eyebrows looked so fabulous it was totally worth the torture. :)

The next day we took the kids to downtown Geneva and hit up Graham's for some yummy chocolate and homemade ice cream.

Later that night Taber watched all the kids (including Sarah's little baby Manti) So we could go to Kohl's. (best husband ever!)  We did some serious clothes shopping, which I NEVER do unless it's with my sisters so it had been a LONG time! It was so super fun having my fashionista sister Liz pick out clothes for us and have us all try them on. We all crammed into the same dressing room and just swapped clothes and tried things on an modeled for each other until everyone had found a winning outfit. It was awesome!

 After shopping till the store closed, we went to TGIFriday's for appetizers and desserts

I was so happy I just kept pinching myself to see if this was really happening. Having my sisters in town was seriously a dream come true. (Not to sound cheesy but for real, I love these girls!!)

A bully, a Suzy-Q, and a birthday cake.

Once upon a time, when cute little Taber was in elementary school, his mom packed him a lunch and lovingly included a Suzy-Q for dessert. To Taber, Suzy Q's were the crown jewel of the hostess kingdom, and he was so so excited for his special treat. 

When lunch came around he carefully pulled out his snack cake, mouth watering in anticipation, but just as he was about to eat it, some punk bully kid snatched it right out of his hands.  He begged the kid to give it back but instead the boy sprinted off across the cafeteria. Taber ran after him, as he closed in his hope of retrieving the Suzy Q grew stronger. But just as he was about to catch him, the boy turned around, ripped open the package, looked Taber in the eye and LICKED the Suzy Q! Defiling the cake with his big fat disgusting tongue. 

Taber burst into tears. 

It was a moment that would haunt him for decades. 

How could anyone do that to such a cute little boy? 

I have no idea. 

All I know is Taber told that story to his HR team one time and they thought it was so hilarious that they surprised him on his birthday with a very special cake. 

His very own, giant homemade Suzy Q.

The best part was, it was completely bully tongue free. :)

Props to his HR team. They totally made his day. 

Half way to 70!

Last month we celebrated Taber's 35th birthday.

I excused him from work half way through the day so I could take him out to lunch

And a movie! 

We went and saw Oblivion at the IMAX. 

There's just something awesome about skipping out on work to hit up a matinee.

 I also baked him his favorite German chocolate cake, from scratch, because that's what you do when you're in love :)

 We had a little family party (plus a few friends to help us eat the cake) Taber loves to get a picture of him with the kids and his cake every birthday so he can compare each year and see how the kids have grown.  It's always fun to look back:

 Taber turning 31 with toddler Teya and baby Brin

Taber turning 32, baby Brinley is now toddler Brinley

 Taber turning 33, Cam is on the scene!

 Taber turning 34 (Cam is much bigger and now we've moved on from strawberry whipped cream cake to German chocolate)

And Taber turning 35! (notice he's upgraded from goatee to full beard since his last b-day)

We had Naomi and Kevin and our awesome neighbors Jess and Henry over to help us celebrate.

 After the kids went to bed we played a few rounds of Bonanza, ate lots of junk food and laughed till our sides hurt. 

It was exactly what Taber wanted. Low key, simple, good times, with good friends. 

Happy Birthday Love, you make 35 look GOOD! 

The wildest animal at the Zoo...

We have a year pass to the Brookfield Zoo 

 We love meeting up with our cousins there to look at all the wild animals

 But the wildest animal of all is usually the one we bring with us.

 He can't be confined to a cage, 

and other animals run in fear at the sight of him.

When he's upset, there's no telling where he'll end up throwing his wild animal fits

People usually stop and stare, but I try not to feel too bad, because everybody stares at wild things when you're at the zoo.

The first hints of Spring: April 2013

When the snow finally melts after a long winter, and nature gives you that first hint of Spring, it's magic. 

 The grass is still brown...

The wind still whips through your hair

 But Spring is near and you can just FEEL it! 

And oh how sweet it is!

Soon the ducks will be back on the water

 and your days will be filled with outdoor adventures

 Afternoon walks will replace being cooped up indoors

And everyone will be flying high, because Spring is in the air. 

A Minnesota Easter with our FWLLF's (Friends we love like family)

Part 2 of our spring break involved another Bestie reunion with our awesome friends the Clarks! These guys were some of our best friends when we lived in MN and we hadn't seen them since we moved!

Brinley and Miley didn't really remember each other because they were so young when we moved but we told Brinley that Miley was her best friend and she was like, "YEAH!! BEST FRIEND REUNION!!"

I was just as excited to see my favorite gym buddy, dance party sidekick and bff Wendy! Love this girl like a sister!!

We started things out with an Easter egg hunt. 

In the snow of course, because that's how they roll in Minnesota. 

All the cute little snow bunnies ready to get some eggs!

It was cold, and wet, but they persevered and came home with a nice egg stash.

 Another highlight was THIS! Raspberry cheesecake cupcake, that actually WON cupcake wars and is pretty much like eating heaven in a cupcake wrapper. 

 We also indulged in lemon, strawberry, coconut, and salted caramel cupcakes. Gourmet desserts at their finest!

 In the afternoon Taber and I did a 9 miler because Cam and Wendy are awesome like that and totally watched our kids so we could run together! It was super cool running on the trails where I was 1st born as a runner 4 years ago. Total zen moment. 

 The next day was Easter and the bunny delivered!

 The kids at the top of the stairs waiting to hunt for eggs. (Cam decided to sleep in)

They found lots of eggs

and filled their baskets

 The girls also got little jewelry boxes to paint. They were pretty excited.

 When Cam woke up we tried to get him to look at his basket and hunt for eggs but all he cared about was the train. 

After a little coercion and some jelly bean bribes he finally looked for some eggs. 

 Cameron made us a fabulous crepe breakfast and taught Taber his crepe making skills. 

 Then we got the kids ready for church. Wendy and I had coordinated in advance and bought our kids all matching outfits. They looked soooooo cute!! Cam wasn't really into taking pictures though, he only smiles and poses on his terms. 

He did have fun breaking up the shots and acting like a wild man though.

Church was really awesome. It was great to be back in our old ward and see so many faces of people we love. It was another very "warm" part of our Spring Break. 

After church the kids dyed eggs and painted their jewelry boxes while the grownups made a delish Easter dinner of ham, cheesy potatoes, coconut candied sweet potatoes, this amazing pineapple cream angel food cake dessert, and rolls. I stuffed myself silly. It was awesome. 

When the kids went to bed we did a little X-Box kinect dance party. Wendy and I rocked it (naturally) but Taber and Cameron had some pretty impressive moves too!

The next day it was time to say goodbye :( 

 Everyone gave big hugs and promised we wouldn't wait 4 years before seeing each other again!

It was an awesome vacation and we're so grateful we got to spend it with people we love so much!