Brookfield Zoo Field Trip

Jeremy was able to go with Will's class to Brookfield Zoo.  It was kind of cool because each parent only had 3-4 kids in their group, and you had to go find and see the animal that each kid wanted to see in that group.  Since Will's group wanted to see big cats, they all went over there, only to find out that some of his good friends groups were going to the same area.  The parents were our friends too, so Jeremy said it was a blast to have all these boys together but also have pleasant adult company.

I am thankful Jeremy was able to go with him (Jeremy originally tried to get me to go, but seriously, who knows if he'll ever be able to do this again right?).  Will absolutely adores his dad, and I don't blame him, he is great with kids they love him.  Will had so much fun with all these wonderful kids, he misses them very much, but knows that the time he had with them is to be treasured.

Memorial Day and Grandma T's last day

My mom was able to stay until Memorial Day, which made us have fun for one last day instead of focusing on packing. 

The night before, Cora had Grandma read her a story at bedtime.  Cora loved having extra attention.

On Memorial Day it wasn't great weather, so we decided to go one last time to the Tivoli Bowling alley.  I actually won!  My mom usually wins, so I had to record this for bragging rights.  Overall, I think we did all right, even Cora who insisted on pushing the ball down the lane herself at a cool 1.25 mile per hour pace.  

Then we decided we'd better go to Scooby's for a delicious Chicago style dog.  Will always gets so excited when we go here for dinner, and I get excited for their root beer shake...man I want one right now!  I had to take a picture of this poster so I can find my own someday, it always cracked me up while I sipped my shake at Scoobys with little tidbits like how Chicagoans know the expressway or tollways by their names, and not their numbers and you know you are in Chicago when you buy a nice umbrella every six months.

I have loved having our family in town, it was fun to go do some of our favorite things for the last time (at least for good long while) with family.  After we took my mom to the airport (we were sad, she was anxious to get home to my sister's new baby!) it finally set in that it was time to get to work and that we really were moving.  Jeremy and I packed all of our bookcases that night.

Cantigny

Saturday was the last day we got to enjoy Stef and Scott and Debbie, so we decided to start the day out right with doughnuts from Busy Bee Bakery.  They went pretty fast!

Since Cora came with Jeremy and I to pick them up, she got to pick out her favorite pink cookie from there.  It's been 3 weeks since we've done this now and she still asks when she can go again.

We then had a few hours to spare and decided to have everyone go to Cantigny Park.  

Will had been SO excited to show all the guys the tanks.  He was in heaven.

Cora had fun climbing on everything too

And hanging like a little monkey.

Matt took the outbound people to the airport for us while the rest of us enjoyed the gardens and then had a nice picnic.  It was nice to have an easy going day after running around so much the day before!  Later on Jeremy barbequed and we all got to relax and enjoy each others company before Grandma, Grandpa, Emily and Shelby left the next morning.

Fun Day Downtown Chicago

The day after Jeremy's graduation we decided to go down to Navy Pier to see the city.  Most of the family had gone and seen the Bean and other touristy things before, so we took it easy and had a great time together.  Ready for a serious photo drop?  Here it comes...

Cora decided that Aunt Debbie was her new bestie.  

Quick photo of these three who decided to venture into the city by foot and check out the Willis Tower and other things.  We needed a picture in case we had to put it on the news that night.

Some of my favorite ladies in the world.

After Navy Pier, my mom and I headed back to pick Will up from school while Jeremy took the others for a tour of downtown via car.  I'd given Will the option of coming with us or going to school, he chose school so that he could be with his friends every possible moment.  I don't blame him!  By the time we picked him up, Jeremy and Cora were home, so my mom and I took these two to our favorite ice cream spot in Downers.

This kid loved having family in town and is excited to be closer to them so we can visit more often.

Later that night, we all went to a Sox game and were lucky enough to catch Southpaw for a quick pic.

As you can see, Emily, Stef and Matt did in fact survive downtown all by themselves.  They actually beat us to the game.  Will decided that Uncle Scott was his new bestie and sat by him until he was too cold.  At that point he finally came and snuggled with me.

The Sox won and the night ended perfectly with fireworks.  It was a pretty full day but so much fun!

Graduation from Midwestern University-We did it!

Waiting patiently for the ceremony to begin...

I was lucky to have plenty of adults to help entertain Cora and Will during the wait.

Yup, 2 hours later she is still holding onto her goldfish bag.  But Jeremy is officially a doctor!

Picture with the family and my mom.

Jeremy and his sweet friend Rachel.

Jeremy and his big sis Stef.

Uncle Matt carried this little one and chased her down multiple times.  I was so grateful!

Jeremy and his very proud parents.

Jeremy and all of his siblings.  It was so fun to have them all there!

Jeremy and his good friend Fletch.  Love this guy too, he and his fiance watched Will and Cora for me one night while I went and played with friends while Jeremy was in Kingman doing his rotation out there.

"Trust me!  I'm a doctor!"

Cora and Will running rampant.

We decided to celebrate by all going to Lou Malnati's.

Everyone loved the pizza!

Will loved sitting next to these two!

I am so proud of Jeremy.  There were times when I wasn't sure we'd make it, like when I hadn't seen him in 5 weeks, or when I only got to see him when I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.  But we survived and conquered!

2 Dates in 24 hours

Two weeks ago, Jeremy and I got to go on 2 dates within 24 hours!  Outrageous!  What was the occasion?  Just Jeremy graduating from Medical School.  We were able to go to his graduation dinner and sit by some of his very good friends.  It was a lot of fun, but it was also so different from the dinner at the beginning of med school.  Everyone was and is so very ready to move on and can't wait to get into the next step, whereas 4 years ago, everyone was stoked to be there!  I am so proud of Jeremy and how much he has learned and how much he has grown.  Love this guy!

The next day the temperature dropped 30 something degrees but we had paid for an architecture tour with a group from his school so we went downtown to have some fun.

Our frozen faces as we sat in the lock on the boat waiting to go from the Chicago River out to the lake.

Notice how I'm basically sitting under Jeremy?  It was cold.

Love this city, I am going to miss it so much!