Just Passing Through.

Bryce's twin younger brother is working in Indy for the summer so he and his buddy made a pit stop on their way.

We started with the tour of campus and THE lab.

I had kid duty. Totally okay with that.

He just saw lots of chemicals.

Then came the important stuff. Dog n Suds Root Beer and Mary Lou's Donuts. MMMm.

Love the adorable $.15 kid size.

The weather was gorgeous and it happened to be Easter weekend so we had a little family Easter egg hunt.

Setting looks aside, Halloween buckets totally win the "hold the eggs better than baskets" contest.

I sure love Spring. And we sure love visitors. Come visit and if you're lucky, we may throw in a free car wash.

Every Day Warmth.

Brycen, "Do you have time to throw a frisbee with me? You're always too busy to help me". Sometimes the kiddos say things that stop me dead in my tracks. When Brycen said the above, at two separate occasions, I literally dropped everything I did and spent time with him. I should do it more often. It is so true that I'm usually cooking, cleaning, laundrying or something when he asks and I almost always say, "Okay, just a minute. Or you can do it (because I really know that he can)". And that is okay. But I do hope to have more 'drop everything' moments. We both love it when I do.

Cian's biggest thing is saying, "I need you". He has said it for months and months but it seems to be getting used more and more. He uses it to be carried, when he gets hurt, when he wants to be held, when he is hungry, or wants to sit on my lap. He also says it right before he drifts off to sleep. I think it is by far, one of the cutest things (and my biggest weakness!), and because of it, I carry and hold him often...which, IS probably why he is using it more and more.Smart boy.

I sure love listening to General Conference but 8 hours worth with kids get interesting...

involving desperate attempts to keep them entertained.

Isn't he adorable??

He loves his green pants.

They have plenty of moments that they drive each other crazy but the moments they don't are always supers special.

He plans to be rich by Kindergarten! His second tooth came out a week after the first. But seriously, his permanent teeth are already in! They were ready. Sadly, he had the adorable toothless gap for only a week to two.

We are loving Spring. Yes, it finally did come.

So.... I started writing notes on napkins for Bryce's lunch after we got married. For some reason, I kept every one of them (6 years worth!). Not sure why I did but I had a good time re-reading them...and then tossing most of them (they were getting gross). The best ones I hung on to for a bit longer.

We had a nice stove fire a few weeks back, with quite impressive flames. The wrong burner was turned on.

RIP my favorite mixing bowl.. I'm so grateful that Bryce was in attendance to fight it (especially since he started it :). He also cleaned the mess on the stove, wall, and overhead fan thingy. What a good man.

The. Perfect. Combo.

I've decided, everyone in Indiana needs a family member or more that is in love with Chicago.

This visit was short but wonderful.

After our temple trip together (thanks to an awesome friend watching the kiddos), we headed to our hotel for the night. On the way, Cian sat behind me as I drove, saying, "Mommy, I need you". He says it all the time when he wants to be carried or cuddled, but usually not in the car. I tried to hold his hand when I could and while sitting at a stoplight, I looked back and saw that he didn't look well. Sure enough, within seconds, he threw up twice. Yuck. Poor guy. 

Oh, and leather seats? Love.

(I totally cleaned his car seat today. It was disgusting. Disassembling it, washing it, and reassembling it wrong eight times was. a. blast.)

As well as doing the Chinese Fire Drill with my sister-in-law while sitting at that same light. Good times.

The kiddos. Cian seemed to be feeling better. Maybe an episode of carsickness? He did throw up again that night but luckily not at all the rest of the trip (phew).

Jenn and I escaped to the movies after the kids went to bed. It was a late one (due to the Cian episode). We arrived all dolled up in our sweats and basically had the theater to ourselves, on a Friday night (what do high schoolers do these days?). I introduced the book, Divergent to Jenn and we both loved it! And...really wish we could say the same about the movie.

The next day, we headed into the city.

Thank you technology. And suckers.

Each time we visit, it's nice to try new things. On this specific agenda: a White Sox game and the Ledge.

The "train" ride sold the game idea to the kiddos.

A favorite.

Brycen kept his eyes peeled for the Cotton Candy man.

My niece is a doll.

The day was gorgeous! 70 degrees and awesome seats.It is a bummer they lost...

Cian and Laila helped out and both took a nap. That was super convenient.

We actually went to the Willis Tower before the game but alas, I'm lazy.

Our Spidermans.

Socks and Crocs. Cian's request. And this is when I love pulling the 'son of an engineer' card.

103 stories up.

Another favorite.

Love my family.

And this one.

Somehow I got roped into becoming Jenn's guinea pig for what became: our Divergent moment.

And we finished it off with the one and only, Giordano's pizza.

Heading home.

The weather, company, and city were perfect. Thank you Shields for coming out!