Since it had been two years since we had been to the States, we figured it was time to go back. That, and Brandon's family had finally rescheduled the family reunion we were supposed to have three years before--cancelled due to Covid.
Since we were going to the US anyway, we thought we should go a few days earlier than the reunion and go someplace fun. The reunion was scheduled to be in small town Wisconsin, so we picked a location nearby that we had always wanted to visit: Chicago!
I'll be honest, the flights there were long. Eleven hours to Amsterdam, a four-hour layover, and then another nine hours to Chicago. Even though the Amsterdam airport is pretty cool (hello library and museum! and all those black licorice flavors!), a four-hour layover is a lot of layover. And by the time we were a couple hours into our second flight, I couldn't help thinking "why are we doing this?"
We landed in Chicago, got our stuff, and took the train downtown; the kids slept the entire way. It was just a short walk to our hotel and we were all exhausted, but we dragged ourselves out to get some deep dish for dinner. It was worth it.
I was thrilled to have a gluten-free option!
We were all awake by 2 am the next morning, so we killed a few hours in the hotel room and then walked to The Bean at 6 am which, apparently, is the perfect time to go if you want to beat the crowds.
After some breakfast, we headed to the Lincoln Zoo. We didn't expect much since it was a free zoo, but we were all pleasantly surprised. This zoo was awesome! I don't think I've ever been so close to a silverback gorilla. But, as happens when we're having a good time, not many pictures were taken.
The walk to the zoo from the L-train was pretty nice, too!
That night E got sick. We attributed it to jet lag--it happens!--and Brandon took the other kids to church. When they got back, Brandon stayed with E while I took the other two to the Field Museum.
We ordered some Detroit-style deep dish pizza for dinner (is it even better than Chicago-style?!), Brandon and I went on a walk around the neighborhood, and then we called it a day.
The next morning, Brandon and I walked to a nearby donut place that offered GF donuts. They were massive and amazing!
I was satiated and E was feeling better, so we all went to the aquarium. The walk from the train station was chilly, but it had great views!
It was good that we got there before it opened (jet lag for the win!) because a line had just started when we arrived. The aquarium was fantastic with amazing views of Lake Michigan! Our timing was good so we were able to see both a dolphin and seal show.
Next we went to the dock to get on an architectural boat tour. I wasn't sure how much the kids would be into this, but I shouldn't have worried. We all loved it!
By this point we were more than ready for an early dinner--and there was a pizza place on our list (yeah, of course we we had a list!) that was right across the street from the dock. Coincidentally, as we were waiting for our table, an Indian family walked in--also in the US on vacation--and CJ knew their daughter from school! Both of them were being very shy about saying hi to each other, but they finally did and it is proof that it truly is a small world after all.
These were our last deep dish pizzas of the trip (3x if you're counting) and the only time I got a GF deep dish. (It wasn't my favorite.) I admit, getting three deep dish pizzas in as many days was probably a bit much. Plus, we ordered way to much food here. Basically, by the this time, we had our fill of deep dish.
Next, we caught the bus and went to the Art Institute of Chicago. I don't know if it was because we were there at the end of the day or what, but we felt like we had the place to ourselves. After the madness of the Louvre, this place was a dream! Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Chagall, Pollock, O'Keefe and so many more . . . it full of famous paintings. We were wowed to see American Gothic in person and CJ was excited to see artwork that she had learned about in school.
The next morning, we were going to see the Willis Tower, but H got sick during the night. We attributed it to gorging ourselves on too much deep dish pizza the day before and decided to just hang out at the hotel to let him recover until it was time for us to go.
So we said goodbye to fabulous Chicago, already making plans to go back, grabbed our rental car and headed west to our family reunion destination: Clear Lake, Wisconsin. We stopped for lunch in Madison, but after seeing billboard after billboard advertising local cheeses I finally told Brandon I wanted to stop at the next one, whatever it was. So we stopped at Cady Cheese Factory and got some cheese curds, caramels and turtles. Totally worth the stop.
For the reunion, we rented a church-turned-AirBnb, which was pretty dang cool. There were enough bedrooms that all the cousins could room with whoever they wanted to and all the parents could have their own room--plus some to spare. The first afternoon we all settled in, but the next day we went to Clear Lake Park to play in the lake. The Canadian wildfires had blown smoke down to make the air quality worse that day than it was in Bangalore, but luckily it was only bad that one day.
The next day we decided to go hiking at the Interstate Park and an employee at the visitors center helped us pick a trail that had glacial potholes. Grandma slipped early in the hike, so the grandparents went back to the car to meet us at the end of the hike. The views were great and we could wave and yell hello to the people on the Minnesota side of the river.
We had all just gotten situated in our cars when our niece got sick in the back of our rental. It honestly never occurred to us that it may have been connected to our kids getting sick in Chicago, but for the next few days, kids in various families started to get sick about every 48 hours. Oops! Sorry everyone!
That evening we had a family game where you had to grab a paper bag with your mouth, tearing off pieces as you go. It got pretty intense--Brandon and I both changed into stretchier pants after two rounds. In the end, it was only me and our two nieces left before we called it a draw. I'm pretty proud of myself that I could hold my own!
The next day we went kayaking and canoeing down the St. Croix River--the Minnesota side of Interstate park this time. All the cousins got paired up, but Brandon and I got a canoe so CJ could stay with us (she's not a huge fan of boats).
We stopped at an island halfway down and it had frogs galore.
The kids loved it!
The next morning we all packed and cleaned and said our goodbyes. I've only posted the highlights, but it was really just so good to see all these people we love and have the kids connect with their cousins in person again. And the entire time I kept thinking, "yeah, ok, this is why we came."
We drove to the Minneapolis Airport to catch our flight to Houston and I have embarrassingly few pictures of the week we spent there. Our wonderful friends the DeHarts were out of town (ugh! the timing of it all!), but they let us stay in their home. Which was great because we helped them find their home and it was in our old ward. So we saw all the people that used to be our neighbors and it made us realize that--wow!--we really have been gone a long time.
We were at the Kearns' (right across the street) when there was a massive storm that made the electricity flick on and off. We were like, oh no big deal. The Kearns' were like, uh, yeah it is. The wind was getting crazy so we helped them secure all their yard stuff and then thought we should probably head back. The boys made a run for it--and got soaked--but Sarah gave the rest of us a ride. We also got soaked. The power went out for real not long after and we all got ready for bed in the dark. The next morning the power was still out. Brandon drove around and there were some tree branches down but nothing too crazy. We went over to Walmart for a bit because they had power--and wifi. I totally forgot how you can't get any phone signal with whatever heat-resistance stuff they put on the roofs--but mostly we just had to hang out in the heat. Altogether, the power came back after 18 hours.
We had a great time seeing friends and eating all the things.
Now please enjoy the very few pictures we actually do have.
Pretty sure CJ took this at church.
Obviously we are doing great.
Always great to hang out with the Laws!
I took the kids to get some mediocre Texas BBQ for lunch.
E was enamored with the unlimited drinks!
And then we took a flight to Utah! Brandon was only with us for five days so we packed in all the things while we was there (aside from, you know, the dentist and friends we visited but didn't take pictures with 🙄), which included:
Going to the Spanish Fork temple . . .
. . . dropping H off to go to his first stake dance (he earned $15 from his Aunt Jen for asking three girls to dance). . .
He didn't want to stand still for me to take a picture,
but I got this one
. . . saw a production of Mary Poppins at the Scera Shell. I used to audition for and watch plays at the Scera all the time when I was in middle school. Their production value has gone way up since then! Mary Poppins was flying all over the place!
We went on a short hike with Brad and Kim; the trail was technically closed due to all the downed trees (from the heavy snowfall they'd had that winter) but it was packed with people. We only made it maybe half way before I realized that I should have eaten something before we left and we decided to turn back. But because we turned back, we explored an outdoor auditorium and under a patch of trees, we found the tiniest bit of snow! The kids were thrilled!
We went to the Saratoga Springs temple open house . . .
And then Brandon left to go back to India while the rest of us stayed behind. We were able to meet up with Ben/MA and kids so H could do baptisms with his cousins. It was probably the last time we would see the Provo temple before it got torn down for the new one.
The next day we packed up the car and drove up to Idaho (which was brutal! stuck behind two car accidents on the road made for an extra long drive) for a family reunion with my mom's side of the family. Even though they have reunions every year, it had been a long time since we'd been to a reunion There were cousins I hadn't seen since I don't know when, and Mike and Adam and families came out, too!
Originally we were going to camp in a tent, but when I realized that my folks had gotten a hotel room in town, I asked if we could please get one too. It meant a half hour drive to and from the reunion, but it also meant sleeping in a bed. I think we made the better choice. It was the first time I'd shared a bed with CJ in a long time and the girl apparently likes to squeeze a stuffed animal in her sleep. But instead of a stuffed animal, all she had was my arm. So I kept waking up to my arm being squeezed.
At the reunion, the kids played on a water slide and slid down the canal, there was a pinata (of course!) and we talked about grandma and grandpa, one of my cousins brought a freezer trailer full of ice cream for anyone who wanted it (!), and we all caught up in each other's lives. It was a fun few days.
I was going crazy in the back of the van during the drive!
Mini horse rides!
E loved to visit the dogs
Mike and Adam both came back to Utah after the reunion so we could spend more time with them. Seth and Ashley came up for a day so we could have a mini reunion (minus Chelon).
We went to Macy's to get massive ice cream cones, which is something that was on our list to-do while we were in Utah. I let the kids pick however big they wanted, but once they saw how big the Kong kone was (they largest size), they opted for the smaller ones. Still very large! I didn't get one and it's a good thing because neither of the girls finished theirs.
We went down to Spanish Fork to see the Dripping Rock Falls and then play in the river.
For the 4th, we had a bbq and did fireworks at a nearby church parking lot, but from our spot we could watch all of the fireworks in the neighborhood. (H--if you're wondering why you're not in any of these pictures, it's bc you wouldn't let me take any of you.)
Who do you think won?
Getting set for the fireworks
E loved her baby cousin!
Someone stole the phone
Brothers
The next morning, all of the cousins that were old enough went to the do baptisms at the Provo City Temple--which I'd only been to once before. It was only E's second time going (she was able to go with the youth group while we were in Houston), and it was great to be able to go with her this time. Plus, I can't think of the last time I went to the temple with my own parents and siblings.
The rest of the trip went quickly playing with cousins.
We had a big family dinner before we left, but here's the only proof I have:
showing off their guns
And then it was time to go! The kids and I had a direct flight to Amsterdam and then--this was something we've never done before, but now that we've done it, I'm not sure why--we spent the night in a hotel so we could get some sleep before another 11-hour flight.
waiting for our flight
It was a great six weeks, but it was so good to be home!