A Richardson visit

Adam, Aiden, and Sydney hopped on a plane on Wednesday and came for a visit. We kept this secret from Jack for a while. Travis picked them up at the airport and showed up at the apartment door with them. 

He was super excited!

And I got some MS honey! 

We pretty much immediately had lunch, and then we walked around Southport. We stopped in Candyality and let the kids pick some treats. Sydney and Aiden had gotten $10 each from Mrs. Annie Laurie, so they were excited to buy yummy candy with their money. Syd was a bit overwhelmed with her options because she told her daddy, "I'm so confused", then she settled on nerds and a ring pop. We went into another store where Sydney bought herself a pink bow ring. We walked to a few other places and headed back home. The kids "napped" in the tent in Jack's room, and Jack went to school. Just before he got out, Travis took Adam and the kids for a ride around part of the city and they picked up supper. We had Mexican and watched Disney Junior. Travis and Adam went to walk around downtown, and the kids all piled up in my bed to sleep. It took a while to get the wiggles out, but then they snuggled up and snored. I loved every second of having these babies next to me. 

Thursday, we got up and had cinnamon rolls and then loaded up in the car to go to the Museum of Science and Industry for the Walt Disney exhibit. 

The kids had a great time seeing Mickey drawings, costumes from Mary Poppins, and sketches of Captain Hook. 

Then they got to go to a workshop and learn to draw Mickey Mouse using a foundation and construction lines. They all focused and tried hard and loved their work. Charlie kept running on stage to the artist, Aimee. She was great. She knew all the kids by name and was very encouraging and patient. Adam and I were exhausted by then from catching four kids who naturally went in four different directions for two hours, so we decided it was time to go. 

I showed them our old apartment and neighborhood, we grabbed Devil Dogs hotdogs, and we went back to the apartment to meet Travis for lunch since he had gotten home from work. We all crashed for naps and were lazy for the afternoon. 

This is how Charlie woke up from his nap. 

We had Pizanos pizza for supper and watched Mary Poppins with the kids. I LOVE THAT MOVIE. This was extra fun since we had just seen the clothes and carpet bag from the movie just earlier in the day. 

Yesterday was probably my favorite. We got up and had banana pancakes and bacon. As we were sitting down to eat, Jack came to me and looked pale as a ghost and said he thought he going to be sick. He looked awful. I immediately jumped up and grabbed activated charcoal capsules but remembered he didn't know how to take a pill. We tried to show him, but he was scared. So I opened it up and added it to applesauce. It's pretty much tasteless, and I knew he'd love having his mouth turn black. He ate it, and within the twenty minutes that we ate breakfast, his color came back and he felt better. That's the second time in a week we've used it and avoided throwing up. Best purchase this month. 

So since Jack was okay, we went and played in the snow!

Jack and Aiden kept getting the snow and throwing it up in the air or blowing it and saying "surprise".

I think all four kids loved being outside despite their hands freezing and hurting. 

We drove to the southport brown line stop to meet Travis so the kids could ride the train and a bus. Charlie was having a rough moment, so he and I stayed back while the rest rode the train. They had an equally rough time because it was so cold for the kids. But while they were out, they stopped and let Aiden spend the last of his money on a huge bag of M&Ms. He was so excited and showed me the recipe on the bag and asked if we could make it. Of course! 

The kids got ready for lunch while Sydney  got ready for our girls' date. We curled our hair, put on makeup and jewelry and had a blast. 

We drove to Hot Chocolate in Bucktown and had desserts.

Oh my. Yum. Sydney got a chocolate shake; I got chocolate tiramisu. 

We played an all-about-Sydney 20-questions game and she pretty much didn't stop to breathe while she drank her shake. I made her stop halfway to save her tummy. I loved my girl time with her. It was a fun, special outing. 

We drove home and told the boys about our fun time and then it was my alone-time with Aiden. Our date. Jack crashed a little bit with Aiden's permission. We decided our date would be making his M&M cookies. 

Except for breaking the eggs, he did every little thing. I read and told him what to measure and gave him the measuring cup or spoon, and he did it. He sifted flour, he mixed with the hand mixer, he was little chef Aiden. 

He was very proud of his dough when it was all ready to chill in the fridge. 

We cooled it for an hour while I made bang bang shrimp, and then he spooned it all out on three cookie sheets and we baked them. They were seriously so good. Our date was just as yummy and fun. I love my Aiden. It was this time of year 6 years ago that I started keeping him as a baby. That 18 months that I kept him flew by, and the 4 1/2 years since then have gone even faster. Crazy how lightening fast he's grown!

We ate in the den and relaxed before bedtime. 

We read a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible, said our prayers, and got in the bed. Adam and Travis went downtown to the Signature Lounge for a view of the city. 

This morning we ate leftovers from pancakes and gathered up their last stray items. Travis, Jack, and the Richardsons headed out the door at 9:00 and I closed the door crying. I absolutely loved having them here. I'm a quality-time person, so my heart was full being with them, and I loved watching our kids play and listen to them talk about silly innocent kid stuff. It was a wonderful few days. Our goal for the trip was for Adam to rest here and Sam to rest back home since their sweet 4-baby load was divided. Hopefully that actually happened! We sure missed Henry, Cruze, and Sam. We love the Richardson crew to pieces and can't wait to all be together again. One day we'll share a backyard. Until then, hugs and kisses!