Our weekend away...

We had a wonderful weekend! 

On Saturday we went to the fundraiser for WBTR!  The dogs and us had a blast hanging out with all of the crazy Boston Terrier lovers.  There was section for all of the dogs to run around and play.  Of course, Marley was picked on quite a bit by the Boston's but she has learned to stand up for herself, and if that doesn't work, she hides by her Momma.  We got there at about 2pm and hung out until 4:30pm so the girls were exhausted when we left.  Remi did really good walking around and checking out the other dogs, but more than anything she was found hiding under the table or being passed from person to person.  Everyone wanted to hold her!  It was so amazing to see how much love there was for her.  WBTR had a raffle, which unfortunately I didn't win anything, but Penny did!  And they also had a Halloween costume contest.  Although Marley and Stella looked adorable in their bee and ladybug costumes, they didn't win, but our little Remi won second place!!  She made the cutest little owl ever!

Remi as an owl

On Sunday, we took the grandma's to spend the night at Grandma Kris's and then we head to Chicago.  We checked into the hotel at about 2:30, and then we got ready to go out for the night.  We went to dinner at Dib.  I thoroughly enjoyed their sushi and Mark really liked their Pad Thai and egg rolls.  This place was pretty original because you could BYOB (bring your own booze)!  I had never heard of this, and unfortunately we didn't partake in this but other restaurant goers definitely did! 

Then, we went to look for parking, and apparently it is VERY hard to find parking by the Riviera Theater.  Mark may have gotten pulled over for an illegal turn on red.  Luckily, the cops let us off because they said our punishment would be when the Bears beat the Packers this coming weekend.  Whatever buddy, as long as we don't get a ticket!!

bored in line (wearing his new shades I got him for Sweetest Day)

Once we FINALLY found street parking, we headed for drinks before standing in line for an hour!  We got inside at about 6:30pm and scored SECOND ROW standing!!  The standing part is what definitely sucks but either way it was a good time!

the opener, Harper Blynn

no zoom!

Monday morning, we woke up around 7:30am and had a good continental breakfast.  I made good use of the fitness center (ran 1 mile and biked 2 miles) and then we both hung out in the pool (which had to be 100 degrees!).  It was such a great way to start the day.  Then we headed to Schaumberg to hit up some good shopping!

I didn't go crazy buying stuff because I honestly have no idea what I need for the new house yet.  Me and my mom will have to make a trip back once I have a better idea of what we actually need.  For now, it was so much fun to look around.  After some shopping, we had lunch at P.F. Changs.  Apparently we had a craving for Asian food this weekend!

Remi didn't seem too happy when we picked her up from Grandma's but she bounced back quickly.  Stella and Marley could have cared less that we came back for them.  Pretty sure if Stella could talk, she would ask to live with Grandma.  Haha!

Arizona vacation- Days 3 and 4

Day 3

In the morning, we were trying to decide what we were gonna do, and Mark's mom had mentioned hiking up Camelbak.  I had looked it up online and it didn't sound too bad, plus it was listed as one of the top things to do in the area.  We decided to go for it, and after realizing I didn't really pack any hiking gear, I threw on whatever I could find and we packed up some snacks and headed on our way.  Mark said it was a mile and a half walk, which isn't bad cause we walk about a mile around the block so that should be a breeze.  Right??  Um....didn't realize just how high up this walk was gonna take us.  Me and Kris had no idea what we were in for.  Mark, of course, reassured us by letting us know there were more difficult trails then the one we were gonna walk. After we started walking we realized it would take a VERY long time to get to the top.  About half way, it got VERY steep and we were basically rock climbing the rest of the way.  It was intense, and pretty scary for someone who isn't too fond of heights.  But either way, after A LOT of swearing and complaining, we MADE IT!!  Go us!!

we even made some friends along the way :)

beautiful views all around

very steep!!

taking a break

rock climbing

waiting for our turn

we had to follow the blue dots to make it to the top

After our crazy time climbing a mountain, we decided to treat ourselves to In and Out.  So good!!  Then we headed to Fountain Hills to watch a geyser.  This is when I started to realize how severely burnt I was.  Not fun!  Anyways, Fountain Hills was beautiful, and this time there was not much walking involved, which was much appreciated.  Haha!

This was pretty interesting to see, and it was in a beautiful park.  It was nice to just sit for a bit and watch this for 15 min. Then after that long day, we headed back to the rental to chill out.

Day 4

We were going to go on a Jeep tour in Sedona but after the long day the day before, we all decided to just chill out.  We went to some open houses, did a little shopping, and ate lunch at Paradise Cafe (exactly like a Panera, yummy).  Then, we headed back to the rental and sat out by the pool and relaxed for a bit before heading to the airport.

We had an amazing time in Phoenix!  Glad we were able to see so much and do so much in the short amount of time that we were there.  Hopefully we will get to go back someday :)

Arizona vacation- Day 2

On Saturday (Day 2), after a good night of sleep, I was of course up early because I was so excited to start the day.  We got off to a rough start though, because there was a time change and when we realized our phones and the cable box time hadn't changed we were extremely confused.  Gary had a flight back to WI that day so we really needed to know what time it was!  Haha!  We checked the internet and it said the time didn't change in Arizona, so as a last resort I called the airport just to be completely sure.  So jealous that the time doesn't actually change in Arizona.  Makes life so much easier.  Anyways, Gary was willing to go the airport early so we could get started on our day.  This was the day I was most excited about because my good friend Courtney that lives in Arizona was gonna spend the day with us at the zoo.

We hit up the Tanger Outlet mall after dropped Gary off at the airport, and waited for Court.  After eating lunch at the mall, we headed to the Wildlife Zoo and Aquarium.  I am obsessed with zoos, because I love animals.  I actually found the Aquarium part better than the actual zoo itself.  But either way we had a great time.  This place was HUGE so we spent a good 3 hours walking through the whole place.  Here are some pics...

me and Court by the flamingos

this was my favorite part!

They had little babies everywhere including these cuties

loved all the hands on action

nerds

lovebirds

After our amazing time at the zoo, we headed to dinner and had sushi!!  It wasn't as great as our favorite place back home but still good and different.  Then we went back to the rental and hung out with Court for a bit and tried to teach my husband how to play Sudoku.  That was a failure but fun all the same :)

Arizona Vacation- Day 1

We were up at about 3:30am to get ready and pack for vacation.  I'm not so great with packing ahead of time, and my husband was the same way.  Plus, grandma and Aunt Pat stayed at the house to watch the dogs while we were gone so we had little things around the house to finish up before we left.  At about 5:30am we left and headed to the airport because our flight left at 7:00am.

We definitely look tired in this pic, but also very excited!!  We arrived in Arizona at around 10:15am and Mark's mom and step dad picked us up.  We headed to lunch at Coco's because we were starving after our 4 hour flight.  Then we headed back to the rental to unpack a bit and hang out before heading to the spa.  We had massages scheduled for 1:30 and 3, so we took our swimsuits with so we could hang out in the hot tub while the other was in for their massage.  Kris came with to keep us company.  I got the therapeutic massage, because I always have a lot of knots.  When I came out, and was walking into the locker room, I could see Kris peeking her head out from around the corner.  I thought she was trying to scare me so I told her I could see her.  She came in and chatted with me for a bit and then said she would head to the hot tub so I could change.  When I opened up my locker, I immediately noticed a big red Kessler's jewelry box in my shoe!  I always bring one with on vacation to keep my jewelry in but was very confused as to how it got in there.  I opened it up and there was a gorgeous ring inside!!

I had mentioned to Mark how I wanted a right hand ring someday.  Well he listened!!  Kris had been standing around the corner trying to get pictures of me finding it. :)  So cute!

After all that excitement, we headed to the hot tub to hang out, and then after that read magazines in the meditation room while we waited for Mark.  After the spa, we headed to dinner at BJ's.  It's a cool brewery kinda place.  Anyways, me and Kris had the tuna salad, which was really good, and Mark got the Mahi Mahi.  Everyone (minus me) had to try the different beers.  And then after that long and exciting day, we headed back to the rental to go to bed (super early!).