EEEEP! I can't believe it has taken me a month to finally write about our great vacation with the Calder's!
They were able to come visit for a week and even though it was HOT (record setting days of 100+) we had a blast.
Saturday
The Calder's arrived after two long days of driving and were ready just to kick back and relax. We had dinner and then headed to UW-Madison to walk around and check out Rhythm and Booms. The fireworks were great only we tried to take and short cut and got stuck tramping through the woods in a dark with only cell phones as flashlights but we surrived!
Sunday
We attended church and then headed off to drive through the Aboretum. After that everyone was ready to be out of the car so we head to the Madison Zoo. Ryan is absolutely obsessed with this guy:
Monday
We drove to Chicago that morning.
First stop = Field Museum
Second Stop = Shedd Aquarium. We had to wait in line forever to get in but it was well worth the $8! From hugs aquatic snakes, to sea turtles with injured hind fins, to sea horse and frogs.
Third Stop = Giordano's for delicious pizza
Tuesday
We woke up early to be to Sky Deck at the Willis Tower before it opened.
Luckily we beat most of the crowds and could zoom right to the top.
After getting our fill of the great views we satisfied my guilty pleasure and hit up the Loft sale
Then it was off to Panera Bread for a delicious lunch and back to the hotel to change for the temple.
Originally Ryan and I were going to do sealings or a session but last minute we decided to stay with the twins and do baptism and boy am I glad we did.
When we got there the temple workers were so grateful to see me and Bridget. I guess earlier in the day something had happened with their computers and they didn't catch the fact that one of the brethren in a youth group didn't have a current temple recommend. Unsure of which baptisms he preformed they needed to redo 70 female names that day. It was one of the most spiritual experiences I have had at the temple in a long time. To know that some of those women had been so excited for that ordinance and then to have it ripped away a few hours later would be devastating. I am so grateful we were able to help out even if it meant getting baptized 45 times! This also happened to be the first time I was able to be baptized by Ryan :)
A member from the temple presidency came to thank us and he said something that really stuck out to me. "It is not often that you have a chance to change someone's eternal destiny. You have plenty of chances to impact it but few times to change it. Today you changed eternal destiny!'
Ryan's cousins who lived north of Chicago were able to join us at the temple so afterwords we stopped at Wendy's for dinner. Ryan's dad convinced one of his cousins to eat a 44 oz frosty and his cousin actually finished the whole thing! It definitely qualifies for Man vs. Food.
That night was hit the Magnificent Mile. We went to the lounge at the top of the Hancock Tower, got sundaes at Ghirardelli's, and checked out 'the bean."
Wednesday
We went to Millenium Park that morning to see "the bean" and the buckingham fountain.
Next we checked out of the hotel and headed to Ryan's Aunt's home for a 4th of July BBQ.
Seriously we ate for like 8 straight hours. I have never felt so full in my life! But Sheila just kept bringing out more delicious food like fruit platers, chips, homemade ice cream, oreos, homemade caramel popcorn, and the list goes on. We enjoyed games and good conversation before heading to Milwaukee.
Thursday
aka the Bachelor Pad
We spent Thursday in Milwaukee showing his family where Ryan has been all Summer.
We went to one of Milwaukee's great beaches along Lake Michigan and then headed down town.
We found this amazing BBQ place called Smoke Shack. Seriously it is to die for! If you are ever in the area you need to check it out. Then we walked around downtown with mango smoothies from the market.
We finished out tour at the Milwaukee Art Museum. By sure chance it was still open and admission happened to be free since it was the first Thursday of the month!
We were able to spend about an hour there and then watch the wings close.
Friday
We spent the day in Madison.
First we decided it would be fun to die of heat exhaustion while canoeing on Lake Mendota.
Next we went downtown to tour the capital, see the Veteran's Museum and have lunch at The Old Fashioned.
Finally we admitted defeat to the heat and headed out to Cave of the Mounds to experience nature's air conditioning.
On our way back we drove through the trollway and someone people even bought their own troll souvenirs.
We finished the day with the National Mustard Museum and dinner at Hubbard Avenue complete with duo of silks pie!
Saturday our visitors headed for I-80 W to return home. It was a great trip and hopefully despite the heat we will be able to convince them to come back!
Monday
We drove to Chicago that morning.
First stop = Field Museum
Second Stop = Shedd Aquarium. We had to wait in line forever to get in but it was well worth the $8! From hugs aquatic snakes, to sea turtles with injured hind fins, to sea horse and frogs.
Third Stop = Giordano's for delicious pizza
Tuesday
We woke up early to be to Sky Deck at the Willis Tower before it opened.
Luckily we beat most of the crowds and could zoom right to the top.
After getting our fill of the great views we satisfied my guilty pleasure and hit up the Loft sale
Then it was off to Panera Bread for a delicious lunch and back to the hotel to change for the temple.
Originally Ryan and I were going to do sealings or a session but last minute we decided to stay with the twins and do baptism and boy am I glad we did.
When we got there the temple workers were so grateful to see me and Bridget. I guess earlier in the day something had happened with their computers and they didn't catch the fact that one of the brethren in a youth group didn't have a current temple recommend. Unsure of which baptisms he preformed they needed to redo 70 female names that day. It was one of the most spiritual experiences I have had at the temple in a long time. To know that some of those women had been so excited for that ordinance and then to have it ripped away a few hours later would be devastating. I am so grateful we were able to help out even if it meant getting baptized 45 times! This also happened to be the first time I was able to be baptized by Ryan :)
A member from the temple presidency came to thank us and he said something that really stuck out to me. "It is not often that you have a chance to change someone's eternal destiny. You have plenty of chances to impact it but few times to change it. Today you changed eternal destiny!'
Ryan's cousins who lived north of Chicago were able to join us at the temple so afterwords we stopped at Wendy's for dinner. Ryan's dad convinced one of his cousins to eat a 44 oz frosty and his cousin actually finished the whole thing! It definitely qualifies for Man vs. Food.
That night was hit the Magnificent Mile. We went to the lounge at the top of the Hancock Tower, got sundaes at Ghirardelli's, and checked out 'the bean."
Wednesday
We went to Millenium Park that morning to see "the bean" and the buckingham fountain.
Next we checked out of the hotel and headed to Ryan's Aunt's home for a 4th of July BBQ.
Seriously we ate for like 8 straight hours. I have never felt so full in my life! But Sheila just kept bringing out more delicious food like fruit platers, chips, homemade ice cream, oreos, homemade caramel popcorn, and the list goes on. We enjoyed games and good conversation before heading to Milwaukee.
Thursday
aka the Bachelor Pad
We spent Thursday in Milwaukee showing his family where Ryan has been all Summer.
We went to one of Milwaukee's great beaches along Lake Michigan and then headed down town.
We found this amazing BBQ place called Smoke Shack. Seriously it is to die for! If you are ever in the area you need to check it out. Then we walked around downtown with mango smoothies from the market.
We finished out tour at the Milwaukee Art Museum. By sure chance it was still open and admission happened to be free since it was the first Thursday of the month!
We were able to spend about an hour there and then watch the wings close.
Friday
We spent the day in Madison.
First we decided it would be fun to die of heat exhaustion while canoeing on Lake Mendota.
Next we went downtown to tour the capital, see the Veteran's Museum and have lunch at The Old Fashioned.
Finally we admitted defeat to the heat and headed out to Cave of the Mounds to experience nature's air conditioning.
On our way back we drove through the trollway and someone people even bought their own troll souvenirs.
We finished the day with the National Mustard Museum and dinner at Hubbard Avenue complete with duo of silks pie!
Saturday our visitors headed for I-80 W to return home. It was a great trip and hopefully despite the heat we will be able to convince them to come back!
Holy cow I miss you guys so much!!! I loved all the pics. How fun to have Ryan's family there. Ryan's hair is short! It looks good. I'm glad you guys got to do the shedd ;) and I'm glad you shared Hubbard ave diner with his fam, YUMMY!
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