Memory Lane

Wyatt and I are in CHICAGO today! It's a Burns family tradition for each kid to take a special trip to visit the Windy City and Aunt Kate & Uncle Paul for their 5th Birthday. I take just the Birthday Boy (or Girl) and enjoy a long weekend that centers around JUST THEM. Selfishly, any excuse I can come up with to visit my sister is good enough for me!

So far, the Chicago Birthday trips have been very girly. Tea parties and American Girl dolls. Fancy Dinners and dressing up. Trips to see Diamonds and Dolphins. So this time around, we are looking forward to being VERY BOY! We have plans to: Visit Wyatt's Jaguar at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Take a trip to the THREE STORY HIGH Lego store (this is what Munch wants to do the minute we get off the plane!) Introduce ourselves to Sue the T-Rex. Ride the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel. AND GO TO A CUBS GAME!!! Matt is a little jealous that his son will be taking in a live game at Wrigley Field before he does...but we couldn't pass this opportunity up.

In honor of our trip, today's Memory Lane is a post from a couple years ago that I wrote right before Molly and I took her birthday trip. 

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Fifty Nifty United States

originally posted February 03, 2010

This is painted on the black top at Megan's school.

Every morning after we walk Megan to class, Molly and Wyatt run back to this spot and hopscotch around the country hollering "What's this one Momma? And this one? What's this one?" It's a great geography review for me. (I think I answer their ques 99% of the time!) 

Since we are on "countdown" til Molly's birthday celebration with Aunt Kate & Uncle Paul in the windy city (9 days til takeoff) her favorite state to find, and stand, is Illinois.Wyatt then runs over to "We Live" (otherwise known as Southern California) and they holler back and forth "Hi Kate! Hi Paul! Hi Chicago!"

It's great fun, and a daily reminder just how far in life and near in heart a place can be at the same time. 

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As much as I wish my sister and her husband lived closer to us, I also enjoy our "trips" - both ours to them and theirs to us - and how special and fun our times together are. Chicago, for us, is far in miles but near in love! Can't wait to share our fun with you when we get back.