I’m writing with a smile on my face. I’ve just got back from a wonderful weekend in Chicago with the company of my siblings and friends (photos gallery here). Michael turned 30 on March 19, and on Thursday, Joe flew in from Washington DC to surprise him. Dad picked up Joe at the Milwaukee airport and delivered him to Michael’s house. I wish I’d been there to see Michael’s expression when Joe appeared at his door.
On Friday, Sylvia was at Donna’s house, so I had the opportunity to meet Joe and Dad and Michael for lunch at Hubbard Street Diner. (Lisa had convinced Michael to take Friday off work as she knew that Joe was going to be in town…sneaky sneaky!) Joe and Michael went to an arcade to do Dance Dance Revolution, just like they did in the old days.
Andrew and Sylvia were delighted to see their uncles after their days at school and daycare. Then we all came back to our place were we enjoyed homemade pizza for dinner. Later that evening, Josh (Michael’s friend from high school) arrived from the Twin Cities. A few minutes later, there was another knock at the door, and Maretta walked in. She’d driven down with Josh to surprise Michael. Kyle wasn’t able to join us due to a heavy workload, so we (especially Michael and Bryan!) missed seeing him.
On Saturday morning, we drove down to Chicago.
I took lots of sibling pictures throughout the weekend. We were all together for about three hours on Christmas Eve, and then we were together at Joe’s graduation last May. Since our times together have been few and far between, I wanted to photo-document it:)
Here’s Michael and Lisa at the Oasis where we stopped for lunch.
After picking up Michael’s friend Matt in Chicago, we all headed to Chicago’s Science and Industry Museum.
I hadn’t been to the Museum of Science and Industry since I was a young kid, and there were only a couple exhibits that I recognized. We all enjoyed the chick hatchery where we saw some baby chickens coming out of their eggs. They have the same birthday as Michael!
The train section was pretty cool and made us all think of Terry. He’s in Death Valley with Jack and Tom and Peter this week (you can see his pictures here), so sadly, he missed our Chicago outing. We took this photo (standing in front a of a large steam locomotive) for him:)
There were some incredible exhibits on avalanches, tornadoes, tidal waves, and lightening in the Science of storms area. Andrew got pretty nervous, so he and Michael and Lisa peeled off and explored on their own. Word was that Andrew was a big fan of the climbing wall.
Sylvia had a fun time at the museum. Her favorite exhibit was the “Fairy Castle.” Here’s a pic of my ballerina girl looking at a ballerina bear. They match!
After the museum, we headed over to Ron of Japan, our family’s first place to eat in Chicago. Here’s Michael with his gift from Maretta: a Ghost Buster’s costume…just like the one Mom made him when he was about six.
We had a group of 10, so it was a little cozy at our table (made for 8), but we’re all friends!
Maretta and Joe get a little sibling cuddle.
Andrew loves Uncle Joe!
So does Sylvia.
After dinner on Saturday night, we headed back to Matt’s apartment to play games and hang out.
Maretta knitting (two socks at once…toe-up).
There’s the birthday boy!
While we played a game called Bang, I played with my camera and flash. Thanks to everyone for being accommodating and patient with me while I played with the remote external flash!
What a great day! Our bellies were full, and the room was full of laughter. Plus, we were looking forward to brunch at the Four Seasons the next morning:) Ahh, as Matt said, the Babler crew is about Art and Food and Family. Makes me smile.
You must have had an incredible time together!!! Priceless.