Chicago!!!!

What a great trip to Chicago, Il!!! We had a blast!! It was a crazy whirlwind of a weekend, but so great.

Thursday, I headed to Chicago and Quin met me at the airport to take me to their house. They live about 30 minutes outside of the city of Chicago in the cutest little area ever! It was pretty late, so after some conversation, we went to bed. Friday, I was able to spend most of the day just lounging and playing with Acie and Mae Harmon. We watched some movies, played outside and they showed me some of their favorite spots around town. I loved just being with them and spending some time. Acie doesn't sit much so the only pictures of him are him climbing on something or doing some Justin Beiber moves or working on his handstand....

Ryan got there Friday night. On Saturday morning, we went to a bagel shop and then took our breakfast out to the lake. The lake there looks like our beach...it is huge and beautiful and a little calmer. Then, we all went to Acie's first soccer game. He did great!!!

Handstand pic of Acie :)

Acie and Mae Harmon...not sure about Acie in this pic

Uncle Ryan and Acie

One handed!!!!

Before breakfast

Angie with the kids...Mae Harmon looks like a scarecrow in this one.

Mae Harmon and B

Quin, me and the kids

Acie in his uniform ready for the game

After the soccer game, R and I headed into the city to eat dinner and get ready for the Half Marathon the next morning. It was super crazy because we left the game at 2 to get the train. The train didn't come and then Angie had to drive us across town to another train because we were having to get into the city by 5 to pick up our race packets. The other train got us into the city around 4:30 and we had to get a cab to truck it to the Navy Pier to get our packets. So, we are running through the Navy Pier which is like a big fair with restaurants with our suitcases trying to make it on time. We did make it with about 3 minutes to spare, but it was really stressful.

The city was beautiful and the weather was great. We got to see some of the Carolina game before dinner (such a good game!) and then went to eat at a great little Italian restaurant. The Best Lasagna EVER!!! Then, we got some rest to get ready for our 4:30 wake-up the next morning.

Picture of the city from the Navy Pier....this is the beautiful lake I was talking about..

Another city view...

On our drive through town

On race day, we woke up early because we had to catch the train by 5:30. You would not believe all the people trying to get a seat on the train!!! But, we were able to find some seats and make it to the race spot. We started the race at 7 Sunday morning. It was a really cool sight with all the racers and fans wearing red, white and blue in remembrance of September 11th.

The race was TOUGH. My knee was seriously hurting something awful and Ryan started having these extreme toe cramps, but we made it with a respectable time. I actually prayed about my knee and the Lord gave me what I needed to get through. Also, saw the back of a lady's shirt quoting Philipians that said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", so I tried to think on that. But, 13 miles is a pretty long way!

We made it and we were so incredibly proud of each other. We stayed with each other the whole way and it was a sweet experience of just living life together and experiencing a challenge together. There were so many people encouraging the racers along the way and also some great music here and there that pushed us to the finish line. We got some neat medals and then had to book it out of there to catch our plane!!!