May 2026 - Chicago w/ Alexa and Murder Mystery

We spent our anniversary in a glamping dome at Bryce Canyon to celebrate our 17th anniversary and Kyle's 40th birthday.  Mike watched our kids again (thank you!).

I threw Kyle a surprise Italian murder mystery party for his 40th and our friends did not disappoint.  They came in costume with fabulous accents and leaned into their characters perfectly.  It was a lot of fun.  The kids were our waiters and Tyler serenaded us with violin music at the fake Italian restaurant.  

I was excited to meet up with a great friend from Toronto, Emily Trujillo, while she was in Utah for a wedding.  I can't believe it's been 18 years since I left Toronto.  

Alexa broke her bat in half on a softball hit (!!) and went with her friends to a school dance this month. 

She said she wanted a staycation for her 15th birthday and I asked if she wanted to come to Chicago with me on a work trip instead.  We flew out on her birthday and got to fly first class, which she said wasn't all that amazing haha. We spent the first day at the Lincoln Conservatory, walked along the river, and saw the Tiffany Dome.  Alexa wanted to do a food tour through Chinatown that evening and she was in heaven.  The tour guide said he's never seen someone her age handle spicy food so well.  We rode the subway and bus all over the city.  It was Alexa's first experience riding a subway.  When we were walking down the stairs to the tunnel her first reaction was how bad it smelled haha.  Every night we watched a different chick flick before bed and loved all the one-on-one time together. 

The second day we went to Shedd Aquarium, the Color Factory, and shopping at the Magnificent Mile. The aquarium had an amazing show with trained beluga whales.  We found an amazing Korean restaurant called Seoul Spice for dinner near our hotel.  

Color Factory clips: https://youtube.com/shorts/Eki9vWYGkQc?feature=share

My work got tickets to a Cubs game and Alexa was able to come along.  They played the Brewers and we had great seats.  

For her birthday party, Alexa and her friends did karaoke.

I got to join Nathan for a donut date at school.  We ate donuts and read books together.  It was fantastic.  Nathan played in his first Rec soccer and tee ball seasons and Liam did baseball and soccer again.  It was machine pitch and Liam was actually a really consistent hitter.  It was impressive.  

Tyler and I went on a date to a fun center with a bunch of different escape rooms and challenges.  One was a laser field that you had to get through.  For our date, Tad and I got canvases from The Dollar Tree and painted Iron Man.  Liam wanted to go to the library for his date and get some new books. What a cutie.

Tyler the Ninja: 

https://youtube.com/shorts/W_ZvXfpQ1GM?feature=share 

https://youtube.com/shorts/A6Kw_1KH-M0?feature=share

We went camping at Electric Lake over Memorial Day weekend.  It was pretty cold at night and Audrey Did. Not. Sleep. Kyle's first words the next morning were "remind me to never go camping with a 3-year old again." 

Other fun things this month included a neighborhood end of school year neighborhood party complete with a bubble machine, and matching dresses for the girls on Mother's Day. 

Nathan's end of school dance: https://youtu.be/bqcKq6laMfw

Tad's end of school dance: https://youtu.be/nXDNKQ4-tbs

Liam was sick so he sadly missed his class dance

It's officially summer!

Funny Quotes and Stories:

Tyler: Audrey, do you want Cheerios for breakfast?

Audrey: No, I want Hunchy Boats (Honey Bunches of Oats)

Mom: Stop looking at what Dad is doing and eat your food. 

Nathan: Mom, I looked at you. So I tooted.

Mom: Thank you??

Nathan: If I eat granola bars then my body can make boogers and then I can eat the boogers 

Alexa playing Apples to Apples, reading a card about wines, which she pronounced “whinnies.”