Portillo's

Because we couldn't stay for dinner, we had to stop on our way home.  We decided Champaign was a good point.  We didn't want to do a sit-down restaurant that would defeat the point of leaving early, and the usual fast-food just wasn't "worth it."

Then I saw this option...

The Chicago landmark was it!  Chicago dogs, Italian beef and sausage, and plain hot dog with ketchup (thankfully not against the 'hotdog rules' in this place) were a huge hit!

Saturday Activities

The purpose of the weekend was for the guys to get together, iron out some details, and start figuring out steps needed to be ready in November.  That left a lot of time for simply hanging out and enjoying each other.  Our host, the Stickels, had children in sports, so a group went to watch a basketball game and another group went to watch a volleyball game.  I was glad to see Camden enjoy the action and cheer on the team.

In the afternoon, the men had a meeting and the kids played outside in the dreary, rainy weather.

There was also inside play on the Wii, ping pong table, and art area.

Unfortunately, with the time change, we decided not to stay for dinner.  They were making some dishes with various game which we were looking forward to, but Kevin had to work in the morning and didn't want to get home at midnight.  So we cut the day short and made our way home in a rain storm.

Alexander's Steakhouse

We headed to Peoria, IL this weekend to meet up with several of the men (and their families) who plan to go elk hunting this November.  Most of them are family of Aunt Carole and Uncle Ric.  We met up with them and Joe and Amanda at this favorite Peoria restaurant.  It's uniqueness is that you have the option to grill  your own steak.

You select your choice of cut from the nearby fridge, season it with your choice of season blends, and cook it on the large grill in the center of the room.  For $2 more, the restaurant will cook it for you, but these guys took care of us.

There is a nice salad bar, baked potatoes, and Texas toast (also "grilled by you").  Most everyone had a T-bone and I had a Kansas City Strip.  They rank up there with some of the best steak I have ever had.
 

Camden and Olivia helped each other color in the kid's menu, while Luke gobbled up salad bar items.

It was a delicious start to a great weekend.

Pretzels

One of our favorite appetizers were the 3 pretzels at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Kevin and Camden went there last night for dinner while I was out with some colleagues.  He sent me a picture because BDubs had changed their pretzels.  It's now one HUGE pretzel.  Camden reports it is amazing.

Heading to School

Love when she reads in the car.

President's Day Play Date

We didn't have to make up a snow day, so Camden had the day off.  Sophia came over on Sunday night to sleep over, then we picked Braxton up in the morning for an excursion to Lafayette.

A quick stop at the McDonald's place started our day.  It is nice that it is updated recently, but it is pretty small.  The three of them were bored fairly quickly.  I would say it's because they are getting older and simply outgrowing that kind of thing, but they played for almost 2 hours at the Park when we went...

Then over to Chuck E Cheese's for some arcade fun.

We were about to leave and the mouse made an appearance.  They did a quick dance and ticket grab with him.

I also made a stop at Fresh Thyme and they "entertained" themselves by walking around the store trying to find the hidden tractor. 

The trip was capped off by a heavy bloody nose (Camden) and vomiting (Braxton) on the car ride home.  Thankfully we had just enough napkins in the car to make it to the gas stations at the edge of Crawfordsville for Camden...and Braxton happened to have a sandwich baggie (and good aim) which gave me time to get to a pull-over spot.  Think it may have been car-sickness, but his mom said they've been fighting the bug for weeks among his brothers/sisters.  Just hoping it stays clear of us!

Happy Birthday, Luke

Our great-nephew Luke turned 3 this weekend.  We enjoyed celebrating the birthday boy and his love for all ferocious animals...

Activities including slime, coloring, and nerf guns.

Food and cake.

"Happy Birthday to You!"

So many good gifts.

Stupid Pup

She really is the sweetest thing!  But she can't help but chew up her beds.  We had started using towels, but I didn't really want to wash them in my machine.  Then a friend told Kevin about this spray that is to keep dogs from chewing.  We bought it along with a new bed.  The bitter spray got in all of our mouths when Kevin applied it.  It was disgusting!

And Ginger loved her bed!  But after 4 good days of comfy sleeping, she just couldn't help herself!

She currently has a bare floor for a bed until we can get a mat this weekend.

Valentine's Overload

I picked Camden up from school because I knew she would have valentine's and the containers I sent snack in.  Little did I know she would be overloaded!  I guess with 28 kids, the treats fill a big heart and a mailbox! 

Happy Valentine's Day

The set-up.

The finding.

The enjoying.