R & J: Visit from the KiDs

"it was sure nice of you to take them out! is this their first time shopping?"
--trader joe cashier to rich, referring to my parents :)

my parents came to visit! it was a blast, and i was depressed to see them drive off. i'm so grateful they came because i know how busy they are. we packed a lot of stuff into their visit. the first day they got here, we took them to see rich's school, my hospital, went car shopping just for fun, cooked chicken tikki masala and watched the news and a movie. that was supposed to be our lazy chill day, but it ended up being pretty busy. one of my favorite things is to hear my parents and rich discuss politics. warms my heart. :)

the next morning, we catched the metra for downtown. we walked through the city and on lakeshore drive to the field museum. it was a nice day thankfully because it ended up being over a four mile walk! i thought it was supposed to be just over two...oops! lol! good thing my parents have energy like toddlers! the field museum was ginormous and awesome. rich and i had no clue how big it was. after a few hours of being there, we all collapsed on a bench in the dinosaur exhibit for about an hour. haha! we are wimps! we learned a lot about the cryolophosaurus though! :) after the musuem, we went to giordanos for some famously delicious chicago deep pizza. yummy! then we went home and watched the news again. yes, we are junkies!

the third day, we took my parents to the signature room. the view was amazing. i love that restaurant and my parents. after dinner, we took them to see the "million dollar quartet" which is a musical inspired by the recording session that brought elvis presley, johnny cash, carl perkins and jerry lee lewis together. based on how much parents were movin' and groovin' along with the singers, i think it is safe to say they liked it! :) it was a pretty sweet play, and it was highly recommended for when the parents/in-laws visit. we finished up our weekend with a trip to trader joes' were my parents practically bought every sugary sweet item in store! ahah, i think my mom is trying to fatten me up. we got cheesecake, coconut ice cream, moose tracks ice cream, black licorice, macadamia nuts, dark chocolate covered pomegranates, dark chocolate covered gingers, raspberries, blackberries and coconut cookies! we were like little kids in a candy store. the cashier thought we were hilarious (see above quote). the sweets were tasty though and now, thanks to my parents, we have delicious treats everywhere! it was an awesome weekend, and we had a fabulous time. thanks for visiting mom and dad! we love you. XOXO!

there was a blizzard right before they came. i was worried they wouldn't be able to make it, but it stopped and made everything look all "white christmas" for us.

rich showin' off his place of learnin' to the in-laws

my mom wanted to see the area where i go on walks when talking to her, so we put on our boots and trudged through snow! troopers!

my two favorite men riding the metra and making my mom and i laugh. "he is eating all the proceeds!"

I LOVE MY MUMMY

rich was supposed to be studying for boards, but he took a three day breather. thanks a lot studycakes! the trip would not have been any fun without your face!

dad doing business during a pic! he is efficient! :)

dad, me, an elephant and tyrannosaurus sue (in the background, to the left)

my dad is hilarious! after walking like 8 miles and standing all day, on our way out of the museum, i turn around and see my dad doing this!!! lol! i love him. boys never stop being boys, right?!