Family in Virginia

Oh, I got back from Chicago yesterday! It was incredible! I loved every second! My plane was 3 hours late getting in, so I didn't get into Chicago until 2am (3am est). That was irritating. The baggage claim managed to get this stinky grease all over my bag (the handle, it figures). So, the bag got trashed. That Friday we got up and went to CHA (Craft and Hobby Association Convention). It's for retailers and suppliers of any craft or hobby you could think of, although the majority of it is scrapbooking. They have a lot of samples, make and takes, and show specials (getting a discount when you order at the show). Erin (my business partner) and I never buy anything on the first day, we always get catalogs and think about things before we order...otherwise, we would order way too much. After the show, we decided to go to this scrapbook store called "Archiver's". I know, we own our own store, but we still go to other stores, but it's suppossed to be this HUGE superstore, that they only have backeast, so we had to check it out. In order to do so, we had to rent a car. The car rental place asked us if we wanted to get a gps for a few bucks more a day, so we did. THOSE THINGS ARE AWESOME! Erin and I drove ourselves all over Chicago and didn't get lost once! After Archiver's Erin wanted to stop at a shoe store. She proceeded to buy 4 ---YES FOUR---pairs of shoes. I bought one. (GO ERIN!) It was fun. The next day, we went back to the show to place our orders. Erin and I ended up ordering from at least 4 new vendors, trying to expand our business a little. It was so fun. After placing all our orders, we headed to downtown Chicago. We went to Navy Pier and ate at Bubba Gump's. The atmosphere was awesome! Navy pier is so neat! A definite must-do in Chicago. We then changed our clothes in the parking garage, and headed to the Oriental Theatre to see Wicked. We were on the fourth row. We basically saw how much they spit when they sing! It was awesome! I know that sitting that close aren't the best seats, but there were only a few things we didn't have 100% viewing of. They were the only 2 seats left together, so they were great. What can I say about Wicked? It was incredible! I had a smile on my face the whole play! I never looked to see what scene we were on, and never wondered what time it was! It was funny, easy to follow, and had incredible music! I knew nothing about the play before I went (except for hearing Allisun sing it every now and again last summer). So, if you ever get the opportunity, you have to see it! If Erin and I wouldn't have had fun the rest of the weekend, our trip would have been worth it just to see Wicked. We both flew home on Sunday!

Just in time for Kyle's Birthday! It was definately the White-trashiest birthday you could imagine. Since I had been out of town, I didn't have any wrapping paper! But, I had plenty of USPS Priority mailing bags. So, Kyle's gifts got put in those. Apparently while I was gone, Kyle told Troy he wanted party games. So, while our guests were knocking on the door (Kari, Jeff, and Garrett Bennion) Troy printed this donkey of the internet to play pin the tail on the donkey. Small problem...the picture he printed was only about 4 inches by 4 inches. The only think we could find for tails was some ribbon I had gotten at the show in Chicago. The kids had no clue how to play it. Kyle put his tail on the donkey down the wall from where it was at. When Troy put the blindfold on Jake and spun him around, Jake thought the point of the game was to spin, so he just kept spinning in circles, not caring at all about a tail. When it was Kristin's turn for the blindfold, she thought it was a necklace and kept pulling it down around her neck. Troy kept telling her she wasn't a bandito, but she didn't care! Garrett wouldn't be blindfolded, but he stood in front of the 4x4 donkey staring at it for a good 10 minutes trying to figure out what on earth he was suppossed to do...point: pin the tail on the donkey is probably a good party game for older kids. The cake was of course a hit, and the party was over. That's it. Done. Oh, BIG NEWS::::: Kyle has a loose tooth! He has been SO traumatized because he's the only kid that he knows who is gonna be 6 that hasn't lost a tooth (that's all I heard last week, it even caused tears a few times!). When I got home Sunday, that was the first thing he showed me! THANK YOU!

When we found out we were coming out to Virginia, Raquel, Troy's sis, told us that his aunt lived out here. The Korth family isn't the best at communicating (don't worry, I'm working on them! :)), so they didn't know we were even here or that we were coming. When we first got here, I told Troy he should call them...but...let's just say that's not one of Troy's greatest strengths... anyways, since Allisun was here, I told her we should call. (I just felt akward calling, cause I think I've only met her 4 times my whole life) Aunt Delilas was really nice and invited us over for a BBQ (she happens to live 1 mile from Troy's work...what are the odds?). We got there, and to my boys delight, she has a little boy Daxton's age, I think, right between Kyle and Jake's age. Not to mention they had a great yard, huge play structure, and swords and guns. Heaven...they're in heaven... So, Delilas has to be the nicest person ever. She's really genuine and made us feel right at home...even offering to watch the kids for a few days! NICE! (She must be crazy, but nice!) Her oldest son is on a mission in Mexico, and her youngest was the one the boys played with. (I'm not good with names, so I'm not going to try and mess them up.) It was so fun talking to her. She showed us pictures of Troy's great-grandparents and grandparents. They were such old pictures that had been scanned in the computer...I hope someone in that family has it scrapbooked, or documented... Anyways, that's about all we did today...it was so fun. It's also so nice having Allisun here. The kids love her. Everytime we go somewhere, they're worried she's not coming back with us, I don't dare tell them she's leaving on Wednesday!

Pics to be posted by Wednesday...I promise!