Fantastic Weekend!

We had the best weekend! After lazing around on Saturday morning, we went over to catch some of the Illini game with Michelle and the kids. The Illini lost, boo, but we had a fun time nonetheless. After that, the kids went to a birthday party at The Little Gym (one of their favorite places), and Isaac was napping when Kevin's folks arrived at our house. So I had the better part of an hour to sit and visit quietly with Ken and Judy. How nice! After the birthday party, Kevin and I went out for dinner and a show with Michelle and Scott. All three kids stayed home with Jude and Ken. Everything was fantastic! I was worried about leaving Boo, because the few times we went out over the summer he was asleep before we left. This time he was awake, and Judy was going to put him to bed. He did wonderfully. He had plenty of pumped milk in bottles and went to bed without a fuss. I think that Isaac and Judy have a special bond. He has really taken to her. She has such a nice soft voice and a gentle way about her that he loves. On Sunday morning, as soon as Isaac saw her he started to smile and coo. I was so thankful about it! Of course John and Lucy had the time of their lives, playing baseball in the backyard with Ken and doing their Pixos. Judy hit the jackpot by finding two magic kits, one for each of the kids, and bringing them as a treat. John thinks he is Harry Houdini and has shown me his tricks no less than 25 times each. (See the coin mom? Now I'll put it in this box...and it's gone! But look, now it's back!!) Yesterday afternoon, Lucy and I went into her room to learn some of her tricks together, then she put on a show for Kevin. We have gotten a lot of mileage out of the two magic trick kits already.

Last week was Scott's birthday so he chose our restaurant on Saturday night, and he picked Radio Maria. Radio Maria is infamous in C-U but oddly enough I had never been there before. Usually when you mention Radio Maria, people say "weird food" or "eclectic food" or "I hope you are OK with being experimental." So I wasn't sure how I would like it. OH MY GOSH. It was so completely delicious I can not even explain it. It may be the best meal I've ever had, no joke. It's definitely in the top five. I want to go there every Saturday night. Hee hee!

Kimberly recommended the coffee filet (which is a steak with crushed coffee beans on the outside, and a vanilla sauce with whipped sweet potatoes) so Kevin got this. It was all I could do not to grab the plate away from him and eat the whole thing myself. I tried a curried shrimp dish with coconut rice and tropical fruits. I wanted to lick the plate. Seriously. We had some delicious red wine, an awesome appetizer with brie, walnuts and jalapeno jelly, and of course, fantastic conversation with some of our favorite people. We were almost late for the show because we were enjoying ourselves so much.

After dinner we went to see Chicago at the Assembly Hall. The movie version of Chicago is a personal favorite (#1 favorite: Chicago. #2: Dreamgirls. #3: Hairspray. Getting a theme?) and I have a special place in my heart for this musical, because seeing it onstage in the city is one of the last things I did with my grandmother before she passed away. My grandma, my aunt and I used to go to the city when I was in high school and do different fun things, go out to eat, see shows, shop, etc. and this was one of our final outings. I absolutely loved the show of course, but I have a beautiful memory of waiting for the show to start and my grandmother telling me about my grandpa leaving to go overseas during WWII and telling her, I am going to marry you as soon as I get back. I do not know a lot of old family stories like this so the memory is very special.

Anyway, Saturday night's version of Chicago was only mediocre but still a fun time with Kevin and friends. The actresses playing Roxie and Velma were bad, but Amos and Billy were pretty good. I was remembering Emily's story about seeing Cats at Assembly Hall and it being so bad it was laughable. I think I see where she was coming from! It was about 85 degrees in the Hall and some guy in front of us needed a shower real bad. But I am still glad we went, I couldn't pass it up.

Is this post long enough yet?

Yesterday Kevin's folks spent most of the day with us and treated us all to Chipotle for lunch. We spent the afternoon just hanging out, cleaning up and collapsing into bed at 9 PM. OK, that was me. Kevin stayed up until midnight!