Ang and Brad and Seth were here!!!

Okay, so anyone who knows me knows that my two best friends in the world are the twins - Angela and Christine. I can't count how many times I've been somewhere, traipsing around the city, and said to Eric "how I wish Ang or Chris could be here with me..."

Well, finally part of that dream came true! Unexpectedly and with only a couple of weeks notice, Ang and Brad and Seth were able to come on a ministry trip to Canada and the States and decided to come via Chicago so they could spend a few days with us.

What a joy to have them stay in our home, and to spend wonderful quality time with them. We had some fun-filled days and the weather was perfect!

We ate at the Cheesecake Factory downtown....

We went on an architectural boat cruise (on the river and the lake). This is one of my favorite things to do with visitors, and I enjoy it every single time. What a great way to see some of the city and its fabulous buildings...

We went to Millenium Park and saw the Bean...

We went to the Fountain and splashed in the water. This is really cool to see - thousands of tiny pictures create the mosaic of a person's face, who eventually creates an 'o' with his/her mouth and water spouts forth... Brad was the only adult with his shirt off (typical South African male...); and I think Ang and I were the only adult women who got themselves soaking wet. Fully clothed still of course!

We also went to ColdStone Creamery, because who doesn't love ice-cream! Trust me, we also had our fill of it at home, where we stocked up on Haagen Dasz and Ben & Jerry's...

Coffee is always on the agenda, so while plenty of Starbucks was consumed, we also had a couple of stops at Peets Coffee...

One night Seth was very happy to stay at home with a babysitter, while the four of us went for a delicious dinner at Mon Ami Gabi in Lincoln Park. What a gorgeous evening that was, sipping Pinot Noir out on the terrace.

While they were here my mom finally arrived for her long-awaited visit!! The Sunday she arrived Ang and fam went off and had a blast at the Children's Museum at Navy Pier; and on Monday we all went to Ikea and shopping in downtown Evanston. I think Eric was really glad he actually had to go to work - he always says that if there was a purgatory, it would look like Ikea! Haha! Well, I think my mom and the Verreynnes enjoyed it - but they didn't enjoy tasting Root Beer afterwards - it tastes like Mentadent P toothpaste!

Tuesday morning arrived all too quickly and the Verreynnes started their road trip to Toronto. Our time together flashed by and now they are very much missed :(. I hope it's not another 8 years before they visit in the States!!