Chicago Christmas

Before heading to Mt. Carmel for Christmas, we had a celebration over at Laura's and our own family Christmas. Some pics below.

Willow and Grandma opening a gift

Alex had lots of fun inspecting the ornaments on their tree

Reading time with Willow

Time to open stocking presents

I got lots of handmade gifts from Alex this year

Alex was super excited to get a big box of Pokemon cards

Flashing back a few weeks, Alex put all the decorations on the tree himself

Instead of one gingerbread house, this year we did a whole village

Alex came up with the idea of adding a fire pit in front of the chalet

Thanksgiving with a side dish of Hanukkah

As is our tradition, we spent Thanksgiving with Dave's family, and, since we are all together, we have our Hanukkah celebration then too. Shawn's family joined in this year as well, so we had a couple of very full tables, plates and plates of yummy food, and lots of good company.

Mindy ran the Chocolate Turkey race with me (a new holiday tradition). Here we are modeling our aprons. 

Alex and his buddy, Reggie

Cousins having more fun than that chair can hold

Diamond family photo

And, the silly version of the family photo

Chicago Park Outing

We finally took advantage of our proximity to the Metra to head downtown for a few hours this afternoon. The main goal was to check out the open parts of the new Maggie Daley Park, but we had to pass through Millennium Park to get there, which always requires a stop at the bean. 

Despite being a little chilly and rainy, we had a great time and can't wait to go back. Come visit, and we'll plan a fun outing!

Bean picture #1

Bean picture #2 -- family selfie

Alex really likes the Frank Gehry bandstand and wanted a picture with it in the background

Only part of the fun at the new park

Our little ninja warrior

Enjoying the train ride home after a fun day