Nashville/Chicago – May 2017

We spent an awesome two weeks and a half between Nashville and Chicago. We started this trip in Nashville and drove from there to Chicago. It was such a scenic drive. Definitely different than our normal Arizona road trips. The views were so very beautiful and very green! I enjoyed it the most since it reminded me of scenes from the Twilight movies. I was seriously expecting to see Edward come out of the tall trees, no lie! #TeamEdward

In Nashville, I ran the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. The weather was brutal (hot and humid) and definitely challenged my mind and body. I finished the half marathon with a time of 2:55:54…yeah baby!!! I felt so so proud of myself and at the same time relieved that training was over. HA! Finally I can indulge and eat whatever I wanted! What I eat really impacts my body during runs, so I was being very particular with my meals during training.

The boys enjoyed Nashville; Sebastian would randomly yell “Yee-haw” when excited or happy. We had a few rainy days that limited our activities but we made the best of it. My brother in law Chris and his wife Karen, joined us for a few days along with grandpa Agustin and nephews Angelo and Leo. It was very nice to have them with us and explore Nashville together. We had many yummy meals together and a night downtown with all the hype of the honky tonk crowds.

On our last night, hubs and I wanted to check out some of the honky tonks. We found a few that were family friendly before a certain time, so we had to check them out. The vibe was definitely more chill than what we’ve seen going on at night but we still had a great time. The boys enjoyed the live music and bringing up their sippy cups for a family “cheers.” Yes, we were those parents enjoying a beer with our toddlers at a bar…parenting at its finest! Its not called NashVegas for nothing!

In Chicago we had a lot of fun outings with our family and friends. We enjoyed seeing the boys bond with everyone. They definelty enjoyed all the extra faces they don’t get to see on a regular basis. Sadly, I had technical issues with my phone and all of the memory was deleted and lost, causing me to lose about 1,000 photos. I lost a lot of pictures from this trip so I was very very upset. Especially since I love to document our trips with photo journals.

The weather in Chicago was a bit rough, there were plenty of cold rainy days that limited a lot of our activities with the boys. Plenty of times we would plan for some fun outdoors only to change our minds because it was too cold and we were certainly not prepared for it. Hubs and I got plenty of much needed nights out. Something we really miss doing as a couple. It was like a breath of fresh air to be able to go out without kids and enjoy the Chicago night scene. We also got to celebrate hubs thirty second birthday and Mother’s Day in Chicago. It was nice to celebrate with friends and family since it is not something we get to do every year.

We went to the Children’s Museum in Navy Pier for the first time with the boys. They enjoyed Play It Safe (firetruck area) and the Water Ways exhibit the most! We loved the museum, its so big. We didn’t get to explore the ferris wheel or spend any time walking outside since it was raining but it was still a fun day, minus all the traffic. On a different day we took Angelo, Leo and AJ to Gizmos and left Sebastian and Alex with grandma Villa. Our nephews had a great time, it was a school night so it wasn’t very crowded. Angelo and AJ did the Ratches and Ropes with Zip Line and loved it. They were up so high walking on ropes as they were harnessed. Super cool!! Leo did the Tinker Toy Totland, it was such a huge area to run around, go through obstacles and slides and play with foam balls. Angelo and hubs found an arcade game where they scored on a lot of points so that’s where they stayed most of the time. Definitely fun days with the boys.

Titi and Tony took Sebastian and Alex to Rainey park that day. Later I saw the cutest video of Sebastian pushing Alex on the swing. It just melted my heart!! It looked like the boys were having so much fun with Titi and tio Tony. Tio David took all the boys to ice cream on a different day. All four boys came home super happy with ice cream and cheeto covered elotes. Yes!!! I said Cheeto covered elotes! We haven’t tried them but apparently Angelo loves them. No thanks, HA!

Going back home to Chicago is always a blast and always feels as if it is not enough time. We always have so much to do and so many people we want to hang out with. Going to Chicago is exhausting but totally worth the lack of sleep. We enjoy every day even if it is a day just hanging out at our parent’s home watching tv, stuffing our faces and taking naps. Mom’s cooking is the absolute best! Both moms of course! My mom made her famous cheesy rice, chilaquiles and mole verde. My mother in law made her famous arroz con gandules, carnitas tortas my absolute favorite seafood pineapple dish! Noms!! The boys absolutely loved this trip and would express their joy often. We are already looking forward to our next trip to our home sweet home Chicago.

N A S H V I L L E , T N .