Let's call it "done"...

Um, yeah...this post has been "in-progress" for over two weeks now, so we're just going to call this one "done" and keep on truckin'. These lovely little ladies are my nieces, and they did a great job posing for pictures! These pictures are all at my parents' house, and luckily, we could go inside and take breaks as the girls were getting hot and hungry. It's amazing what some chips and fruit snacks can do for little people! Anyway, hope you enjoy these!

St. Maarten...The Friendly Island!

We just got back from our Caribbean vacation with our friends, Daniel and Erin. Aside from me getting seasick on our day cruise the final day, it was a great week! The island itself is very small...only 36 square miles! The northern half of the island is French, while we stayed on the southern part, which is Dutch.

Ahhhhh, Carib...the island beer of choice, served with a lime:) We arrived in St. Maarten before we could check in, so we headed to Sunset Beach Cafe, which is conveniently located where the beach and airport runway meet. People go there to watch the flights come in...it's crazy cool (and likely not allowed in the U.S.)! The planes are literally landing and taking off right before your eyes! If you want to see more, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAfQwDizpRo










Consider yourself warned...



Dinner at La Gondola...love, love, love italian food!

Riding around the island, we got our first view of the island from above...beautiful!

Lunch on the boardwalk in Phillipsburg. There is a lot of BBQ (not to mention french fries) on this island: chicken or ribs? Michael went for the ribs at this meal...and some more Carib:) Isn't he cute?!

The Boardwalk in Phillipsburg, St. Maarten's capital. There was a lot of great shopping in this place! Prices are closer to wholesale here before items are brought up to the U.S.

Good Thinking...

Snorkeling at Creole Rock on the day-cruise. I staked my claim as the photographer while the others went snorkeling.

So happy I married this guy!

This is where we stayed: The Blue Sapphire. The private villas in front are part of the resort as well, but we were in the main building.

View from the beach on our last night!

My Kind of Town...

So, my parents joined Michael and I for a two-night trip to Chicago. They have been wanting to go for quite a while, given that their only previous visit was several years back for a Spring Break trip. The highlight was meant to be the Museum of Science and Industry, but we kids were more into the hotel pool....which was the case on most family vacations growing up.

Anyway, we made it to an amazing Cubs game at Wrigley (my first night game...loved it!). The Cubs had several players who hit homeruns, and we also got to see Derek Lee hit a grand slam, which was amazingly fun! In addition to the game, we did the architectural boat tour, at some original Chicago deep-dish pizza at Gino's, and made a repeat trip to Harry Caray's steakhouse for dinner....yes, we ate a lot. See for yourself...


Michael breaking out into meat sweats while finishing some deep-dish.



Seriously, it was good...



Mom and Dad outside Gino's...before we inflicted pain on ourselves.







Notice the "W" flags....Cubs Win!

At the end of Navy Pier.