hockey, family, friends and food

This past weekend Drew had a hockey tournament in Chicago. The team, the coaches and some of the parents loaded a coach bus early Friday morning.

Pete and I decided to drive and meet them in Chicago because we were going to extend our trip by a day and head to Indiana to visit Jake.

The tournament booked our team in a hotel and we found out that it was in the exact same town that some of my relatives live in. In fact we have stayed at this very hotel. We met my cousin Cindy and her husband John for a fabulous dinner at J. Alexander's before Drew's 10pm hockey game.

It was so great catching up with these two!

Drew's team played a total of 4 games over the weekend against some good competition. 

One thing that none of the parents could get over was that they served alcohol right in the rink-- we have never seen that before.

Saturday night we had dinner at a cute little authentic Mexican restaurant called De Campana in Bensenville.

Over the weekend we also stopped at Gene and Jude's for our favorite Chicago style hot dog!

Policemen on lunch break. :)

And a stop at Johnnie's in Elmwood Park for an Italian beef sandwich.

3 Chicago policemen in line in front of us- we were beginning to see a trend in the dive places we visited. :)

These beefs are so good and have been rated {here} as the best in Chicago. And I totally agree! :)

Sunday, after Drew's last game we headed to see Jake. Notre Dame is just under 2 hour from Chicago, so this was an easy little trip. Jake wasn't home for Easter and it was his birthday just a couple of days before, so we thought we would take him out for dinner to do some belated birthday celebrating. We met him and two of his friends at Corndance Tavern.

The birthday boy.

It was a fun night with a lot of talking and laughter and presents and good food. :)

A trip to ND wouldn't be complete without a stop in the bookstore.

This view never gets old.

I had to get a picture of this cute car. :)

On Monday, Jake had a two hour window between classes and we picked him up at his dorm, packed up some of his things to bring back home for the summer, and took him to lunch. He had a real busy day but it was so nice to see him again before we headed back home.

It was such a fun weekend filled with hockey, family and friends and so much good food!

The fun ended when we arrived home late Monday night...to a flooded (finished) basement.

More to come on that soon.

Happy Birthday, Jake

Wishing you the happiest birthday, Jake! 

Missing you today but we will celebrate number 19 with you at Notre Dame this weekend! 

Love you!

Easter

Our Easter was a happy, sun-filled, relaxing day. We found our Easter baskets- yes we still all get baskets. :) We enjoyed a early afternoon Easter brunch with Pete's Dad. 

We went out for a walk. We soaked up the sunshine sitting on the deck. We watched the Wizard of Oz. We missed Jake who stayed at Notre Dame for the weekend. We celebrated that He has Risen!

like a little kid

I tweeted on Friday morning; 'So many fun, happy & exciting things planned for this weekend that I could not sleep last night! #LikeALittleKidBeforeXmas And that is exactly how I felt!

Friday evening I met up with two friends from high school that I haven't seen in over 20 years!!

We met at Sea Salt Eatery in Minneapolis. It was a gorgeous evening and the weather was absolutely perfect for sitting out on the patio right by Minnehaha Falls. We spent almost 4 hours reconnecting and catching up on each others lives and really in no time at all we were back in sync with our old banter and jokes.  So much laughter and happiness with true friends that filled my heart! And we have made plans to meet again soon!

Saturday evening Pete and I headed up to see Tyler. We were meeting him, his girlfriend Maria and Maria's parents for dinner. It was a nice dinner talking about family, graduation and future plans.

After dinner, Tyler and I headed back to SJU campus for the 'Mom Prom' that junior and senior students and their mom's are invited to.

We had a great time hanging around Ty's friends and their mom's, chatting & dancing. :) Thanks for inviting me Ty!

Caribbean Cruise: Part 3

Tuesday morning we woke to the port of Roatan, Honduras. This is the second time we have been to this island and we were excited to get off the ship and take in all the sights of sunshine.

Our shore excursion for the day was a scenic boat ride to the tropical island of Maya Key.

We enjoyed the day at the beautiful beach and just soaked in the warm sunshine.

The boats to take us back to the port.

Wednesday we were at our third port of Belize.

We had to take tenders over to the island.

Our shore excursion for the day started with a scenic river cruise where we saw alligators, manatees,

iguanas,

monkeys,

and my favorite... dolphins!

Next was a stop for lunch at the 'Old River Tavern' where we enjoyed a locally prepared Belizean lunch.

Next, it was on to a bus for a 45 minute ride to the 'Altun Ha Mayan Ruins'.

We always enjoy the bus rides through the areas that we visit because you get more of a feel for the people and the culture. Our tour guide did a great job sharing about the island, the traditions, the food, the economy....

The market area outside of the ruins.

At this ceremonial Mayan ruin site, there are 13 structures that surround 2 plazas and its 60 foot Temple of the Sun God.

Climbing the steep steps to one of the three main temples.

Amazing panoramic views!

A stop at the little market on the way back to the bus.

Back on the ship we enjoyed a dinner at Vines the tapas and sushi bar.

We spent a little more time at the casino.

And saw a late show in the Princess Theater starring an magician/illusionist.

Our last couple of days on the ship were days at sea. We spent our time at the pool, exploring the ship,

played a couple games of Scrabble,

watched the movie 'Captain Phillips' outside in Movies Under Stars,

competed in an egg drop competition,

and took in the views.

Our last night we had dinner at Sabatini's, the Italian restaurant on board. This is always one of our favorite meals!

We even had some entertaining waiters (teaching us how to do different folded napkins.)

My dinner was sea salt crusted sea bass- which scared me just a bit. :) But was very tasty!

It was a fun week in paradise with these two!