1 New Hair Cut, 4 New Teeth, 5 Burn Blisters, 8 Days in Illinois

In Which, I Receive a New Haircut



Pretty cute, don't you think? I don't know why I even try to wear long hair. And why are men so attracted to it?

In which, Eve Cuts New Teeth

This whole past week Eve has been her grumpiest yet! She is cutting four new teeth at the same time. Now she is up to eight teeth! Almost half way there and not even nine months old. But along with the teeth has come diahrreah, uncontrollable crying, seperation anxiety, and worst ever diaper rash. It's so sad and raw that her whole crotch looks like a burn victim. :(

In Which, I Burn Myself Quite Badly and Quite Stupidly

Last night I was making a little thank you gift (a mini scrapbook) for our cousins in Illinois. My hot glue gun was not pumping out the glue very fast, so like the idiot that I am, I push the glue stick from behind and a huge glob of 400 degree glue rushes out and burns my hand and fingers. My thumb and ring finger got the worst of it. I had to keep my hand in a bowl of cold water until 3 AM. Then I took it out because I couldn't stand it being in the water anymore. It hurt so bad that my hand just shook on it's own for hours. By morning most of the intense pain was gone, but my fingers have been very sore all day, and I didn't sleep One Wink. And today Eve constantly grabbed my thumb while she was nursing because she wanted to see the bandage but she kept squeezing the blister and boy! did that hurt!

In Which , We Spend a Week in McNabb, Illinois

"Where is that" you say? Somewhere in the middle, surrounded by corn and soybeans. I give McNabb a hard time, but really, it was a great vacay. We flew into Chicago on Sunday, and then drove two hours to McNabb, where Dan, my father-in-law, grew up. All his side of the fam is still there. We stayed with Richie's cousin Eric and his wife Michelle and their three kids, Mackenzie (8), Emma (6), and Jacob(2). So that I don't bore you with a tedious description of each day, I will now list most of the major events of our trip:

A. Attended the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, ate lunch there and walked down the Magnificent Mile in which I slobbered over the decadent shopping impossibilities and wandered jealously through H&M and bought cheap hair accessories and socks.

B. Went to the old Quaker cemetery in McNabb where Richie's grandparents and other family members are buried. It's really pretty and quiet, just like an old rural cemetery should be. There is a semi-famous abolitionist buried there and some semi-famous ancient oak trees. Yay family history! Then we went to a bird sanctuary and wetland reclaimed from corn fields. Also ate at Smitty's in Leonore. Which is smaller than McNabb. Which is almost impossible. Richie's Uncle Larry bought me a Smitty's t-shirt.

C. Checked out a really pretty and fun orchard and farm called Tanner's. TONS of delectable goodies for sale and a bakery and cider brewery and get this, even a goat boardwalk that runs two stories about ground and ends in a tree house just for the goats! I would have taken a picture of it because it was hilarious, but Richie had the camera to take a picture of his huge fishing catch:D. Played Scrabble and cooked the Edens dinner. I creamed Richie at Scrabble. Heh heh.

E. Drove to Springfield and did all the Lincoln stuff, which was really neat. His tomb is a very sacred spot, and at the presidential museum they had his actual stovepipe hat on display. It even had finger marks worn onto the brim from him tipping his hat for years. I liked that.

F. Took a pretty walk through the timber and then the Edens took us out to a place called Rip's. It is famous for its fried chicken, which is the only thing on the menu. As appetizers they give out pickle slices and the fried crispies that flaked of the coating on the chicken and settled on the bottom of the deep fryer. The chicken in served with french fries and a piece of buttered white bread. That's it. It's so famous (and yes, the chicken was delicious) that people come from Chicago two hours away and stand in lines around the block to eat there. Uncle Larry was pretty upset that Richie didn't buy a t-shirt from Rip's. And you'd think that Americans would have obesity problems! After dinner we went bowling, where I bowled very very badly, but it was fun.

G. Sunday we came home, but that morning we attended the Lutheran church that Richie's family goes to. It was interesting. Eve was being fussy so Richie took her out, and afterwards everyone was soooooo excited that a baby was there and they were upset that we took her out! They should join the LDS church. We have babies at church coming out the wazoo. On the airplane Eve cried for a long time, and she exploded her diaper. It is NOT easy to change a baby on a plane.

That's it. I loved it. Eve took a nap every morning, and Richie got to golf and we just relaxed, enjoyed being with family, and had a good time. It was a great vacation. Thank you Peterson/Edens! Thank you Thank you!