Chicago & MacK's surgery

To continue our tour of the state after driving home from Evansville on Sunday afternoon, Monday morning Jackson dropped MacKenzie off at the Vet in Eaton to have her teeth cleaned and some "Schnauzer bumps" removed on his way to Hartford City for work.

We then promptly left that afternoon for Chicago as I had a conference to attend for work on Tuesday. Luckily Jackson did not have a client location to be at on Tuesday so he rode up with me and worked from the hotel room that day. This meant we got to enjoy a little bit of time together in the city on Monday evening. We made sure to get dinner at Lou Malnati's. 

Salads at Lou Malnati's

CHICAGO PIZZA IS MY FAVORITE

My conference on Tuesday was actually pretty good (those things are so hit and miss). We planned to go to a Cubs' game that evening, but MacKenzie was feeling a little worse than we expected. My Mom picked her up for us and sent these photos. We decided to just head to Upland to get our little girl. Poor thing.

Two staples near her eye :(

Sad little puppy

Pretty battered 

Sleeping in her own bed helped

We went to Upland to help Guy install some new cement poles so folks wouldn't back into his storage buildings anymore. By we I mean Jackson did all the laboring for "us" and I brought out cold waters occasionally.

Guy, Jackson and Christoper doing work

That evening both he and MacKenzie were tired from their time in Upland so they relaxed together on the couch.

Watching a replay of the Indy 500

The little patient starting to feel better

Sleeping on Dad's clothes helps

Her eye looks so much better

I was pleased that MacKenzie was feeling better by the time she went to stay with Grammy while we were in Europe. I'm sure the 900 daily walks and plenty of treats she gets from Grammy will help her recovery.

Settling in at Grammy's

Grace's Prom, Birthday and Graduation

In a single month Grace had her senior prom, her high school graduation and her 18th birthday! It was insane. We got to go down to go to her open house and give her the birthday presents we'd gotten her and Grammy sent us photos from the prom fun.

Grace and Grammy

Grace and her date

While we were in Evansville we got to meet up with Kylie, Alex and Kylie's fiance, Ryan. Ryan owns a restaurant so we met them there for a delicious lunch. We also got to see the land where they'll build their new home. It was nice to see them! 

Leo tickling Alex

We headed to Newburgh to Gracie's open house. It was surreal to think that the little girl I met when she was 5 wearing high heel printed pajamas will be in college soon. WHAT?!

Petefish

Grace is taller than me!!

Group selfie

Jackson wanted to be taller than his sister and niece so notice his stance

As you see, Grace turned into a gorgeous girl. She'll be going to Loyola University Chicago this Fall.

The Donut Bank is a must when in Evansville

We met up with the family for a brunch at The Dapper Pig before Grace's official graduation ceremony. We couldn't attend that because it was late on Sunday and we had to get back home for work. 

Testing the new travel pillow we got her
for her trip to Europe this summer

Brunch is Gracie approved

I had a fried green tomato BLT that was awesome

John and Kathy

Susie was so excited she almost dropped her omelet! 

We still cannot believe that Grace is 18 and headed for college. Time flies!

Jackson turns 41!

MacKenzie looking adorable 

Jackson joined a golf league this year so he's been hitting the driving range to work on his game. I "coach" him because I know how his swing should look. He is such a good golfer that I look like an excellent coach and people at the range try to hire me. It is hilarious.

Jackson working on his swing

I love the view at River Glen Golf Club

We got to spend an evening with the Porterfield family celebrating (belated) Jocelin turning 6. She got pink gum, her favorite, and a gift card to Target which pleased her.

Jocelin turned 6!!

It was a perfect evening so Heidi sat outside catching up while all the boys ran around the yard.

Jackson, Andrew and Jax played some backyard football

Jackson had his birthday and continued his tradition of putting a candle into his omelet. Dork.

Jackson's 41st birthday omelet

We helped Susie stock her new liquor cabinet for Mother's Day.

Susan's Mother's Day gift from us was liquid--ha!!

Mother's Day/Birthday meal

Celebrating Jackson!

We spent Sunday in God's Country celebrating Mother's Day by attending Mom's church with her. This is truly a gift to her as their services are a real snoozefest in my opinion.

Waiting patiently to be in Upland

MacK is basically a model

Viva Las Vegas

We made it through the Mojave again without any issue. There is something so strange about driving through a desert where you go miles and miles without seeing signs of life or other vehicles. It also makes getting into Las Vegas all the more jarring since this place is packed with life.

We ended up being in Vegas on days that overlapped my Dad and Diana so they hooked us up with rooms at Planet Hollywood. We had a lovely view. I love the mountains in the distance. 

A room with a view

We were so happy to be out of the car that we just walked the Strip that evening, grabbed dinner and watched the people. I consider Vegas to be like a human zoo. You see all kinds.

Again, we were still on Eastern time so we were up early to grab breakfast at a popular spot: Pantry, in The Mirage. It was SO good.

We love breakfast! 

I was excited to see that there was a DryBar in the Planet Hollywood mall so I made an appointment for a blowout while Jackson was picking up Dad and Diana from the airport. Win!

They had a selfie station that Jackson enjoyed while I was
making my appointment for that evening

Jackson picked up the crew and we all visited for a bit before it was time for us to go to our dinner. Jackson loves a restaurant in Vegas called Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab which is more expensive than any restaurant should be so we called it an early birthday dinner. It was the only way for me to stomach a $170 meal for two.

Petefish

Please note that my hair will never look that good again. The girl at DryBar had a magic touch.

Jackson's salad.
Not pictured: the gold they must have put in it to justify the price.

Jackson's steak and potatoes
Not pictured: the entire cow I must have purchased to justify the cost of this steak

Jackson's birthday dessert
This was actually "free"

Our dinner was lovely and the service was great, I'm just very cheap. :)

We spent our time not gambling much, trying to hang by the pool when it was open and just walking the Strip.

This guy had a little too much to drink and was sleeping it off at 11:30 a.m.

We did find some fun new restaurants during our stay, including Holstein's, but we were shocked at how high Vegas prices have gotten. This meal of burgers, fries and one shared malt was $66. You guys!!!

WHERE IS THE GOLD IN THIS PHOTO??

Jackson turned $8 into $21 and I made him quit
 gambling at that point.

This machine felt right and I turned $13 into $41 and quit.

Dad and Diana got us tickets to see Legends in Concert and get got upgraded to the front row. It was a ton of fun even though I didn't know all of the songs. They had Sting, Aretha Franklin, young Michael Jackson and, of course, Elvis.

Petefish

Sting impersonator 

Elvis impersantor

Young Michael Jackson getting excited 

We had a great time in Vegas. Thanks again to Dad and Diana for sharing all of their perks with us. This was a perfect trip that mixed in some hiking and outdoors time with time spent hanging out in Vegas. I could not have asked for a better way to recover from a long tax season!