Recent adventures

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Proof we were there... the giant jelly bean...
We wanted to go do something fun for the 4th.We had not gone into the city yet, so despite 100 degree temperatures, we ventured into the city of Chicago via the train and checked it out. We ordered a dinner picnic basket from this gourmet grocery store/deli, which included beef tenderloin, edamame and carrots, delicious Italian cookies, and pasta salad. YUM! We took this over to Millenium park and got to watch an awesome free patriotic concert on the lawn. I couldn't believe it was free in this great venue, until Austin reminded me how much we pay in sales tax as residents of Cook county (almost 10%!!)
This was the pavilion where we listened to a symphony orchestra concert on the 4th! Too bad it was over 100 degrees!

















As crazy as it might sound, Austin and I went camping last week. Don't worry, we brought an air mattress so that I could sleep on the ground in relative comfort. Austin, on the other hand, was not so comfortable with his small foam pad. We decided to go on a quick trip to Nauvoo before the baby is born in order to see the pageant and go to the temple. It was an awesome, quick trip!

Red Brick Store! The Relief Society was totally organized here...
Waiting for the pageant to start... we got eaten alive by mosquitoes/biting flies/something that ate our feet off
The pageant is set so that the temple is right in the background. It was a great performance and we really enjoyed it. My favorite part was seeing the temple all illuminated at the end when everything else was pitch dark. 

Mississippi River. This is the way the Saints came as they were driven out of Nauvoo and forced to cross the river here in February! BRR
We also did a session in the Nauvoo temple, which is super gorgeous. We had a lot of pictures out in front of the temple, but they are on Austin's phone not mine. The kid we asked to take our picture took like 5 from all different angles, it was really cute. While in Nauvoo, we actually saw one of Austin's chemical engineering professors who was on vacation with his family. They even stayed in our campground! Austin didn't know him very well, so he was too shy to say hi, but it was funny to see someone familiar in such a random place half way across the country. 

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