Birthday Party... and break lights

I am back from Chicago Land. Hallelujah. A drive that should have taken 7-8 hours took 12. I am so over snow. Seriously. My vacation to AZ could not have come at a better time - I fly out on Thursday and can not wait to get away from the cold & snow. I'll be visiting my best friend Heidi & her husband Chris and my sister Abby & her fiance Ryan. I miss these 4 people so much, but they sure had the right idea moving south...

Anyways, back to the Chi-town trip. Aside from the long, LONG drives, I had a great trip. I wish I saw more of Kolin, Chad, and Emily. They were excellent hosts! We arrived on Saturday and mom got to work on the cake.

The theme of Kolin's party was "Trains" so my brother Chad made a home-made Chocolate cake for the base and a home-made Pound Cake for the train part. The finished product was awesome! My Grandma McDougall was an AMAZING cake decorator so I guess my mom got some of her talent!

Dad and Chad went shopping at the Bass Pro Shop, so us girls & Kolin decided to hang back. Kolin made his own little Hammock between the couch and the chair which entertained him for quite awhile. He is such a little monkey!

That night, we had dinner and Kolin continued to entertain us. Dad showed us the importance of work-site safety by donning a Bob the Builder hat (which surprisingly fit him quite well!)

Kolin had to look just like Grandpa so tried it on as well!

Then Kolin got sick of clothes so spent the rest of the evening playing in just a diaper.

Sunday was the big party. Kolin had a blast playing with his cousins and opening presents.

Then it was time for cake - Kolin loved it when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him!

He couldn't wait to start eating his cake. He tried eating it with a fork...

But quickly realized it was way more efficient to just pick it up with his hands.

2 of Kolin's friends, Molly and Amanda (twin girls that were adopted from China), were at his party. They are just a few months younger than Kolin. Those 3 got along great!

The party was a hit - I am so glad I was able to attend! Southwest will start flying between Minneapolis & Chicago in March. Hopefully their entrance into our market will lower flight prices so I can go visit more often!!!

Oh, and here's a little video of our little monkey in his home-made Hammock!