RETURNING TO MIDWAY

The day was bright and beautiful.  We left our hotel and walked north down Michigan Avenue to the Hancock Building where we went up 92 floors and looked out over the City.  We also did the Tilt where the sides of the glass rotate out over the building.

We went to Giordanias for stuffed pizza.  

We visited the famous Garrett's popcorn.

Our first family we visited was Karina, her mother, and her children Axel, Emily

Our next visit was to the Gusemond family.  They had parrots that talked the whole time.

We went to the stake center on Pulanski where we saw the Midway Ward.  Before Garrett went in he told us he may not be too remembered.  Not so, he was a rock star.  We went in to the meeting that was kind of like a missionary homecoming.  The Bishop conducting asked if Garrett would come and bear his testimony.  Sweetest.  Afterwards he was swarmed by people that adored and loved him.  Garrett had been a zone leader in this area and then his final six week transfer as a junior companion.  

Picture with the missionaries serving in the Midway ward.  We forwarded this to the missionaries' parents for an early Thanksgiving present.

Ricardo shook our hands at least 3 or 4 times - the cutest.  Adilia and Omar

At about 9:00 we went and visited the Rojas family.  This is where Garrett lived while he was zone leader in Midway.

We met and their cutest kids, Santi (Santiago),

We also drove by Garrett's last apartment on his mission in Midway.  Hhhmmm.  Good thing we didn't know how bad it really was in condition and safety.

SUNDAY IN CHICAGO

Our first stop was the Midway Ward.  We were able to say goodbye to many friends and families.  Before we left we pulled out Flor who was one of Elder Eichers' contacts he made with Elder Lee.  We sat by the Rojas family.

Our next stop was the Chicago 4th Ward.  We saw the Liconas, Bishop Rublacava from the other ward, and many families.  The mission leader talked about how Elder Eichers had found him on the street when he had come from Mexico and helped him find his way to the ward.

Our last stop was at Lizbeth and Oscar's home.  We chatted and they made some yummy mexican food.  We had a chance to meet their whole family, including the grandparents and Oscar's brother.

YSAs AND MILWAUKEE WEDDING

Steph, Sam and Baby El flew out at 7:00 a.m. to meet Sam's family in Florida for a surprise trip for Sam's Dad's 60th Birthday.    We slept in and were just hoping they made their flight.

Garrett served as the assistant to the President for six months.  He served with English speaking elders, Elder Foster and then Elder Zacher.  They served in a YSA ward.  On Saturday morning, we met some of them, Jackie (who was baptized), Karen, and Mitch.  We met them at Bongos for breakfast.  Small world but Sister Mousser, who was a Sister Training Leader, was there with her family.

After breakfast we went and visited James who had been baptized while Garrett was there.

We rested a bit and then checked out the Eataly restaurant that was across the street from our hotel.  We then got in costumes to go to Aly and Drew's wedding in Milwaukee Wisconsin.  Drew was activated and Aly was baptized while Garrett was in the YSA ward.  We were dying that no one was going to be in costumes, but pretty much most people were wearing some costume from different time periods.  It was very theatrical and different.  However, it fit them perfectly.

We came home exhausted.  It was a good experience for us to understand how exhausting it was for Garrett and to always be going and trying to be on your "A game".

THANKSGIVING

From our hotel we walked South along Michigan Avenue to Millenial Park and visited the "Bean."  We got some photos.  We also were drenched by rain.  It was good to see how fast and wet Chicago rain can be so we could better understand Garrett's experiences.  It was so wet that Garrett's cell phone got ruined while being in his waterproof jacket.   He said he was missing his missionary block phone that was indestructible.  We were so wet  (pants, shoes, coats) we had to come back to our hotel to totally change clothes for Thanksgiving dinner.

We at dinner at Edivi's.  It was right next to our hotel.  We had traditional Thanksgiving.  It was yummy and filling.  The kids weren't feeling very well, so Brad, Brenda and Garrett went to see two families while the rest of the family rested.  We visited Chincillas that included hermana Marian Chinchilla, her husband Vasile (from Romania) and their senior daughter, Alison.

We then went and visited the Roblacava's, the family that Garrett lived with for his first apartment.   Garrett lived on the upstairs floor and lived there with Elder Gomez and then Elder Dussan.   The Dad, Milka Roblacava, was the Bishop in Chicago 5th Ward, but the Elders in that apartment were in Chicago 3rd ward.  We visited with the family, but the Dad had to work.   The two girls (), mom, and Alex (who is ready to put his papers in for his mission).

We drove back to Chicago City and picked up the rest of the family to visit more.  We first visited the Armandez family from Chicago 4th Ward, Garrett's second area where he served with Elder Martinez and Elder Lee.  The son and dad are Miguel, and the daughter and mom are Marisol.  We loved visiting with them.  They were so sweet to baby Eleanor.

Finally, that evening we Rosa's (Dominican Republic and Chicago 4th Ward) home where she and the Liconas made us the yummiest Thanksgiving dinner.  The Liconas family was all there with the exception of Lucy who was at BYU- Idaho with her new husband.  They had Garrett over to dinner many evenings.  Duvy is a fabulous cook!!  The food was all yummy.

We also drove by Elder Eichers' apartment while he was in Chicago 4th Ward.  It was an apartment building on a main road.

RETURNING TO CHICAGO WITH THE FAMILIA

Garrett was so excited to return home to Chicago.  Everyone in our family went.  Garrett loved flying into Chicago and seeing the city lights and the perfectly gridded city. El didn't love the flight and cried most of the way.  Garrett was pretty excited that we rented a van just like the one he drove in Chicago.  Brad drove the whole trip with Garrett the navigator and also the teacher of the Chicago slide.  We checked into the Marriott on Magnificent Mile.   What a beautiful street all dressed up for the holidays.