midwest road trip part 2

so lets see here, where did we last leave off…. oh yes.

so we made it to my grandmas house about 7ish tuesday night. mom kept thinking the gps was wrong and we were going to arrive much earlier. yeah, how about you dont doubt the gps, even if youve made friends with her and named her matilda.
gps: 1, mom: 0

wednesday evening we went into forest park for dinner at "the boathouse" and then my mom, aunt, cousins, and grandma were going to the muni (an outdoor theater). i think the shows are kinda boring and its sooooo hot and humid that i dont really have fun, so i didnt go. they saw Titanic and they all said it kinda sucked anyway, so im pleased with my decision.
all who went to the muni: 0. danielle: 1

oh and they had blue moon on tap. with orange. yum!

i also got to meet my cousins new baby, nathaniel! this is her 5th child and she is 11 months older than me. apparently i didnt get the memo.

on thursday serena made me try okra. anyone who knows me knows im not one to try new things easily, so actually going through with trying this new foreign thing was rather scary. especially since it was slimy and didnt smell all that great. in the end… actually not that bad! i do think it would be SO much better though if it were fried with a side of ranch.

after the okra experience, we headed out to the most upscale mall ive ever been to. they had stores like sacs fifth avenue and lord & taylor. we felt really out of place, so we went to a more normal human being like me and you mall. they had the gap and foot locker. we checked out the sales at lululemon but weren’t able to find anything. then i came upon this!

i didnt buy anything but i LOVE crocs, especially my wedge heels. im pretty sure i own almost ten pairs of crocs. xoxo

on friday my best friend (and maid of honor, cassie) headed out after she got out of work to meet her brothers for a boat ride. on our way there we drove by this sign, which i have found to always have some sort of random saying on it. two years ago it read:

this time it said:

yeah i have no idea what the deal is with this school.

anyway, the weather was so beautiful and i even attempted wake boarding, which i swore up and down i wouldnt even attempt to try (again, not into trying new things, especially with the potential of drowning…. yeah ill pass thanks, but hey you have fun!) this is more what i had envisioned myself doing all afternoon

but alas, its no surprise i got talked into at least trying....

things didnt start out too well, i think about ten tries started out much like the following sequence....

but as with most things, if you dont at first succeed, try and try again

i suppose i should try more things, cuz most often times i end up liking them in the end :)

and finally, i saw this on our way back after boating, and of course i had to take this pic…. only in small town hamel, illinois my friends.

stay tuned for part 3, coming soon!