The flight was interesting but thanks to the help of my parents who flew from Seattle to Chicago with us, we were able to manage it. Elyse was our little party animal on the flight and would not give into sleep so she screamed a good portion of the flight until she finally gave in!! We were "those" people on the plane with the screaming baby. Yep!
Once we arrived we took the shuttle to the hotel and got checked in. We were all tired and just exhausted from the long day but needed to get some food and some grocery items. We ended up getting the kids McDonalds and waited almost an hour for some Chicago style deep dish pizza for us and my parents. It was definitely worth the wait and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I kinda feel like you have to try all the different foods when you travel to get the full experience!
We all came back and crashed and slept great! The kids slept awesome and slept from about 10:15-9 this morning!! Definitely thankful for some rest.
We had some free time this morning so we took the "el" train (I think that's what it's called) from our hotel into downtown Chicago. The boys thought it was so much fun and it was actually a pretty enjoyable experience for public transportation.
When we arrived in the city we were greeted by sirens, construction, music, cars, and just about every other loud noise you can imagine. I loved the sights and sounds of the city but the boys were completely overwhelmed! Sometimes it's hard to predict with special needs just what is going to set them off, but trying to process and take in the city was really tough for the boys, especially Parker at first.
we walked over to Millenium park and saw the infamous "bean" and water structure and walked across a bridge to this amazing park! Seriously one of the coolest parks we have been to. But it was hot and there were so so many people there so the kids didn't want to do much. But with some encouragement and walking around we were able to get them settled and they had fun playing on a ship and crawling all around.
We had lunch and then took the train back home, got the kids settled and my parents watched them while we went downstairs for conference orientation and a few presenters.
It was so great to start meeting families and people we have connected to online but never met in person. Kind of crazy how technology can connect you that way without ever having met in person. It's a hard feeling to describe when you meet people walking the same road as you. Comfort, security, a sense of relaxation. I'm excited to get to know these families better as the days go on!
We heard from two young men who have Joubert Syndrome and have completed or are in college and have accomplished a lot despite their challenges. It was really amazing to hear them speak and then to have a Q&A with their parents after. I'll be honest though, it was pretty emotional for me. Just thinking about the future is kind of overwhelming and then our role in their success, along with our hopes and dreams for them, it's all a complicated mess of emotions.
I know the next few days are going to be full of lots of emotions and I'm not sure I will be able to articulate them out or process them here on the blog just yet. But I will do my best to express what we've learned in the weeks following the conference.
So far our trip has been amazing and I know the next few days are going to be pretty special too. We want to thank all of the people who helped get us here with their love, support, generous donations, and prayers. It's amazing to know that the only reason we are here is because of you!!
I'll try to update the blog as I can with a recap of what we are up to but I'm posting from my phone so it might be kind of funky!
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