Some thoughts and discussions from me.
5th Annual Frank Lloyd Wright Race (A Weekend with the BFF’s)
Good morning 
Today’s my last day in IL before I fly back to Colorado, and after being here a week, I can say I’m excited to get back and see my man and my mountains!
Of course, I’ll miss my loved ones, and it has been really, really good to spend so much time with family and friends here, though. On Friday, my friend, Heidi, and I made the trip up to Chicago for a big shopping trip at Oak Brook Mall, including our obligatory lunch stop at Auntie Anne’s pretzels:
Pretzel sticks with cream cheese, please! Hey, our kind of shopping requires carb loading. Heidi shops like no other, and I have to keep up! 
haha I’d call it a successful trip, as I left with a new jacket, another pair of jeans, and some make up. Didn’t go too crazy.
Got this Prana jacket!
Around dinner time, we met up with my friend, Destiny (who came out to visit me last month!) and her husband, Steve, for dinner and a couple beers.
After dinner, we had to say goodbye to Heidi, but then Dest, Steve, and I went out for the night. I felt like whooping it up a little, and I was with the best company to do that with.
Love this girl.
We slept in as long as we could the next morning, and then drove over to Aurora to meet up with Kim (who also visited me last month!) where I finally, finally, met her adorable son, Kenneth.
Cue the tears. There’s just something about your best friend being a mother and having a son. So weird and awesome at the same time. I fell instantly in love with that face.
that face!
We grabbed Kim, and headed back into the city to hang out and go on an architectural boat tour. Shane and I went on one a couple years ago (aww, that was also Shane and my anniversary weekend) with Destiny, but the one we went on was at night. That trip was cool because all of the buildings were lit up (and there was free beer and snacks,) but this time, we went during the day.
It was neat to see the buildings in the day light this time around. Plus, I think we listened to the tour guide a little better this time, too
I love this skyline. Best city ever – second to none!
After the boat tour, we walked down to a restaurant off of Michigan (I can’t remember the name,) where I had the best grilled cheese of my life:
On the toasted, buttered brioche, was not only delicious, melty cheese, but also pork belly and a runny egg. Seriously.
After contemplating what to do next, we all decided to be old ladies, and grab a movie (World War Z..pretty good,) some ice cream, and head back to Destiny’s.
With the dogs We were all up late the night before, and we had the reason we all got together in the first place – our annual Frank Lloyd Wright race!
Gosh, it’s hard to believe the is my fifth year doing this race (see the 1st, 2nd <—funny video included, 3rd, and 4th year!)
We ran/walked this year, and I underestimated how cold it would be. Luckily, I had my KIND jacket with me, so I repped KIND and got my run on!
And that was totally a re-enactment finish shot, haha
Once the race was over, we all got breakfast, and then said our goodbyes. It’s always so sad to say goodbye to these two.
Especially when it’s going to be months and months until we see each other again.
Today I’m going to go lift at my mom’s gym, and then pack up and head back to the mountains! See you in the mountain time zone 
How often do you get to see your good friends from your hometown?
What’s your favorite city?
Oh how i recall the FIRST TIME ONE OF MY FRIENDS BECAME A MOM.
it was so slipping weird to me…and normal.
all at the same time.
Miz recently posted…Shedding habits which no longer serve us.
Sounds like you had a fun weekend at home! A little bit of everything – hitting the town and vegging on the couch with friends 😉 I just moved back to my hometown at the beginning of September, so I’ve been fortunate in that I get to see family and old friends often these days.
Sam @ Better With Sprinkles recently posted…Lessons From the Weekend.
Looks like such a great trip and I am loving the new jacket! I had a baby before my best friend and she still gets emotional when she sees him. I don’t have a sister and neither of my brothers are married , so she really is like an aunt!
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You’ve really had a fantastic trip home! Glad the run was a blast too!
Seriously you should think about modeling..you are sooo beautiful:)
Wow, that’s such a nice thing to say. Thank you!
Seriously!! You are such a beautiful woman! You have killer skin too:)
You know already how much I love Chicago. LOVE it! I actually had a class reunion this weekend! It was so strange seeing old friends and reconnecting, but I like that we are all connected on FB and hopefully it won’t be so long before we see each other again. I’m so glad you had a great visit! Safe travels my friend!
Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen) recently posted…Amazing Weekend With Friends and Family!
What a great time for you, Paige! How neat to reconnect with so many friends. Great city (never been to Chicago!) and cute jacket. My favorite city? Has to be my hometown – San Francisco. I end up getting home about 2x/year, maybe – this year there are major events going on (weddings and such) so we’re ending up visiting for Thanksgiving and Christmas – first time sharing Christmas with my family since we’ve been married (6 years). Can’t wait! 😀 Your posts have got me excited about going home too!
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I’d love to visit San Francisco. I’ve heard so many great things about it.
What a great recap of an awesome weekend!! Isn’t it wonderful spending good QT with amazing, close friends?!? That grilled cheese is like nothing I’ve ever seen! lol And it looks SO cold during your run! Glad you had fun!
-Sammy @ http://www.peaceandloveandicecream.com
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Unfortunately, I only get to see my best friends from home once or twice a year which isn’t nearly enough! I actually haven’t had the opportunity to explore too many cities because we always vacation in the mountains, but I think I have to go with Washington D.C. It’s so full of history, and it has the added aww factor of being the place where we honeymooned!
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Woooohoooo Chicago! It’s a pretty awesome city but I also love Charleston, SC and my hometown, Kansas City! They’re all great for their own reasons.
Love! Miss you already. Kenneth is so happy he got to meet his aunty Paige in person 🙂
Hi Paige!
I have been a “silent” reader for several months now, with this being my first comment. I really love your blog and am always looking forward to your new posts. Thank you for your openness, thank you for sharing so much about you, your life, health, fitness, etc…..
I moved to the US (Chicago) from Germany (Munich) almost 9 years ago, and can totally relate to how you feel (I moved for a man – and we are still happily married, so it was well worth it!). I can’t deny though that it is hard to leave behind family and good friends. You really realize what you are missing once you don’t have it “readily available” anymore on a daily basis.
I definitely still get a little [a lot] homesick every now and then, and realize it is about time to go back to Munich for a visit to see my parents, friends & my home city (Munich is ALWAYS going to have a special place in my heart). I usually go once a year, and always feel like it is not nearly enough time. It would be nice if I could make it twice…. Maybe next year!
I am so happy you had a wonderful visit with your family & friends in Illinois!
“5th Annual Frank Lloyd Wright Race (A Weekend with the BFF’s) – Your Trainer Paige” was indeed a splendid posting, can’t wait to look at even more of ur posts. Time to waste several time on-line lolz. Thanks for your effort ,Matilda
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So weird and cool to know you were so close to me!
Are you in Oak Park??
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