Day Two in Chicago was the reason we were there in the first place: Thanksgiving. That famous day the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock and had their downs with the Native Americans lead to their ups with them and then into tradition. (Much like my annual Chicago trip tradition) The night before, we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things to make for this day. My cousin would make his famous mac & cheese and my other cousin, mash potatoes. I figured I would make something and I wanted it to be good (none of this boxed goods), so I decided to make one of my favorite recipes that didn't require so many ingredients: lemon bars.
While my cousins made breakfast: eggs, bacon, spam, and (brown) rice (true Filipino breakfast right there), I was working on the lemon bars. There was so much commotion in this kitchen, my cousin's inner Gordon Ramsey came out!
After all of the kitchen madness, we got ready and made our way from the city to the 'burbs. Traffic was crazy, but it made time for in-car-sight-seeing.
The moment we walked in to my aunt and uncle's, it already smelled so good! And it was all because of that goodness up there ^^
And maybe this goodness up here too ^^! The birthday cake was for my cousin's birthday that fell on Thanksgiving this year. She's also
one of the newest additions to the family because she married my cousin last year--to which I was proudly one of the bridesmaids
*Quick tidbit between she and I: the first time I was in Chicago, I went to another family wedding and she was there before I was (I rode with my sisters and brother-in-law) and my mom came up from behind her and gave her a big hug saying "My baby!" because she thought it was me! That whole day, people were getting us mixed up and since then, we deemed each other twins! She's also about to add another new addition to the family :)*
The rest of the day consisted of eating, talking, laughing, Ellen's Heads Up game, pictures, and most importantly,
family.
I didn't take many pictures on this day because I was waaayy too busy just enjoying being in the company of my family. It's been a year since I've seen them and there's always so much to do with them! Even if it's just sitting back and watching "Grown Ups 2." Plus, that tryptophan put me to sleep for a good half hour.
We also did a Secret Santa pull and I don't think anyone realizes how excited I am to be a part of it! This is also one of the first Secret Santas I've done without lists! So, it's super challenging trying to test myself and see how well I really know my family on an individual level.
We stayed the night in the city and had a big cousin sleepover at my other cousin's place in the 'burbz and stayed up all night talking, watching "Pitch Perfect" and "The Breakfast Club," and goofing off like good families do.
Day Two was one of the best days!
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