little brother

Richard came into town Monday for a conference. He didn't have to be to anything until today so he spent the afternoon and evening with us! It was great to see him. I picked him up around 2 then headed home. We played a few games of PIG then many games of knockout. We all had a turn winning. (Somehow the boys didn't have homework. Perfect timing.)

We ate at Portillos for dinner, which was delicious! Karlee and I had a hotdog, Mason ribs, CJ cheeseburger, and Richard the big Italian beef sandwich. Nobody went home hungry. 

Karlee wanted to make us/Richard a treat. Richard suggested chocolate chip chewies, Mom's recipe. Well...we distracted Karlee while she was making it and instead of adding baking powder she added baking soda. I know there's purpose for each of them but I was surprised with the difference it made. They've never been so brown or under cooked. It's actually very caramel tasting, not a bad thing. For as strange as it was we ate half the pan last night. Carson has had a couple pieces tonight too. Sugar and chocolate chips...it's all good. 

We headed to Richard's hotel in downtown Chicago around 9. Traffic was heavy in the city. A little crazy too but we found it. I talked with Brian on the drive home. We're both really tired of our current living arrangements. We're trying to be patient but we're not very good at it. 

I talked with Marie, our realtor, today and she suggested we "neutralize" our home. She wants me to take down the curtains in the living room, remove the rug and any blankets on chairs in the family room, and paint the kitchen. She would like the family room painted too. I'll reach out and get a few estimates on painting then we'll decide which rooms and if I'll need to do it or pay someone. Selling our house is becoming expensive.