  Time for my update on GWO V in Chicago. nbsp;  It was,  as always,  a wonderful weekend with my best friends.  Thursday I left work around 4:
00 p. m.  and was a bit anxious as the line to check in was extremely long. nbsp;  When I got up to the counter,  I found out why.
nbsp;  Storms in Chicago had delayed flights all over the place and lucky for me,  mine was one of them. nbsp;  My flight was scheduled to leave at 5: 25 p.
m.  but the lady at the desk said it might be 8 or 9 p. m. nbsp;  The bad thing was they didn’ t know when it would be.
nbsp;  At around 6: 15 p. m.  they gave us word that the flight from Chicago was in the air and we should be able to leave by 7: 15.
nbsp;  I went to find something to eat and when I ambled back to the gate around 6: 45 p. m.  they were boarding! nbsp;
 Yeah!  & nbsp; Once on the plane we were told that we weren’ t allowed to leave until 8: 00 p.
m.  so we were going to go sit on the runway for awhile. nbsp;  We did end up leaving at 8: 00 p. m.
 which got me into Chicago at around 8: 30,  just 2 ½  hours later than planned. nbsp;  Anyway,
 Erica and Danialle met me at the airport and the first thing we decided to do was get some food. nbsp;  We just got some McDonald’ s and went back to Danialle’ s. nbsp;
 We chatted for a bit and then decided to walk down to a little restaurant to check out some dessert. nbsp;  It was so nice outside! nbsp;  After we got back we pretty much got ready for bed. nbsp;
 I was a bit concerned about the lack of air conditioning,  but I had a big fan blowing on me all night,  so I actually slept pretty good.  On Friday,  we got up in time to take Danialle’ s husband to work at 8:
30 a. m. nbsp;  We ate some yummy breakfast and then headed back downtown to do a little shopping on Michigan Avenue. nbsp;  There is always so much to look at,
 but good for my checkbook,  no maternity stores! nbsp;  I did end up buying a couple of things anyway,  but it was still fun. nbsp;
 Heather gave us a call around noon,  while we were still downtown,  so we headed back to the car and then back to Danialle’ s place. nbsp;  Next we decided to put on our beach wear and get some lunch before heading to the beach.
nbsp;  We decided on wings,  and after some time finally found a BW3’ s. nbsp;  Danialle and Erica were brave and got hot ones,
 but I decided to play it safe. nbsp;  After lunch we hit the beach. nbsp;  It was cold! nbsp;
 The wind had really picked up and it wasn’ t that warm anyway,  but we were determined not to let that stop us. nbsp;  We threw our towels out and picked a spot to chat. nbsp;
 Heather fell asleep for a little bit,  but the rest of us had some good conversations. nbsp;  I also tried digging a small hole for my belly and laying on my stomach. nbsp;  My &
nbsp; pregnant friend Kelly from work said that was how she first felt her baby move. nbsp;  I think it worked for me too. nbsp;  Have you ever layed on a body part in a weird way and you can feel your heartbeat thumping in that body part?
nbsp;  It felt like that in my lower abdomen. nbsp;  Only,  it wasn’ t a consistent,
 “ thump- thump- thump. nbsp;  It was more like “
thump- thump… thump. nbsp;  Also,  if I moved or sat up and then layed back down,
 I’ d feel it again. nbsp;  I’ m calling that baby movement. nbsp;
 After the beach,  we checked into the hotel and all showered and changed. nbsp;  Then we went to Leona’ s for dinner. nbsp;
 It was ok,  but not as great as last time we ate there. nbsp;  After dinner,  we walked around a bit until the stores closed up and then went back to the hotel to chat some more and sleep.  Saturday was a day of shopping.
nbsp;  We went to Gurnee Mills outlet mall. nbsp;  We got there around 11 and shopped until 6 p. m. nbsp;
 Again,  I’ m glad pregnancy limited my spending on clothing. nbsp;  There was one maternity store and I did by something,  but one outfit isn’
t too bad. nbsp;  Also,  Danialle and Erica tried on the fake bellies at the store. nbsp;  We got a cute picture of us all with bellies.
nbsp;  Where I really spent the cash though was at the Carter’ s baby store outlet. nbsp;  Everything was so incredibly marked down. nbsp;
 They had these $ 40 diaper bag’ s that were only $ 10 with an additional $ 35 purchase,  so I wanted to be sure I spent $
35. nbsp;  I ended up buying 3 long sleeve sleepers,  a cute ducky onesie,  a super soft blanket,  booties,
 and 2 bibs plus the diaper bag for about $ 60. nbsp;  After shopping until the verge of dropping,  we headed back towards the hotel and decided on Outback for dinner. nbsp;
 We got in relatively quickly and had this bizarre waiter. nbsp;  He was Native American,  at least bi- sexual,  and told us all about his new “
Spiritual Love. nbsp;  He made it interesting though and we spent two hours at the restaurant. nbsp;  It was 10: 00 by the time we left and after all that shopping,
 I was pooped. nbsp;  We all went to bed fairly early.  Sunday morning we got up said our goodbyes and Danialle took me back to the airport. nbsp;  Luckily this trip wasn’
t as bad as the way there,  except one of my bags didn’ t make it back. nbsp;  I checked two,  but only one made the plane.
nbsp;  I headed home and spent the rest of the afternoon being lazy. nbsp;  My bag was delivered around 7: 30 p. m.
 officially ending my GWO trip.  Spending time with the girls is so great. nbsp;
