Chicago-final trip post

Well, we did a lot of great things in Chicago. While The Hubs attended a work meeting, Nick & I made a visit to Lincoln Park Zoo. I was surprised this was such a clean and free park. (Cincinnati's is okay, but they charge admittance.) Below are two of our favorite exhibits.

Check out the lions. The male slept with his leg up and my son thought it was the funniest thing. At one point, the lion raised his head, looked around, and then fell back asleep (And yes, the leg went right back up.)

Our other favorite was the monkey house. This isn't a great pic because it's through the class. However, if you'll look closely the black one doesn't have a hand on his right arm. We never found out why, but we watched these two for quite awhile. They really had a bond. They kept grooming each other and looking at one another in the most loving way.

Now, I am going to skip to my husband's favorite part of our trip....Cubs vs. Reds. (And let me preface...Yes, we are from Cincinnati. Yes, we do like the Reds. Just not as much as the Cubs. That's why we look like Cincy traitors sitting in the Cubs section decked out in blue gear. ;o)

Here was our view...

It was Build-A-Bear giveaway day so Nick got this great little guy. (Which of course, he named "Cuby".)

My handsome men watching the game intently....

And last but not least....Mommy and Nicky.

It was a great day and Cubs won!!!!

Chicago Day II

We started the day with a bit of shopping on Magnificent Mile and then made our way to the Sears Tower. (Although this has been renamed recently by the new owners, I can't seem to call it "Willis Tower". )

A few quick facts about the building:

• At 1,450 feet (110 stories high), it is the tallest building in North America & 3rd largest building in the world. (This is including the antennae though.)


• From the Skydeck (top floor observatory), you are at 1,353 feet.


• On a clear day you can see 40-50 miles. That's 4 states (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan.)

While the views were impressive..we were eager to take it all in from the new Skydeck Ledge.

"The Ledge" allows you to take in the views from a class enclosure. It's like you are freely suspended over everything.

I quickly found out that I could only stand in this for a few minutes without getting a little vertigo and anxious.

My son on the other hand...

fearless curiosity.

I mean what mother wouldn't be a bit freaked out to see this?!?!...

Our Chicago Trip

My Blog View

Okay, I had every intention of blogging every day while we were in Chicago. The truth is, we filled our days with so much activity that I didn't get much time to update anything. I made attempts, but never posted anything. So the next few days, I want to share some of our highlights with you.

Chicago is one of our favorite cities and we make sure that at least once a year we make the trip. Each time, our goal is to try to do something or visit somewhere we haven't before. In a city like Chicago, that is not a hard task.

We usually stay somewhere downtown. (Below is a view from our hotel.) That way we are
within walking distance of shopping/restaurants and a quick ride from the museums, Navy Pier, etc.

This year before checking into the hotel, we drove a little further northwest to Shaumburg, IL. We had heard about the Legoland Discovery Center there. With Nick being a HUGE Lego fanatic, it was part of the trip he was most excited about doing.













Overall, it was a nice . However, way over priced. (They charge admittance equivalent to an amusement park and it's really not that big.)

Of course, Nick was overjoyed to get to purchase something from the gift shop and quick to start construction.

Any chance he got in the hotel was spent creating. I have many more pictures like this because whenever he would finish he would say, "Mom, get a picture of this one!"

So glad to capture simple moments like this and it was a great start to our vacation.

More later...lights out. God bless.

T.G.I.F.

God says, “Serve the poor.”
Love them, live with them, fight for their freedom.


Tonight we volunteer at City Gospel Mission. This is something we regularly try to do as a family. We volunteer with other members of our church and serve dinner. This is not a typical "soup kitchen". Meals are served restaurant style and everyone is encouraged to engage and have dinner with those attending. So we not only serve dinner to those in need, we connect, and grow.

Saturday it's my son's school festival. We always enjoy summer festivals...rides, games, and our favorite...Italian sausage hoagies!

And Sunday is church, errands, and preparing for a family trip to Chicago next week!

I can't wait to spend some family time together there and I will be sure to do some daily posts!

Have a great weekend everyone and for Taste of Gin's iPod Friday, I leave you with one of my f-a-v-o-r-i-t-e summer songs. Hope you like it too!

Nick turns 10 this weekend!

These are a few of my favorite pictures of treasured memories. This song has been special between Nick and I ever since he was a baby. I can't tell you how many times we have danced around the room together listening to it.

(Heavy *sigh*...)Time flies all too quicly! Okay, more than a heavy sigh, tears because the year go by so fast. In a blink of an eye they are grown.

Good-bye and God Bless

The world morns the loss of two pop culture icons.

For me these two represent very early memories in my life (Yes, I am dating myself. ;o) As a young girl, I watched "Charlie's Angels". Nevermind how beyond reality this show was, I thought it was the coolest thing ever to watch these three strong, beautiful women play out an "action adventure" that always led to the bad guy getting caught and the girls gathered around a speaker phone to only talk (never see) Charlie. This is one of the first shows that I can remember to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men.

We (my sister and friends) would pretend we were those same private investigators. I was always Jaclyn Smith and my sister with her blonde hair and baby blues was of course, Farrah. Inevitably, somehow an argument would ensue because someone else didn't want to play Kate Jackson. (Not that she wasn't great in her own right.) It just seems she was always outshone by the other two. (Even when Cheryl Ladd replaced Farrah Fawcett-Majors.) (Yes, she was even married to bionic man, Lee Majors!)

Ironically, Farrah was only in a few episodes of the show. What really seemed to put her on the map was that infamous poster. (At least for my brother and cousins...;o)

Oh...and Michael. Regardless of the obscurity, bizarre behaviour, notorious fashions, changing looks, scandalous tabloids, legal and financial issues... I don't think anyone can refute his talent or musical influence.

Who doesn't remember the first time you watched the Thriller video or knew someone who actually tried to pull off wearing the red "pleather" knock off jacket in Beat It? (Again memories of childhood flood me....wearing socks and practicing the moonwalk over hardwood floors, memorizing every lyric and dance routine...and that strange boy in class who wore a handmade studded glove... Hmmmm...wonder whatever happened to him?) I digress....

Anyway, his music, moves, and videos were unlike anything America (or the world) had ever seen. Definitely deserving of the title The King of Pop. His musical legacy has spanned decades and I'm sure will continue to even after we've all said good-bye.

What memories come to mind for you?

A Note From Nick...

Ya know...when life gets hectic and things have you stressed, it's a simple thing your child does that can put it all back into perspective.

With coffee in hand, I returned to my chair to relax and found this little surprise.

I hope your Monday is starting out well and this week brings sweet, little surprises to you!