Winter chill in the Windy City

We spent Friday and Saturday in Chicago with our friends, the Metras family. We packed a lot of things into the two days, and still were left wanting to do some other things that will have to wait for another time.

We went to the Hancock Observatory at the top of the John Hancock Center. Lacey and Margaret passed on this experience, and Reagan and Evan stayed on the ground with them. It was my first time up there. The night was clear so we were able to see quite a bit. The only problem was that the windows and safety screen made it difficult to take a decent photograph of the view that we had.

We also went to Millenium Park and saw the ice skaters and the Cloud Gate sculpture known to the locals as "the bean". I think the nickname describes it better than the actual name. The reflections off of the sculpture do allow for some nice photographs....if only I could figure out the best settings on my camera for that type of light. I think I need to use a tripod and a longer exposure.

Chris befriended a homeless man by giving him a generous portion of Gino's pizza. You'll have to ask Chris how this man characterized their "tight" friendship. As for our meal at Gino's, it didn't exactly live up to Chris' stellar recommendation. Chris mentioned this politely to the manager, and we got a significant portion of the bill credited back to us. That made it worth it to me (that just shows how cheap I am).

On the way back to the hotel I discovered that if you look confident enough in what you are doing people will follow you even if you don't know where you are going. I'm not sure that our friends will make the same mistake again.

Saturday we headed to Navy Pier. While we were aware of some of the normal attractions that are at the Pier, we didn't know about the LaSalle Bank Winter Wonderfest that was taking place. It was a huge exposition center full of rides, attractions, decorations, and shows. We arrived too late to take advantage of the rides, but we did catch a show and get to see a lot of neat exhibits.

By then it was getting late, and even though there were still some things we wanted to do, we had to head back to Rockford.

Christmas Time

I know it's been a long time since I've posted here. It's not because there hasn't been a lot happening. On the contrary, we seem to be meeting ourselves coming and going over the past few weeks. Two weeks ago today I had two wisdom teeth extracted. I had such a horrible experience when the first two were extracted that I ignored every recommendation I received from my dentist to have the other two removed for over twenty years. It finally got to the point that I had no real choice, so I made the appointment with the oral surgeon to have them removed. It wasn't as bad as my earlier experience (during my earlier experience I was not put under so I saw, felt, and unfortunately heard most of what took place). Lacey tried to get a video of me dribbling my milkshake down my chin, but by the time she got around to it the novocaine had worn off sufficiently that I was able to keep liquids in my mouth. Here is a photo captured from the unsuccessful video. Peyton and Reagan were intrigued when they saw the teeth. I put them under my pillow but apparently the tooth fairy doesn't visit 41 year old men.

The following weekend we travelled up to Michigan to see the family for Christmas. For me it was a hectic/abbreviated trip. I took the Amtrak train ($24 each way...I couldn't drive that cheaply) into Flint so Lacey and the girls could spend a little more time with her family. We had Christmas with my side of the family on Saturday. After that, we drove to see some friends on Saturday evening. I don't think we left their house until after midnight. Sunday afternoon we spent with Lacey's family. Finally, after 48 hours of laughing, giving and receiving gifts, and eating, I made my way back to Illinois.

We're now looking forward to a quiet Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our new home.

Below is a short video compilation of our most recent trip, with a Christmas wish at the end for you.