May 2019 Happenings

 We attended a Speech and Drama Awards Ceremony for Carter.  He says he wants to continue to help with the plays and musicals in highschool and we really hope he does!

 Another year in the books for Market to Market Relay.  Really changed up the team this year and had a lot of fun!  Time to catch up with Kim, Charmi, and Luke and their lives along with get to know Kim, James and Gentri better.  I only ran about 8 miles but that was okay with me with as little training as I've had.  Matthew joined us at Kippy's for supper.  The weather was awful, not warm and rainy, cold enough for me to start every run in my stocking cap and fleece gloves:(  Glad I got to spend all day with these great people though!

 We grilled for Mother's Day at Mom and Dad's.  We got mom a manicure or pedicure from a place in Ames. Matthew got me 3 pairs of biker shorts with cushioned butts because he knows how much my butt hurts after riding my bike a few miles:)

 Mom and I went to see Derek Hough Live on Tour at CY Stephens.  It was such a great show we decided to buy 2 season Broadway tickets for 2019-2010. The dancing was inspiring and the music was heartfelt.

We decided to take a long weekend to Chicago over Memorial Day weekend.  With Matthew's new hours it opens weekends up for us:)  We drove Friday after work and got to the graystone we rented about 9:30pm.  Saturday morning we got up and called for an Uber so we could be at the John Hancock building at 10am right at opening time.  We didn't have to wait in a line at all but when we were leaving about an hour later the line was super long.  The view was amazing!  I couldn't believe how Lake Michigan really did look like an ocean when you looked out at the horizon.  It was a great way to start our Chicago trip so we could begin to really see how amazing an area Chicago was.  Next we walked down Michigan Avenue.  It was so fun to window and people watch.  We then took an Architectural Boat tour on the river.  Both Matthew and I loved it, even though we are not architecture people, and it was almost 2 hours long.  I learned so much about the history of Chicago, including the Great Chicago Fire, along with the buildings.    Lunch that day was outside at a yummy pizza place called Giordano's and was definitely worth the 2 hour wait (the good beer while we waited might have helped too).  We continued to walk and got to see Buckingham Fountain and the Bean along with beautiful parks and trails along the way.  We ended the day at Shedd Aquarium.  It took a long time to get in, but was worth it.  That night Matthew and I managed to upset the neighbors while we were relaxing with a beer outside.  Call it Iowan but it was hard to tell exactly what the boundaries of our rental were so we jumped over to the graystone next door and used their table and chairs.  We apologized for our fopaux and moved over to the stairs on our graystone for the remainder of our time outside.  Sunday we woke up to clouds and sprinkles but we didn't let it stop us.  We headed to the Lincoln Park Zoo in downtown Chicago.  What a great free zoo for people to head to, even if just for an hour, with their family.  After the zoo we went to another yummy restaurant (really a hole in the wall cozy inside) RJ Grunts.  The kids had burgers and Matthew I had a brunch buffet.  We called another Uber and headed to the Museum of Science and Technology.  The last time I saw a building this big was a castle in Ireland.  We did a Mirror Maze, saw a real submarine from World War 2, saw an Imax movie about oceans, and learned lots about history.  Chicago was so much more beautiful than I ever could have imagined and I'd love to go back and visit some of the museums with Matthew that the kids probably wouldn't have been interested in.