Bright Lights, Big City

Sunday morning we slept in as late as possible. Unfortunately, I have become a creature of habit. I was awake rather early anyway. :)

We did take our time getting up and around. It was nice to move at our own pace, nobody (or no dog) begging to eat or asking for help or arguing with siblings. Peaceful. My favorite kind of morning.

After we did throw ourselves together, we took a stroll down the street on our way to the museums. On our way, we walked through the park (Grant Park, I think?). We were intrigued by these statues. They are headless/armless. Looks like big old giants walking around.

I just loved the fact we were in a big city but could still see signs of fall around us...
a view of Michigan Avenue taken from the steps of the Field Museum
We decided to get the Chicago Pass which let us into five different attractions at one low cost. It also put us at the front of the line everywhere we went. Gotta love that. Our first stop was the Field Museum.

I will admit, this was one of my favorite exhibits. Meet Sue. She is the most complete T-Rex skeleton in the world (I believe).

Another neat area was the Egypt burial grounds. I believe this is the first mummy (true mummy) I have ever seen...

After our whirlwind tour of the Field Museum, we walked on over to Shedd Aquarium. We ate lunch there and then enjoyed observing several sea creatures. Love these sea horses!
Part of our ticket included free admission to the animal show which mainly consisted of beluga whales and dolphins. Of course, I loved every minute of that!
This "sunflower" sea star was just beautiful.
I love these fish. Don't remember their name but they look like they are walking on the ground!
A favorite exhibit here was the Jellies exhibit. They are such beautiful creatures (when they are in a tank, not in the water I am swimming in!).
After the aquarium, we hopped on a bus (still walked out from the night before) and headed back over to the river. We then embarked on an architectural tour via boat. I would have never said I was interested in architecture in any way but I found this tour fascinating. I also took a BUNCH of pictures but I will spare you most of that. :) Oh, and I discovered that I prefer the "old architecture" (as in the '40s) rather than the more modern. I guess I am just an old fashioned girl...

I am pretty sure I saw as many as (if not more) American flags flying as I did in Washington D.C.
Isn't it just breathtaking?
We never did ride this but it was fun to take pictures of. By the way, this is only half the size of the very first Ferris wheel which debuted in Chicago at the World's Fair many years ago!
As we walked along the river after our cruise to dinner, we passed a Vietnam memorial.
Walking down the river at sunset
We arrived at our restaurant early (Chicago Cut Steakhouse) but thankfully they could go ahead and seat us. We splurged on this appetizer. One. One crab claw. Probably a bit overpriced. But it was delicious.
Here is my steak with an Oscar topping. I really did almost cry when it was gone...I could have eaten more.
Several of the buildings in downtown Chicago were displaying pink lights in honor of breast cancer awareness month.
After dinner, we caught another bus and headed over to the John Hancock building. We rode the elevator to the 94th floor and had a bird's eye view of the city at night. That was probably better because I am terrified of heights...I couldn't truly get a grasp of how far up we were!
I cannot imagine being a window washer on this building.
There is Navy Pier and the Ferris Wheel again...
When we emerged, safe and sound, at the bottom of the building, we stopped into Cheesecake Factory and picked up a slice of caramel pecan turtle cheesecake to enjoy later back at the hotel.

It was a busy day full of fun and adventure!

More soon,
Reba

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

This morning, Mark and I hopped on a plane to Chicago to celebrate our anniversary. (Just want to give a big shout out of thanks to his parents for braving a 9 hour drive to come take care of four kids and a dog...)

We left around 8, and arrived here around 9:15. The plane ride was fairly uneventful. However, some things don't ever change. I do not like in any form or fashion flying. And my ears may just now (12 hours later) be slowing down on the "popping" sound.

From the airport, we hopped on the subway/train which is underground only part of the time. So I am not sure if it is a true subway.

We hoofed it by foot a few blocks and finally arrived at our hotel. Of course, it was way too early to check in. So we dropped off luggage and headed down the street. Michigan Avenue that is.

I have to admit, when Mark told me we were going to Chicago for our anniversary, I didn't jump for joy. It wasn't that I doubted we would have fun. I have fun with him wherever we go. It was just not what I had in mind. Yet, we were walking down Michigan Avenue and I just opened my mouth in awe. Amazing. The skyline, the buildings, the history. Amazing.

At this point, it was almost lunchtime. So we decided some Chicago pizza was in order. Our first stop:

We had heard amazing things about this place. I don't think I have ever had true Chicago (stuffed) pizza until today. Here is a picture of me waiting... (We had to wait outside, order our pizza, then half an hour later, we were called to our table...)
Here is the pizza. I caught Mark taking a bite. We just got plain cheese, but there was nothing plain about it. WHAT an amazing meal! I am sure there are many other adjectives for it but "amazing" works for me. It will take everything I have not to go back the next two days. I. Want. More. (The really bad thing is I just found out they will ship a partially baked pizza to you...and it isn't overly outrageous. Hmmm....) Sidenote: The shipping is outrageous. Drats!
As we walked back to the hotel, we were awestruck by this sight...

I loved our walk over the river. I can't imagine the whole river being green in March. Too fun!
Of course, gotta get an arm straight out kind of pic of the two of us...
Mark joked that I will need to start an album for "birds of Chicago". I wanted to take a pic of this for my students.
When we got back to our hotel, it was finally time to check in. Here is the view from our room. The man who helped us get our luggage out of storage heard our room number and told us we had a great room with a great view. He also told us it was a wonderful place to watch fireworks later in the day...
We thought we would check out the museums. We didn't have a lot of time but thought a few hours would be a nice start. Except the line was REALLY long. And we decided to walk along Lake Michigan instead.
This whole park area was beautiful.
Yes, another one.
A walk by the lake
Here is a picture of the aquarium as we walked away from it. The crane is actually lifting a boat or two out of the water. They were partially sunk. I overheard someone say there had been big storms recently.

Yes, another bird. Aren't their heads beautiful?
Here is a view of our hotel from the Lake.
Isn't it just amazing? And the pictures don't even show it all.
The famous Marilyn statue...
After a WHOLE lot of walking, we decided to take a walking break. We hopped on a river taxi boat for a little bit.
Our water taxi took us to the famous Navy Pier which reminded me a whole lot of Pier 39 in San Francisco. Except there were no sea lions. Or Alcatraz. Or ocean.
There were some beautiful sights though, like this sailboat as it passes by the sunset...
We loved watching these two boats pass each other.
Yes, yet another bird. I can't help myself.
Reminds us of a pirate ship
We took some girls' (as in their early 20's) pics, so they took one of us.
Beautiful sunset sky
We loved this lighthouse. It just looked so...not sure what the word is. Regal.
Our marriage is "anchored" in love. :) (Feel free to groan...)
Here is a view of Chicago from the back of Navy Pier
And another view
After our walk around the pier, we hopped aboard a bus that took us to Union Station. There we hopped aboard another bus that brought us to our hotel.

A few things to remember from our Chicago Getaway (Day 1):
It is so much cheaper to buy a pass for the Metra than to take a taxi. SOOOO glad we did.

I should have brought tennis shoes. My footsies are aching.

We somehow ended up driving through a "demonstration" (against corporations, government, and whatever else...). Since then that demonstration has moved across the street from our hotel. And their chanting is a bit annoying. I just want to go to sleep.

People have been very friendly.

I will never get used to the beggars on the streets. It is hard to not want to help them "all" though I saw the money some were bringing in. Maybe I should consider a career change. :)

I love visiting the city but I don't think I will ever be a city girl.

We do miss our kids and our dog (won't say which more :), but they are frequent topics of conversation so we don't miss them too much.

Oh, and the fireworks? They were a beautiful sight from our hotel window. They were shot off the Navy Pier over Lake Michigan. And I sat in my warm hotel room and watched. A beautiful way to end the day!

I think that is all for now. I better get to sleep so I will be ready for another big day tomorrow. Hoping hubby feels better; he wasn't feeling so great a bit ago.

Reba

In My Dreams

In my dream world...

• my countertops would be spotless
• no clutter would accumulate anywhere
• I would have a whole week to myself to get rid of that clutter that is accumulating everywhere
• people would respond to e-mails or Facebook messages so that I wouldn't sit and wonder, "Did I do something wrong?"
• Mtn. Dew would be healthy for you
• there would be NO cancer
• you would lose weight for not eating the foods you really wanted to eat but didn't
• every fall weekend would be devoted to a good hike
• my children would get along
• everyone would listen to me...truly listen
• I would get to sleep until 8
• I would be 20 pounds lighter
• my summers would be spent at the beach
• winter would be about three weeks long with all of the other seasons splitting the rest of the year
• all of my socks would have a match
• my sink would never have dirty dishes in it
• our house would have two more bedrooms and one more bathroom
• our lawn would always be green
• I would end school with the same 20 students I started with
• I could order my groceries via Internet and have them delivered
• I would get to go to the bathroom or take a shower with no interruptions
• there would always be a ballpoint pen on hand
• chocolate would be a food group
• I would not have Restless Leg syndrome
• there would be no junk mail or sales phone calls
• my phone battery would last for days without running down
• my interior walls would be repainted (without me lifting a finger)
• jeans would be considered professional dress

I am sure I can come up with more. How about you? What goes on in your dream world?

Reba

Signs O' Fall

There are a few signs of fall around our house...

• grilled food is slowly being replaced with soups in the crockpot
• Saturday afternoons, my boys are either at a college football game or watching one...
• my spirit gets restless as I long to be out hiking each weekend
• our weeknight evenings are filled with sports and school and other activities
• Friday nights are reserved for local high school games
• the kids are going to school in shorts but also wearing jackets
• the flip flops have been kicked aside
• piles of clothes appear around the house as the "clothes" transition takes place
• fresh fruit is slowly replaced with canned and frozen fruit (with the exception of "cuties")
• the blankets/throws begin to get nightly use
• my fuzzy slippers appear around the house (especially since the pup has taken a liking to them...)
• it is easier to get the kids to bed since it is dark earlier
• bags of peanuts and candy corn appear on our counter (and later in our tummies)
• the lawnmower begins to collect dust
• our yard is filled with colorful leaves even though we have NO trees :)
• the snow cone machine is tucked away for a while
• the counters are covered in school papers and homework
• backpacks litter the ground
• my naps and late nights are replaced with "naps" in the evening (curled up in the chair with a pup)...usually waking up just enough to brush my teeth and head to bed
• jackets are thrown on the chairs and occasionally the floor
• my knuckles and scalp get really dry and itchy
• the pantry is slowly filling up with candy as I buy a couple of bags of Halloween candy each time I go to the store (to soften the blow on how much I am probably spending)
• the kids start talking about Halloween costumes
  
• my internet searches turn to soup recipes and hiking trails
  

So, what are some signs of fall around your house?

Reba

Adult Truths

I can take no credit for these. I just happened to catch a "copy" of it on Facebook; it is one of those things that gets forwarded around. For whatever reason, they made me laugh. I don't know about you but I need a good laugh these days. :)

Here are some "adult truths", possibly edited since I am a family friendly blog. :)

Oh, and you know that I have to stick my two cent's worth in, so I do. :)

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
(Not that I have anything to hide, but still...do I really need people to know I was googling "peeling potatoes" at 1 in the morning?

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
...(Oh, how I HATE to be wrong. :)

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger. (I type this as I sit here, about to fall asleep...)

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How on earth are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? (Really, I want to know HOW to do it!)

6. Was learning cursive really necessary? (Sidenote: certain children in my house cannot read cursive at all and sure don't write with it...)

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood. (Love this one!)

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. (Amen to that!)

10. Bad decisions make good stories. (So true, especially for blogs...)

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto Section" routing option.

17. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever..

22. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

24. People who forward e- mail without deleting the tons of previous recipients should be shot and then tarred and feathered.

Do you have any adult truths to share? :)

Reba

Heaven is a Little Sweeter

I graduated from college in December (several years ago). It was not an ideal time to graduate with a teaching degree. To complicate matters, I graduated from a school in Kentucky but was ready to live in Arkansas again. And since my family had moved at that point, I didn't even have good "social ties" to rely on. I ended up working in a daycare in my parents' town for a semester. Then the job search began again.

I ended up beginning my teaching career at a little Christian school in Stuttgart. As in Arkansas, not Germany. I hadn't heard of it before and was a little apprehensive but I was ready to begin my life as a teacher.

Stuttgart was a little bit of a culture shock. I was more of a city girl. I honestly had no idea rice grew in fields...as in on plants. I guess I had never considered where it came from; I just bought it at the store. The first time I heard the "cannons" (that is what they sounded like) that scared the geese away, I think I dove under a table, convinced we were being bombed.

For a young single woman who had grown up more in north Arkansas, this move was pretty big.

So why did I do it?

Well, God, of course. I really felt like He wanted me to be there. And even now, I look back and see that He had a plan when I went to Stuttgart (and then later moved over to Little Rock where I met a handsome young man, now my husband.

But the other reason? The Bormanns.

Mr. Bormann was (and still is) the pastor of the church and was a founder of the school (a small private school). He was (and probably still is) a farmer too. Mrs. Bormann was obviously his wife. She taught on and off at the school, though when I was there, she worked more in the office and in the kitchen helping with meals.

From the moment I met them, I was at ease. They made me feel right at home even though I was everywhere but. In fact, when I first moved to Stuttgart, my apartment was not quite ready. They invited me to stay at their house.

Over the next two years, I began to truly appreciate who the Bormanns were. They were steadfast in their faith. Some of the most generous people I have ever met. They had a heart for children, a heart for God. They loved and cared for their community and church. They had wisdom beyond what I could ever imagine.

I spent a lot of time with Mrs. Bormann at the school. She had such a fun sense of humor. I would often write poems on my attendance forms and sometimes would stick notes under the door for her such as "Help, I am being held captive by 10 crazy kids..." I loved making her laugh. When I left two years later for a new life in Little Rock, Mrs. Bormann gave me a scrapbook filled with my little poems and fun notes. Still makes me smile thinking about it.

After I left Stuttgart, I mainly kept in contact with the Bormanns through Christmas cards. I think I got to go back one more time, soon after I was married. Then we moved to NWA, and our communication was even more limited. They weren't really into the computer thing. :)

In the past couple of years, I have connected with one of the Bormann's daughters through Facebook. We met a time or two in Stuttgart, but she didn't live there, so we didn't spend a lot of time together. However, we have developed a friendship through blogging and Facebook; I have really enjoyed getting to know her. One thing I have really enjoyed is seeing so much of her mom in her, especially that fun sense of humor. And that sweet smile...the one that lights up the room.

I was saddened to hear this past year that Mrs. Bormann was dealing with some health issues. Oh, how I wish I had gotten to spend even just an hour with her. I wish I could have just absorbed so much of her Godly wisdom. I want to be her as I grow up!

This past weekend I learned that Mrs. Bormann passed away. I know heaven got a little sweeter with her presence. But I am sad for those of us on earth who will sorely miss her spirit. My only comfort is that one day I will see her again. I can only imagine how heavy her crown must be; it must be full of jewels for all she did in her time on earth.

I wish so much I could have attended her services today. We were in the midst of parent/teacher conferences though, and the drive was just too far with my schedule. I wasn't there in body but I know where my heart and thoughts were today.

Mrs. Bormann, thank you. I could go on and on but what it boils down to is that I was blessed to have spent the two years I did with you. I can only hope that I am a better person because of it. Though I hadn't even seen you in several years, I can feel your absence. There is a hole in my heart. I look forward to seeing you again one day!

Garon Bormann

Sending hugs to heaven,
Reba