October in Review!

WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE-CREAM!!!
Gearing up for the 2010/11 Jazz season. A tough job, but someone's gotta do it!!!
Sleepovers with cousins rock!
The Ward boyz...Gunnar, Isaac and Garrett.
One last slip-n-slide venture...80 degrees. Not too shabby for an October afternoon.
Adyson and Isaac chillin' out with chocolate pudding. How do girls stay so clean, Isaac wonders as he scratches his beard..or is that a chin???
Garrett, our adorable cousin that literally spent 2 hours on the slip-n-slide. That kid was a maniac on the hill! Gotta love him!
Ran a 10K race with my neighbor, Summer. So much fun! It's been at least 5 years since running a race. Felt good to be "in the groove" again. We've been working consistently since June to build our mileage. Now that it's dark and cold, we've retreated indoors. Interval and strength training is now our focus! Summer introduced me to Kempo (a form of martial arts similar to karate) and it's starting to grow on me. We workout to some great DVDs that target all the muscle groups. Jab, upper cut, sword...a whole new vernacular and oh, the moves! Don't pick a fight with me or Summer!
Never a dull moment @ our annual Thriller event ~ Kingsbury Hall. Did I mention it was "thrilling?" Good times with friends from my neighborhood!
Thanksgiving Point in October is simply the best! Couldn't believe how much there was to do at Corn Belly's this year!
Always more fun with friends. They were behind us on the hay ride...yahoo!!!
This ride made Dad's back ache, Isaac jump, Eliza laugh, and mommy...not sure...I think she was too busy snapping pictures.
Who shrunk mommy and Liza?
Purchased our pumpkins here. Isaac picked his own "punkin" as well as a mini for his sis. Always on the look-out for her like a true big brother!
Liza's first bike! Took it while we vacationed in St. George. She maneuvers like nobody's business. Don't get in her way, she's a biker machine!!!
Cruised through Zions Nat'l Park in a rainstorm. Waterfalls like this spilling down the rock were abundant. We kept pulling over to the side of the road to take pictures like everyone else. A very picturesque day in the canyon!!!
The vivid Fall colors made for a spectacular scenic drive!
These two lit up the canyon as much as the fall foilage!
This one makes my heart sing!
We worked hard carving these pumpkins. Of course, our favorite is the white one...a cyclops of sorts. Hard to tell, but he only has one eye. We thought we were very clever :-)
A true golfer is never bothered by a little snow on the ground.
The cutest lady bug this side of the Mississippi!
A fireman or a witch...hmmm...you decide!

Family Pics

We wanted a "Summerish" family picture and I didn't get my act together until late September. Could have fooled ya, though. Thanks to our beautiful Indian Summer, September looked and felt more like August. I'll take it!

SuRPrISe!!!

For John's 40th B-day on Sept. 10th (nice milestone, babe!), I planned a surprise gettaway trip. He knew I was scheming something but couldn't figure out the WHERE or the WHAT. I StuMPed him GooD. When he finally learned that CHICAGO was our destination the evening before departure, he was still scratching his head.
(This pic taken on our water taxi tour...Chicago is a beautiful city. The architecture and design is brilliant)
His Dad and Janice were the BeST SuRPrISe of ALL! They had been IN on the scheming from its conception!!! We planned all of John's favorite kinda stuff like...PGA Golf and Major League Baseball. Oh, and of course BRaTs & PiZzA!
Walking from our hotel (Hotel Monaco)...just ahead is Trump Towers.
FORTY happens once in a lifetime, so LiVE iT uP BaBY!

MaJOr LeaUGing...

The White Sox were playing the Kansas City Royales the evening of John's b-day and beat them by a couple runs in the last inning. We had awesome seats...row 17 behind home plate! Ramerez was flamboyant and fun to watch. I liked the catcher...his name started with a "P"...does that tell you how much I know about baseball? Anyway, he was a good hitter.
Their US Cellular Stadium was large and spectacular. We took it all in! We couldn't have asked for a better night!

Wearing his dreds and all!
Ozzie, the Sox Manager, got into a heated squabble with the ref and was finally ejected. It was the just the kind of DRaMa I love to watch (LOL). We were so close to the field we could occassionally hear a word or two of their debate (except they were always the naughty words). The crowd got into it and started chanting...Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie. It was the high point of the game for me at least:)
The cutest guy in a jersey was this dude here. I flirted a bit and took him home with me after the game...SCORE!!!

Michigan Ave.

I've always wanted to stroll MiCHiGaN AVe in Chicago! While the guys were at the golf tournament for a day, Janice and I shopped, shopped and shopped...and never dropped! Only two problems encountered. One. Short on time. Two. Short on funds. Next time we visit, we will plan to shop longer and save to spend! Oh, and Oprah tickets will be a MUST. Better get busy...
We took time out for this guy. Lego Land at the mall was worth the stop!
Getting "CHeeKY".
We had bags inside of those bags. Good thing I brought a half-empty suitcase. I was teased for my spacious luggage but who's laughing now???
Stumbled upon the American Doll store. One day Eliza and I will visit this place. It's every little girl's dream!!!
We even found cupcakes for John... have you ever had a SPRinKLes cupcake? Sprinkles is apparently the progenitor of the fancy cupcake craze!!! First cupcake bakery ever. Lemon coconut was my fav. But seriously, who spends $3.25 on a single cupcake? Only in Chicago.

BMW Championship Golf Tournament

Janice and I decided to join the guys on Sat. for the golf tournament. No cameras or cell phones allowed on the golf tournament grounds so these are the only pics we have. Despite the rain, we had a great day at the Championship tournament. Only the top 40 performers/golfers of the year were invited. Tiger barely made the cut, so yes, we saw him. We thought he looked sad. I yelled out to Mickelson as he was moving from one hole to the next. I even got a wink...probably because I mentioned his wife, Amy, whom I cheered with in high school. We mostly followed one particular threesome around though. I was rooting for Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson. I love that these young guys are rising to the top! Johnson ended up winning it so I was thrilled about that!
Cog Hill in Lemont, IL. A very nice, well groomed and mature golf course. Who ever thought I'd enjoy golf so much! This will go down as one of the most memorable sporting events for me ever! John was in heaven. Poor Sheldon (John's dad) had to have knee surgery 2 weeks after our trip. He'd hurt it originally in a skiing accident and then it really flared walking miles along the grounds. 2-days of continuous walking must have been torturous on his knees. What a great sport!
I adore these two! Aren't they so cute! Big thanks to them for making our trip all the sweeter for John. And my parents and Kathy (John's mom) who held down the fort back at the homestead with my kiddos. They didn't have a chance to miss us much. Having too much fun with Grandpa, Grandma and Grammy.

DiNInG in ChiCaGO!

And of course for me, EaTiNG OuT is generally the BEST part of any vacation! We dined in style and with great company!!! Janice and Sheldon are a blast to be with! I am lucky to have such awesome in-laws. Truly, I adore them! We all agreed, we are very compatible travelers!!! HoLY CoW! This pic was at Harry Caray's ~ famous steakhouse.
Supposedly...one of Chicago's best Deep Dish Pizza Parlors
If THIS is the authentic Chicago, deep dish pizza, well, I've been misinformed. We felt it was more of a breakfast quiche than a mouth-watering, cheezy pizza. I thought they skimped on the cheese and the sauce. I'll give the parlor a thumbs up for atmosphere, but that's about it folks!!!
Having a great time despite the Quiche Lorraine:).