TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME

~ CUBS WIN THE WORLD SERIES ~

I don't watch baseball. I can't even remember watching any other World Series games. But I've been watching this year because I was born and raised in a suburb of Chicago and I couldn't help but support them.

What a fun treat is was for me to watch the last few games here with my dad in Florida. Yes we stayed up past 1 am last night and what a game it was!!  A night I will never forget........

SOMETIMES THE SIMPLEST THINGS MAKE ME SO HAPPY

We received our AAA Westways Magazine the other day and I was looking through it. They had a little blurb about Route 66 and a free map you could pick up at your local AAA office. So yesterday I stopped in at ours on the way to some shopping and a movie. 

The woman had to go ask someone else and they found one. Then I asked if it was possible to get more. She went to find out where they were and gave me two more. I was so excited! 

This way I could have one, Adam could have one and Amber could have one too! I know it sounds silly but there is definitely a Route 66 history for us, first of all coming from Illinois where Route 66 Starts in Chicago at Lake Michigan. 

When Mark and I bought our first house in Western Springs, IL we were just 7 house in off of Route 66 which was called Ogden Avenue. Adam and Amber were born while we lived in that house. 

Fast forward to California and the house we bought in Fontana, CA. Our subdivision was off of Foothill Blvd which is Route 66. They were around 8 and 10 when we moved into that house. We lived there for 17 years. 

 It shows you Route 66 through the states from

Illinois to California.....

 It also points out attractions you can see along the way in each state.

Then of course you can add the fact that Adam & Tristen's condo is just a few blocks from Route 66 in L.A. and only 4.5 miles from the end of the route in Santa Monica, CA. 

Now when I was a very young girl we took a road trip from Illinois to California and Route 66 was the way to go. There were not many major highways back then. 

Since my dad was managing the movie theater at the time we were given passes to a studio in Los Angeles. I'm thinking we went to Disneyland too but I'm not sure. 

One thing that I remember was that I meet Denise the Menace (Jay North) who was filming the TV show. The camera man even let me look through the lens of the camera. We also saw Jerry Lewis filming Visit to a Small Planet. He actually came off the set and talked with us. 

My dad has driven Route 66 from Illinois to California 3 times in his lifetime. He said it was pretty hot since there wasn't any air conditioning in the car! 

Those were the days........ 

OUR REUNION WEEKEND

While we were in Chicago for our class reunion which was awesome we also drove around past our old house, special monuments and the houses we grew up in. I also told Mark that we had to try to go to the Brookfield Zoo while in town. (don't forget to click on the photos to see them better)

We of course also ate our favorites including Pizza and Italian Beef w/Sausage combo sandwiches. I was lucky enough to finally have my very favorite Barone's Pizza in Downers Grove, IL. The last time I had it was over 13 years ago and we shared this evening with my girlfriend Sherry and her husband Howard. It was a nice evening reminiscing. 

Actually it was 13th years with Sherry and Howard when I last had Barone's. I was in town attending the funeral for our best friends young son. Now since I mentioned this I will also say that we went to the cemetery to visit their sons grave which Mark hadn't seen yet and we also visited my mothers while in town.  

This was our visit of the High School we attended which is located behind the back entrance to the Brookfield Zoo. It was fun to see that the gymnasium was exactly the same and walking down the hallways was so much fun. 

That is me in front of my locker. It is a new locker but same spot. Right across the way was the water fountain which I had to have a picture of. There was a time between classes that Mark and I would pass each other there. 

We were not actually dating but there was some flirting going on. Can you believe the new water fountain they installed now has a place to fill your water bottles!!!

We ended up being able to go to the zoo for a few hours on Saturday. We spent about 3 hours walking around visiting our favorites. It was also raining on and off but thankfully it was real heavy rain.

I do have a story to share about this fountain. Sometimes things happen that you know are signs from God. I mentioned our friends who lost their son, these were our very best couple friends who we were with all the time. 

After I took that picture I walked up to look at the fountain and wouldn't know that the song "Wind Beneath my Wings" started playing and I just started bawling. 

That was the song the my friend Diane had them play at his funeral. I had sent her a music box with that song after I had returned home and that is when I put in a handkerchief and said "This is for your tears" and that is what inspired my ministry years later. 

This bear was behind glass. You can see it was raining.....

 The Polar Bear was behind glass too! 

 Some miscellaneous shots.....

 Hello....

 I just had this one put on canvas for my wall. 

 Mama cleaning her baby.....

 Group shot.....

This guy was not happy.....

 Mama and baby....

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

Volume 190

Thank you Joyce.....

Click on over and join in the fun! 

1. I'm celebrating a birthday this week so a question relating to aging feels appropriate. Douglas MacArthur is quoted as saying, 'You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair." Would you agree? If not why not?

I have read this over and over again.....I tend to agree with this quote! 

2. What remarkable feat, interesting piece of trivia, or historical event occurred on your birth day and month? Not necessarily in your birthyear, just the same date/same month.

The list is pretty long starting in 2333BC going through to 2013....here are a few:

1. 2333BC - The state of Gojoseon (Modern-day Korea) founded by Dangun Wanggeom during the reign of the Chinese Emperor Yao.
2. 1954 - "Father Knows Best" premieres.
3. 1955 - "Captain Kangaroo" premieres on CBS-TV, Good Morning, Captain!
4. 1955 - "Mickey Mouse Club" premieres
5. 2003 - Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy is attacked by one of the shows tigers, canceling the show for good.
6. 2008 - OJ Simpson found guilty of charges of kidnapping and armed robbery.

3. Describe a time or circumstance where you wanted to 'have your cake and eat it too.'

I think I do that everyday, I'm a dreamer! Actually I have something going on right now that could possibly go in the direction of  'have your cake and eat it too' or it can explode in my face. I will let you know.

4. What's something you do that makes you feel young? Something that makes you feel old

That's a hard one......I'm going to say that going to the Disney parks makes me feel young!

Something that makes me feel old.....all the time I've been spending at the doctor's office! 

5. When did you last do something that was 'a piece of cake'?

Spent a day with Adam and Tristen, went to the Getty Villa and had a wonderful engagement celebration at Fogo De Chao's in Beverely Hills. I haven't even written a post about that day which was back on August 10th! The day was exactly how I had hoped it would be. 

6.  Beef, wine, and cheese all improve with age. What's something else you'd add to that list? (not necessarily food or beverage)

Compassion and understanding comes to mind....... 

7. If I were to have a giveaway when we hit Volume 200, what should I give away? By my calculations we'll hit Volume 200 on November 26th, the day before Thanksgiving, which means whoever wins would have whatever it is in time for Christmas.

Movie tickets, Amazon gift card, Cheryl's cookies.....okay I could type a list that would be endless. I am sure whatever you choose would be appreciated by the winner!   

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

This is our long weekend in Chicago, IL. We will be mainly in Brookfield and staying in Oak Brook. We have a tour of our high school on Friday night, followed by an evening at a local pub. I believe their is also a football game going on if we want to attend. 

Saturday evening is a dinner at a restaurant in LaGrange. Should be an awesome weekend. Also meeting some friends for dinner tonight, along with having dinner tomorrow night with Mark's brother Jimmy and his wife Caprice. (My BIL & SIL) Can't wait to see everyone. 

Riverside-Brookfield High School

Brookfield, IL ~ Established in 1909

 That's me in the second row-second person.

 That's Mark in the first row-second person.

We return home on Sunday. I don't know if I will be reading posts or not. We do have some free time. Thinking that maybe on Saturday we can visit the Brookfield Zoo which is located behind our High School and is one of the country's largest and most respected zoo's.

JUMPING BACK....

....to the family wedding in Chicago in September!

 

Caprice and Jimmy

Don't forget to click to make them larger

 

Dylan, Amber, Debby, Mark, Adam and Tristen

 

The people I love more than anything....

 

Family photo of those who attended: CA, TX and AZ
Caprice, Jimmy and my mother in law Vivian.
The happy couple!

 

Just clowning around.....



 

What's a wedding without some dirty dancing,

even when they are one of your own :o

Our daughter Amber and our son in law Dylan.

They were definitely the life of the party!

(These photo are from the photographer-Link)

 

 If you missed my Chicago posts you can find them here.

 

 

MY KIND OF TOWN - PART THREE

 Chicago is ............

 

My two nephews from Houston, TX who

I got to meet for the first time.

Hunter and Nicholas.

 

So here we are at Friday, the day that the wedding festivities were going to being. It was one of the rare mornings we got to sleep in.  We needed to be downstairs around 1:45pm to get the shuttle to the Arlington Race Tracks. Now that was a lot of fun and that is where we ran into our BFF Diane. If you haven't read the story yet you can read to at my For Your Tears blog. I was lucky enough to win $172. while we were there. We had a great time at the races!

 



 (remember to click on the photos to enlarge them)

 

 After the races we had about an hour to get ready for the pre-wedding cocktail party which was in the bar at the hotel restaurant. Lets just say that we all had a little to much to drink and our daughter Amber was definitely the life of the party! Actually there was a story of when my bracelet got caught on her sweater and I don't remember it at all. We had so many laughs that night and got to know many of Jimmy and Caprice's friends, along with her family members.

 

Dylan, Amber, Mark, Michele, Pam, Tristen and Adam



 

 

Saturday morning came around and we didn't need to get on the shuttle for the wedding until 4:45pm. I had mentioned to my MIL that I wanted to get my nails painted and she said she was hoping to get her hair done. We had passed a place not to far from the hotel when we came back from the races so our plan was to get up and get her done! Amber joined us and we took off at 11:00am. My MIL was able to get her hair done while Amber and I had our nails painted. We got the new no-chip gel polish done and they looked lovely. After we returned to the hotel we meet up with Michele and Pam and we all had a lovely lunch in the restaurant. It was fun because we finally got to celebrate Dylan's birthday. Since I had been saving his cards it was nice for my MIL and SIL's to be with Dylan when he opened their cards.

 

 

Time for the wedding. These pictures are not perfect but they are all that I have until we order the professional ones. That is Mark with his sister Michele and their two brothers Jeff & Jimmy. Below them is Amber & Dylan, center is Tristen & Adam, Mark & I, Michele & Pam and Jeff, Barbara, Nicholas and Hunter. (This was the first time I got to meet my SIL Barbara also)

 

 

The wedding ceremony was very sweet and we couldn't be happier for Jimmy and Caprice. Afterwards they were outside getting some photos taken. I was watching and took a few of my own so that's why they are not actually looking at me! The first photo on the top left is my mother in law with the bride and groom, her son. In the middle bottom center is the brides mother with them and she walked Caprice down the isle. Then it was time for dinner and an evening of fun. Let's just say that Amber and Dylan were out there dancing most of the night! We arrived back at the hotel after midnight.

Mark and I made plans to meet with the kids around 11:30am to start our day. We went down to the lobby to say good-bye to his mom, Michele and Pam before they took off for the airport. Other family members left earlier that morning. Not only was it wonderful to enjoy the wedding but we also had a very lovely family reunion along with it.

 

Mark and I had a flight close to 7:00pm on Sunday night and the kids were staying until Monday afternoon. We planned this so they could have a day to head out and to visit houses that they remember from their years growing up in Western Springs, IL.  So first and foremost we headed out to lunch at Aurelio's which the kids love as much as we do. It was an excellent lunch and with our belly's full we headed out to Huntley Lake near Antioch, IL. My dad use to have a cottage on a small lake which we all have fond memories of.  When we moved to California 24 years ago the kids and I would fly back home and spend several weeks at the cottage.

 

After that Mark and I got dropped off at the airport. They took the car and went on their merry way to visit the house they grew up in, a townhouse they lived in with me for a few years, their grandfather's house and their great grandmother's home. I am sure they had a lot of fun.

 

Between our flights, when we were in Denver is when we got the call on Skye. That is where we had gotten upgraded to first class and you know the rest of the story after that!

 

TIME WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS:  PRICELESS

 

Hope you enjoyed joining us in our travels. 

When I get the professional photos I will share them.

Take care and God Bless.

 

 

Caprice and Jimmy



 

 PART ONE

PART TWO