Visit to the Navy!

That's what Grace says when we ask her about our recent trip to Chicago. On September 4th we packed up the family and headed east to attend my step-son Ben's graduation from Basic Training. I had never been in that area before so I asked for my friend Jeanne's advice before booking hotel rooms and such. We ended up staying at a Residence Inn by Marriott in an industrial part of town, which was nice and quiet, yet close to the Naval base where we picked Ben up every day.
We arrived late on the Thursday night and picked up our rental vehicle, (which by the way was a full size van due to the fact that Ben's uncle Matt & his son Oscar, and Ben's mom Pam joined us on this trip!) shortly after midnight. Martin, thinking ahead, had packed our GPS unit to help us navigate around the Chicago area. Well, it took almost two hours to drive to the hotel and let me tell you, the neighborhoods we drove through were pretty scary. We kept trying to figure out what these blue lights were that we saw mounted high up on streetlight poles. Adam thought they were for the cops to catch people running red lights. Well, let me tell you from the looks of these neighborhoods that was the least of their worries. I think they were some sort of security feature, cause we were in "THE HOOD" man.
After catching just a few hours of shut eye it was up and at 'em bright and early in order to get seats at the ceremony. You see the Navy only guaranteed us 4 seats per family (kids under 12 didn't count!) but everyone else was first come, first served. After sitting in traffic for over an hour and then being herded out of our vehicles to be briefed over a loudspeaker system on how not to behave on base, our van was searched, our ID's scrutinized and then we were on our way. The ceremony itself was pretty impressive. There were over 1000 Graduates and a few of these flunked out during the actual graduation ceremony. Imagine spending over two grueling months training and working your heinie off and then passing out just minutes from reaching your goal. These guys (and gals) literally collapsed in front of thousands of people and now have to start all over. What a bummer! I managed to catch some photos of Ben's Division which was the last to march into the hall. None of us could spot him, so I tried to sweep the whole division and did manage to catch one good one of him. It was a good thing I did cause Ben ended up standing right underneath the bleacher balcony we were sitting in, and we couldn't even see him the rest of the time!
After the ceremony was over we headed out and spent the day driving around with Ben. We visited the Bass Pro Shop, which is the coolest store I've been to in a long time. It's an outdoor hunting/fishing/camping/anything else you may need in life kind of deal. They have a full size pond/aquarium inside, an archery range, a shooting gallery, etc. Their clothing selection is amazing and the whole thing just puts REI to shame. Sorry! We then had some nourishment and headed out to the shore. Who'd have thought that there was sandy beach, warm water and beautiful waves on the shores of Lake Michigan? We found a gorgeous beach and just hung out for a bit. Ben had to be back on base each evening for 7:30 PM, so there was no time for late night outings.
Saturday we spent half the day in Chicago, while some of us visited Millennium Park, the Navy Pier and other tourist spots around the windy city. I really wish we would've had more time to look around and especially to take some more pictures. It seems like we hit the jackpot with the weather. Ben said it had been raining most of the week before we came and apparently started raining again the day we left. So that worked out great. Ben had duty that day at 4 PM so we had to have him back by around 3 PM, which gave us the evening off.
On Sunday Martin got up real early to drive Matt & Oscar to the O'Hare airport, as they had booked different flights and were leaving early that morning. Afterward he picked up Ben and we decided to try out sightseeing. We voted between the Botanical Gardens and the historical town of Antioch, and lookie here, the town (which just happened to have a scrapbook store recommended by my friend Jeanne!) won. So after traversing what seemed like maliciously planned construction, (we hit the freeway and were detoured for miles without an available exit ramp) we turned around in Wisconsin and headed back towards our goal. I'm sure we exceeded the 50 mile radius that Ben was supposed to stay within, but we won't tell if you won't.
Antioch was a surprise. The town was quaint to the point of being boring. Some shops were closed and the boys were not impressed. We headed to a local lake/park where we blew off some energy by goofing around on the swings. Poor Ben, all he could do was watch and push Grace "higher, higher!", since he was in full dress uniform and could not get it dirty. Then we headed into town to choose a restaurant for lunch. I had Martin drop me at "Hannah's" the infamous scrapbook store and told them I would meet up with them. Well, let me tell you, it's one of those "been there, done that" experiences. The store was great, large, more of a home decor and more store with a big scrapbook selection. However the gals working there were a bit slow on the uptake. It took me almost 1/2 hour to get some stupid ribbon cut, cause there was no yardstick/ruler/measuring tape, nor any scissors in their fabric/sewing department. Kind of strange if you ask me? Anyway, I met up with the group at an Italian joint which was nothing to write home about. How can you screw up lasagna? Well, their cook sure managed. It was all in all one of the most disappointing stops on the trip.
We made another quick trip to Starbucks (we found a nice one in Lake Forest, a really cute suburb) and bought Ben some "real" coffee. Apparently the Navy serves Folgers and he got spoiled at home. Martin popped into the Navy Exchange store and stocked up on the real thing, Navy branded workout gear. 100 percent polyester, no wonder they sweat up a storm. Go Recruits!
On a more serious note, we saw a lot of people come up to Ben and his classmates, to shake their hands and congratulate them on their choice. Many expressed gratitude and thanked them for their service. So remember that these fine young men and women serve for the whole country and they should be included in our prayers every day.

Ok, Ok I know it's been forever...

but I'm back...

I've thought lots about updating this thing, but it just never quite happened. So here I am, finally.

Since my last post we've made some major home improvements, sowed some lawn, planted a vegetable garden, acquired beautiful hanging baskets, had several parties (and a few more to go!), sent Ben off to Navy Basic Training, had company from out of town stay over, went fishing, played some beach volleyball, planned to go camping and to a family reunion, and so much more...

I am taking two online classes at BIG Picture. The first is the always fabulous Stacy Julian's "Have More Fun" (and who doesn't want to do that?) and the second is Photography 101. I have learned so much from both classes already and wish I had more hours in the day to committ to them. How fun is receiving a package from Stacy with a fun message to make your day, which also included a mysterious Kazoo? Who knows how to play a Kazoo, (without looking it up on the internet, which is what I did, and I still can't play the darned thing!) LOL So if you've never checked it out go to BIG Picture right now and start by taking some of their free (YES! I said FREE classes), it will be so worth your time...let me know what you think?

Anyway, I hope you forgive me and I will try my best to be more like Julie my new blog hero. I swear she updates her blog every single day (well, not when she's on vacation in a cabin in the woods), but every other day, even when it means getting up at the crack of dawn. And Lisa, one of our new TOM girls, my new scrapbook idol, her stuff rocks, check it out here, here and here... And this is Lisa.

I will return sooner rather than later this time. I promise.