Sar Bear Comes to the Windy City

Not long after mom left, the bestie came flying in from the colder weather. Sar Bear came for a day of her Spring Break being that she is a teacher. I appreciated all she brings with her such as: love, commitment, laughter, and girl time. Am I home sick for my rock solid community in MN? You gotta believe it. I am being timid here in Chicago with finding friends. I keep telling myself that it is because I have friends, why would I want any more? I truth behind my shell is that I am nervous to start anything knowing that I am probably not going to stay long. Caleb getting into a residency in Chicago, or MN for that matter, is not a guarantee. This thought makes me think I am not planting anything anywhere until I know what the future has in store. Because I have this mentality, I may be losing out on some great people. Hmm, there's a thought...

Maybe you could pray for some direction? Thanks. A girl needs a community whether it be a forever or a year-long community. I can be brave. I am brave.

BACK TO SARAH BEING HERE... sorry about that. Sar Bear came for a whopping 36 hours. (She is a tease). Due to the speedy visit we did as much as we possibly could. We grabbed Deep Dish Pizza for lunch, Chicago Dogs for Dinner, Millenium Park, John Hancock Bulding, and a piano bar. She knows me well and is apart of the handful of friends I have that appreciates piano bars enough to humor my obsession. Thanks, chica! She came by plane but experienced the CTA system a whole lot. I think she really enjoyed herself. I know I loved it so much. Enjoy the photo montage we were able to do...

Love you, baby girl. Thanks for the memories.

Mom Visits Chicago

Last weekend, my mom and gma came to visit. It was great news for me seeing that I love them to pieces. We had such a great weekend filled with plenty of meals and even a trip to the theater. Check out our time at the Cadillac Theater seeing Phantom of the Opera.

Aren't we just the cutest three generation trio?

It is so beautiful inside the theater.

Nose-bleed seats but we knew what was going on. 

And then there is us. Just us being crazy kids.

You may be wondering how we liked it... mom and gma had seen it before and those this rendition was  not their favorite but it was enjoyable. I really enjoyed it, seeing that I was able to see a play and that I am completely obsessed with live entertainment of many forms. Phantom is a very cool story but I certainly appreciated the wikipedia plot I read during the intermission. I had no idea what was happening in the first act but act 2... FANTASTIC! Oh how did Caleb like it? Well seeing that when people sing a story to him and lack the audible conversations, one may say that he didn't like it as much as me. He is a trooper though!

After the phantom we shopped at quaint stores around the skirt of downtown Chicago and walked to dinner. We went to "Ana Maria Pasteria" one block from our house. It was snowing and it was so much fun. Enjoy the photos...

We ended up watching "Captain Phillips" with Tom Hanks. It was like "Castaway" except more captive-abductor. I liked it but it was far too long for its own good. On Sunday, we and mom went to church and had AWESOME worship. I really liked bringing my mom to our new church, New Life Community Church - Lakeview. After they left to go home, we took Miles in for the afternoon while Nate and Kelly went out to do errands. We have done this once prior and just cannot get enough of him. He literally makes us so happy to be in the same city as he is. He is so awesome. Check out the game he learned to play... JENGA.

Snowboarding and the Bulls

Before Valentine's Day came snowboarding in downtown Chicago on a hill 100 feet high. Miles did some snowboarding as we watched him. Miles was the "King of the Hill".  When Miles came up to the hill he did not even know if he was sure about going down but little did we know that our 5 year old nephew was about to go off the 3 foot jump on a snowboard a foot too big for him. Yes, our nephew went off a jump. Not a pro jump by any means but he aced the jump. Check it out.

The day before Valentine's, my uncle blessed Caleb and I with Bulls tickets. We were very thankful and also enjoyed ourselves a lot. We were able to get box seats and eat all the chicago dogs we wanted. My cousin and two of his kids came too. It was a blast and the Bulls won! 

Go Bulls!

My boy having a great time in his "1996 Bulls Champ" hat

He loves me. He does.

Hailey & Dave... my cousin's kids. Cuteness ALERT!

Valentine's Day for Mr. & Mrs. Klinge

Well love was in the air around this neck of the woods as El Dia del San Valentino arrived. My boss gave me a valentine of Snickers and Mac&Cheese. That girl knows my heart already and it has only been a month! My bestie sent me cake pops which are the bomb digs... too many I think were sent due to the inhaling of chocolate cake I have been doing. THANKS SAR BEAR!

My spouse of a different gender brought me home flowers in a lil mason jar. Isn't it SO cute? I love them. A little reminder of my wedding flowers, no? Sort of? YES!

Here is what we got each other... we both got each other mugs without even knowing. Aren't we just the cutest? Caleb's mug was way cuter than mine but mine had more homemade feel. Caleb's cards are behind understanding of greatness and each holiday I get a new specially made one. This holiday was the skyline (VERY detailed mind you) with the sweetest poem written inside. I wrote a card with printer paper and a sharpie, totally my style.

I was so excited to go out to eat with My Love I could hardly stand it. 

For the evening we went to a place called "Magnolia's". This was a fancy place that is small and packs people in like sardines. Our food was excellent and we would recommend the place in a heartbeat. The one, big thing we have to mention is that they were stubborn to take our coupon we brought. Some say that using a coupon on a holiday is taboo and a no-no. HOWEVER, we are learning to save our money and use it wisely so when a restaurant does not put limitations on their coupons, cheap-o's will use them with authority. Think what you want but we are not ashamed. 

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

A few weeks ago was Caleb's 26th Bday. It was a quiet day but Caleb mentioned he liked it that way. He was quite spoiled this year as I found some splendid deals. 

I made my first LK card seeing that Caleb loves
homemade cards.

 We started the day out with eggs and bacon breakfast along with gifts to be opened.

The gifts to be had.

Caleb's present from his mom: AAA Oakland
team, Sacremento Rivercats.

Caleb's satchel he has been wanting.

Then it was off to work for me and Caleb had a half day of school. Lucky snake. He got a free sub at Jersey Mike's and enjoyed a leisure day. I got done with work early and picked him up from school. We came home and watched TV and waited for dinner time. Caleb has been itching to eat deep dish pizza so we ventured to "Pequod's Pizza" to try their style. He really enjoyed it and the atmosphere was quite fun.

YUM!

 After dinner we came home and ate his mom's recipe of Cheesecake. Caleb will not enjoy any other cheesecake on his birthday... AWESOME recipe! We opened the case it was in and dug in. We finished the cake and I realized we did not sing or blow out candles for his birthday. This was his reaction when I told him...

oops, my bad. He was ticked.

He forgave me and let me take a pic of the
cheesecake along with the fakiest of smiles.

We ended the night with watching his show, White Collar, and then went off the bed. A nice, suttle night.

The following day we went off to watch Miles at his basketball game, ages 4-6. Needless to say Miles is the best on the court and he gets pretty frustrated when others are not following the rules.

Being a good sport.

Please enjoy the chaos of little ones trying to play a game. Miles can be seen at the end with the basketball (#12).

Happy Birthday, Love. You are loved more than you know.

Don Stoll: Grandpa, Father, and Stubborn, Kind Man

My dear grandfather passed on to another place on January 14, 2014. He was a very dear man to me and meant the world to me since my dad died 6 years ago. You see, my grandpa loved my dad a whole lot and really loved spending time with his son. Even though my dad was with grandpa quite a lot, I was quite afraid of my grandpa. Why you ask... well, he is a very brash, blunt, harsh man with his words and actions. I soon found out why and how to get back to that. I did this by swallowing my fear and trying to fill in for my dad. I went to visit whenever I was home from college and while with him, asking all questions I could about his life and who he was. It only took about 3 times in order to break into a decent conversation that was not awkward or shy. 

What did I find out about him? 

1. He was born and raised in Oshkosh, WI
2. He loved sailing, hunting, and fishing with his dad
3. He was forced to sign up for the war and served two years
4. He got his degree in engineering 
5. He worked for Boeing Airlines for awhile after college
6. He then worked for the government at a ammunition plant
7. He cherished his cabin who was given to him from his dad.
8. He gives and gives to his family without them really noticing
9. He loves talking about his marriage and spending time with his great grandson, Alex
10. It matters to leave a legacy of goodness and hard work

It is so quiet at his house; it will be different to visit home without visiting him. I will miss him greatly and never forget what I have been taught in 6 short years.

On my wedding day... look at that cute, crooked onions.

Playing the family game, cribbage, at the cabin.

Christmas last month with Santa in his
jammies.

The legacy will live on. Fishing, cabin, and a hardworking
spirit.

Farewell, kind old man.

Our first date in Chicago

Our second Saturday here in the city, Caleb surprised me with a night out on the town. I was a little taken back but so excited to venutre out after being couped up. We went ice skating at Millenium Park. Caleb and I know how to skate already and have skates of our own so it was a free date night, other than the train and dinner. We had a great time and shared in some memories while we shocked up the reality that we live here. 

Skating around and around.

A little packed but look at that view!

"The Bean" with a view reflected.

We ate at this little hot dog place, "Max's", YUMM!

My dog, Chicago Style. No ketchup for sure!

Caleb's burger. He loved it!