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Bowling with Friends :)

  

Art

    I'm an art history nerd.. I am just so fascinated with all the different styles and movements. People draw pictures to tell stories and share how they feel. Especially back in the olden days when people were illiterate, the church would have paintings of different biblical stories done where they could show their congregations and help explain the stories behind them.
    I could study the history behind the artists and their paintings for hours and never get bored. In college, I planned on getting a minor in Art History, but due to the fact that I finished my 4 year degree in 2.. there was absolutely no room to squeeze in any more classes. Oh well though, it can just be a hobby.
   Anyway, Brian and I went to the Art Institute of Chicago because Brian knows how much I love art. He let me drag him around for two and a half hours, talking his ears off about all the paintings and artists that I knew. It felt surreal to actually be seeing the paintings I have studied about up close!

Here are just a few parts of the museum that I snapped. It was neat to see people that had set up their own canvas and was copying a picture of Monet or Caravaggio. Just to name a few of the artists work that we saw: Monet, Manet, Seurat, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Velasquez, Matisse, Picasso, Salvador Dali, El Greco, Renoir, Degas, and Frans Hals. Brian is a trooper to go through all that with me. We didn't even finish the whole museum because it is SO big!

Just for a laugh here is a youtube video of Brian Regan about Art.

Millenium Park

   What do we do when Brian's given a week off of school? We explore! We went downtown on a gorgeous (but chilly) day to explore the many wonders of Chicago. And there is quite a bit to explore! We walked until we dropped! Through the giant Macy's (which made me feel like I was in Elf). Into Millennium Park (which made me feel like I was either in The Vow or Source Code-both of which have scenes that take place here).  We couldn't stop looking around and trying to take it all in.

Measuring 66 feet long and 33 feet high stands "The Bean"

 

View from under The Bean..

And then there is the awesome fountain that changes pictures from landscapes to faces.. We liked the faces best.

And even tried to copy them ourselves..

After walking through the city for a few hours.. we were exhausted and ready to go home. I think cities are fun to visit, but I don't think I could ever live in one.

Our "Cheesy" Halloween

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

   I know, I know.. our costumes are super cheesy. Especially for this part of Illinois. I am not much of a NFL football fan-in fact, I wouldn't even consider myself in the category of a fan. Illinoisans root for the Bears football team. Little did I know that the cheesehead is a symbol of the Green Bay Packers which are from Wisconsin-the state right above us. I also didn't know or realize that the Bears and Packers are pretty big rivals. So when we wore our costumes to our Ward party, we got a few boos and at first I had no idea why. Pretty much everyone in our ward are big time Bears fans. It'd be like a BYU cougar walking into a University of Utah pep rally. Woops!
   So even with that small "oopsie" our Halloween was a blast! We threw a little Halloween party at our place and invited a few friends. We played some games, had a costume contest, ate delicious grub, and tried not to let the boys talk about school (Did it happen? No..) It was still a grand ol' time and we are very grateful to the wonderful friends we have out here!

Lovely

    I would feel really ungrateful if I didn't share our experience last month so here it goes. Brian and I talk a lot about our finances these days as I try to comprehend the inevitable debt that Medical School will bring. So far we have been extremely blessed--with me being able to graduate school so early has allowed me to work a full-time job out here which gives us just enough to live on (due to ridiculous rent prices).
   Well last month Brian and I figured out the tithing we owed and Brian wrote the check out. It was only a few hours later when Brian received an email that said that he was being awarded a scholarship! I know that it was NOT a coincidence that we had just paid our tithing that morning. The Lord was blessing us for being faithful and obeying his commandments. I can't even begin to describe the gratitude that I feel. I am so much happier living on 90% of my income AND receiving the Lord's blessings. The church is true and I am so happy to be apart of it!

   Here's a quick update.. We are very busy out here. I usually work 50 hours a week and Brian lives at the school. (Not really but kinda). Each week we have our No-Study-Sunday where we get to catch up and spend time together playing games, talking walks and playing Frisbee outside (weather permitting) and getting together with friends. I look forward to Sundays more than any other day of the week because I get to have Brian all to myself and not at the school.
        Here are Brian and some of the boys from the ward on their way to Priesthood. And below is me and my friend Brooke on a hayride. (She's pregnant and just found out she's having a girl.. WOOT!)        Here are two cute pictures of Hayden. She smiles all the time but trying to catch one on camera is super hard to do! In the bottom picture Hayden was smiling and then turned and planted a kiss right on my cheek just as I snapped the picture. Isn't it the cutest ever? I love this girl's kisses and her sweet phrases I get to hear every day, "I love you" "Bagel" "Hi" "Mama" and "Happy" (Happy was her first word.. isn't that so sweet?).
     How could I ever be unhappy with my life when I have a girl like this to see every day?!

Skeleton in the Closet

   Halloween is only a few weeks away. One day, Brian came home with an awfully large and old looking brief case. He told me that it was something for school to help him learn the human body better. Little did I know that it was an ACTUAL human body in the case!!
   Yes.. You read that right. Inside that old looking brief case lies the bones of what was once... a real life person. And now this person-or these bones-are now lying in a closet in the upstairs spare bedroom! Talk about skeletons in your closet! We really do!

Apparently this is part of your spine. To me, it looks like the face of a pig.

This is actually kind of cool.. See the areas that look like stitches at the top of the skull? This is to help us slide through the birth canal when we are born. Heavenly Father is a smart man and designed our bodies perfectly!

 Meet Edgar, at least that's what I've decided to call him since he is staying at our home.

Kayak the Shores of Chicago

We made it into the city! Most people go by car, some by the metra... WE GO BY KAYAK!

    We went with our friends Dave and Hannah Knecht and boy oh boy did we have oodles of fun! Being in Chicago is like walking through a movie. I mean there have been some great movies filmed here..  Home Alone, Source Code, August Rush, Bourne Legacy, the Fugitive, Return to Me (My Fav!) and let's not forget the famous Ferris Bueller's Day Off! You can't blame me for feeling that way right?       Also while we were there, it was free Museum Day.. so we went to the Alder Planetarium. Quite the informational place and there are a lot to see.       This picture shows just how interested Brian was in the place. There was too much to look at and so he couldn't even stop for a second for a picture haha      We tried a moon launcher. Hannah and Dave seemed to really enjoy it! But kayaking on Lake Michigan.. now that was wonderful. We could not have chosen a more perfect day to go either. It was a great way to view the city. And it was peaceful... on the water it was smooth and quiet whereas looking into the city was a hussle and bussle of cars and people. I enjoyed just watching it all happen.

K

Since the scenery isn't complete without a picture of my feet...

   I want to go again already! We are already planning a time to kayak up the Chicago river this time and be right in the middle of it all-but still away from all the craziness. It's a whole new and wonderful perspective!