Best. Exhibit. Ever.

Nerd Alert! Last Sunday we went to the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. The exhibit had lots of real-live props from the movies, including costumes, mandrakes, wands, and brooms. There was even a mock-up of Hagrid's Hut! It was really neat to see all that stuff in person (we've read all the books a few times and have seen the movies even more), but we were really disappointed that they didn't allow cameras in the exhibit. They did have the flying Ford Anglia from HP 3, so we got a picture of that before heading into the exhibit. It's at the Museum of Science and Industry until September, so we definitely recommend checking it out.

How I Celebrated Finishing My Race

...with a big ol' margarita from El Tapatio.

Ten Miles Down, 26.2 to Go

I kicked off my Memorial Day weekend this morning by running the Soldier Field 10 Mile race, the first of three long distance races I have planned for the summer. The course started right outside Soldier Field (where the Bears play) and continued south on Lake Shore Drive, past the Museum of Science and Industry, where we turned around and headed back to the field, finishing on the 50 yard line. John was such a trooper -- he got up with me at 5:30 this morning and waited in the stands for me to finish. I haven't checked my chip time, but I'm not too optimistic -- I had to stop and wait in line for a port-a-potty at mile one, so I was about 8-10 minutes behind schedule.

So far, we don't have too many exciting plans for the holiday weekend. John is playing golf with a friend, and I'm meeting a friend for brunch. Other than that, just lots of relaxing (and a little bit of work - blech). Hope everyone has a fun and relaxing weekend!

All lined up! Over 9,000 runners.

Finished! Congrats!!!

Perfect Spring Saturday

I started the day super early with the first training session of my Rock 'n' Roll Chicago half marathon running group starting at 6:15 this morning in Lincoln Park. It wasn't as painful to get up as I anticipated, even though half of my run was in a drizzly cold rain. John and I then went to an early brunch at Southport Grocery in Lakeview. Gotta love their bread pudding pancakes and their breakfast bruschetta. Since it was such a nice morning, we walked around the fun Southport Corridor neighborhood before John dragged me to see Star Trek at our neighborhood theater. Believe it or not, even though I think the show is a total snoozefest, I enjoyed the movie.

We also finally planted flowers in the window boxes and pots on our back deck. With this unpredictable Chicago weather, we wanted to make sure that there would be no more frosts before we planted. We think that the flowers will look great once they fill in a bit, and we're so excited to spend time out there now that the weather has vastly improved. The rest of this weekend will be pretty busy, as we have some exciting plans for tomorrow. Expect a post documenting tomorrow's awesome outing!

John and his Green Thumb

This one needs a little help, but once it fills in it will look great!

Happy Retirement, Mom!

After 29 years, my mom is retiring from teaching at Broken Arrow Public Schools. I made a whirlwind trip to Tulsa last week to attend her retirement party. It was nice to see how many people whose lives my mom has touched over the years. Plus, it was a blast from the past, since I knew all of the party's attendees from my years in BA. I'm so excited for my mom to have more time to do what she wants to do (and come visit me more often). Congrats, Mom!

Kirby, my grandmother, Mom, and me at Mom's party

Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks, Moms, for everything you do for us! We love you and miss you!

Cold Cubs Game

We've lived here for four years and have only been to two Cubs games, both of which were totally freezing. Last night we went to the game against the San Francisco Giants. We were proud of ourselves for making it through the seventh inning stretch, but we were driven away by the cold wind and a giant spider that kept reappearing and landing on spectators around us. Eek! We are determined to give it another go this summer, maybe for an afternoon weekend game. Go Cubs Go!

Hoping for a 'W' flag up there later.

Kristen and me waiting for Jared to come with our tickets
(he accidentally got on an express train to Evanston).

Jared finally made it!

Trying our best to stay warm! And avoid the beastly spider...

Law Prom 2009

Me with some girls from the office.

Saturday night I went to the annual American Academy for Matrimonial Lawyers gala at the Ritz Carlton. My firm is nice enough to pay for our spouses' tickets, too, but I thought I would spare John the pain of spending the evening with a bunch of lawyers, so he was off the hook. Overall, it was a nice night - I can't say it wasn't entertaining seeing drunk opposing counsels making fools of themselves on the dance floor!