Early Happy 50th for Ron!

It is always a special time to come back to Chicago. How could we not take this time in Chicago during Ron's 50th year and not celebrate his birthday. We had to! Aunt Kimmy helped coordinate by helping us reserve Brehon Pub (where we also had his 40th birthday party). While we don't think Ron was truly "surprised", we do think he had an amazing time celebrating with friends and family and watching the Cubs clinch the National League 2016 title. We were also blessed with surprise visits from his high school drama teacher and his buddy Steve Sachman who flew in from NYC to celebrate with Ronnie!

MEA Chicago - Day 2

On our second day in Chicago, we headed downtown again for another day as tourists. On route downtown, we stopped by the new Ed Paschke Art Center, which displays rare art of the artist and a re-imagination of his studio. Super cool to check out.



We then headed to Michigan Avenue where we saw the historic Pumping Station which takes in water from Lake Michigan. We then explored some of the stores on Magnificent Mile, including the Polo Store, Tiffany, Underarmor and a stop at Starbucks :).





We then took the Chicago Architecture Foundation Boat tour along the Chicago river. Can't believe we never did this while living in the city! Great tour.





Today was Game 6 of the National League Playoffs. To ensure good MOJO, we went to the Billy Goat Tavern for some cheeseburgers and chips (no fries) before the game! We also made a stop at the Apple Store to charge our phones and listen to some tunes!

MEA in Chicago

We planned a trip to Chicago for MEA weekend. Cubs are in the playoffs and we thought it would be fun to be in Chicago during this moment in history. Unfortunately, after we planned our trip, we found out that Canyon had a full weekend of hockey games. One of his teammate's families offered to host Canyon for the weekend so we could keep our trip on as planned. We wanted to make the most of our trip and enjoy the city as tourists. On route to the city, we made stops in Red Wing to visit with Great Granny and Libertyville to visit with our pals, the Haddons. Both great stops!




On Friday, we headed downtown to Millenium Park and Grant Park. On route to the "Bean", we made a stop in Daley Plaza with the famous Picasso statue and listened to some street music near the historic Marshall Fields store.






We continued exploring the park with a stroll through the Lurie Garden and then adventuring in the new Maggie Daley Park with awesome playgrounds, an enchanted forest walk, and a cool ice skating ribbon. My new favorite place in Chicago.

Hockey Season 2016-17 Begins

The kids' hockey season has begun. Canyon is starting his second year as a Bantam AA and Presley is starting her second year as a 12UA. Both of the kids should be have pretty decent seasons.

Snippets of Fall

Fall is settling in but hockey season has yet to get into high gear, we have been some nice fall highlights. Ron was given the opportunity to attend "Oldchella", also known as the Desert Trip, for 3 days with one of his customers and see some of Rock's greatest legends, including Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, the Who, and Pink Floyd.



While Ron was out of town, we stayed busy in Minnesota. Presley and Mom attended the annual Twin Cities Marathon with some of Ron's business school pals. We also got to see our friends Jen and Eric while they were hammering down on Mile 22.



After the marathon, Presley and I attended the National Charity League's annual tea where the speaker was one of Mom's previous mentorees.



This week was also a momentous week because Canyon got his braces off after a mere 18 months.



Mom also enjoyed some fun nights out with friends, including the Prince Tribute concert that lasted 5+ hours and our first Wild game of the season against the LA Kings..

Canyon's First Homecoming Dance

We have officially transitioned to a new stage of life with Canyon attending his very first high school dance. The girls were the organizers of this event -- organizing the dates, helping the boys think about how to "ask" their dates, deciding where pictures would be taken, coordinating dinner plans, determining when they would be at the dance and also planning an official "after party". We were a little bit shocked by how grown up everyone seemed to be but also proud of how Canyon looked and acted. Canyon's date for the night was Paige, they took pictures at Centennial Lakes, enjoyed dinner at Edina Country Club, and stopped by Izzy's for the after party. Wow! A big night. Mom was excited to "participate" in the night as a driver to get the kids from place to place.

Ryder Cup 2016 Comes to Minnesota

Wow! What an amazing experience. The world came to town for Ryder Cup 2016! Ron and I were very fortunate to attend the opening day of play on an amazing fall day thanks to one of Ron's customers who blessed us with members' passes. They say that this is the biggest Ryder Cup ever. A great experience!!

Grammie Comes to Town - Mom/Dad Head to Louisville, KY

We were very fortunate to have Grammie come visit us in MN. She came for a conference but was able to stay for the weekend and watch the kids while Mom and Dad headed to Louisville, KY for Ron's friend, Jim's son's wedding. During her visit (and before her conference), we visited the Renaissance Festival on Sunday with the kids. And then on Monday, while the kids were in school, Mom and Grammie headed to St. Paul for a 5 mile self-guided walking tour along the river and through some cute neighborhoods.





Our visit to Louisville was excellent. The wedding festivities were beautiful and Ron and I also got to enjoy a little of Louisville including a visit to the Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum, Downtown Live, and a Bourbon Trail testing. Great weekend. Thank you Grammie!