A stroll in the city

A week before we drove to NC, we all, (Amy, Tom, Hannah, Riley and I) went up to Chicago.  Amy and Tom were taking Hannah to see the nutcracker and I was coming up to visit and enjoy the city before we left.  I feel like we were there long enough for me to enjoy the city.  And Chicago has so much to offer!  I guess it's just a reason to visit.  In the summer though.  Saturday afternoon, Riley and I took the train into the city and where I would later meet everyone for dinner in Greektown.  

I had no agenda, I just wanted to walk around.  

The train was about 40 minutes late, which put a limit to how far I could wander, since I had to give myself time to get to the restaurant on time.  

I simply picked a direction and walked.  

Even though I only had about an hour, which was not as much time as I had hoped for, I still enjoyed my stroll.  

I forgot gloves for Riley.  So I gave her mine.  Then she proceeded to wave her hands around all over the place.  

It was nice to walk around at Christmas, because the city puts up a lot of lights.  

I can't remember what this is, but it's a special building.  David could tell me, only he's not here.  And I know there's a streetlight in the middle of the photo, but I still like the way it looks.  

With Greg, at a Greek restaurant in Greektown.  

Dinner was fantastic, especially the garlic sauce, which was pureed potatoes with A LOT of garlic.  

Riley and Josie, Greg's giant lab.  Riley loves him so much.

And he's so gentle with Riley.  

Running Sucks

This weekend, David and I ran the Chicago 13.1 Marathon sponsored by Allstate.  Over the last couple of months, I have started more formal and consistent training, have set running goals and have accomplished those goals.  One long term goal of mine is to become more comfortable with the half marathon distance.  It's something I feel like I should do before I step up to marathon distance.  Ya see, somewhere in between miles 10 and 13, it goes down hill for me.  I lose focus, my legs become heavy and it is everything I can do, mentally, to keep moving my legs because I just want to quit.  I don't quit though.  So I've increased my average run, making the average distance I run 6 to 8 miles.  I've become more comfortable in the 8 mile range and I am holding a more consistent pace in the longer runs.  I thought this half would be better than the previous ones.  So I felt really good Friday, the day before the race.  I set a goal for myself, to finish in under 2 hours.

The morning of, we get to the race start and stand around, literally, for almost 2 hours.  Yea, that was not the smartest thing to do.  It started like any other run, only a little hot and humid.  However, as the run continued, I never really loosened up.  By mile 6, I still hadn't found my groove.    

The first 6 miles, I held a perfect 9 minute pace and somewhere between mile 6 and 7, I lost it.  Mental exhaustion set in and it just sucked.  It never really got better from there.  I spent the rest of the run battling the urge to quit.  And finished in 2:05.  Of course I was happy and proud of myself but I was still disappointed that I  missed the 2 hour mark.  It's frustrating because I try so hard!  It also doesn't help when David is right beside saying "just move your legs faster" and perky stuff like that.  In the last 2 months, he's ran twice and it still comes so easily to him!  The day was hot and humid and the course was not as flat as I was used to.  The previous half marathons I've run were a very flat course and this had small, and gently slopping hills.  

David and I before the mud run.  See how happy I am! 

So I'll just keep trying.  Our next half is in September, and I will make it under 2 hours.  I've resolved that those miles, 10 to 13, may always be rough.  I'm just going to push through it, knowing that it won't last.  I have yet to run more than 13.1 miles, and maybe mile 14 is where it gets better for me.  

This is why I love running.  It is ALWAYS mentally challenging for me.  I am always proud of my ability to keep trying; to try and become faster, to try and run farther and to never quit.  

In other news, I finally caved to my curiosity about the five finger shoes.  I've been researching them for the last year.  I can't wait to see what they do for my running.  

Arriving: Chicago & Naperville

Thursday afternoon, I loaded up the girls into the Business Class car on an Amtrak train and we headed to Chicago.  My decision to change to first class was made at the last minute and I am so glad I did!  I intend to go first class anytime I'm on the train.  It made such a difference with the girls because there was so much more space.

I actually got my own seat, since the girls were small enough to share one.  Riley's face in this one

cracks me up.  

We had a small delay of 30 minutes.  This is right before our backup into Union Station.  

Hannah looked out the window for the last 30 minutes of the ride.  

There was a small delay in David getting to us also.  So what does a person do, at 9:30 p.m. in Union Station with two small kids.  They get ice cream.  Or TCBY if you're a stickler.  

Yesterday, I spent the day in downtown Naperville with Aunt Debby, Carolyn, Will and Emma.  

Hannah, Will and Debby looking in the fountain.  

Hannah's hair is so long!  I forgot how long it is because it's in a braid so much.  

Will and Hannah, in front of the fountain.  

I pushed Riley into the flowers so she could play with them.  

A few flowers were sacrificed.  

We walked around, did a lot of window shopping.  Picked up some cupcakes from Sugar Monkey Cupcakes.  After dinner, Debby, Carolyn and I went back downtown and walked around.  I picked up a shirt from White House Black Market.  It was the first time I had ever been in this store.  They've got nice, dressier type clothing.  What I found most interesting is that nothing wowed me on the hanger, but then when I saw it on myself, or Carolyn or Debby, it totally wowed me.  Then we sat in front of the river and had our cupcakes and wine in celebration of Mother's Day.  The cupcakes are fantastic.  I had a chocolate cherry cupcake.  It was phenomenal, especially the icing.  And I'm not an icing person, I normally scrape it right off.  All in all, it was a pretty fabulous day.  

Why We Moved

So aside from David's belief that he will be happier doing this job, and WAY better health insurance (which we've decided our family must have) here are some of the other considerations that played a part in our decision to move to Chicago.  

The Ashbury Greenway, and all the other greenways just like this!  

Where I can run for miles......with no babies!

See those poles?  They're perfect for speed training.  Which I need to work on for the 

Chicago Marathon I will run.

Theater

The Museum of Science and Industry

The Shedd Aquarium

Shows!

I can not wait to run down this path.  18 miles total, along Lake Michigan.

In short: culture and experience for ourselves and our kiddo's.  

I was talking to my Sunday School group right before we left.  I told them that I've realized why God brought me back to Fayetteville, for such a short time.  Before we moved back to Fayetteville, I thought I was a small town girl.  I thought I wanted to live in a country/rural setting.  But that's not what I want anymore.  Living in Italy changed me, and so has being a mom.  I get so excited thinking about the things I can offer Hannah and Riley in the way of culture and experience in Chicago..  Don't get me wrong, I would love to retire on 5 acres with lots of animals with a section for a garden.  But right now, I want to take advantage of the things that come with the big city.  I get excited thinking about Broadway, and the shows that David and I can go see.  I get excited thinking about my sister coming to see me in Chicago and taking her around.  I think about being with Josh and Leah in the city. I'm excited about what the future holds.  

The Museum of Science and Industry

This is my favorite museum in Chicago.  Of course, I haven't been to all of them, but out of all the sites I've been to in Chicago, this is my favorite.  Especially the You! Experience, formally known as Body Slices.  This is the second time I've been and anyone who has seen my scrapbook has seen the photo's of the body slices exhibit I saw the first time around.  While we were in Chicago it just happened to be a free month at the museum.  So Lori, Harrison, David, Hannah, and I all went to the museum.  This kids had a blast.  We walked a step behind them, and just followed them around, letting them lead the way, with the exception of the things we all wanted to see.  Lori wanted to see the baby chicks hatching, and David wanted to go to the kid's only section.  I wanted to see the body slices again.  It would take so much to cover everything in the museum, I don't think I've seen it all.  Some the things they have are a coal mine, a farming section, a technology section, trains and airplanes, and so much more.  If you find yourself in Chicago, you should definitely check it out.  

Harrison and Hannah

The Farming Section

The Kid's Only Section

David has been waiting years to go here!

Poor Harrison was shirtless for half the visit due to some 

over zealous water play.

Tornado

Body Slices

The foot

A very obese thigh section

A very young fetus, less than 2 months I think

A Last Minute Trip to Chicago

Last week, David and I made a last minute trip up to Chicago.  His grandma, on his mom's side, went in to the hospital on life support with a 7 day directive.  This meant that she would only stay on life support for 7 days.  We found out Tuesday afternoon, we left first thing Wednesday morning.  David had an appointment at the VA clinic in WInston-Salem that day, that we could not change, so we drove there first and spent about 5 hours there.  At 330, we began our 12+ hours drive to Chicago.  It was such a long day.  We pulled into is grandma's house at 4 am NC time.  We've made a joint decision to not drive through the night anymore, it's just too hard.  I mean we get there at 3 am, Chicago time and Hannah's up 3 hours later.  The drive itself was uneventful, with only a little bit of snow.  The visit was nice, considering the circumstances.  His grandma did pass, very early Friday morning.  His other grandma turned 88 while we were there, so we were able to join in the birthday celebration.  We went Lucky's Sandwich Shop, the Science and Industry Museum, Half Priced Books, and Trader Joe's (I'll blog about that in another post).  Hannah loved the baby (Sir William) and she loved helping out with him.  

Putting make up on Carolyn

Great Grandma Cernock needed some make up too

David instructing Harrison and Hannah and the GI Joe figures

Hannah helping feed Sir William (Baby Will)

Happy 88th Grandma Cernock

Guesstures

Lori and Harrison