A wonderful way to start my day!

Because things had ended so early, we treated ourselves to a 30 minute horse carrige ride. It was absolutely wonderful and made Katrina's night.

For photos of our evening, you can check out my Fireworks Set on Flickr.

It is hard to take pictures of fireworks, but my camera has a fireworks setting, I had to try it out...It was fun and some of the effects were very cool!

Last night Katrina, Jack and I watched the fireworks from our bedroom windows. It was cool, even though we couldn't see them completely for buildings. Tonight we are walking to Navy Pier to see the big firework show.

Today we got up a bit earlier than planned. I told Jack that we would try and leave by 9. Well, at 7, I was still in bed, thinking about getting up when a knock came at our door. Jack couldn't believe we were still in bed. He thought it was 9! He had just woke up, looked at the clock on his computer (which said 8 a.m. because it is on East Coast time). Instead of subtracting an hour, he added an hour and viola...it was 9!!!! He got up and dressed quickly, let me tell you.

We spent about an hour waking up, then headed to McDonald's for breakfast.

So for today... Katrina and I hit the Goodwill this morning. I had forgotten to pack her a jacket and the evening temperatures here are going to be a bit cool (plus, it is the windy city and we had some wind today). While at the Goodwill, I also found each of us a patriotic shirt to wear for tomorrow! I couldn't believe I was able to find one for each of us the day before the Fourth of July.

We left for Chicago around 12. I volunteered to drive in...whatever was I thinking? But our Garmin GPS directed us right where we needed to be. There was a bit of traffic of course, but we survived and I didn't cause any accidents:)

Our hotel is something else. The valet ran away with our car (which we are leaving parked for the duration). The bellboy helped get our luggage to our room. The concierge wasn't at her desk when we arrived, so she made a special trip upstairs to our room to introduce herself, give us some tips and give us four complimentary days worth of internet hookup....unfortunately, we had already paid to hook up by the time she came to see us...grrrr....

Jack had a wonderful time and is already excited about going next year.

Her mother was prescribed too many medications by the same doctor that had interactions and led her mother to take her own life. This is not just something that can happen to celebrities, it can happen to our moms, dads, brothers, sisters, brothers, friends, us.

Please stop by and visit Nikowa. Offer your words of comfort and support. And maybe, her situation can help you or someone you love before it is too late.

Tomorrow we will be leaving for Chicago, apparently along with 2,999,996 other people...oh well, at least there will be plenty of opportunities for 'socialization'!

While there, we will be staying at the Sofitel Water Tower. Daniel found this place through Expedia.com and chose it for location and rating. It looks very posh (I am always worried I will stand out in some way as not posh enough when Daniel picks places like this). We are hoping for a high up room with a great view of the fireworks (which if I have figured right, there will be fireworks Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night! The kids will be in heaven!

On Friday, the kids and I plan to spend the day at Shedd's Aquarium. Not sure if Daniel will join us as it isn't his thing, but we are very excited about going. And my favorite reptile will be there too! We purchased the Go Chicago Card and we will be using it to go to Shedd's Aquarium.

Anyway, we have gotten lots of use out of Netflix. The kids and I have found tons of documentaries that we have used in our homeschool studies. I have introduced them to some of my favorite television shows from when I was a kid (Wonder Woman and Star Trek). I have watched movies I have never heard of and shared some Disney classics with them - The Love Bug, The Cat from Outer Space, The Shaggy Dog (the first one) and more. About 6 months ago, I learned about profiles. I set the kids each up a profile and now they go in and pick the movies they want to watch. I get to set the ratings limits. It's awesome. Now when a movie under my profile goes back to Netflix, it picks the next one in line from my profile. If Jack's movie goes back, then he gets sent the next under his profile. This is awesome and a great time saver. I was going in and having to manipulate my list based on whether I had a movie lined up for me or for the kids and manually move things around. I was soooo happy to find the profiles feature.

Because I wanted to see what happened to this family and these characters, I ordered the follow-up book, The Grand Scheme. Kathy has an amazing way of writing an inspirational book that isn't preachy yet gives the reader wonderful examples about how to live the life of a Christ follower. She addresses tough issues in this book - envy and anger being the two top ones. And as if it wasn't enough for her to write a story that will inspire you in your Christian walk, she writes a story that includes mystery, suspense and real world issues. And she creates characters that you really care about and will have emotional responses to.

I recommend you checking out Kathy Herman's Phantom Hollow Series. I believe you will really enjoy it. And, if you find yourself liking her style of writing, don't stop there, Kathy has written several other books...in fact, I am eyeing the Seaport series to enjoy next!

Happy reading!

Today I was up at 6. I took Katrina's goggles to her at Kayley's house before driving to Bedford for my knee MRI. I was quickly checked in and after filling out questions about metal in my body and past surgeries, I was ushered back to the MRI trailer. I thought I would have to put on a hospital robe, but I guess because it was my knee, I got to lay down in my street clothes. My knee was placed on a padded thing. I was given headphones that were tuned to the radio station of my choice and was told it would take 25 minutes for the MRI to be complete. During that time I was not to move. I was also given a little bulb thing that I could squeeze if I needed to be brought out of the 'tunnel'. I didn't have to go all the way in, which I was grateful for. I can see how it would be very hard for a claustrophobic person. I listened to the songs and tried to ingore the itch under my nose and the fact that I felt like I was going to sneeze and the fact that my right arm was falling asleep on me.

The description from the Netflix envelope:

"Small-town farmer Noah Dearborn (Sidney Poitier) lives an uncomplicated existence till shady developer Christian Nelson (George Newbern) tries to usurp his family's land. Nelson will do anything to take Noah's property, including hiring a shrink (Mary-Louise Parker) to have him declared insane. What Nelson doesn't anticipate is Noah forming an unbreakable bond with the doctor that proves stronger than anything the land baron can dish out."

This is a story of how we think our modern way of life is best and how our 'meaningful helpfulness' can be very misguided. It is also a story of the corporation versus the 'little guy' and the 'little guy wins'. Sidney Poitier still does excellent work! If you want a movie that will warm your heart, I recommend this one.

This movie is PG and it is excellent. I give it 5 stars!