Saturday we went into Chicago with Bill and Tanya.  We stayed at the Hyatt Regency on Wacker Drive.  We ended up having subzero temperatures but still managed to have a great time.

The hotel lobby was awesome.  It had a bar called The Big Bar which has the longest bar in north America.  I liked the atmosphere because they had good music playing but it wasn't too loud.  We had an awesome view of the city from our window.  When you looked straight down you could see all of the windows into the lobby.

During the day we walked down Michigan Ave and did some shopping.  That evening we went to Weber Grill for dinner and then we went to a bar called The Lodge.  After that we decided to go back to The Big Bar. 

Before heading home we stopped by Navy Pier just to take a look.  Then we drove along Lake Shore Drive to enjoy the view. 

Overall we had a great time.  The weather made it a little tough to really see the city but we were still able to enjoy ourselves.  Next time I'm voting that we go when it's warmer outside. 

Here are our pictures.

Last Friday night we went to Medieval Times to celebrate Phil and Mark's birthday.  With the Gilberts there were nine of us that went.  We had a good time.  It's not a place that I would go every year but it was definitely a fun experience. 

We got lucky and our knight won!!  We were rooting for the the yellow and red knight. 

For dinner we were served garlic bread, veggie soup, a half a chicken, two ribs, a half of a potatoe, and an apple turnover.  Of course, it was an experience eating everything with your hands.  The weirdest part for me was drinking my soup. 

After the show was over, we went to the Gilbert's house to have cake and ice cream.  We didn't stay long because it was getting late, but we still had a nice evening with everyone.

Here is the slideshow.

Today is Mark's 27th birthday.  He does not have to work so he gets to enjoy a three day weekend. 

Tonight we are going to Medieval Times to celebrate both Phil and Mark's birthdays.  Jeff, Dorene, Elizabeth, and Rebecca are all joining us. 

 After getting home on Sunday Mark baked a whole chicken for Phil's birthday.  It was delicious, probably the best one yet. 

He decided that he wanted pumpkin pie as his birthday dessert so Sue had made one earlier in the day. 

We originally didn't think that we would see Phil on his birthday so we gave him his gift early, but he still had to wait until Sunday for his gift from Sue and Jeff.

Here are all of the pictures. 

  

We went to my mom's last weekend to celebrate Christmas.  Talk about extending Christmas! :) 

We stayed the whole weekend.  Opened gifts on Friday night, watched a movie and went shopping on Saturday and came home on Sunday. 

They moved to a new apartment so it was nice to get to see it.  I think it will be a much better situation for them. 

Here is the link to the pictures.

Can you believe that a tornado hit our area in January?  It was around 60 degrees yesterday. 

One tornado hit Edward's Apple Orchard in Poplar Grove.  It didn't do a lot of damage to the trees but did damage all of the buildings. 

Mark got hail at work but we didn't get anything near my work.  Apparently the sirens were going off at home, but of course we weren't there. 

It's really weird that we would get a tornado in January!