U2 in Chicago

About a month ago Doug and I took an incredible trip to Chicago. WOW! What a city! Did you know that Chicago became known as the windy city not because of the gusting winds, but because of the one time "windy" lawyers. Just an interesting tid bit I learned. I think Chicago should be called the "cool" city. Because well, it is super cool. It's the kind of place where you assume everyone IS SOMEBODY, like in the star kind of way. Everyone dresses cool, walks cool, talks cool, etc. I just did my best not to stand out, and settled for "Mom" cool, cuz well, that's what I am. The city is rich with history, beautiful architecture, and really good food. So much good food, so little time, so little stomach space. Sigh.....guess some of those good food places are reason to go back and go back I must. Here are some of the highlights.

1. Our hotel was amazing. We stayed at the Sofitel. Here is the view from our room:

2. Fun dinner at Lux Bar, sliders, beer and football

3. Horrible seven mile run around the lake, which was beautiful, but run was lacking.

4. Train ride to the Cubs game, I love public transportation

5. Food at Murphy's which looks to be a billion years old, and built on to a billion times. Charming.

6. Cubs game. Not a cub fan (shocker) but being in that old ballpark, without the modern day whistles and bells was pretty awesome. And they have great fans that make watching the game very enjoyable. And even cooler, guess who was sitting behind us? Nope not Bono, but Bo Duke from the original Dukes of Hazards. How cool is that? I remember watching that show, I was so in love with Luke Duke, but Bo was ok too. Know he is old and looks old, plays jazz and lives in New York City. He seemed pretty genuine and nice.

7. Catching up with old college friends (At Lux Bar, very much a coincidence that we ended up going to the same place twice) Tons of thanks to Missy who came in from the burbs to see us. And to Josh whose extreme knowledge of the city help us choose what to do in our limited time.

8. Dinner a Graham Elliot UNBELIEVABLE! If you didn't know he was on Top Chef Masters and is super cool and very talented. To give you some idea, he is famous for making fois gras lolly pops coated in pop rocks. He has very interesting take on comfort foods. It's a classy food in a casual atmosphere, with loud music and truffle popcorn. It really not priced all that bad. We sat somewhere on this row......

9. Architectural boot ride, lots of info

10. Roaming the city, taking in the sites and people

11. Chicago style pizza, yummy. Didn't think I was a fan, but it is actually good.

12. The main event: U2 at Soldier's stadium. A long train ride, one mile hike, couple of t-shirts purchased, standing, singing at the top of our longs for the ENTIRE show, long one mile hike back to the train station, too short train ride, collapsing in bed. Incredible Show! Those almost 50 year old rock stars, know how to rock. Before Doug I wan not all that into U2, but he loves them in a psycho school girl kind of way, so like the Astros, the Rockets, (and sort of) the Texans, the have nudged into my heart. But seeing them live, you gain a whole new perspective about them. They really do put on a show. It one thing I find amazing, is a song you make hate, when hearing it live, turns into something different and it because love. This is my second time seeing them. We saw the Vertigo tour some years back. So what is really awesome, is how different the two shows are. Much of the same music, but totally different feel. The stage is crazy, the lighting awesome and of course the music stands on it's own. We are going to see them in Houston next week and I know it will ROCK!

(Thanks to the besties for watching little L for us, you guys kinda rock too!)

The Big Day

Yesterday was Lauren's first day of school. We have been waiting for this day for so long. Last spring we went to check out the school and sign up and ever since then it has been THE topic of discussion. I have looked at this day as bittersweet. Sweet, because honestly, 2 free days of whatever I want. And sweet because I knew how much she would love it. And then there is the bitter. Bitter because, the world is already starting to take my baby away from me. Something I never want to happen. But I know over the years it slowly will, in this is the beginning. In the end the sweet won out, seeing the joy and excitement fill her smile as the days got closer. And I got to say, I was pretty proud of myself. I feed off her excitement and not one tear was shed from me on the big day. She had a fabulous day. First thing she said is, "I want to go back!". Of course in true Lauren fashion, when I asked her what she did, I got the shoulder shrug. But with more questions on my part, I got that she.......played outside, made an apple, colored a lady bug that she put on a tree, learned about the numbers 1, 2, and 3, learned about Jesus, didn't sleep at nap time, (but was quiet) ate lunch, and was very proud about getting on and off the potty by herself, (but in her words "I had some bad news, she couldn't reach the toilet paper by herself") and made new friends but didn't ask their names. Oh and playing with the beauty shop was the favorite thing she did. Sounds like a pretty fun day!
(Sorry, no pictures for now, I could not get them to upload)

Ugh!

Dear Texas Monthly,

How dare you make this the cover feature and then have the nerve to deliver it to me on the very day I recommit to my dear friend Weight Watchers. You make me sad TM and hungry.

Your salivating friend,

Leslie

Hi, my name is Leslie & I'm a bad blogger

Yes, I know, it has been forever again and I know all 2 of you that read this are really sad! I feel like this summer has been really busy, but as I write this I find it hard to remember what has been so busy about it........

Oh, yeah. In May my Dad had his successful stomach surgery. He now has a new stomach and esophagus formed from his large colon. He has done remarkably well and is now on his second and prayerfully, his final round of chemo. My Dad is a great man, I have always known this. But this illness has given me a new picture of him. He has always been the one to stay positive through this whole thing. "Shield" us kids from some of the more scary stuff. But after the surgery the stories of his faith really came out in a way my Dad has never really shared and it was/is amazing. He shared with visitors the confidence he has in is Dr.s. Here's the story.

When my dad first learned of his diagnosis of course my mom took it hard. She was crying and my dad leaned over and said, "God never gives you more than you can handle, and he has a plan and we need to trust in Him." When the went to meet with his surgeon, my mom got a little choked up again and the Dr. came over to her, put his arms around her and said, "God never gives us more than we can handle, and He has a plan, and we need to trust in Him." They both knew at that moment, that they had the right surgeon. And they did. Wow, what a man this Dr. is. He prayed with them, prayed for God to be with them in the surgery and gave Him the glory publicly when things went well.

Another story I remember.....When I first went back to see him in ICU, he already had his humor back saying "I still don't know why yall were all so worried, I told you I would be fine!" Still protecting. And later that evening when my Aunt and I went back to see him. He talked about the AA sobriety prayer. (Not that he is or has ever been an alcoholic, but my Aunt gave him a plaque with the prayer on it back when he was a 30 something VP and needed some guidance) He talked about the line that goes something like "Give me the strength to fix the things I can and let go of the things I can't." He said that helped as 30 year old and it helped him get through this. Just giving it to God, because he knew he as a human couldn't do anything about it.

Those are a few of the stories that stand out. But I give praise to God for what HE has done for my dad, and know His healing hand is still watching over him. I am so thankful for my dad and his quiet faith.

So, that was May.......

In June, the most memorable thing was our trip to Port A for the Second Annual Beach trip with the Heflins. (I say beach trip now, instead of Port A trip, because I'm not sure Doug will ever go back there) Before we left, Doug had what he thought was a zit in his nose, that might have become infected. Well, it was a little more than that. Upon arriving to Port A, he was in so much pain, that we went to the lovely Aransas Pass ER. Where waited and waited only to be told to come back in the morning. Well, Doug went back in the morning and turns out he had a staph infection. He received IV drugs and was sent home with some more drugs. But by evening he was running a high fever and feeling worse. The next morning we got up went home and straight to the ER. Where he received more drugs. He was REALLY sick. It took him a few days to get over it, but he finally returned to normal. (Normal for Doug, anyway. HA HA) But Lauren had a great time at the ONE day (instead of 3 days) that we got to spend at the beach. (See pics below) She is now a beach fan, which makes me very happy, because I could LIVE at the beach. She was not scared of the waves at all, and would have stayed in the ocean all day had the sand not been almost as much fun.

Sand is fun!

Running Carefree in the water (also fun)

Chairs dug into the sand, yep, fun. (See poor Doug in the background?)

Sand & Water, double the fun!


Feeling the breeze through the hair, pretty fun.

At the end of June Doug and I went to Seaside, FL. If you haven't been or don't know what it is, look it up. It is amazing, a little piece of Heaven on Earth. We usually pick Cabo for our adult vacation, but decided to stay stateside because of the chaos that is Mexico these days. At first I was completely bummed about that and about driving to our vacation spot, but it only took a few minutes of being there, to figure out it was not such a bad place after all. Completely relaxing and fun. We played golf (I had a once in a life time hole, where I eagled on a par 4), laid at the beach, ate great food, relaxed in the pool and just enjoyed hanging with each other. Loved every minute of it. Here's some pictures.

Wish I could say we built this, but I can't

Sandy toes.

Bud Alley's.

The Eagle

The Pool

The Gravel Road. Good food with a duo playing guitar and singing.

Doug in the water on our last beach walk of the trip.

The Red Bar. Yummy Food and tons of fun.

That gets us to July. When we got back Lauren went to her first ever VBS. She loved it and is STILL talking about it.

And then, there was last week. Remember me like forever ago writing about the hole in my ear? Well, I finally got it fixed. Last Tuesday I had surgery to repair it. Have to say, that lake trip, while it was very fun, when all was said and done, probably not worth it. I had previously stated, it was worth it, but I lied. It's not so much the pain, but the constant state of motion sickness I felt for the first week. I am finally feeling back to normal, but man this better work, because I will not have ear surgery again. So I am sidelined from doing anything that will make me sweat. Meaning no running. I'm hoping I can catch up in time to do the SA Rock N Roll half marathon in Nov. And I've gotta say thanks to the In laws who not only kept Lauren while Doug and I went on vacation, but also all last week when I was bed bound. What a blessing they are. And gotta give my shouts out to all the friends who have provided rides and dinner and/or help with Lauren while I go to my many Dr. appointments. Ever since the surgery, I have been getting shots to boost my white cells so I can heal from all this. (You remember that mess, right?) So I have been going 3 days a week and have needed lots of help. Love you, my SA friends!

So we've got a few things coming up........My Uncle's Benefit next weekend, then Lauren and I are headed to Ft. Worth for a week. Lauren Starts school 2 days a week in September. Doug and I are going to Chicago for a U2 concert (the same week). And, once again, I will try to do better at this blogging thing. Yikes!

Pure Joy

I'm pretty sure it looks something like this.

Forget your age for a little will. Go splash in the pool, let your heart smile!

The Carnival Came to Town (Lauren's Birthday Part IV)

Yep, in house, birthday's drag on FOREVER! This Saturday was the actual party day for Lauren. As we did last year we had a joint party with Lauren's best friend ever, Caroline. (Their birthdays are a week apart.) Together with Caroline's very talented mother, Elizabeth, we celebrated carnival style. We had face painting, the lolly pop game, pin the tail on the donkey, ball toss, go fishing, a bouncy house,a mini roller coaster and yummy junky carnival food, all set to the sounds of carnival music. I think the kids had a blast. Take a look!



The Food

More Food




Treat bags and lolly pop game

Face Painting


Bouncy House and Lil' roller coaster

Pin the Tail on the donkey and Ball Toss

Gone Fishing

Best Buds Ready to Partahy!

Face Painting in action

Let the Games Begin!

Sweet Lola Belle

Just the Three of Us.

HEBuddy Came too!

The Roller Coaster!

Jumping!

Close up of the cakes and Cupcakes

The Food again!

Liz and I with the girls cakes.

Girls with there cakes!

More girls with cakes.

Make a wish!

More Bouncing!

The end of a long day and we are.....pooped!