To Chicago we all went.....

February 16th was the 30th birthday for our youngest two.  So we surprised Matt and Little Jenny in Chicago on the 12th when we took turns knocking on Matt's condo door....one couple at a time.  LJ (Little Jenny) and her hubby, BJ went to visit Matt (who is the only one of us who actually lives there) to take her scooter for him to sell.  They were surprised for sure and we had a great day riding the train (Luke's favorite part), visiting the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), seeing the Bean, ice skaters and Pritzker Pavilion in Millenium Park in the dark.  Several of us ended the evening after dinner at the Rosebud in the Theater District and returned to our hotel.  The rest went on drinking to celebrate the big 3-0.  Fun was had by all and we were so glad we all went there to surprise them.  Nephew Chris and his wife, Bridget even joined us.  There IS something magical about that city.

 Little Jenny, Mark and Matt

Luke was so bundled up that you can't tell how much he's enjoying the train ride.

 Patrick loves Chicago

 Mark doesn't look so happy to ride the train

 Stef enjoying the day

 I am standing out in one of the glass extended boxes on the Willis Tower.

Millenium Park

So that's the story of our trip to Chicago....now on to a few other things.

Isn't it funny how kids like to talk about horses, yet when they get right up close to them they're afraid?  That's the situation we have with Luke.  He always asks his mom to play the video she has on her phone of Marshall, but when we go to visit him he's leary.  Luke would put his hand out, but if Marshall turned towards him, he would pull his hand back.  Marshall is quite a bit bigger than Luke, but he's a very gentle horse.

Now on to more things....like knitting:

The Upside-down Daisy hat I made for our newest grandbaby I told you about.....It's a girl!  I'll wait until she's born before I reveal her name, just in case LJ changes her mind.

 This is one of my finished Breast Cancer socks I made to wear to the James Sisters Stitching Day in April.  I thought it would be nice to wear pink socks along with all the other pink I wear on those annual events.  The other sock is almost finished....I'm working on the toe now.

 I'll bet you can't even guess what this is!  The yarn obviously does not photograph well.  It's the edge of the Ruffle Scarf I'm making with the Ritratto yarn Mark got me for Christmas.  It's a 3 x 3 rib, but that doesn't show well either.  This one is going to take awhile since it's knit lengthwise, but I did cast on less than the 450 stitches it called for.  I'll post photos as I progress.

I think March is going to come in like a lamb since the weatherman is predicting temperatures in the 50s next week......I wonder if that means it will go out like a lion?  Well, I don't believe in those old tales anyway, just like I don't believe a groundhog can predict when spring will come.  The official first day of spring is always around March 21st whether a groundhog sees his shadow or not.....and who in their right mind thinks we would have a February without snow here in Ohio?