Adventures abound!

Well, I have made a commitment to post more often so here I go.

Nathan and I have been trying to fill our summer days with all the adventures we can get. One of the greatest things about Peoria is all the stuff going on during the summer. There are festivals and concerts and food and sports and beautiful weather, all for our enjoyment. Last week, we went to the Irish Festival called Erin Feis (click here and here to see the PJ Star info on the event). There were Irish bands on several stages. Beer and corned beef and cabbage (of course). Nathan got a potato perogi and a corned beef, cabbage and potato sandwich (Yum!). Since we didn't know much about the event, we didn't know when the best stuff was happening, so we missed some of the coolest stuff like the Irish dancers, Highland games, bag pipe performances and whiskey tasting. Bummer, but at least we know how cool it is for next year!!



Well this next story has nothing to do with a festival, but it's still pretty exciting to me... I have two new grocery stores that I love! Hy-Vee and Fresh Market. Fresh Market is like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, awesome and so convenient! Hy-Vee is more of a regular grocery store, but it's really neat and organized, has a nice big health food section, AND has a food court! It's pretty much the bomb. Also, when I pulled up to Hy-Vee the other day, the Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile was parked in front. The best thing ever!!!

Nathan and I like to take pictures of ourselves with attractions like the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe, where we are giants attacking the attraction in the background. Nathan was at work, but I thought it would be fun to go across the street and take a picture of myself eating the Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile. Yes, I was standing on the street corner with my mouth open snapping pictures. Yes, people were driving by staring at me.

It took me several tries, but I finally got this one:



This made my day...

This weekend has been particularly exciting. On Friday we got our long awaited COUCH!!! We are so excited to finally have a couch in our living room. It took so long for delivery that we both sort of forgot what it looked like. So it was a double surprise! But.... this also meant that I finally said good-bye to our recliner. This may not seem like much, but it was my dad's recliner and a very fond memory from my childhood. I used to sit on his lap and watch old musicals with him. I almost changed my mind about having them haul the recliner away, but it was older than I am and it was time for it to go. I sat in it for a little while, got a little choked up, and then realized how old and gross the chair was... if I had a child would I even let him/her sit in this chair? No. Out with the old and in with the new I guess!

Now we have a new couch, and of course, Nathan couldn't wait to put his feet up and enjoy our new "sitting area":



On Saturday, we had the birthday part of a friend's baby (1 year old), but the day was just too beautiful to leave it at that! We decided to go to a local museum and see "The Art of Brick" which was an art installation all made of Legos. Awesome. We were also pleasantly surprised to find that the museum had a few interactive elements, which Nathan and I love. Here is more info on the artist and his work, http://www.brickartist.com/gallery.html, and a few pics of the exhibits we saw:

There was even an area where you could build your own stuff with Legos... Nathan built a robot friend.



Next we drove out to Manito (about an hour away), and went to the Manito Popcorn Festival. Sounds delicious right?! Strangely, it had nothing to do with popcorn. They just decided to call it a popcorn festival a long time ago and stuck with it, while not really introducing any sort of popcorn theme. Oh well.

Regardless, Manito is a lovely little town, and the Popcorn Festival was really fun. Like a much smaller version of the San Diego County fair, with concessions and live music and craft booths. Really cute. Funny story: We went into a gas station to use the restroom and right when we walked in a lady turned around, looked right at us and said, "What are people from California doing in Manito?" I stopped in my tracks. How did she know we were from California? Was it that obvious? Then Nathan said "Hey!" and introduced me. Turns out it was one of his coworkers. I thought she was psychic. Or that the whole town was already talking about the weirdos from California who were looking for popcorn.

Two extra fun things about Manito: 1) "Walking Tacos" and 2) Creative garden decor. What is a "Walking Taco" you ask? Well, you take a snack bag of Fritos. Put lettuce, tomato, cheese, taco meat, and any desired condiments inside. Eat with spoon while walking!

Creative garden decor. When you aren't going for the cute, garden gnome thing as much as the scare-away-unwanted-wild-animals-and-visitors thing, go to Manito and purchase a ceramic life-sized growling bear. (I think this will be showing up on some California Christmas lists this year. Just a hunch.)



Today was the kicker. We went to Kewanee's Hog Days with our friends Doug and Candace.

Hog Days is AWESOME! Totally, pig themed. The town of Kewanee is really cute, too. Some really adorable Victorian homes, and everyone seems to be super excited to be in the Hog Capital of the World. There were Hog Days flags in front of homes and pig pictures in windows. It was great. They had a giant grill that apparently serves over 32,000 pork burgers and pork chop sandwiches during the several Hog Days. They had a crafts and flea market area with all sorts of interesting things for sale. I squealed when I came across a Monkees record for $1, but it had writing across Peter Tork's forehead. Bummer.

They also had carnival rides and games and food (funnel cakes, elephant ears, etc.). The best game was a giant roulette wheel. You put down your bet on a number just like in regular roulette, but you aren't guessing where a ball will stop when they spin the wheel. No, they spin a giant wheel and release a rat in the middle, and whichever number he runs to wins. Awesome.

And of course, we couldn't leave without having a famous pork burger. Delicious.



We've really been having a lot of fun, and there are more adventures to come, especially when I start my job on Tuesday! Here are some more pictures of our adventures:

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Summer is the season... for fun!!

So it has obviously been way too long since our last update. Summer has been pretty busy, but still, that is no excuse. Here is a quick update of the last few months:

May - Nathan's cousin Emily and her fabulous husband Kenny came to visit us n the middle of May. We had such a great time with them, showing them around Peoria and just catching up. Nathan had just installed a new x-ray machine from his work at a local doctor's office, so Kenny, Emily and I were models for the practice x-rays. Oh, and Gnorman, our family gnome, got an x-ray too. He has been traveling all over the world, visiting the various cousins, so a quiet weekend in Peoria and a full medical examination was definitely long overdue for Gnorman the Gnome.



May was also my BIRTHDAY MONTH!! I love celebrating my birthday for as long as possible, and this year was even better because I turned 30! My wonderful girlfriends took me out for dinner at my favorite cafe, Cyd's, and then we went for pedicures! My friends at work took me out on another night for dinner at Bar Louie and some games at Jillian's. Then, for my actual birthday Nathan took me to Bloomington-Normal, IL for a day of shopping, exploring a really cool antique store, and a delicious dinner. And of course, there were the wonderful birthday cards and gifts from friends and family in California. I got a card from Emily, Vicki and Heather that made me cry! I felt so loved by everyone, but still miss all my friends and family so much. It was a great birthday month. Here are some pics from my birthday with Nathan, including probably finding probably the best devotional book ever created.

June & July - We have been hanging out with friends a lot and trying to soak up the beautiful weather. It does get pretty humid at times, and we have been getting used to the frequent rains and thunderstorms, which is strange for two California kids. A lot of really fun activities happen around Peoria in the summer months. We went to the Olde English Faire in June and saw some real jousting (though they were out of turkey legs, which was a bummer for Nathan). In July, life sized replicas of The Nina and The Pinta sailed into town, and we went to check them out at the Riverfront. And of course, for the 4th of July we got together with our wonderful Life Group for some delicious BBQ and watched fireworks over the river. (Click on the links to see the Peoria Journal Star coverage of these events).

Then, the highlight of July, was having the Osborne clan visit! We had an amazing time, eating our way through Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, and Chicago. While we were in Chicago they were filming Transformers 3 which definitely added some excitement. Most of all, it was really fun showing all of them around Peoria, and then relaxing in Chicago with our wonderful family.

July also marked the end of my time teaching my little 2-year-olds, and in August, I was hired as the Children's Ministry Director for Richwoods Church-East Campus. I don't start my new job until September, and I couldn't be more excited!! I also finished my summer semester and started my fall semester of classes in August. With a new job and school, I'm sure I'll be pretty busy, but I will do my best to update the blog more often. Here are some pictures from our summer adventures:

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Spring has sprung!

Well, spring has officially arrived in Peoria. We have been enjoying a wonderful string of lovely days in the 60s & 70s. The sun is shining everyday. There is green grass and blooming flowers everywhere. It's really very pretty. Nathan and I looked at each other one day and realized winter was over and we made it! We are very impressed with ourselves for surviving our first Midwest winter. Pats on the back all around. Of course, the funniest part is that the worst weather of the entire winter was probably the week Josh and Kara visited. Oh well.

Since coming back to Peoria from our Easter vacation in California, we have been settling in to a routine. Nathan drops me off at work around 8 am. He drives 30 minutes or so to Pekin for a full day of work. I get a ride home from a coworker around 5 pm. I take a shower immediately (to wash off the 2-year-old germs from the day) and get to work on homework and housework before Nathan comes home around 6:30 or 7. We eat dinner or sometimes go out for dinner, chat about our day, watch a TV show or 2, do some reading or homework, then go to sleep. Wake up and repeat. Nathan has a men's bible study on Thursday that he enjoys and is now coleading since his leader is moving to Kansas. I try to stay ahead of my homework so I can hang out with girlfriends whenever they are available. On Saturdays, I wake up early to do laundry and other housework while Nathan sleeps in a little bit. We run errands together and go out for dinner. We usually try to go to a new restaurant or at least try new food at a restaurant we have already visited. We really like trying new food. On Sunday, we have church and then couples bible study in the afternoon, which extends into hanging out most of the evening.

Today was a particularly fun day with our couples bible study. All of the couples in our group own their own homes and take turns doing household projects for each other. This weekend one couple needed a big hole dug as an escape route from their basement. Apparently, if you have a bedroom or "livable space" in your finished basement, you have to have an escape route. So Nathan went over to their house around 8 am and started digging a hole with all the other guys in the group. The girls went shopping around 10 for a baby shower we are throwing for one of the other girls in the group. We had a nice lunch at Panera, then went to the house and chatted while all the boys dug a hole and disposed of dirt/clay all day. At the end of the day, we all sat around and ate pizza and just hung out. Nathan may be really sore and burnt tomorrow, but in the end we both had a delightful day with all our friends (though I guess Nathan had a much more manly and dirty "delightful" then I did).

My job is going really well. The kids are getting so smart! It is really cool to see them doing things on their own that I have been teaching them, like recognizing shapes and letters and colors. I just love them all so much. And I love my coworkers. My Associate Teacher is really fun to work with. We have a great system and our room runs like clock work. My Partner Teacher (who teaches the same age group on his own next door) is a riot and makes me laugh all day. And then the kids make me laugh too.

Compliment of the week:

One of my kids looked up at me in the middle of circle time and said, "Mid-Aw-Borne, I like your eyeballs." Well, thank you, I like your eye balls too.

I have also been going for walks afterwork this week and realized I live a couple blocks from one of the kids in my class. He and his brother were playing "I Spy" with his mom, and he said "I spy.... MID-AW-BONE!! MID-AW-BONE!!" He wanted to run after me but didn't have shoes on. Then he wanted to shout after me but I had my iPod on. Poor little guy. He's been talking about it all week. "Aw-bone. I saw you walkin'." Very exciting.

Our cousins, Kenny & Emily, will be visiting next week, so we are excited to see them. I'm also helping with a couples baby shower for some of our friends on Thursday, so that will be really fun too. And of course, I'm SUPER excited it is May because it's my BIRTHDAY at the end of the month! I'm turning 30 this year and totally looking forward to being a real grown up. I'm a little meloncoly about being so far from friends and family on my birthday, but I'm trying to make the most of it. I think Nathan and I will be going somewhere that day (May 29), and I'm trying to plan things with friends in Peoria to keep me from thinking about all the people in California I miss so much. Plus, I really like celebrating my birthday a several times, like a dinner with girlfriends, then a get together with everyone, then a date with Nathan, then a lunch with one girlfriend, etc.. I just really enjoy spending time with friends (and family), so I hope I can plan several get togethers to make my 30th birthday a really fun one.

I'll keep you posted about the coming festivities!

Weekend getaway

Well, we spent the weekend in Bloomington-Normal for our 6th anniversary. It was really fun to get away for the weekend and explore another nearby city.

We left Saturday morning for the hour drive to Bloomington. It was nice to have some time to just talk and not have housework or homework to think about. Once we got to the Bloomington-Normal area, we drove around and explored the Illinois State University campus and surrounding area. Then we had breakfast at a tasty place called "The Coffeehouse & Deli." It reminded us of a coffeehouse one might find in the Bay Area or Portland. I had the Organic Granola with Yogurt and a Soy Latte to go along with my Bay-Area-Healthy-Hippy vibes. Nathan was excited to have a big omelette and toast. Boy loves his breakfast foods.

We saw a used bookstore across the street and went to check that out after breakfast. It was really cool. Different then others we had been in because they had more rare and obscure books. We took a stroll down the street to check out the Children's Museum but realized it was NOT adult friendly (which made us feel creepy), so we quickly left. During this stroll, we noticed a protest going on across the street. Both sides of the healthcare debate had parties present. They were chanting and shaking signs, but there were only about 30 people on each side and they were standing pretty close to each other on a small street which made the whole thing pretty funny to us. Of course, we had to take pictures.

We continued on our walk to explore some stores and found a place that sold some interesting action figures (see pictures for the details). Then we drove down the street to a Library Book Sale we had passed earlier. It turned out to be kind of a bust, but I did hear a humorous exchange. Now, just to clarify, there were a MILLION signs stating this was a SALE, and the sale books were all in the basement, pretty far from the actual library.

Woman to clerk (after observing someone buying books): "So do you have to pay for these books?"

Clerk: "Yes, all these books are for sale."

Woman: "Well, I can't find anything I want."

...

Well.... Then... I don't know what to tell you

We got back in the car and drove through downtown Bloomington and up to the two shopping malls in town. I made Nathan go to Hobby Lobby with me, since he had never been inside of one. While he doesn't hate it as much as Michael's, he would still rather go just about anywhere than a craft store. Oh well.

When we walked around the mall, we happened upon a Boy Scout toy car racing competition. It was pretty awesome. We stayed and watched for a while and smiled at the anxious boys (and their overly competitive fathers). Wholesome American fun.

Finally, we drove to our bed & breakfast to check in. We stayed at the Vrooman Mansion (http://vroomanmansion.com/). It's a historical home that has been beautifully restored. The exterior of the house isn't all that appealing, but the interior was really pretty. The furnishings and stained glass and old fixtures. It was like going back in time, a little bit.

After checking in we went out to dinner at Baxter's American Grille. We had wanted to eat at Destihl, another well reviewed restaurant, but the wait was over an hour. While we have waited over an hour for good food before, the idea that we would wait for over an hour for food in Central Illinois was just plain silly (to Nathan), so we moved on to Baxter's. Eating at Destihl is now on our "stuff to do on our next day trip to Bloomington" list.

Funny thing happened on the way to the restaurant... My boss has mentioned that she has done some modeling and acting in film and commercials, but I hadn't seen her in anything. Well, there I am chatting away, when there SHE is on a billboard! I squealed with excitement and made Nathan turn around so I could take a picture. I can be so annoying sometimes. But it was fun.

Baxter's was delicious and filling, and then we were off to the movies to see Alice in Wonderland. Then we braved the windy weather and returned to our suite in the Vrooman Mansion after a long day of fun. The next morning was one of the best parts of our stay. The breakfast they served us was wonderful. We came downstairs to the dining room. There was fresh orange juice and coffee waiting for us. We were served (along with all the other guests) a fresh fruit cup of bananas, kiwi, pineapple and oranges. Next we had a spinach bacon souffle, sausage patties, and cream cheese crepes with cherry & blueberry compote. Way beyond our expectations!

We finished off our relaxing weekend with some time spent reading in a local cafe, then a nice long nap upon our return to Peoria.

I'm really glad we found another city close by with some different things to do. There are a couple more bookstores there we would like to go back and check out. They have antique shops and an arts festival/street fair coming soon. There are several restaurants we want to try as well. And of course, there is the Shakespeare Festival in the summer that I can't WAIT to go to.

In addition, there is an ostrich farm near Bloomington that sells eggs starting in May, so Nathan might finally get to make that ostrich omelette he's been dying to try. We shall see.

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I spoke too soon...

So in my last post I definitely spoke too soon. Nathan and I were only germ free for about another 24 hours. We were then sick AGAIN for another week. Since then, spring has sprung in Peoria, bringing the temp to a balmy 50-some degrees. It's awesome ... pass the kleenex.

As far as my neighbor goes, the birthday display came down, but she left up a quickly rotating mini-display of winter snowflakes for a few days in its place. This week she started the St. Patrick's Day display. Wondering if the Easter display with be more Jesus or Easter Bunny focused. I'm giddy with anticipation.

This weekend Nathan and I will be celebrating our 6th anniversary, so stay tuned for updates on our weekend getaway to Bloomington, Illinois. It should be fun!

About time for another update...

So I figured it was about that time...

Life is continuing to get more and more normal for us. We have almost entirely assimilated to the weather. Nathan still chatters his teeth in the morning, but I think he's just doing it for dramatic affect.

Unfortunately, we've been sporadically ill over the past few weeks. Nathan got a terrible eye infection and a cold, and I had a couple sick days too. But this week has been pretty germ free, which is a nice change of pace. Knock on wood.

A couple of stories I wanted to share from the adventures of a preschool teacher.

I was interviewing my class the other day and asked them a couple questions which yielded adorable answers.

What's my name? "Mid-Aw-bone."

How old do you think I am? (Sideways glance at one another, then an emphatic response) "TWO!!"

But wait, I thought I was your teacher? (they giggle)

Am I your teacher? "Nooooo" (said like that was the silliest assumption of all)

So... Am I your friend? (another emphatic response) YES!

Apparently, I am a giant, genius of a 2-year-old who just gets to chill with my friends all day. Pretty cool.

The other day I was interviewing a 5-year-old at my school, and we had a conversation about a girl in his class. He was very nonchalant, not embarrassed at all, and shrugged a number of times, as if to say "No big deal. Whatever."  He's quite the ladies man. I can't paint enough of a picture of how cool he was during this conversation, so his words are in quotes and his demeanor and reaction is in parentheses.

Me: "So... is she your girlfriend?"

Him: "No" (scoff)

Me: "But I thought you said she was"

Him: "Not since I was 4" (get with it, lady.)

Me: "So she used to be your girlfriend"

Him: "Ya. A couple weeks ago." (No big deal.)

Me: "Do you have a girlfriend now?"

Him: "Ya." (Whatever. I always have a girlfriend.)

Me: "Does she know she's your girlfriend?"

Him: "Well, her was playin' with me today." (shrug.)

Me: "So your girlfriends are just whoever you are playing with that day?"

Him: "Ya." (it's not exclusive or anything.)

Me: "Do you pretty much have a new girlfriend every week?"

Him: "Ya, I have a new one every week." (I like to mix it up)

Me: "How do they know they aren't your girlfriends anymore? I mean are you going to tell her that it's over?"

Him: "I tried to tell her today but her didn't listen" (Women. Sheesh.)

Me: "It's hard to break up with people when they just won't listen"

Him: "Ya" (You got that right)

Other than interviewing children, it seems everyday brings its own interesting experiences at this new job, though a number of them have been poop related. Nathan has instructed me that I need to reduce the number of poop related stories in my life, so I will remain silent on the subject for now. Besides everyone knows, a good poop story is better told in person.

As for the two of us, we have no shortage of our own adventures. For example, it has now been firmly established that we are destined to live in homes with hyperactive smoke detectors. And no, my cooking is not that bad. Every place we have lived together, we have had ridiculous smoke detectors that went off whenever either of us cooked anything. Peoria is no exception. Both smoke detectors on our main floor go off  every single time we cook or bake. It's maddening. More reason to go out and get some maple bacon ice cream.

We also have a funny neighbor across the street that has brought long running discussion and hypothesis into our marriage. We have only met her once, the day we moved in. That was back in December and we noticed, after dark, that (in addition to the regular Christmas lights) she had a projection system set up. This system projected rotating holiday images on her garage, such as Santa saying "ho,ho,ho", the nativity scene, a pile of presents under a tree, etc. There was also a separate, faster rotating projection of stockings floating over the larger projected image. We were amazed. How fancy. Then we came back from our holidays in California to see she was greeting us with a "New Year" themed display. How festive! A couple of weeks later, I noticed it had switched to a Valentine's Day theme. Wait a minute. Boardering on creepy. Last week, I came home to find a new display. "Happy Birthday!" What is going on? Nathan wasn't home yet, but first thing I said when he arrived was, "Did you see the neighbors new pictures outside?" He ran to the front window. We continued to discuss whether or not this was a cheap attempt at a President's Day celebration? Can she keep this up all year? I mean, August is sort of a wasteland for holiday themes. I'll keep you posted.

Long lost blogger...

Sorry for the delay! I can't believe it's been almost a month since our last installment!

After Josh & Kara's visit, I must say, Peoria is starting to feel more like our home. We have a church we attend, jobs we go to, a bible study on Sunday nights, and a group of friends we are getting to know! Things are starting to settle down and feel more regular, though we continue to miss our friends and family very much. Building a life from scratch can be hard, but we try to keep things interesting. We've tried some of the local attractions and restaurants to get better acquainted with our new town and keep our spirits up as we build our life in Peoria.

A couple weeks ago, we went to a Giant Flea Market (insert jokes about Giant Fleas here). It was pretty cool. There were sections of used books (which, of course, we loved). But there were also tables of really neat nostalgic stuff. Like 80's memorabilia (Alf dolls and lunch boxes, anyone?), crazy knives that we were sure belonged in Middle Earth, lots of WWII era stuff (uniforms, photos, magazines, newspapers, etc.), and the list goes on. Some highlights: a book of Bible stories published in 1889, "tar baby" dolls, K-12 textbooks from the 20's and 30's, magazines with articles about "negroes," and tables full of signed baseball cards, balls, and bats. It was really fun, and they have one at the end of every month. It may become a regular thing for the Osbornes.

We've also tried a few restaurants that we've enjoyed. Some friends took us to Culver's, home of the Butterburger and Frozen Custards. It's a pretty good fast food joint. Frozen Custard is like a Blizzard from Dairy Queen. Their butterburgers are pretty solid, but as Nathan points out, it's not In-N-Out. Though nothing is.

I went to a sushi place with a new friend last weekend and, boy, was Nathan jealous! He has been scared to try sushi here. Truthfully, a sushi restaurant really should only visited once recommended by a trusted friend. It was actually really good, so we plan on going together soon. We are going a different sushi place with another couple on Friday night, so we may have 2 sushi joints in Peoria! Very cool.

Another favorite place is Cyd's, a gourmet cafe that I love!! They normally close at 7, but on Wednesday they stay open till 9 pm and have an amazing dinner menu. We have gone to a couple of Wednesday nights, and last time, we were blown away by the Maple Bacon ice cream. Don't knock it till you try it. Changed my life.

Speaking of all this food, it's a good thing the kids at my job keep me running around all day. My job certainly is a workout. But I have to say I absolutely LOVE those kids. I come home with stories everyday, and it makes us look forward to a day my stories will be about our OWN kids. I have one little guy that likes to eat EVERYTHING. Chalk, sand, paint, seriously. I told Nathan that he was licking paint off his fingers and Nathan asked me if I tried some to see what it tasted like. No. I'm not 2. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't eat the paint because he has a refined palette. He eats it because he is 2.

I get lots of hugs during the day and lots of "I love yous" which really warms my heart. But I do have to discipline my little guys, and I make myself laugh at the rules I have to make up. "NO" is absolutely forbidden in my class. Whenever I ask someone to do something, and they say "no", my response is usually, "We don't use that word with our teacher. That is an ugly word." Some of the more "spirited" kids have gotten around my response by making random noises rather than saying "no".

"You need to sit on the chair. Put your bottom on the chair please."

"BA!"

"Bottom on the chair pl.."

"BA! ... GAH!!!"

"Bottom on the ch.."

"SHTHPH!"

What am I supposed to say to that argument? I'm at a loss...

As for the weather, we are hanging in there. I've shoveled the driveway a few times, and I'm very proud of myself for being so rugged and self-reliant. Nathan doesn't mind the shoveling so much, but having to get ready earlier to leave time for snow prep is annoying us both. It just takes so much longer to get out the door. Wear layers, bundle up, coat-hat-scarf-gloves, warm up the car, shovel the driveway, salt the driveway, lock up, and finally, go on your way. In California, it's just grab keys and go. Sigh.... so jealous.

One funny weather related thing is trash day. No one puts their trash out the night before. You can't. It will snow and be too heavy. So EVERYONE puts their trash out in the morning. Along with all the other prep they have to do to get to work in the morning. Annoying.

The other funny thing is how many people leave their cars running EVERYWHERE. Like it's just fine. Pretty much all the parents at my work leave their cars running when picking up their kids. They get out, come inside, find their child, chat with the teacher, get child's coat, argue about putting coat on, finally convince child to put on coat, walk slowly with child down the hall, sign child out, walk to the car. Long process and the care is just sitting outside, running. We see cars running in front of pretty much every store we go to and even some restaurants. What the heck?! Why are these cars not all being stolen? Welcome to Illinois.

Lastly, I must share that I've been comparing stories with our friends who moved here from out of town. The couples group we are in is mostly out of towners like us. Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, etc. I was telling them how I get the same reaction everytime someone finds out I'm from California. "Why did you move to Peoria?" Or some variation thereof. I've even gotten a few "you poor things" from well-meaning, concerned citizens. After sharing this with my girlfriends, I came to find out my friend from Missouri usually gets general acceptance. "Where are you from?" "Missouri" "Oh,okay." No concern or great sadness from the Peoria native. Same thing for Michigan. Florida got some concern, but not quite so much as I had experienced. Apparently, Illinois residents have a firm grasp on where they landed in the recent home-state rankings. Poor Missouri. There's always next year.

Josh and Kara visit

Last week Josh and Kara came to visit us in Peoria and we had a wonderful time. It was so great to see them and show them around our new city. We were kind of scrambling after Christmas to get things ready for their arrival. We only had one twin bed in our guest room, so we had to go out and buy another one before they arrived. The bed was finally delivered just hours before we left to pick them up at O'Hare. Our 3 hour drive from the airport to our house was not too exciting, considering how dark it is here after 5 pm and how little there is to see between Chicago and Peoria. We couldn't even show them how much snow there was because it was so dark. Mostly we just chatted and talked about our plans for the week. When we got home, we showed Josh and Kara exactly how we broke in to our home the week before. So if anything is missing from our house, we know who to blame.

The next morning we went to Schnuck's (our grocery store) to shop for the week, made some breakfast, and then went out for some more shopping and a drive through different parts of Peoria. We stopped by the furniture store to show them a couple of the couches we are thinking about buying. We drove down the most affluent street in Peoria to look at the gorgeous homes, now covered in snow. (Pretty much any home looks more beautiful and quaint covered in snow.)

We stopped at Gordman's, my new favorite store. We bought a night stand, a vanity, and a large mirror for the guest room. Then we got out to the car and realized we were going to have some trouble fitting it all in. Nathan flipped over the end table to try a different angle and dropped the drawer on the floor. He was quickly scolded by his younger brother for being an idiot with his newly purchased furniture. We got the end table and mirror in the trunk, but couldn't decide where to put the vanity. We tried the back seat (maybe we could lay it across our laps) but Josh's legs were too big. We tried the front seat, but once again Nathan nearly dropped our new furniture on the ground. Josh quickly retorted, "Are you done being a retard MBA?" Little brothers are so encouraging.

We finally decided to leave Josh and Kara at the mall, drop our furniture at home (which was 5 minutes away), and then come back to pick them up. A much less retarded plan.

After the Gordman's fiasco, we drove around Peoria, looking at homes and different neighborhoods. We showed them our church and went to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. Since moving here, Nathan has developed an addiction to wings, so this was more to supply him with his weekly fix then it was to show our visitors a good time. That night, the video games began: brothers bonding over virtual combat.

Day 2: Snow day.

We were pretty much snowed in, so we had breakfast and hung out inside all day. More video games. Kara and I did some scrapbooking while the boys continued their virtual killing spree. We ordered Jimmy John's sandwiches for delivery, one of my new favorite things.

But probably one of the biggest highlights (at least for Nathan and I) was that JOSH SHOVELED OUR DRIVEWAY!! We went outside and took lots of pictures of the brothers shoveling the snow. It won't hold much novelty for long, but that day it was really fun.

That night we ventured out to the movies to see Invictus and go to a local favorite, Avanti's Italian Restaurant. It was COLD!!! Especially for 4 California kids. Snowy and windy. But still super fun experiencing a snowy night with our family.

Day 3: Bring your family to work day!

We drove by my new job, so everyone could see it. Nathan hadn't even been inside, so I was really excited to show him as well as Josh & Kara. Then we drove to Pekin to visit Nathan's office and go to Menard's. First, a walk through Menard's, "now bigger and better than ever" (see pictures). We went to Nathan's work for the grand tour there. They just built all the offices, so it is all very nice and new. Nathan has a nice big office with a big U-shaped desk, chairs for meetings, and a giant whiteboard (I love office supplies, so this makes me happy).

That night we took Josh and Kara to one of our new favorite spots, Water Street Wines, Cafe & Coffees. It's a really cute restaurant that serves delicious fondue. They had never had fondue, so it was extra fun. The best was the dessert fondue, which we pretty much devoured. Of course, no night would be complete without more video games. Brother bonding time.

Day 4 & 5: Chicago!!

The next morning we started our trip to Chicago. We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Heavy but delicious. We all ended up napping in the car (except for Nathan of course). After a long drive, we checked in to our hotel and took a walk around. It was REALLY windy, so this was a little difficult. We did get to see some shops, get a good feel for the city and take some pictures before getting ready for dinner.

No trip to Chicago would be complete without some deep dish pizza, so we went to Gino's East. DELICIOUS!!! So filling, but definitely worth it. Unfortunately, our eyes were bigger then our stomachs and we ordered one pizza too many. For future reference, you really only need 1-2 pieces per person when ordering deep dish at Gino's East.

After dinner, we had tickets to an improv show at Second City, so we caught a cab to escape the wind and cold. At the beginning of the show, they asked "who has never been to Second City before?" All four of us raised our hands along with a number of other audience members. They called on a girl in the front row and asked her a few questions. When they were done, they asked again, "who else has never been to Second City?" This time, I was the only one of our party to raise my hand. I guess I didn't get the memo that the Osbornes were sitting this one out. Of course, they called on me.

"Where are you from?"

"Originally from California but we just moved to Peoria."

"WHY?!"

- I pointed to Nathan -

"A boyfriend?"

"No my husband. For his job."

"What do you do?"

At this point I just started laughing because I realized I had unintentionally drawn attention to Nathan and forced him to describe his very complicated job to a room full of people. Sorry, babe. He basically said he works with x-rays and his job is "complicated and technical."

This actually made the show more fun, in my opinion, because at this point they started doing various improvisational skits largely based on us. Every couple of skits, someone would discuss moving to Peoria for their spouse or having a job that was just too complicated to explain. "I'm looking at your x-ray, ma'am." "What's wrong, doctor?" "It's... technical." "Oh no... not my technical!" Then of course there was the character who was overjoyed at finally making it big... in Peoria.

The next day we just killed some time before dropping Josh & Kara off at the airport. It was a really great trip, and so much fun showing them around. We really loved having them stay with us. Lots of memories and inside jokes from only 5 days of togetherness. Can't wait to see who our next visitor(s) will be!!

Here are some pictures from the trip:

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Josh and Kara visit... more pictures

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First days with my class of 2-year-olds

Well, I've worked two whole days now with my own class of 2-year-olds. It's been really fun and pretty tiring. I went in to work on Sunday to clean the classroom from top to bottom and rearrange the different centers. (For those of you who don't know, preschool rooms usually have "centers" for the children to experience different aspects of learning and play. For example, dramatic play, building, reading/books, art, science/exploration, etc.)

Monday & Tuesday I worked from 8:00 till around 5. Phew! That is a lot of 2-year-old time! Even if they do nap for 3 hours! I was on my feet all day, mediating arguments and offenses, picking up toys and dropped food, changing diapers and assisting in toilet training, and on and on. And the whole thing was pretty fun!

My kids are very sweet and super cute. And I find myself hearing and saying things that make me laugh all day. For example, I never pictured myself, as an adult in a professional workplace, having to utter the phrase, "You really have to keep your pants on" repeatedly to various people.

Another funny situation was when two little girls were playing together. They love each other very much, and one loves the other so much that she likes to repeatedly poke her in the face. I told her "Gentle, please. She doesn't like when you poke her face." She looked up at me with a questioning glance and said, "Poker face? Puh-Puh-Poker face?"

Yes, Lady Gaga is in my preschool class.

Another thing that happens all day is the repeated asking... "What happened?" Anytime there is a loud noise, a child starts crying, someone drops something on the floor, or, to be quite honest, when anything happens at all, someone will look at me and ask, "What happened?" I try to explain it to them most of the time, but sometimes it's just better to say, "Nothing" and distract them with another activity. One time I was on potty duty, helping several little friends in the bathroom, when one of them farted. A little girl asked "What happened?" Not wanting to draw attention to the passing of gas, I replied "Nothing." She corrected me, in an instructional tone. "No, somebody pooped." Thanks for clarifying.

So these are the joys of my new career. I really do love it so far. It's challenging and funny and exasperating and tiring, but all in all, it's really great. I get to cuddle with adorable little boys and girls for a good part of my day and watch them light up when they learn something new, and that makes it all worth while. The best part is hearing them say my name, which comes out more like "Mid-Oddbone" but it melts my heart just the same.

Long trip home...

We flew back to Peoria on Wednesday. We knew we were going to have some transportation issues on arrival since we still don't have a car. Our flight (via Denver) was set to arrive in Peoria at 11 pm and the rental car companies are all closed at that hour, so we had to line up a cab to pick us up.

Larry drove us to the San Diego airport early to allow us lots of time to get through security. Security was easy so we figured we'd see if we could get an earlier flight to Denver and perhaps an earlier flight to Peoria. We made the earlier flight to Denver and looked to check on an earlier Peoria flight. No dice. There is only one flight per day. Our 4 hour lay over in Denver was now a 5 hour lay over.

We had some lunch... some dinner... Nathan bought a book and read nearly the entire thing. And we were 10 minutes to boarding when... our plan was delayed. Another hour and a half in Denver.

We finally landed in Peoria around midnight. Our cab took us home (ridiculously expensive by the way!!) and we unlocked the door and... it wouldn't open. I had put the chain on the front door. Like an idiot.

So Nathan and I began numerous attempts at breaking into our home in the middle of the night in the snow.  Shivering and grumpy, Nathan checked all the windows, the garage door, etc. I tried to work on the chain on the door. Maybe I could rig something that could push the chain off the door as I brought the door closed? Nope. Those chains really work. Nathan even tried breaking the chain, which the cops on TV make look super easy. It's not.

We gave up on breaking the chain and finally came up with a good plan using random "tools" from our carry on bags (I'm not telling you the details, but Macgyver would be proud). There was a lot of hilarious instructions: "Up, up, up, down, left. No my left. Push, push. Wait. I was wrong. The other way." Broken and dropped utensils, more shivering, more whispered instructions, and finally success. I threw myself in the house, and opened the door for Nathan. A little after 1:00 AM.

I proceeded to have a coughing fit and couldn't fall asleep until 3:00 AM. Up for work at 6. Happy Freakin' New Year.

EPILOGUE: I'm proud to say Nathan only once (justifiably) rolled his eyes at me for being the cause of our trouble, and never once said "this is all your fault." No harsh words were exchanged and no fighting ensued. The Osbornes are a well oiled machine, jumping into action when crisis hits, and laughing heartily at our (my) stupidity.