CHICAGO!

This past Friday, we loaded up and headed out for Chicago. We went to Chicago for a 90th birthday celebration... and a celebration it was! Joe's grandpa had a serious girlfriend (Marg) for quite some time and she was turning 90! The time Joe's grandpa was alive we got to spend a lot of time with Marg (and her family) and really got to know her well! She is such a neat lady and such a sweetheart! 5 years ago they had an 85th b-day party for her and Joe's grandpa... neither one of us was able to attend.. so we just knew we had to go this time!

Marg and Joe


Friday night, we headed north of Chicago to Marg's son and daughter-in-law's house (Paul and Marty). It was a pool party! They have an indoor pool in their house! It was great catching up with them and visiting. We sang "Happy Birthday" to Marg and dived into cake and Chicago style pizza! Our nephew was quite the swimmer. He is only 2, but loves the water. I guess normally he is a little scared.. but now all fear is gone. Joe loved splashing him (he loved it) and I really enjoyed catching him after he jumped off the side of the pool!

My brother-in-law tossing my nephew in the pool and me trying to catch him!

Saturday morning we really wanted to go tour the city... but rain came in! I guess I should tell you that it was our first time to Chicago! We had a great breakfast at our hotel... omelets made-to-order and all kinds of goodies. We wanted to head downtown, but instead headed to a huge mall. It was quite fun (3 story mall) and we even got a free chocolate sample at Godiva.

We then scurried back to the hotel to get ready for our upscale evening. We dressed in formal attire to prepare for the big celebration. Marg's birthday party was on the 80th floor in the second tallest skyscraper in Chicago! 14 of us rented a limo to ride into the city. We rode in an 8 passenger limo with Joe's parents, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and niece. It dropped us off at the Aon Center. We headed to the 80th floor to the Mid America Club on the elevator. Our ears popped because of the elevation! We were graced with a beautiful beautiful view of the city and h'orderves. It was amazing to look out and see the whole city from above (even to look down at some skyscrapers). We visited with others and took many pictures.

Joe and I outside the limo!

Our nephew, Toby, really enjoyed the view from the 80th floor, too!



The amazing views!

Millennium Park from above...

From there, we moved to another room for dinner. The tables were decorated with about 2 dozen red roses. We had another great view of the city at sunset! On fine china we dined with about 50 others. Our first course was mango soup. It was quite different and cold.. can't say I had ever eaten anything like it before. The main meal was steak and lobster tail. It was so good! The servers then presented Marg with a plastic flower thing that played "Happy Birthday". It was very neat... in mid song.. it burst open and inside were lit candles! She made a wish and thus came dessert! Baked Alaska was the dessert. It was so neat... the servers brought several big cakes out with fire on them. The dessert was great... it was ice cream with cake rolled up on the outside. I had never had anything like it! After eating and such, we all rushed into another room for a spectacular view of the fireworks lit off from Navy Pier. It was amazing watching/looking down on them from the 80th floor!

Picture of the whole family - Joe and I, brother-in-law, Joe's sister, nephew (Toby), niece (Luci), and Joe's parents!

Joe and I at dinner on the 80th floor!
Joe enjoying his steak and lobster!

Our nephew in awe of the fire on the Baked Alaska dessert!


Looking down on fireworks set off from Navy Pier!


The night was one I'll never forget.... It was so fun and quite an upscale fancy experience with great family!


Sunday was our tourist day. We woke up with plans to go to Shedd's Aquarium, but then decided to go on a river and lake boat trip. We had heard rave reviews from others and thought it would be something we all would enjoy. It was a guided tour with about 200 others. Normally I am not one to hear the history of a city or such, but it was quite interesting and informative. I learned the "windy city" is not called that because of wind, but rather because a influential man thought Chicagoians are "windy" with their talking and accents! We even got to go through the locks and see the city from a distance! It was great... ! We went for lunch at the Weber Grill Restaurant... it was very good.. and we had the same type of yummy rolls we had the night before.. pretzel rolls! The only sad part was that we had to say "goodbye" to Joe's sister, bro-in-law, niece, and nephew...

On the boat ride... with the Sears Tower in the background!....

and a view from the lake... see the tallest building a little right of the middle?... that is the Aon Center.. the building we were in the night before! Cheesin' on the boat tour!

The whole fam again at Weber Grill Restaurant!

Sunday night we had to depart for home... well sorta. We traveled to Elkhart, Indiana to Amish country with Joe's parents. We found a cheap hotel room and spent the night. We found some Amish goodies - cheese, pineapple salsa, candy, and my personal favorite - peanut butter marsh mellow cream spread (I have already eaten half the jar)! We went to a quaint little Amish restaurant for lunch, where I had peanut butter pie... can you tell I enjoy peanut butter? I still have quite a hankering for some Amish cinnamon rolls... I guess Wednesday was baking day and we were there Monday... :(

So, now that we are back in Lewisburg, we have been connecting with individuals about our ministry... and conducting a road side produce stand. So far we have had only one customer. Wait... another customer.. yay! I just sold all our zucchinis! Joe's parents have a very large garden and sometimes can't eat all the veggies that come on at one time. Today we are selling cucumbers, squash, eggplant, banana peppers, cabbage, and zucchini. Hope all is well... and if you made it through this whole blog entry.. way to go!

Joe outside his parent's house at our produce stand!

More tractors and flea markets...

On Saturday, it was Joe's dad's birthday. For the occasion, we went to another combined tractor show and flea market. I really like flea markets and enjoy trying to get a better deal on things. It was a great time... and they also had homemade ice cream (which is always a plus). I think about every weekend this month.. I have had homemade ice cream :). But, I did hear on the news that July is "National Ice Cream Month", so I guess I better eat up!

Joe's parents... aren't they cute?

I learned more about tractors this weekend. We also got to see a man that makes different objects out of wood basically using chain saws. The best part of the day was when I found the perfect Christmas tree topper. I have been looking for one for about 2 years now. I found very few in the 2 year search that I liked and they were too expensive. Well.. I found a bargain and as they say "one man's trash is another man's treasure"!

My awesome Christmas tree topper for 25 cents! It is supposed to be a candle holder thingy.. but I am pretty sure I can rig it up for our tree! I was very excited!

Joe and I are very excited for this weekend. We are traveling to Chicago for a family get-together/birthday celebration with most of Joe's extended family. Joe and I have never been to Chicago! We will have to fill you in later on our trip! Hope you all have a great week! :)

July 4th fun Fun FUN

We had a great 4th of July holiday!

Last week, we traveled to Lima to be with Andrea's parents for a few days. We had a great time boating on Indian Lake and picnicking. This past weekend, we spent some quality time with Joe's parents. We went to two different happenings on Saturday. In the afternoon, we went to an antique tractor show and pull. It was my (Andrea) first time to a tractor pull. It was hard to understand what was going on, so I was more interested in the flea market. We got a few good deals. I was proud of myself for talking a couple vendors down on their prices on a board game and book. The food there was great! You can't beat the fair type food they had. All of us really enjoyed the homemade ice cream! They had many different flavors, but we shared strawberry and peach! We all had a great time at the tractor festival!

Joe and I at the tractor pull! My first experience...

Later in the afternoon, we then headed (with Joe's parents) the Preble County Fairgrounds for an antique tractor show and hot air balloon liftoff. It was a little disappointing, as there weren't any tractors there. They did have a Civil War demonstration, which was pretty neat. I am normally not one to be interested in those sort of things, but I would have to admit that it was quite informative and interesting. They told all about the guns they used and how they loaded them. They also fired off a canon and shared how they used it, etc.

Firing of the cannon...

After seeing many tractors throughout the day and a Civil War demonstration... I was really ready to see the hot air balloons. They set them off in the infield of the grandstand. I just think they are so neat and fun to watch. I even entered a raffle to win a balloon ride.. I think I lost, as I still haven't gotten a call. Riding in a hot air balloon is on my list of things to do before I die. So they had liftoff and then the Ohio National Guard band played. It was very patriotic and I especially enjoyed the kettle corn Joe's mom bought for us.

Hot air balloon liftoff!

Debi (Joe's mom) and I were super excited about the hot air balloons! Oh.. you might of noticed.. I got my haircut! The balloons then came back for a glow session. They fired their balloons back up and it looked like they were glowing with the fire inside of them.

This was my favorite - it was the Ohio State balloon! Someone got engaged on it that night, too! All in all, the day was so much fun with Joe's parents and with all the festivities! So, that was Saturday...

After church on Sunday, we (along with Joe's parents) headed to a park called Carriage Hill for an ice cream social and hiking.

Hiking at Carriage Hill...

The hiking was fun... but all the ice cream was gone! I was a little saddened about it. Carriage Hill has an old-fashioned candy store, so we got some good candy instead. To end our July 4th festivities, we went to the fireworks with Joe's mom. We found a perfect spot in a field next to the fairgrounds. They lasted for about 45 minutes, but the finale was a little lame. It was still really fun and I got a few neat pictures of the fireworks!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July! We know we sure did... can't go wrong with family fun!

Lions and Tigers and Bears... oh my!

So, we have been very busy lately. We have been spending lots of time with Joe's sister, our brother-in-law, niece, and nephew (and of course Joe's parents, too)! They were in town for the week.. so there was lots of quality time together! Between playing Frisbee, picking peas, catching lightening bugs, grilling, the zoo, playing Wii, bubbles, and so much more... we had tons of fun!

Here are pictures of our too cute niece and so handsome nephew!Andrea with Luci and Joe with Toby!
We went to a so-called zoo on Saturday.. that is in the country not too far from Joe's parents' house. It was called "Heaven's Corner". They had all sorts of animals - porcupines, a Bengal tiger, a white tiger, black panther, bobcat, wild boars, lynx, crocs, wolves, all kinds of snakes, leopard, mountain lion, bear, turtles, etc. We really enjoyed the white Siberian tiger (it was hilarious - the tiger would not come out due to not liking the stroller, as soon as we hid the stroller - the tiger came out). The best part about the trip to the "zoo" was the fact that a guy gave us an unexpected tour and told us all about the animals and let us ask questions... and the best part... I got to hold a snake!!!! Here are some pictures from the "zoo".

The white tiger... and me holding a snake! It was a milk snake, even though it looks like a coral snake!

Uncle Joe with Luci and me pointing at a python... I did touch it through the grate...

Leopard and tiger... it was so neat how close you could get to the animals.. as you could probably notice. There were only 2 fences in between... which was neat and a bit scary at the same time. The guide even got us some pictures without the fence (he was able to get between the first and second fence and then took our cameras and took pictures)!

Curtis (brother-in-law), Michelle (Joe's sister), Toby (he's 2), and Luci (6 months) all went back to North Carolina today. We were very sad.. and it feels quiet around here. We had such a great time with them and Joe's parents! Hope you all have a great 4th of July!

Fun with family!

Joe and I have been having so much fun recently! Joe's sister, bro-in-law, niece and nephew are in town. They live in North Carolina, so we don't get to see them much. We have had such a great time with them so far!

On Sunday, we had a great time traveling to Springfield, Ohio to our cousin's baby shower. The girls went to the shower and the boys went boating. After the wonderful shower, the girls joined up with the guys and we got to go boating. It was so much fun! Joe and I got to go tubing around Buck Creek State Park. We are still quite sore from tubing! We really enjoyed catching up with family and having a blast!

Aunt Donna and Luci (our niece) at the baby shower!

We will have to add some more pictures later of our cute niece and nephew... hope your weeks are going well!

Nature.... baking.... random fun!

So, we have been busy lately with ministry appointments with Campus Crusade for Christ and such.. but otherwise our lives have been pretty boring. So, that is why I haven't posted in awhile. I thought I would share with you are brief moments of fun and excitement this past month.

We have been one with nature lately. In the last post, I wrote about the friendly little yellow finch out the window. Fun thing is.. that was almost a month ago.. and the little cute bird is still around. Also, we visited Andrea's parents in Lima and really saw a different site. I (Andrea) was glancing out the backyard and noticed a bunch of bugs flying around. There were so many I had to get a closer look.. so I went out on the screened in patio. What I once thought were ladybugs, were thousands upon thousands of honey bees. They were swarming immensely and there were so many of them that you could hear the buzzing even though they were a decent distance away. They began swarming a pine tree.. and gathered there. They eventually left and actually hilariously moved to the front yard to a small branch. The thousands gathered on the branch.. and we were able to get a few pictures.

A picture of my parent's tree from their yard. We found out the bees were protecting their beloved queen and in the meantime "scouts (other bees)" were out looking for a permanent place for the new hive. Pretty interesting...

We decided on a quick whim to go to Cedar Point one day. We had free tickets and picked a day with great weather. Both of us hadn't been to Cedar Point in quite a few years. When the park opened we ran all the way to the back of the park to the new coaster "Maverick"... we didn't have to wait long in line and actually waited to ride the front car. Our favorite ride of the day was the "Top Thrill Dragster"... I think it blasts you at 120 mph up 340 ft in the air... it lasts 17 seconds. We rode it twice we loved it so much!

Cedar Point!!!!!!

Last but not least... we have been baking lately. I really had wanted to make an apple pie... so I did.. and Joe made strawberry shortcake today (inspired by an appointment we had last night).

Apple pie... are you thinking the crust is beautiful.. yah... that's probably because I didn't make the crust. Joe's mom did and she is stellar at crusts and bread. It didn't seems to take so long since Joe's mom made the crust and I did the other part.

Anyways.. that an update on our busy, but somewhat boring lives. We are having some excitement today though.. Joe's sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and niece are coming in town today. We haven't seen them for a year.. so we are so excited and can't wait!

Our niece and nephew... Toby and Lucy! They are so cute!

2 years ago....

Ever wondered what Joe and I were doing 2 years ago? Probably not... but in case you wanted to know, we got married two years ago! We celebrated our 2 year anniversary May 27th.

Since we have been living with parents for the past year, which is a blessing, we thought it would be great to get some time away alone. Joe told me he was taking me somewhere relaxing, but that is all I knew. I had thought we were going to a place we were at as students with CCC at Toledo for a retreat up in Michigan. Guess again, we went to Perrysburg, OH to a boutique hotel. Basically meaning, it was a small establishment that waited on us hand and foot. Only problem was -- they were repaving the parking lot (so we didn't get to use the personal garage we had) and the Internet never worked. We had a great time because we got to be together, but were frustrated with the service and amenities we didn't get to use (Internet and garage) and no one ever said sorry for the inconvenience.

We had a gift card to Biaggi's.. oh my goodness... the food was amazing! We dressed up, because we thought it would be fun! :)

We also got to visit the spot where we first started dating and where we were engaged. It is in downtown Toledo on the Maumee River. We went to the restaurant where we ate for our first date and after our engagement! Joe eating at "The Navy Bistro". The food is expensive, but we wanted to remember our first date and engagement. The food was amazing. Here is Joe with his salmon and I had the best steak I had ever eaten in my life! It was neat... we were walking by the river and the draw bridge went up.... we were hopeful for a big boat or barge, but no luck. I made Joe stand in the middle of the bridge.. and thought the picture turned out pretty neat.

Ok.. this is semi random.. but as I am typing this blog.. this small finch keeps coming up to the window. I think he sees his reflection in the window or something. It's pretty neat though how close you can get to him.

Hope you are all doing well! We are excited as we have quite a few appointments this week to meet with individuals about our ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ! Enjoy the weather!