A wild and crazy Weekend

So we are officially done traveling for the Christmas season. Finished it all this weekend. Sure glad we didn't get a cat last week. She would have been at the mercy of Dixie while we were gone. As I posted earlier, we had a horrible ice storm late Thursday, early Friday. I have been fascinated by the way our town looks encased in ice. I've taken a lot of pictures.

Friday was a snow day for the high school, so I had an easy day. That night we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate Ian's 21st birthday!! I can't believe my baby brother is 21. I remember the day he was born. A blizzard had blown through the night before. I only had an hour of school, because half the school didn't have electricity. When I got to Grandma's house, my mom was there. She said that the doctor told her the baby was coming today (she has silent labor and doesn't feel the first two stages). I was so nervous about my brother coming, I didn't eat a thing. Grandma tried to get me to eat vegetable stew...yeah right. They called at about 5 o'clock to say that Ian was here. I got to hold him when he was an hour old. And now he's 21 years old. Holy Cow!!

Saturday was Christmas with the Daces. It's a relatively new tradition for us, but it's a fun one. Instead of exchanging gifts, we go to a play in Chicago and then out to eat. We've gone to The Christmas Carol and Phantom of the Opera. This year we went to Blue Man Group and ate at Giordano's. No limo this year, but we were together in a 15-passenger van. In downtown Chicago. In the snow. All in all, it was a great evening. Blue Man Group is a show that I highly recommend.

Sunday, Ryan and I went to his hometown of Sterling, IL to see his older brother Damen, his wife Stacey, and son August. I haven't seen my nephew in a little over a year. He is three now and so smart. You can ask him his name and he says "August Kuehl" (although it sounds almost like Gugust). He can give his address and city. He's still learning the state. He was astounded by the fact that I have the same last name. We exchanged gifts, which is so much fun with a little kid and two big kids (Damen and Ryan spent a lot of time trying to figure out how the Transformer toys change from cars to robots).

Here are the links to our photo albums, enjoy:

Ice Storm (I'm sure I'll be taking more pictures, stay tuned)

Ian's Birthday

Blue Man Group

Sterling Christmas

~Lori