Seventeen!!!

Well, February 26 was my birthday, and I'm 17!!! I would like to thank all the little people who helped me get to where I am - haha ok, no condescending spiel today. Maybe tomorrow, but not today. I really would like to thank everyone for all the birthday wishes, though. I felt so happy scrolling through all of my facebook notifications. We saw the Wizard of Oz, starring some new homeschooler friends of ours. It was really really really good. I watched a lot of psych (latest fav tv show) and ate a lot of chocolate&pb. We got some seriously legendary pizza from Dinico's and danced some Just Dance 4. And we watched Inception! My mind is still reeling from it, but I think I liked it muchly!

A Date With Sue

It seems my parents have mapped out a plan to hit all the museums and other tourist attractions on each of their free days. Then we just have to pay for parking (or the train)! Two weeks ago, we visited the Art Institute of Chicago (I still can't believe I forgot to bring my camera on that field trip). Today, it was the Field Museum. As I've said before, visits to the museum are a hit or miss for me. I always find a way to enjoy myself one way or another, but the actual exhibits don't always get me real fired up. Today, I thought my excitement had peaked as soon as I walked through the lobby and snapped a picture of my favorite tyrannosaurus rex, Sue. Sue is always a welcome sight. Love her. She's the largest, most complete, best preserved t-rex ever discovered, or so they say. So I snapped a great picture of her (and some lady pushing a stroller) and I felt fantastic. I would have been fine doing a 180 and heading home from there. But, of course, we didn't. And that ended up being pretty okay with me. I had a good time, between admiring and/or grimacing at all the stuffed animals (the tapir is officially the ugliest creature ever) and getting lost with Jojo and Alyssa (who wasn't coping well, I should say) in the Egyptian tomb. Plus, we played a little game. Actually two games.

141 Ellsworth Boulevard

The world of the bears is always subject to change. The big bears and little bears have switched surnames countless times (as of now the little bears are the Frenchmans, not the Wickershams). Of course, these changes are all grounded in dedicated thought...NEVER a whimsical decision inspired by the last movie Alyssa watched. They've held citizenship (or maybe not) in the U.S., Canada, Japan, China, Scotland and somewhere in Antarctica. Much of their time has been spent in New Mexico, due to a compromise between Puss's natural roots and Josiah's wish for them to live in America. They've also spent a lot of years in Canada, "because they're bears"...? They've hailed from small fishing villages in both Japan and China. They originally had Scottish accents, so I guess that explains their affinity for Scotland. I really don't know where Antarctica came from. They're quite the little group of nomads/fugitives. And, somehow, there has been a branch of the widespread Icicle Creek Lodge Daycare Center wherever they go.

Beans

The Mainiacs Meet the CTA

CTA stands for the Chicago Transit Authority; they operate the buses and trains in Chicago. Let me tell you, the L (train) is great! I haven't had too much experience with it, since we've only lived here for a few weeks and I only made three prior visits to Chicago. However, since the very first time I nearly fell right on top of a stranger back in 2007, I've loved the L with all it's jerky starts and stops.

Having Fun Isn't Hard....

I may not know my social security number, but I can tell you my first library card number! Ah, the memories. I checked out so many Magic Tree House, Boxcar Children, and Junie B. Jones books on that card...here come the waves of nostalgia. Little kid books, little kid music, little kid tv shows...It's funny, library cards and PBS Kids tv shows are forever intertwined in my brain. I'd watch Arthur; Arthur would tell me to go to my local library! I'd go to my local library; there were my stories about Arthur! A beautiful, never-ending circle of aardvarks and books.

No Blueberries for Sal :'(

I have this inexplicable obsession with smoothies right now! All i need is some plain yogurt, frozen fruit and honey (give or take a bit of peanut butter or chocolate) for a perfect morning.

The New Place

Whoa! The last month has been a whirlwind of change and activity! Between moving a thousand miles away from home and the construction of Alyssa's new teddy bear house, I've been hard-pressed to find a passing moment for facebook/email/pinterest/school/twitter...much less enough spare time to publish to Scintillate! But I most certainly do want to acquaint everyone with my new home, so I've finally gotten around to uploading all of my road-trip pictures and videos to the computer so I can fill up my memory card with Berwyn.

I Hate Boxes.

Moving, as i've discovered through my limited experience with it, sucks. Sleeping in sleeping bags on a strange floor, sitting on tarps because we don't have any chairs, not knowing the people who live less than 10 feet away on either side of you, it all just stinks. Everything is so much better when your junk is scattered around the house where it should be, and you can run through your neighbors' yards without fear of being incarcerated or shot for trespassing. We're just getting to the point where the house is appropriately messy, but I doubt the latter homely comfort is gonna happen anytime soon.

Silver and Gold

make new friends, but keep the old; those are silver, these are gold.

Goodbye Bangor, Hello Berwyn

Departure. Last view of Paul Bunyan. Video journals. Pig and Bobby's constant chatter. Stopping every other hour for bathroom breaks. Beef jerky. Alyssa reading aloud. Chocolate. Genet's ipod breaking. Five Guys' Burgers and Fries. Doggie problems. Hotel that allows pets exceeding my rather low expectations. Jojo and his american ingenuity. Kicking Alyssa off the sleeper couch. Thanks be to God for my own bed. FaceTime. Hotel waffles. Windshield wipers flying off the car while driving on the interstate. Moving van breaking down in Indiana. Snacks. Frustration and elation. Traffic. Mom hogging the chocolate covered pretzels. Bickering over music selections. The helium booth and all the hilarity it provides. First glimpse of the Sears Tower. More traffic. Driving past all the little places and streets that will soon become so familiar. And finally we can see our street. Oh, wait, it's the street next to that one. Hold up there's our house! Cue the fanfare! Arrival.