Oy, the pressure to blog for the new year. I have just returned from a weeklong trip to the midwest. The timing of this annual trip is always difficult. Our schools have classes right up through either Dec. 22 or 23, then come Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with their demands for baking, shopping, wrapping, housecleaning, etc. We bulldoze through large meals and visits with local family, getting a few loads of laundry started before Christmas dinner. On the 26th we leave our Christmas gifts behind and pile into the car (always after lunch because it takes that long to get packed and leave the house presentable enough for petsitters) and drive 8 hours to Grand Rapids, Michigan. We stay there for 3 nights visiting Mark's relatives, then go for another 3 nights in Schaumburg, Illinois including an annual New Year's Eve party hosted by our friends Carl and Karyn. We return just in time to jump back into school and work, and I really don't feel like I experience any sort of winter break.
Every year I say, "This is the LAST year I am doing this trip!", and every July Karyn calls me and asks me if we're coming again for New Year's Eve. I hem and haw and then she says something like, "Your family's visit is the highlight of our family's holiday!" And I sigh with the realization that my reluctance is no match for the importance of this tradition to our 2 families. In keeping with the positive nature with my friends' blogs, I will share the highlights of this year's trip.
First, we always eat at Noodles & Company in Ann Arbor, Michigan on the first day of driving. Consistently delicious, fast, and affordable. Probably even healthy! YUM. O that there was a Noodles & Company in State College ...
On Monday evening Mark's Mom hosted a gathering for his extended family. These are fun. I do especially enjoy catching up with his cousins Carolyn, Betsey, and Martha, as well as the aunts and brothers-in-law.
On Tuesday Betsey took her neice Rachel and I out to lunch while the others went sledding. We went to a fabulous restaurant in East Grand Rapids called Olive's. I had a goat cheese salad with bacon and a maple vinaigrette dressing -- out of this world. Betsey and Carolyn are into jewelry making and they each presented me with a pair of earrings to match something they noticed me wearing. Cousins-in-law don't come better than those 2. :-)
Later I made a trip to my favorite Grand Rapids contemporary furniture store, Design Quest. With unlimited funding I dream of buying two of everything in that store, one for me and one for my Mom. I limited myself to 3 small items as an early birthday present to myself. Later I took Morgan and my neice Skylar to the nail salon, and Skylar got her 1st manicure--an important milestone for every girl. (I know I didn't get one until my 20's, if not my 30's!) We went back to my MIL's that evening for pizza and games. This year we taught Aunt Barb to play Sequence; she and I held our own against John and Betsey!
The next day we drove to the city of Chicago to Brian's favorite restaurant, The Billy Goat Tavern. We ran into a family whose son was a former classmate of Brian's at Aldrin Elementary. Their son had always been the biggest kid in his class, and now Brian towered over him. Very cool that it is still possible to run into people we know in that HUGE city.
Morgan and I squeezed in a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago to see "Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte", the painting by George Seurat which was the inspiration for the musical, "Sunday In The Park With George". Morgan appeared in that musical at Penn State last year and she was BEYOND excited to see the painting in person. We visited the gift shop afterward and more than anything there she wanted to "adopt a dot", which is their current fundraising promotion. Morgan is now the official custodian of one of George Seurat's red dots in the painting we went to see. :-)
We then drove out to Schaumburg so Brian could play in a dodgeball tournament with some of his old friends. They didn't win a single match, but Brian played really well, he was often the last one out. It was a neat way for him to reconnect with his buddies without us making multiple home visits. We got to eat at Portillo's both before AND after the tournament. There is no better chopped salad on earth. I also managed to snag my beloved green tea latte with tapioca from Asia Noodle House.
(Brian is the tall one.)
Thursday we wanted to go with our hosts to the Museum of Science and Industry where they had a special Jim Henson exhibit I was especially looking forward to seeing. When we arrived the main parking garage was full and we were directed to "remote parking". It was getting really remote and we realized if we made the long walk to the museum, that it would be really crowded inside, and the Jim Henson exhibit might even be sold out. We decided to try the Shedd Aquarium instead, but the lines to get in there were out the door and people were standing outside in the drizzle. Plan C was the Field Museum of Natural History, where we had gone last year. Our membership was still valid so we were able to get in at no charge. Apparently Dec. 30th is a HUGE day for museum attendance. That night we got together with Ivan and Shelomi Gomes, who proudly showed us the new Schaumburg Whole Foods grocery store, which I would have LOVED had it been open when we lived there. Morgan played "Wheel of Fortune" on the Wii back at their house with their sons. The Gomes family is so warm and welcoming when we visit.
Friday was Margaret day. I made some connections on my own while Mark took 5 kids to the library and the movies, and Karyn and Carl prepped for the party. When I was in Schaumburg I was part of both a playgroup and "Mom's Night Out" group with a bunch of Moms. For the past 3 years we have met at the same restaurant for lunch on New Year's Eve. It is amazing that those little rugrats we used to complain about potty training are now starting to graduate from high school. These friendships pick up right where they left off, and I do miss laughing with these women. They are the Illinois version of my current "SOS". (I'm hoping someone will e-mail me a photo!)
After lunch my dear friend Leah went to Woodfield Mall with me. I am not the most fun person to shop with; I am very mission-oriented, especially when time is limited. That day's mission was a new purse, and Leah quickly figured out my criteria and price range and was a very good sport about keeping up with my fast and finicky pace. I did find something and I'm so glad, as the previous purse was probably 2 years old and very very shabby looking. Leah also came up with the fantastic idea of finding someone at Nordstrom's to do my makeup in preparation for that night's "Dress Like Your Favorite Rock Star" party. I planned to be Cyndi Lauper, but loved the idea of having somone else give me some authentic glittery 80's eyes. I had never experienced a department store makeup application before, Leah said I lit up as the process evolved. I'm sure I did, who doesn't love a little pampering without financial guilt?
I had initially found the party invitation to be overwhelming; who wants to have to add costume shopping to their holiday to-do list? But I went to the State College Goodwill on Christmas Eve and found some perfectly ridiculous and cheap things for my Cyndi Lauper costume. The party theme turned out to be VERY fun, it made for lots of good conversations and I thoroughly enjoyed romping through the crowd singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". I definitely need to host one of these in State College! Mark went as Phil Collins, Brian as drummer Buddy Rich, and Morgan as Pink.
The evening ended with a rousing adult game of "Catch Phrase" and of course a champagne toast at midnight. We weren't in bed until nearly 3, got 6 hours of sleep, and got up the next morning for the long drive back to Pennsylvania.
In summary, lots of happy moments that make the trip worthwhile, despite the intermittent moments when I long to be cozily relaxing at home in my jammies. Maybe next year, maybe not. :-)
