We Ran Away Together

For Thanksgiving this year, Joe and I decided to run away together on a trip- just the two of us!

When we moved to Missouri, we made somewhat of a list of places that we wanted to see while we lived in the Midwest and one of the big ones was Chicago! With our recent 3rd anniversary and my graduation from school, we thought now would be a good time to take one of those bigger trips to celebrate!

So, we planned a 5 day trip, packed up a lot of groceries to save on eating out, and drove the 6 hours through the rolling hills of Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois to get there.

Here's some of the highlights of what we did in Chicago...

SHOP

 The Nike Store had us both drooling! Athletic wear is both mine and Joe's weakness. There were so many humongous shopping centers on the Magnificent Mile. We walked up and down the mile a number of times taking in all the sights and stores.  It was all decorated in Christmas lights and garlands. 

 I just loved how it made me feel like Christmas is here! 

EAT OUT

 Here we are at Gyno's East Pizza for some Chicago Style thin crust pizza. 

RAN IN A TURKEY TROT 8K (5 Mile Race)

 With 7,000 other runners running around down town Chicago, this event was majorly cool!  We got to run around the Zoo and along Lake Michigan.  Was it cold? Well, yes, but with all those runners, we actually stayed rather warm off the body heat.

STAYED IN A HOTEL ALMOST ON THE

MAGNIFICENT MILE

Our hotel was on Ohio Street and would you believe that Joe's uncle Kam lived on this exact street while he attended North Western University? Crazy!

ICE SKATING ON THANKSGIVING IN

MILLENNIUM PARK

 This was surreal! We got hot chocolate (Joe) and caramel apple cider (Nat) and sipped it in the park while we watched the ice skaters go round.  Once we were warmed up from our drinks, we hit the ice ourselves.  The big buildings that surrounded the rink and the remaining fall leaves on the trees was picturesque!

GOT PEDICURES

I don't have a picture of this!

SAW THE VIENNA BOY'S CHOIR IN THE

SYMPHONY CENTER

 We had to do something cultural, since Chicago has so many opportunities for that.

I couldn't believe how young those boy's were (Age 10-14) and how far they traveled from home without their Moms! Who reminded them to comb their hair before the performance, I thought??

Their voices were angelic.

SAW CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AT THE ZOO

On our last night in Chicago, the Lincoln Zoo opened their gates (free to the public) for their Christmas light festival! The lights were awesome and we even got to see lions and gorillas! 

SAW A 40FT. TALL TREE LIGHTING

Introduced by Joan Cusack, the Mayor initiated the lighting of this 40 ft. tall tree!  A big crowd gathered and sang Christmas carols together just before the lights turned on.  Then fireworks shot off into the sky to celebrate that Christmas is here!!

In summary...

We LOVED our get away together!

Being with my best friend for an entire week was fantastic and I'd go anywhere in the world,
so long as I got to go with him!

KCOM PROM

Joe's school hosts a Prom every year in December.  It's a really nice event because everyone dresses up fancy, they serve a dinner, and then there's a dance. Here's the dance floor. 

 I think it's kind of funny that people don't put down their beers when they're dancing.  They sip on it while dancing, getting more and more intoxicated as the evening progresses.

Here are some of our friends- Jenny and Dani.

 Breakin' it Down!

I never knew what an awesome (crazy) dancer Joe was until the KCOM PROM last year.  I guess we had never been to this kind of a dance up until that point.

 Zac (a little drunk) asked Joe for a dance, so Joe obliged him!

 The theme was, "A Night in London!" I loved it! Those of you who know me well, know I have a special place in my heart for London (I lived there for 4 months for a study abroad).

The eating part of the evening.

It was a fun date night for us, that's for sure!

My Modeling Career

A friend of mine, who is a graphic design major at Truman State, asked me if I would be her model for her final project for this semester. She told me the pictures she would take would go on a poster that encouraged people to eat and live healthily!  Awesome! I was in for it!

During the  photo shoot, I determined I would never be a very good model. 

I just felt too funny posing and pretending like I was laughing at something when really I was

just staring at the wall.

She did an awesome job on her poster though.

Here it is... too small to read anything, I'm sure, but you get the picture.

It says "When life gives you lemons... squeeze out the vitamins and life a healthy life!"

So there you have it.  The closest I'll ever get to being a sports model like the girls in the Athleta Magazine (Which is one of my favorites!)

No, These are Not Halloween Costumes

 Joe and I played in a dodgeball tournament this weekend, hosted by one of the clubs that Joe is in a presidency for, the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) Club.

There was a prize for the best team uniforms.

Our team went as K Town Country Bumpkin Hicks.

The team that won best jerseys wore "one-zie" Christmas Jammies!

Joe coincidentally found a lawn mower in the school's storage area and fulfilled his dreams.

So 8 teams and a bracket tournamnet later, we earned the title of #1!

We all won gift certificates to local restaurants.

Little Jack wanted a piece of that action for being our team ball boy.

So fun, so fun!

Faster than a Reindeer

Joe and I recently ran in a 8k (4 mile) race called the Reindeer Romp.  It's held annually in our small town and we quite enjoyed it last year, so we did it again! Everyone that runs in the race wears jingle bells on their shoes so it sounds like reindeer are running through town!

 Here we are before the race at the Dukum Bar.  It's apparently one of the best bars in town and we finally got to see the inside of it!

 Some people dressed up silly for the race.  Funny, it didn't even cross my mind to wear red and green..duh!

Here are some of running buddies- the Babcocks.  Way to go guys!

So, were we faster than the other reindeers?

Well, not all of them, but both Joe and I did come away with medals for out weight divisions.

I got a gold medal for the over 135 lb "Diva" Category at a 7.8 minute mile finishing at 31:39.

Joe got a silver medal for the over 200 lb. "Cruiser" Catergory at a 7.5 minute mile finishing at 29:59.

Yes, Joe was a much faster reindeer than I was this race, but we both got a personal best this race!

  I am so proud of Joe's running skills.  The first race we ran together, I beat him by 15 minutes and now he's worked so hard to become a strong runner and is giving me a run for my money!

A Funny

Joe and I have officially decided on the names for our first son and first daughter...

Boy:   Levi Jean Shurtz

Girl:   Polly Ester Shurtz

Ha! Happy Friday!