Well it certainly has been a couple of weeks since I have had a good opportunity to post but as usual, Jim and I are quite busy. We spent labor day weekend on a mini vacation to Chicago. It was very nice to get away. I had to shoot a wedding on Saturday and we left right after that and drove to Dubuque and stayed with Jim's Mom. We were only there about 6 hours or so before we were off on Sunday morning. We made it in to Chicago, dropped stuff off at the hotel and got the car parked, and then we headed for the Cubs game.
The Cubs game was a good time although we were both exhausted from our night of barely any sleep and the long drive, but by the 4th or 5th inning we were having fun. The Cubs, although doing fantastic this year, lost that day. We hung out after the game, walked around the area, and then headed back to the hotel to relax.
Monday was a very full day for us! We puposefully stayed right down town so that we would be within walking distance of everything we would want to see. We started out by heading to Millenium Park. This is where they have the famous bean piece of art. It was pretty cool!
After leaving Millenium Park we headed down to the magnificent mile. We had planned on doing some good hearty shopping, yet we bought virtually nothing. I was SO excited to go to Crate and Barrell, they had a dining table in their magazine that I had been dying to see, of course after wandering through all 4 levels of their huge store we don't see it, so I ask...not on display right now...go figure. I might have really bought it if I just could have seen it!! http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=883&f=12166 This is the link to it. Our dining room is narrow, so is the table, seating four to maybe six...most of the time. But, when needed, it pivots and opens large enough to hold 8 people and has storage...how amazingly perfect right?!?!
Without table in tow we stopped for lunch and kept right on shopping and checking out some of the Chicago sites. Here is a picture of the Chicago Tribune building, not the whole thing, but it is interesting to note that the design came from a nation wide contest in the early 1900's (there is a large gothic tower text to that small part). The next is a picture of the John Hancock building.
We had booked a sunset/night boat tour of the river and lake looking back at the city and were planning on stopping back at the hotel before heading to the cruise. On a whim however, we took the river taxi to Navy Pier since we had enough time. Navy Pier was very cool, and I am glad we got a chance to check it out.
After grabbing a bite before leaving the pier, we caught the last day of the free shuttle back downtown so we could make it to our cruise. It wasn't quite a sunset cruise since it gets dark earlier, however as we were boarding the sun was setting against the buildings and it was beautiful. The cruise was great! So relaxing and informative. They detailed a lot of info about the architecture within the city. They mentioned the new Trump tower being built, but what they did not say (that Jim and I believe is obvious) is the towers resemblence to a male body part...leave it to Trump. We got to see from the lake the very last water and light show at Buckingham Fountain before they close it down until April to make some changes before the committee comes that decides if they can have the Olympics.
It was a wonderful end to a great day and we were certainly exhausted when we got back to the hotel and ready to crash. We had decided that we would order room service breakfast for our last morning in Chicago...so I leave you with my cinnamon bun french toast and Jim's pancakes. By far the most expensive breakfast I have ever had, but very very tasty!
As I think back over this past year we have truly had some wonderful times. Just being married in itself is a fantastic feeling. Married love is different than any other kind of love...there is absolutely no end to it...you wake up everyday with a comfort of knowing what is. 
