Derby Party!

This past Saturday, Mark and I helped host MDA’s 3rd annual Derby for Duchenne event. I love our event! Sometimes it’s chaotic getting everything planned and finishing last minute details, but I really do think it’s one of the best events in Birmingham. I know all of the ladies LOVE wearing hats, fascinators, and colorful dresses:

BUT, I think the guys have just as much fun sporting their seersucker suits and bright ties:

Mark even got to enjoy a little bit of both:

Can't wait until next year!

"Chicago, Chicago.."

Despite being a little distracted by the devastation in Alabama, Our family trip to Chicago was a blast!  We woke up super early on Thursday morning and made our way downtown to The Art Institute of Chicago.  I always think it's so much fun to see famous paintings that I've read about in textbooks for years.  Like these guys:

(All Pictures from: Wikipedia)

After spending the morning in the museum, we headed out to Millennium Park.  Gotta say, I loved "The Bean" (which is actually called something else; no idea what).  So much fun to look at the city in it and take fun pictures of yourself:

Downtown Chicago in "the bean"

Mark and me, as seen from "the bean"

I didn't understand that we were holding up The Bean in this picture

Me, my mom, and Aunt Carry

One of my favorite things was this old library across from Millennium Park that Chicago had turned into a cultural center.  It was gorgeous inside!  There were two Tiffany domes in the building that my camera refused to capture even half as beautifully as they were in person.  But, here was my attempt anyways:

The walls were COVERED with this kind of detailing

Friday, we went to the John Hancock Center for a great view of the city:

Then we ate lunch at a pub downtown and spent some time just milling around.  We did learn not to mill around until 4ish when you're in downtown Chicago and have to drive back out to Wheaton.  Admittedly, the 1 1/2 it took us to drive back was probably worse for my dad, since Mark, my mom, and I all fell asleep on him.  For dinner that night, we made sure to have some Chicago-style pizza.  Delicious! 

Saturday, we shopped around a little before heading to Amanda's softball games.  They played a really tough team and couldn't quite pull out a win (though they beat that same team the next weekend in a tournament).  It was fun to see her play though.  And, we got to see my mom's third cousin, Phillip, who also goes to school at Wheaton. 

Amanda's fans

I was pretty impressed with Chicago, and Mark has already started planning our next trip...which includes: Wrigley Field, Navy Pier, Frank Lloyd Wright Homes, and a few other things. 

April Tornadoes

Last Wednesday, April 27, my family and I were scheduled to leave for Chicago around 4pm. But, as you know, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Here’s how my day really paned-out:

Early that morning, there was a horrible storm that hit the Vestavia/Cahaba Heights area. We’re talking whole trees uprooted and splitting homes in half. As if that wasn’t bad enough, everyone was predicting that the storm scheduled for that evening (some reports saying as early as 4pm) would be even worse.

I was a nervous wreck! I left work at 11:30 and convinced my parents to leave for the airport at 1:30. Yes, EXTREMELY early for the flight, but I figured it was better to be at the airport for a few hours than in the car when the storm hit…Mistake! Our flight was delayed as a result of the first batch of storms, with our new departure time being 5:30. We were still patient until 5ish when we saw Tuscaloosa on the news..

http://www.myfoxal.com/

A little after 5, Tuscaloosa had a tornado, over a mile wide, plow through their downtown areas. The news reports were very clear that the same storm event was headed to Birmingham. No one gave any indication that there was a plan in place at the airport for severe weather. My mom even asked someone what the plan was; they said we would just go to one of the bathrooms “or something…”. Then, about 15 mins before it’ll pass over us, airport security demanded that everyone in the Birmingham airport retreat to the bottom level bathrooms. The news must have been telling everyone in Birmingham that the storm would pass right over the airport, cause my phone was blowing-up with calls and sweet messages from friends. At that point, I wasn’t too scared, but I should have been. Some parts of the storm did pass right over us, but luckily no tornadoes touched ground around the airport.

When they finally let us leave the bathrooms and return to our terminals, it was a mad dash to go back through security...only to realize that the Birmingham airport pretty much shuts down at 8pm. We made a dinner of chips, pretzels, candy, and beer. Around 9, the Sam Adams restaurant in the airport finally sold us sandwiches. And around 10pm, we finally left the Birmingham Airport for Chicago.

It was bittersweet leaving behind my work responsibilities and the devastation following the storm. My coworkers put in 16 hour days to restore power to 99% of Alabamians within a week (not including those who can no longer receive power). I’m so proud to be an employee of Alabama Power right now. So, SO proud!

My heart goes out to everyone who lost homes, treasured possessions, and, most importantly, human lives.