Busy Busy Busy

It has been a busy month for Luke and I (as you may have guessed from the last post).

Two weeks ago my mom and my aunt came out to visit, something we have been looking forward to since the spring. They got in Friday afternoon, and after a harrowing trip to and from Midway, we enjoyed Lou Malnati's pizza for dinner.

Saturday morning we decided to take a trip out to IKEA. It was raining of course, but we had no idea that our neighborhood was making national news for the extent of the flooding going on. The expressway was blocked off, so (still clueless) we headed to Schaumburg along the back roads. It took over twice as long as it normally takes to get to IKEA, but we definitely got a firsthand look at some of the flooding in the area.

Flooding in Oak Park

The main excuse for my mom and aunt making the trip out here was to run/walk in the Chicago half-marathon with me on Sunday. Unfortunately, my mom suffered a stress fracture during her 8-mile training run, and wasn't able to recuperate fast enough to finish her training for the race. She did still manage to run her first ever race that morning though, since there was also a 5K going on!

It was a nasty, nasty morning for a long run. It had not stopped raining all weekend, and didn't stop for a second during the race. Not to mention the fact that it dropped at least 5 degrees during the race.

Still, my aunt and I finished the race without being dragged onto the SAG wagon (the bus picking up stragglers), and my aunt finished her first (of many, right Auntie?) half-marathon!

I am very proud of all three of us.

Me, Auntie and Mom waiting for the races to
start and trying to stay dry

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and venturing out only to the Sweden Shop. We celebrated my birthday a couple of days early with Thai takeout (Chinese for Luke), champagne (for the completion of the race) and a movie.

Mom and I in the rain at the Sweden Shop

Just as the movie ended, I got a text from a friend telling me that we did not have class the next morning, due to flooding! I'm not one to rejoice in the tragedies of others, but with my mom and aunt in town for just one more day (and a beautiful weather outlook for the day), I couldn't help but be ecstatic.

Flooding of the river near campus

We spent Monday downtown and in Andersonville (where we picked up princess torte to continue my birthday celebration that night), and then finished up the night with a trip to the Neo-Futurarium for Barrel of Monkeys. If you haven't been to see the show, it is very funny and relatively cheap.

Auntie and I in Millenium Park

Cloud Gate

Auntie, Mom and I

The Neo-Futurarium

They left the next morning, but not before wishing me a happy birthday (it was my actual birthday, after all) and seeing my off to my first day of clinicals.

Thanks for coming Mom and Auntie, we loved having you here! Come again soon?