A new look!

Something I remember from WAY back in junior high English with Miss Herrema was that I had to write several haikus. I struggled with this project and it became a family project with mom and dad helping. I don't remember the whole poem but the final five syllabel line was contemplating life. It has stayed with me....and the other day when I was walking, it popped back in my mind. I've been wanting to redo my blog with a different title and template and I thought the title was fitting. We are always learning, thinking, and experiencing. So.....here's to my new title, more sharing, and the Engbers contemplating life!

Chicago Superdawg

Ok, maybe it's time to go home. Lots of Chicago dogs and pizza.....fun, but fattening. Nick had also seen this on the travel channel and we had a lot of fun finding and checking this place out. Cool packaging of the superdawgs and a fun drive-in atmosphere.

Navy Pier

We all rode the ferris wheel. Connor was very apprehensive......and I don't think we'll ever ride again. He sat forward in the middle with his eyes closed the entire time. Poor guy! Of course, Nick was terribly sympathetic :( Grandma P. did he get his fear of ferris wheels from you?

Chicago Style Pizza at Gino's East.

Tuesday in Chicago

It was Nick's idea to go check out Hot Doug's. He recently saw them on the travel channel for having one of Chicago best hot dogs. It's a unique little corner restaurant that features hot dogs and sausages. They have several feature of the days ....rattlesnake, ostrich :( Bryant tried the Wild Boar.... he said it tasted like a brat. I had "the dog" with everything...delicious!

We've done LOTS of walking. Did you notice the LPL banner?

And of course, the highlight of the day, seeing Wicked. I loved it. The theater itself was beautiful. The show was phenomenal....great music, scenery,and special effects. The boys all loved it too.

Happy Birthday, Bryant!!!

We decided to walk to Ed Debivic's for supper tonight. It was a good mile, I think, but the weather was pleasant and the scenery interesting. Nick had been to Ed Debevic's while he was on Chamber Choir tour. The wait staff is rude...."lady, you can carry these" (the menus), "you all can sit there" (just pointing to the table). Bryant got the world's smallest sundae for his birthday dessert and they sang to him. Our waiter said "It's this loser's birthday, does anyone care?" and then sang "this is your birthday song, it isn't very long" :) It was fun...we had a great day!

Shedd Aquarium

We spent the afternoon at the Shedd Aquarium. We used Nick's ballin' directions and even took public transportation!

The dolphin show was held in a pool looking right over Lake Michigan.

The 4D show "Shallow Seas" had many effects. . . water, bubbles, blowing air, shaking chairs, and they even made it feel like there were snakes and rats under our chairs! Eek!Outside the Aquarium with the Sears Tower in the background.

Connor meets Mike Miller!

This morning Connor and 3 of his classmates played in the Sanford Health/Mike Miller Streetball Challenge. As we were waiting for his second game Mike Miller showed up! (Complete with long hair, cap on backwards, and chewing on a straw!) Connor and his friends went over and got his autograph. He signed Connor's shirt. Connor was impressed but was even more impressed with his vehicle. He was driving a black SUV with red rims. It said MM #33 on the side windows in red.

For Grandpa & Grandma: Mike Miller played High School basketball in Mitchell, South Dakota. He now plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Happy 5th Anniversary to Jon & Erin!

Today is Jon and Erin's 5th Anniversary. Congratulations to them! I know they even have a little time to spend with each other over the week end. What a treat when you have a crazy schedule.

We are planning to leave for Chicago on Sunday morning. We'd like to stop in Iowa City to see Jon and Erin, and then on to Chicago on Monday. Kevin has meetings to attend, so I will be entertaining the boys during the day. I've been on the internet checking out some ideas. We are staying downtown so I think we'll be able to walk to a lot of locations. I will try to update with pictures. We do have tickets to see Wicked at the Ford Theater on Tuesday evening. I'm very excited!

Thanks for the Memories

It's been a great two weeks at Happiness. We've experienced good times and made a lot of memories. I always get a little knot in my stomach when it's time to close the chapter on the lake for another year. I always think, "did I do everything I could to enjoy every minute?" I hope so. I look back over the time....and every moment is precious. I am so very thankful to able to spend this time here. See you next year!

Erin's Requests!!

Connor enjoyed a Dairy Queen Blizzard in Walker just for Erin!

Bryant's bass for the week. Maybe not a trophy, but alot of fun to catch! Last night Bryant, Dad, and Nick were bass fishing in the big lake. On the way back to the bay, Bryant fell asleep in the bottom of the boat. They got to the fishing hole, turned off the motor, and Dad caught a fish again before Bryant ever woke up. He's not living that one down. This picture is just to cute not to share. Isaac and Alexander playing Incredible Hulk!

Magnificent Monday

Monday was another perfect day. It was in the 80's and the water was smooth. The boys got in some tubing time....even Dad tubed and skiied. We had a little incident on the dock as the boys were trying to get the tubes in the water. Bryant was already in the water on his tube, Connor and Nick were still on the dock with their tubes. Connor's rope got hooked as the boat was pulling them out, Connor's tube slammed into Nick and his legs got tripped up on the boat buddy rope and he went backwards into the lake. I first was worried he got hurt. He has a pretty nasty rope burn on the back of his leg, but he's fine. New rule at the lake....get in the water to get on the tubes!!!

Sunday at Sandy Beach

We had a beautiful day yesterday. The lake stayed super calm all day. In the afternoon we went to Sandy Beach for a couple hours. Wes & Glenda came also, with their boat and a boatful of people. We just swam around and hung out. It was a relaxing afternoon. We played a rousing game of Hearts last night. Connor has the record for getting the Queen of Spades!! I went fishing this morning with Dad and Connor. We caught 14 crappies. I said to Dad vacation on the lake isn't the same until you've spent a little time in the fishing boat in the morning. There is nothing like it. . .so beautiful and peaceful. As you can see the sun set perfectly last night, and the day today is looking promising.

A "little" activity from Saturday

We've had a busy day....moving, laundry, and groceries. Wes , Glenda, and family arrived at 3:00. It's fun to have all the little boys running around. They've been very busy fishing already!

Facts about Friday

Friday.....Oven french toast for breakfast, yummmm. We took the boys tubing, but the wind picked up so we played a little Catch Phrase. Dad and the boys played bocce ball...any guess who won? We went out for supper at the Lucky Moose with Grandpa and Grandma Peters. Nick and Dad went to Park Rapids to see their version of "Into the Woods." Nick will have to give you his review as they aren't home yet. Said goodbye to Grandpa & Grandma as they closed their week at Happiness.

Connor's cloudy day activities.

The day started out with some fantastic crappie fishing. Dad, Nick, Bryant and Connor caught 31 crappies in 1 1/2 hours....sometimes having four fish on at a time. The day turned quite cloudy and Connor thought it would be a perfect day for baking pie and playing board games.

My first entry!!!

I'm starting this blog to send you two a little Happiness :)

We started our vacation with a memorable church service. Pastor Mark had a sermon on "chasing the rabbit".

It was excellent....we all took something from it and are looking forward to Ecclesiastes 3 next week.

The afternoon was spent just sitting around and visiting.

The new toys this year are the water bikes. I thought it looked like something that would be hard to pedal, so Grandpa tried one out while Grandma and I were in the paddle boat. They pedal much easier and are a fun way to get around the lake. Grandma and I went for an hour ride today!

Connor's basket of fish this morning.....

10 good sized crappies!!

Tuesday night bass fishing. Everyone was
successful!!