UNO Craziness!

Debby and Gordon Anderson came to visit us and some of the missionaries in the area a couple of weeks ago. We had to play Uno Attack. Obviously, Debby has alot of cards. At one time the game spewed out about 12 cards to Brett or Gordon...or maybe Sam. At any rate, we had a fun time! The game begins.
I am laughing because Brett was losing. He has at least 12 cards in his hand.

Debby was saying something interesting!

Gordon, getting hit by the dreaded "spewing of cards".

Sam was probably laughing manically! He and Gordon had quite a rivalry going!

Too much fun!

Downtown Chicago with the Anderson's!

Brett and I don't often go into the city. Brett goes more than me, but not really to just to sightsee. So while the Anderson's were here, we decided to do a little exploration! Gordon, Debby, Brett and I were staying at a hotel near O'Hare, so with brave hearts (mine) and Brett driving (always!) we headed off toward the Lake, just to see what we could see! This is one of the many skyscrapers in Chicago. I don't think it is the one where Oprah lives.
Busy streets!

Everything is so tall. I really looked like a tourist with my camera and head hanging out the window!
The Chicago Stock Exchange.

We eventually ended up in Chinatown where we ate dinner. This is a really cool Dragon gate. It is so pretty, the colors are so bright.

Very, very beautiful!

This is the square where they have all the statues of each of their Year of's...

We ate near here, in a resturant that had a hundred or more things on their menus. I had teryaki chicken, because I wanted to know what I was eating. They had cuttlefish on the menu, and lots of unknown items. The portions were HUGE, and the prices good. They also had smoothies, which included asparagus and bean. I didn't do the smoothies.

Lots of little shops surround the square. It was a really nice evening. I want to go back when the shops are open. We also drove through the Jewish part of town, Italian and Russian, I think. It is amazing the different cultures that are within Chicago. It made me think about the different ethnic groups that need Jesus. Right here, in this area, we could keep dozens of missionaries busy!

Brett is the year of the Tiger.

I am the year of the Rabbit. By the way, Rabbits and Tigers aren't supposed to marry. Well, somehow it works for us!

Debby Anderson, Year of the Ox

Gordon Anderson, Year of the Dragon.
We had a lot of fun with the Andersons. They have a huge sense of adventure and it was fun to go exploring with them. This was Debby's first trip to Chicago. I hope she comes back soon.

A Visit to Wheaton

We took time the other day to stop and meet with Christina Cortez, our missionary who lives near Wheaton. So while we were there we drove through the Wheaton College campus. Eventually we want to go and visit more, but this was just a quick drive by.

Here is the sign coming in. It was a quick shot from the car. This is the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism. You can go and visit there. I think that there is a museum. We will have to go and take a look.

This is an old theater that they are trying to save. The style of the building is really cool.

The Castle at Wheaton. Pretty impressive!

Fun times at Lego Land!

As some of you know, the Belleque's are HUGE lego fans. We love them all and it stems from a childhood of sitting on my grandma's floor with my cousins playing with the basic building blocks. We made people, houses and animals from those red, white and blue legos. It is a wonderful memory. Now, however, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Castles and Bionicles are the mainstays of our lego collection. (which are very well organized by size and color - thanks to Brett!)

So, it was with great joy that Brett and I did reconnaissance on the Legoland Discovery Center in the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois. Brett has already put some of these pictures on Facebook, so I am putting my favorites on the blog! The front entrance is guarded by a very large giraffe made of legos. Even the lightpole is made of legos (not the pole itself, but the lamps and base) It is pretty dang impressive!

I love the daisys in her hair!

After waiting in line for quite awhile, we finally got to go and see the lego sites. The first room is a lego downtown Chicago. this is Navy Pier. For those who were with us on the trip to Chicago a couple of years ago, we were here! Actually, Brett and I had our picture taken in the lower left corner on the pier at that time. I am a huge fan of minatures, so this room was way too much fun. I could have spent alot more time there. I'm sure I missed alot.

One of the large churches in Chicago. It was so cool!

The fountain was pretty neat. I love the water. It would light up when the room darkened and it became "night" in Chicago.

The Pier, all lit up!

My favorite, R2D2.

This was an awesome trip. We can't wait to take the boys back. It was so much fun.

If you come to visit, we will take you!

Check out Brett's pictures on his Facebook page.

Kristine's Baby bump

Okay, so it is a bit early to be displaying Kristine's baby bump, but I wanted to have a picture to document this momentus occasion. Brett doesn't think it looks like anything but Kris's tummy, but I was there and it is definatly a "bump". Can you tell I am excited to be a Grandma???!!

She is so slender, you can really see it. I keep trying to feed her, and believe me she eats alot so the morning sickness will go away! She is at 10 weeks now. Please pray for her and that baby...and Thomas too!

Interesting Rest Areas

The boys and I recently took a road trip during spring break. We traveled across Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska until we came to Wyoming where we stopped at Kris and Thomas's. It was two really long days in the car, but along the way we discovered a couple of things about Iowa. First, they really like to put sculptures in their rest areas. Second, the trees are great for climbing! I guess Hughes donated the land??
Sam spotted this tree and had to play squirrel. He is a master tree climber. Andrew followed him and the dog watched from the ground!

My squirrels.

Sam was up about 25 or 30 feet. It was a great tree!

This sculpture had me puzzled for a bit until I figured out that it is corn. With weird things coming out the top. Things like fish and sunflowers. But my favorite was the pig, yes, a pig coming out of the top of the corn cob.

The pig is the last one on the right. I don't know, I mean, I "get" the sculpture, but well, it is just a little odd. No offense to the Iowan's who read this blog....

This is another, different rest area. I liked this one, it actually makes sense. A flower and "a place to grow". I get it.

The boys posed for lots of pictures. Sorry guys. You can tell Andrew is a bit frustrated with me.

As well he should be.

This was NOT in Iowa. This photo proves that Nebraska takes the prize for undecipherable statues. I don't get this at all. It looks a bit like something crashed into the ground and they just left it there. Sort of "Mad Maxish" or maybe Planet of the Apes...(the old movie) If anyone can explain this to me, I would be glad to hear it!

At any rate, we had a great trip across the great states of Iowa and Nebraska. I find the people really nice and friendly. The trucks on the interstate were a bit scary. They drive REALLY fast and it was a bit unnerving in my little car. But we made it. I listened to Sam play pokemon the whole way across Nebraska. Next time I bring the charger for my MP3.

Latest Quilt

I finished the quilt I made for Lindsay, my niece, in honor of her graduation from High School! It was really fun to make, kind of different because of the bright colors. It is a two-sided quilt and I think it looks great! When I was all done, I wanted to keep it for myself! But it looks just like something Lindsay would love! So it is hers.

It is made out of tie-dyed material - and some really bright prints I found at Walmart.

I love the colors! Pretty cool!