Drive Back from Chicago

Driving long distances always sparks interesting conversations. On the drive back from Chicago my dad and I reminisced about all of the times that my family made the long drives to and from Utah, and all the fun things we did. We talked about how fun it was to bop around on the way, and check out various roadside attractions. We left early enough in the morning that we had enough time to stop by at a roadside attraction, and made a quick stop in one of the little towns along the way. It was lots of fun.
First we stopped by a chocolate shop, The Chocolate Garden. Apparently there is an award winning chocolate shop in this small town in Michigan between East Lansing and Chicago. It was delicious.
After that, on our way out of town we noticed this neat metal dinosaur bones thing. It was great for photos.

Here I am with the raptors

And here I am with my favorite dino

And here is my dad with the T-rex

After taking lots of pictures with the dinosaurs we stopped in at the cider shop next door to the dinosaurs. They had this awesome bear on their front porch

Now, you can't see how awesome he is in this shot. He is COVERED in every famous bear. Even the less famous ones. I took close-ups of my favs. 

Little Jon, from Disney's Robin Hood

The Gummi Bears, from the show of the same title

annddd Fozzie Bear

They also had on there Teddy bear from "The Bear who Slept through Christmas" but apparently I forgot to take a close up of him!

It was a fun way to end a fun trip. 

Barrister's Ball

This post is happening a little late because things have been wild. I just finished my bachelors degree! but, getting there was very busy. These last few weeks have been a lot of work, but I have to say I'm excited to move on to the next step (even if it is more school).

Anyway, going back a few weeks, I went to Chicago with my dad to go to the barrister's ball with Eric. It was awesomely fun. One of the most exciting aspects of the barrister's ball for me was the opportunity to wear my grandmother's dress. Way back when my grandmother designed and sewed a beautiful pink dress. She had the opportunity to wear it once when she was young. When I was in middle school I fit into it perfectly, and made plans to wear it to high school dances, but when high school came around I put on weight, and the dress didn't fit. We packed it away figuring the opportunity was lost. Over the last few years I've lost weight, and when I was deciding what to wear to the ball my mom remembered the dress, we figured with the weight I'd lost I just might fit. It was a bit of a squeeze, but I was so happy to be able to wear it.

Here I am in the dress:

And a shot of Eric and I together:

This is inside of the River East Art Center, where the dance took place

It was a really beautiful venue. You can see the fountain behind us here, and if you went up to the second floor, you could walk out onto a balcony that overlooked the river:

However, by the time we were taking pictures it had gotten dark, so you can't really see the river behind us. 

So, it was a really great time. 

I am so grateful to Eric for taking me, and to my Grandma, for letting me wear her dress. Thanks you guys!!