Happy Reformation Day!

Since it is the end of October, and I haven't blogged since the beginning of October I suppose I should fill everyone in a little.  It has been a busy month, and even though I originally planned on blogging about the NYC wedding back the first weekend of the month, all of a sudden it is the last weekend of the month and October is over.  This month has been filled with all sorts of emotional roller coasters.  We've had both good news and bad news, and news that is double edged.  The double-edged news is why I'm able to sit down now. 

On Friday Chris's grandfather passed away after a long battle.  It is really an answer to prayers that he finally did, and that everyone let him.  Since about 2003 grandfather has been having issue after issue, and hospitalized multiple times for any number of things.  It was almost a yearly occurrence in October to start, and then it grew to August and October, and then every few months, and then every few weeks, etc.  For the past few years grandfather has been living in a nursing home.  He didn't really have his mind at the time, and only ever seemed to have about three good days a year.  This is "double-edged" news because it is great for grandfather to be gone.  It is a good thing he is finally at peace and no longer in pain.  However, for those of us left behind, well, we miss him.  I'm unable to get to OK for the funeral so Chris drove down solo yesterday.  As a family we will continue to miss him, especially as we are heading headstrong into the holidays.  I'm reminded forcibly of when my own grandmother died.  Her battle wasn't nearly as long as this one has been, but it was just as violent of a roller coaster, simply compressed into about two years versus seven or eight.  I was glad when she died, simply because I knew she was no longer in pain.  Since I do believe in a life after bodily death, and she had talked about going to angels, so it is simply a good-bye for now.  Like saying goodbye to a friend that you don't really know when you'll see again.  However, the part when I decided that I was missing my grandmother, was when I started to have problems and really be sad.  If we focus on the situation around us, and the people left behind, then we see death as a bad thing, if we focus on the fact that it is just a temporary good-bye, it doesn't seem like such a bad thing. 

Another good thing that has happened is that I've started working at the Trinity Cafe.  It is open seven days a week and is a lot of fun.  It will be more fun once business picks up.  We had a "soft opening"  this week and overall it went well.  I think we did better than the "average" that we'll need each person to spend, we just need more people.  The "grand opening" is Nov 9.  We didn't want to send out any advertising this close to the elections, which is why we are having the grand opening later.  It is interesting being a barista, and they are essentially putting me in as assistant manager.  I'll hopefully get a key this week so that I can open and the managers can go home. 

Anyway, I hear my pumpkin pie in the oven almost ready to go, so I should go check.  Knowing me once I get up from the computer I'll forget to get back, so I'll just post this before I go.

Hope everyone has a great day as this one here in Chicagoland is shaping up to be. 

New Jersey Aquarium

Last Wednesday we flew to Philly to meet up with Josh and Anna for a day (or two) of fun before the wedding mayhem began.  We had a bumpy ride, but made it safely.  Thursday morning when we woke up it was windy, rainy and grey.  I didn't run :( and we didn't get a chance to do a lot of outdoorsy things, but we did make it to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden.  We got on a train about a mile from Anna's place and got a tour of Jersey.  As always, train tours are interesting, you get to see a bit of industry and main street for the different towns.  We also got to see a lot of the river (the Delaware), and the river was white capping most of the time. 

Once we made it to the aquarium we were across the Delaware from Philly, just a bridge away. 

Inside the aquarium there were all sorts of fishes, frogs, penguins, seals, sharks, and hippos! We spent a lot of time with the hippos, Jenny and Button.  At first the two hippos were simply hanging out, sleeping, as hippos do most of the day. 

We went through the hippo area to the jellyfish and shark tanks.  There was also an octopus, a really big octopus, that was hiding from the world.  We managed to see just his tentacles, but those were quite large. 

After the shark tank we decided to go check on the hippos again.  The aquarium had underwater viewing, which I had seen for bears (at brookfield) and heard about happening other places, but never really seen.  It was really neat to see the hippos in action under the water.  As hippos can spend about 18 hours a day in the water, and up to 10 minutes at a time (if inactive) underwater, what they do underwater is a big deal. 

After we eventually left the hippos and went to see the other stuff.  We got to see really neat corals and fishes!  The penguins were also neat and outdoors.  After seeing the penguins waddle around, we went back inside (it was also starting to rain again by then). 

We rounded out the day with more hippos and got to listen to a hippo talk.  The keeper also gave the hippos kale so it was fun to see them eat. 

After the aquarium we got to hang out with Anna and Josh and simply rest some.  This was good as we had a busy weekend before us.  I'll write more about that in my next post, with more pictures of course.