Warming up in Chicago! (Finally!)

The later part of the month has been pretty busy! Full of fun, family and friend activity!

It seems that mother nature has flipped the warm weather switch and brought some warmth to Chicago. To celebrate, I took the dogs to the dog beach on the north side of the city. It was really busy! I love this pic of all the dogs in the water and on the beach with their owners. So fun!

Here we are, about to head down for the fun!

Canon and Nikon have fun fetching after the ball and running on the sand!

As well as mingling with the other dogs at the beach.

They got close to the water this time, but actually didn't get in. :)

However, there are lots of dogs who get a big kick at swimming. Look at 'em splashing around!

Before we headed home we sat on the grass and enjoyed the sunshine.

Nikon wore himself out! :)

This past weekend I made a last minute trip to Midland, TX to attend Callie and Blake's commitment ceremony. I was so excited to hear the good news of their choice, and thought that I had to be there! Heather decided that we should throw a BBQ in honor of Callie and Blake and I helped! I arrived in Midland on Friday afternoon, and from there didn't stop till after the party. Heather, Beth and I decorated, and cooked all the food. The party was a great success, and all our family couldn't believe that we pulled it off with out burning the house down. I believe that Grandads reaction to hearing of the party plans was "Who's going to be in charge of that fiasco?!" Thanks G-dad! It was perfect!

I love this shot of all the girls at the party!

Here Callie poses with both me and Heather. Aren't we pretty girls!

(...well, I'm a bit of a cheese...)

Callie got some sassy Victoria Secret presents, and Blake got to open the candle! :)

He also got a computer from his future brother in laws. What a sweet gift for a guy who will be starting college this year!

We has such a great time chatting and laughing in and outside!

The dips Heather made were a great success! Look at my cousins, they're no longer boys! It's kind of weird that we're all becoming adults. Scary! Watch out world, here come the Jensons! Ha ha!



Heather will probably kill me, but I love this shot of the morning after the party! This was taken before we made the sausage balls for the wedding. lol

On Saturday evening we all gathered at a family friend of Janee and Mike's; Beth & Bud's house. They're the family who hosted the ceremony in their back yard. It looked beautiful!

The sun was bright and warm, but aren't we gorgeous!

Love this shot of Heather and Grandad!

Here we are all gathering, getting ready for the ceremony.

There she is! Our baby cousin walking down the aisle! She's so beautiful!

Bud officiated the service. He did such a lovely job!

After the ceremony we all mingled and chatted. Which gave plenty of opportunities for photos. :)

The cute new couple!

The twins together as always! Grandad #1 and Grandad #2! :)

Here's a great view of the whole party.

I love this shot of the family.

Cake time!

Snack time! :)

Callie looks so beautiful! (Just like her Momma!)

It was such a beautiful night, and I was soo glad that I took the trip to be there! Many blessing for Callie and Blake for a long fruitfull future!

I flew back to Chicago on Sunday evening with a bad sunburn from the hot Texas sun!

However, I made it back in time to help Ruben get ready for his summer recital which was on Monday night. Ruben he staying focused on his playing and got two friends to get together and play with him.

A copy of the invitations that I made.

Ruben made arrangements to use a small performance space in a community house in our neighborhood called the Benton House. In exchange for free use of the room, Ruben will do a free performance for the elderly community that the house serves. What a great trade off!

Here Ruben and cellist, Chris Fiore play two pieces together.

Ruben and violinist, Kim Lawson played a suite by Gliere.

And here is a group shot of the guests who attended the recital and the performers. It was so great to have our friends and neighbors there to support them!


Here they sit and chat about the performance. They did such a great job! It was a lovely way to spend a Monday evening!

Today Ruben and I will be getting ready drive to Texas for the Jenson Family Reunion. I'm so excited to take a road trip with Ruben and to see some friends and family along the way. Lots of pics to come!

Hope everyone has a blessed and safe Independence Day weekend!

Love ya!

Summer in Chicago?

I have to admit that it really hasn't felt much like summer. At least not the summers I'm used to. I know that my family, (who is reading this,) will be blasting their air conditioners and cursing the 90 degree weather, where I have been cursing the chilly grey skies. According to WGN Weather center, the average temp for Chicago in June has been 59.5 degrees! The coldest in 50 years! Ruben is absolutly in love with this weather! Just another great reason to take a vacation to Chicago, of course, only if you want to escape the heat.

As you can see, we're still in jackets! :)

I am looking forward to some warmer temps! I would like to go to the beach, and ride my bike. Soon, I hope!

The yard, however, is loving all this rain and coolness, because it has become so lush and green and bearing fruit!

This is the view from my porch. I love it! One of my neighbors commented on how I had my own secret garden! I was flattered! I love that book/movie!My strawberry patch has been quite plentiful! It doesn't look like much from here, but when you pull back the leaves...

you find yummy red fruit hanging from the vine. It's so much fun! It's like a treasure hunt that you can eat! And they are so sweet! The sweetest strawberries I have ever tasted!

We also have an abundance of mint growing.
We like to share it with the restaurant that Ruben works for. Fresh mint for their drinks and desserts. This variety below is actually lemon mint. Which smells just as it seems it would! Mmmmm!

Our porch is one place where we spend a lot of time during the spring and summer. It's a cozy place and has a great view of the yard and neighborhood! I actually have a herb garden that I'm growing from seed in containers on the porch.

From right to left, I have basil, fennel, and parsley. I'm looking forward to them getting bigger so that I can use them in my cooking!

And, of course, the dogs favorite past time is to sit on the porch and watch the world go by. Or at least our street! :) We live on a great block in Chicago.

At the end of our street is a coldesack, which has a fountain at the turn around. You can kind of see it in the photo below. It's a beautiful little scene!

Right next to the fountain is the public library, which is the poor mans ( or any mans, for that matter) best friend! Not only do we check out books, but music and museum passes, and dvd's. It's awesome, and all for free! You just have to return it on time! :)

I have also continued my quest for seeing great productions, and did, at Writers' Theatre World Premiere opening of a new musical A Ministers Wife. I am so proud of Writers' and the work that they have continued to do since I left. They have continued to produce fantastic productions, and I'm so proud to have been a part of this company. The Wall Street Journal announced them as THE Top Drama Company of 2008! That's for the whole nation, and is quite an honor!

The pic below are from opening night of the performance.

This is a great pic of Jane, me, and Tina Louise. We were the backstage crew. Tina and I no longer work at Writers' and Jane says she misses us a lot. It was great to chat and catch up with her!

And also to catch up with other people in the company like Sarah Poorman, who is the Marketing Associate.

Here is a pic of me with my former "Boss" (as I called him,) David Castellanos. He's the production stage manager.

After taking the pic with David, I took a moment to snap a photo of the designers and composer all sitting at a table together. The lady with her finger on her lip is the costume designer Rachel Heally, the man next to her in the blue is the composer Josh Schmidt (who is brilliant!) and the man in the white with his back to us is the set designer Brian Sydney Bembridge.

Here is a little info on the piece, and a link to check out which has some clips of the production.

THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
A MINISTER'S WIFE

Adapted by Austin Pendleton Music by Josh Schmidt and Lyrics by Jan Tranen

Directed by Michael Halberstam

Featuring Liz Baltes, Kate Fry, Kevin Gudahl, John Sanders and Alan Schmuckler

“A jaw-dropping talent. You really must hear Schmidt’s new score.” – Chicago Tribune

“A thrilling, utterly flawless debut. Catch it while you can.” – Chicago Sun-Times

http://www.writerstheatre.org/boxoffice/productions_0809?id=0005

Other than that, we have been taking it pretty easy. I am continuing to craft and work on projects with friends, and Ruben is still doing his boxing and weight training, as usual. I'm really excited about July! Not only will I be having my birthday, but I will spend a weekend with my family, and a weekend with some long time friends at my high school reunion.

Till next time! Much love to you all!!!