The Kohlmans

On Friday we split and spent the day in two different places. Hannah, Jason, Sarah, and Daniel went to Adler Planetarium . Brad, Mom, Jamie, and I went to Shedd Aquarium . We were kind of expecting that the museums wouldn't be too crowded, since it was Black Friday. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The line at the Shedd was long. As in, an hour and a half outside in the cold long. Thankfully, we had great and cheerful company. And once inside, we decided that it was worth the wait. Definitely.  Their current special exhibit was jellyfish. It was amazing. I took lots and lots of pictures, but I'll spare you. These were little eels that burrow in the sand. So cool. After we were museum-ed out, we headed out for some Chicago deep-dish pizza at Lou Malnati's .

I have a ridiculous number of pictures from our Thanksgiving trip to Chicago, so I think I'll break them down into a couple of different posts... We left on Wednesday morning, drove to Columbia, and headed to Chicago from there. I was dreading the thought of spending so much time sitting/in the car/in-between bathroom breaks, but it turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be.  Jamie has a huge office!  The Mighty Mississippi  Backseat drivers... Thanksgiving morning we took a walk around Hannah & Jason's neighborhood, Pilsen. There are lots of beautiful murals, including many at one elementary school. The Turkey Day spread, courtesy mostly of Jason. Other than the walk and eating, we didn't do a whole lot on Thanksgiving Day. It was nice to just hang out and relax.

We spent Thanksgiving in Chicago. I have lots and lots of pictures I was going to upload, but I am apparently out of free storage space. So now I have to pay a small fee. It's worth it. I'll do it. Just not tonight... Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

The last couple Saturdays have been good. Very good. I finally feel like myself again... meaning I do a lot on Saturdays and then wonder why I didn't relax for a while. Last Saturday was Justin's last football game. I don't know about him, but I'm ready for basketball season... when the games are inside! After we got home from the game, my mom came over. She brought us this dresser that was my great-grandma's, dad's, and mine. It's nice and large, so we hopefully won't have trouble storing clothes and diapers for Baby K. This weekend we started working on the dresser... We sanded the top and every drawer. The little decorative detail on the front is going to be a pain to sand, but I think I'll leave that for Brad. All the rest is going very quickly. Rewinding... last weekend mom and I sewed curtains and a crib skirt for the nursery. I don't have a picture of them in action because we don't have the crib, and we're wai...

I'm down to the very last task on my MLS (Master of Library Science) List. Just one. Unfortunately, I have no control over how soon this one gets done, otherwise I would be on it this weekend. I have to present my portfolio on December 8 in Overland Park. It's a little annoying that this is a whole month away. Once again, this link possesses the culmination of my two and a half years of education: http://mkohlman.weebly.com/ just in case you want to check it out. I do still have to wait on feedback from my professor and make those edits before the presentation, but that's such an incredibly minor detail I'm not even counting it. I got really excited about this today, so I ordered my graduation apparel package. We can't rent them; we have to buy. (I guess that means I'm for sure walking!) I get to wear (and own) a lemon-colored hood... Of course, after graduation I have to schedule my licensing test and pass it and apply for a new license. But I think...

I am the last person I know who wants to get involved in a big debate about politics. Trust me. But I am deeply disturbed by the rhetoric in this country, by the deep divisions, by the refusal to compromise - the refusal to even converse. And I just have to get this off my chest. There's this wonderful thing about our world. It's in color. Not black and white. And this is a time of year when I am very thankful for the colors - the bright yellow leaves, the blazing orange sunrise, the beautiful blues of the sky and greens of the already fading grass. I think that, especially at this time of year, we need to take a moment to appreciate the color. It's important to recognize that it is part of what makes each of us the unique person we are. But when we state, or even imply, that all members of a certain demographic - say Christians, or women, or those with webbed toes (check, check, check) - should all feel a certain way or make a certain decision, we are putting away th...

I look tired (this picture was taken at 6:45 a.m.). It's been a long week already... there must be a holiday sometime, or a full moon, no wait! Both! I actually don't really like Halloween. Maybe it comes from growing up in the country and not really going trick-or-treating or having many trick-or-treaters. (Although, Erin, if you're reading this, I'm pretty sure my mom still buys candy, just in case , so take your kids over!) We just hit a few neighbors' houses. I have to admit that we had it pretty good. Those few (mostly older or related to us) neighbors always knew we were coming and often had goody bags ready for each of us, instead of just a mini candy bar. And, if I recall correctly, some were sent along with me and Daniel for Hannah and Sarah even after they had stopped trick-or-treating. It also could come from the fact that the year I was going to be a ballerina it snowed. And I had to be something else... (this happened to be the one year that d...