The Kick-off

We started "Celebrate Melanie Week" with a trip to Chicago on Saturday.  The purpose of the trip was actually to attend the temple, which was wonderful, but we had to do something for dinner afterward and we chose the Rain Forest Cafe.  Probably not my first choice of birthday restaurant, but the kids loved it and we all had fun watching the animals and rainstorms.

Trips to Chicago often feel like a trip toward the tree of life.  We start out with our sights set on the temple and then, the closer we get to the big city, the more we are distracted by the great and spacious building... whether that be the aquarium or the zoo or the art museum or all of the tasty restaurants that we don't have here.  I love going to Chicago, but it seems like we always have to choose- focus on the the temple or focus on the city.  Overnight trips usually help us accommodate both, but if we try to do it all in one day, we end up getting home way too late, driving way too tired, and dragging ourselves out to church the next morning.

Seems that it is the same in real life.  There are always plenty of fun distractions to occupy our days, but when it comes down to it, we need to focus on are the things that matter most.

Amazing that I got all that from a trip to Chicago.