~WOW~Chicago

This is what we woke up to in the morning....

How lucky am I? I work with the best group of people and call them my team. I have the best family. A husband that cooks, kids that try to help out, everyone is healthy and ... and... I get to live in America. How blessed am I?

He looks happy...and the party hadn't even gotten started!

Well...lemme tell ya. See, this company I work with has something they call Camp Wow. Apparently, every year they take my company and all the sister companies on a trip somewhere. Spoil the employees rotten for the weekend and ship us back.

Now you see what I have to work with....

To be honest, I really wasn't going to go. I was going to stay home with my family. We get the email for roomies and I had three people ask. Then, I still wasn't for certain I was going, till I had several people ask if I were sitting next to them on the bus. Hmmm.....maybe I oughta go....Alright, I'm going!

Now the party was started.....but we weren't that far into it....

The energy these people emit as the time grew closer, the excitement, the chatter...it's a shock we got anything done. They were a bustle. 'Remember last year when.....' 'Do you think they'll....' 'Who do you think will win......' 'What are you going to do on your free time?' 'What does your outfit look like?'

See that lovely lady in blue? Ms. JT, she's very good people!

I have to admit, I was just as excited as they were and I had no idea what I was heading into. My biggest regret? My memory stick for the camera went kaputz and I had no option but to use the tiny one and my blackberry. (which took some good pics I might add)

NOW the party had gotten started. (the girl in the back is leaning over to listen, not falling out)

The night before I'm picking out outfits, trying on clothes, driving my husband crazy, laying out this, thinking out loud, taking the kids' advice and opinion....packing....and...I'm done. No more.
That day, everyone was chattering about stuff. It was so great. I so enjoy to see people excited and buzzing about something that brings them so much joy.

That afternoon my two men (the big and the little of it) came in town to take me and some of my girl friends to lunch. It was so much fun! To have him involved in my life at work made me feel like he was more a part of my life and that it wasn't so separated from him.

HAHAHA~! He thought he was going to get me first~

Bubs shocked me by starting off shy and then demanding he go home with each of them. They cooed over him. I got to love all over him before I left. It was a great time and all have said we have to do this again. (hubby even strongly suggested we have that cookout sooner) How great! How blessed am I?

Back to work. Ha! Who could concentrate enough to work? (um....if my boss is reading this, check my incidents....I worked!) It's an hour before....oh time will never get here. And.....sync up a palm pilot for a friend.....(TOYS!)....head out for the bus! Yay! Here we go!

Hey! It's 'SANDY'! (ask him about his ding dong cakes...and hotdogs...)

There were two huge buses. Now I have never gone anywhere on a bus and now I can understand the movies better...my friends who have traveled cross-country on them...those who are claustrophobic...

Oh oh oh. Did I ever learn more about the people I work with! Ha! There are those I thought were a stick in the mud - not so much. Those I figured would party thier booties off and be intolerable....not so much. There are those I gained more respect for. Those I was disappointed by. Those I came to like even more. All company I enjoyed!

First night:
Loud yet entertaining bus ride to Chicago. Great conversation that lead to deepening friendships. A few topics that alarmed me a bit. (it's just those things that make you go hmmmmmm.....) And would you believe, there are more people out there just as weird as I am! (scary huh)

Get there and have a mixed social. This was great! I got to meet people I talk to all the time but because of where they are stationed, I have never had the opportunity of meeting. Like those in the UK. There is one sweet bachelor that travels so often, he doesn't experience jet lag. His body just does what it has too.

There are a couple here in the States I got to meet that are just as much of a hoot as they are over the phone! Oh, how I enjoy those people! Mrs. B is expecting a baby which means my whole goal is to rub that swollen belly filled with promise! She was so precious ~ all aglow. :)
Mrs. K is so much MORE of a hoot than would have been figured. How much more of a personality does she possess in person than over the phone, HA! And a fellow programmer as well...she's a smart lady too boot! ;)

Got the opportunity to talk more with some others from the company that the daily grind doesn't often permit and then the fun began. How do I describe this person. Not my favorite in the whole company. It's not a romantic thing, more of a brother thing. He's a really good person deep down. Full of character and discipline. Sweet as can be. He recently moved with is better half to the East Coast and I miss him so, as does so many others in the company.

The next day we were introduced to the other 8+ sister organizations that we have. Finally got to see the owner of then had a keynote speaker. Now I gotta say, at first, I didn't think I would be able to handle the full length of his speech. From no fault of his own, the man is physically handicap.

When he was born, he went 24 minutes without air. This caused him a phyiscal handicap where he speaks strangely, moves oddly, and has great difficulty doing any normal task. Listening to him at the beginning was painful. The further he went on, the better he got. The man has not just accomplished and overcome amazing feats for a handicapped person, he has accomplished so much for a normal, healthy person. He even skis with his son, daughter and wife.

She's got more personality inside her than previously experienced. :)

This was followed by a meeting in which a good friend of mine won an award. Can you believe it, she made the boss cry. I mean he's a big boy too...he cried. It made us cry too. If you knew her, you would understand why he cried. She works very hard. Has a great attitude in the midst of a big, long, and ongoing challenge. She deserved it hands down. I was so happy for her!

The award winner herself!

After giving us all cash for lunch money, (whoo hooo!) two of my favorite peeps took off downtown. Actually, our whole team went to lunch together. It was so much fun. We had the slap happy giggles which I'm sure made us look silly but we didn't care.

The mall we went to was beautiful! Four stories high. Decorated to the hilt with Christmas decorations. We walked in (and almost into) two people dressed just like court jesters. It was so fun! Between the escalators there were these platforms that kicked up droplets of water. At the top of the escalators was an old fashioned quartet singing Christmas carols. How quaint!

Plus, while we were walking around, there were all these people wearing their fur coats! Yes! My friends nudge me, 'what kind is that'? Coon. Next one, 'is it real?' Yes, and it's beaver, plucked and shaved. (yes, they died laughing) Then there was the chinchilla wrap, the full length, GOOORRGEOUS mink coat. They were everywhere! Yay! It was great. They were so beautiful!

This is the decorations from the ceiling.

Off to the planetarium. Keep in mind, two of us have been looking forward to seeing the IMAX at the Adler Planetarium for the past two weeks. It's so funny. We went walking around, rubbing moon rocks, taking pictures with remade moons, poking fun at each other...off we go into the IMAX.

I was looking at something when I noticed......these were hanging from the ceiling.

Front row seats. Right there up front. Kick back in the seats. Crack a couple of jokes. Lights dimm. Darker.....darker....darker. And then it happens......the monotone voice of the unseen narrator comes flooding through the sound system...into our bones....into our minds....and.......out we all three go.

This has all the planets and their orbits in real time.

Yeah, it's great to wake up with a start and try to nonchalantly look over at your girlfriends....uh huh.....knocked us all three out. We waited how long to do this? Plus, when did a museum store become so interesting? We are SO geeks! (it's great!)

This is a replica of the moon. It was kinda neat to examine.

Return back to the hotel for the big event, the banquet. This gets us girls all excited. Does this make me look fat? Do I have my make up on too dark? How long before you think I'll fall off these heels?

J & J chatting at the social. She looked so good in her dress!

Down we went to the banquet dressed to the hilt and had a blast! Everyone was all dressed up and may I say, we have some good looking men when they clean up! ;) Then we had a dinner with some sort of the best truffles I have ever tasted. Sat next to someone I don't normally get to talk to and found out some of the most interesting information about the company and the owner that made me respect the man even more.

After all that was done....back to the other room we went where there was a live band and pool. Ok, I must just be getting old because the music was too loud. To the point the person I was talking to and I left the room to hear each other. In which case my wonderful room mate and I challenged he and another co worker to a game of euchre. Euchre!

Camp W O W!!!

It was so much fun! All night long we were running into people and having a great time. By the end of the night I knew more about people than I'm sure I'll remember. We had so many laughs. One friend who claimed to be sober (he SO was not!), tried to prove it by walking a line. Oh my, that is NOT the way to walk a line. He's so funny! It was just a good time all around.

J - You were the best room mate ever! You deserved that award and so much more. Where would we be without you? You are a good person and I'm glad I know you. We're back in the gym after the New Year.

A & K -You two. Here is not the place to put what I think and feel because there isn't enough space. Moving into your group was something I looked forward to but never did I figure it would be anywhere near this much fun! You bring out the best in me and reign me in when I get out of hand. Thank you for being who you are.

You know, I only chased her face around all weekend till I finally got this shot!

To everyone else in the company that will read this.....Oh, thank you for the fun! For the stories! For the memories and for making me feel like part of the group. I enjoy you all!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!