St. Pat's and Spring!

 Sunflowers are just my favorite and we bought an exceptionally beautiful bunch for the kitchen.

Spring doesn't start for another few days, officially, though it has been in full swing in Chicago. Flowers are blooming, windows and doors are open, grills are being pulled out on to porches...it's lovely.
To top it all off, today is St. Patrick's Day, which is one of my favorite celebrations! Even though J and I are near Chicago this year, we will not be attending the craziness that is downtown. ;) We will be celebrating at the local, neighborhood pub, which is my favorite way. Today we will have tasty beverages, celebration, and even some March Madness basketball. Slainte!



As we that from winter, J and I have lots of fun plans and everyone else seems to have equally fun news. Some exciting updates:
Our great friends, Kelsie and Josh, are engaged. We are excited to return and celebrate! There is much happiness all around, and a rather large ring. ;)
Yay for you two...we love you! --------->
On the career front, it was announced a few weeks ago that Denver will be the next crew base later this year, some time during the fourth quarter. This means that J and I have the possibility of not commuting to Chicago to start our trips. While we are not sure if we will be able to transfer to the base right away, it still opens up possibilities for J and I, however it works out. The whole base announcement has led to some interesting discussions on what might happen with our plans in the future. Which is a perfect segue to...our plans in the future!
J and I will be cruising it up in April and spending a couple of weeks in June exploring north-central Italy. We are looking forward to both trips. :)