Missy's Baby Shower

My good friends Missy and Brandon have a little boy Evan and are expecting a little girl in August. Some of Missy's family and friends decided to shower them with a few gifts and frozen meals before the arrival of their little girl.

It looks like we successfully managed to surprise Missy

My two best friends from high school, Cara & Missy, who are due just a few weeks apart

While the ladies watched Missy open the gifts, the boys went outside to play in the sprinkler and then had popsicles.

Brandon helping Evan dry off

My friend Courtney's son Trey eating his popsicle

Missy opening gifts

Quilt made by Courtney

Courtney, also a friend from high school, and her daughter Erin.

Missy cutting the cake

Evan, who's soon to be a big brother, enjoyed the blue M&Ms

Joel's High School Graduation

Phil's cousin Joel graduated from high school and will be attending Messiah College in the fall, potentially majoring in engineering. So, we went out to Ohio for his graduation party. We must have had such a great time visiting with family that we forgot to take many photos.

Congratulations, Joel, and good luck in college!!

Joel Love

Joel (second from the left) and some of his friends at their graduation ceremony

Joel's parents rented a pontoon for the guests to ride around the lake.

Uncle Sam, Brent, Amy, Julie, Phil, & Mom

Sam, Brent, and Amy

Amy & her fiancé Brent
They'll be getting married Memorial Day weekend of 2011!

Mom, Phil, & Julie

Chicago

Julie was invited to attend a conference in Chicago for work, so Phil decided to come along as a tourist.

You might be wondering: What does Julie do for work?

As part of my job, anyway, I am an associate publisher for Light Knowledge Resources. We publish three health care websites for patients with three different diseases: multiple myeloma (a blood cancer), myelodysplastic syndromes (a blood disorder that can progress to leukemia), and HIV/AIDS. We write about news and research advances relevant to each of these diseases. We also write background information for newly diagnosed patients, and on our myeloma site, we have discussion forums so that patients can connect with other patients to ask questions and talk about their experiences.

I spend much of my time working with our team of writers and a few patients who contribute articles. I edit their work and prepare it for publication. I also respond to patient inquiries and communicate with physicians to provide answers to patients' medical questions.

Each year, there are several large medical conferences for each of these diseases. Leading physicians from around the world gather to present the latest clinical trial results.

This year, one of the myeloma foundations invited us to send a writer to the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, June 4 to 8. I don't usually write articles myself, but my company decided to send me to the meeting. As the title of the meeting suggests, it's not just limited to myeloma. Supposedly, more than 30,000 people from all fields of oncology attended the conference.

So, I put on my reporter hat and made my way to Chicago. In addition to sitting in on lots of presentations about exciting new research advances, I was able to meet up with one of the patients who has been writing a weekly column for our site and one of my former colleagues. I was also able to get in a smidgen of site seeing, and Phil and I put together our own Chicago-style pizza tour. Wow, is Chicago deep-dish pizza good!

Here are photos from our trip. Most of the site-seeing photos are ones that Phil took while I was at the conference.

Julie in her business suit ready for the start of the conference
We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel

ASCO Banners in the conference center

A view of Lake Michigan from the conference center

The Art Institute of Chicago
Phil really enjoyed this museum

The Philadelphia Flyers were playing the Chicago Blackhawks in the hockey finals while we were in Chicago. The lions outside of the museum were sporting Blackhawk helmets.

Decorative paperweight collection

American Gothic by Grant Wood

Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges-Pierre Seurat

Self portrait of Vincent van Gogh

One of Monet's footbridge paintings

Water fountain in Millennium Park

Monument in Millennium Park

Theater designed by Frank Gehry

Cloud Gate (the bean)

Phil's reflection in the bean

Julie's & Phil's reflections in the bean

Buckingham Fountain

Shedd Aquarium

Jellyfish

Dolphins

Freaky looking eels

Chicago's First Lady architectural tour:






Phil planned a pizza tour of three of the best known Chicago-style pizza places.

Pizza Tour night #1: Giordano's stuffed pizza

There's literally a bottom crust and another crust just below the pizza sauce stuffed with lots of cheese. This restaurant was just across the street from our hotel. This pizza tied for first place on our tour.

Pizza Tour night #2: Lou Malnati's pizza

This pizza seemed similar to thick crust pizza you can get in other cities. It was also a little "soupier." Good, but not the best.

Pizza Tour night #3: Gino's East deep dish pizza

This pizza is unique because it has a cornmeal-based crust. It's like pizza on top of corn bread. Yummy! It tied with Giordano's for first place. They're both fantastic in their own way.