We spent the afternoon yesterday at Shedd Aquarium right on Lake Michigan. We saw some amazing creatures including this HUGE crab, pacific dolphins, beluga whales, penguins, sharks, tropical fish, a bunch of different fresh waters fish and lizards, and a 7' foot long komodo dragon. 
The snow started right on time at 9 am and we made our way to our 10:30 snowboarding class while it continued to fly. Below our instructor helps Brian learn to use the heel edge of the board to stop. And Brian and I stand by the tow rope before we make our own down the hill. Brian's take on snowboarding: "It's harder than I thought!" My take on snowboarding: There are many muscles in my body which have laid dormant and unused until this very day. And now they have been pushed past exhaustion to complete spaghettification. 
Our first afternoon: we took the train to the bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Here Brian stands on a frozen lake where we watched the geese land and butt-skate to a stop : ) 
Yesterday we got our rental car and drove into Wisconsin where there is plenty of snow to go tubing on Sunburst Hill. We were having a great time ...
until Brian bounced off his tube half way down the hill and landed on his face : ( He's got scrapes down the left side of his face and his eye is swollen shut. The Ski Patrol people were very nice and bandaged him up. So we're having a quiet day today and will see Jackie's cousin Paul and Aunt Eddie and Uncle Mary. Tomorrow we take a snowboarding lesson... on the baby hill.
A friend of mine at work let us Tarantula-sit for "Gabriela" the other day and wow-- what an interesting creature! Her little feet felt like a combination between a tiny sticky pad and a little hook, and she spun a silk thread that looked like smoke snaking through the air. Cool!
