The House

We moved in the first week of December and love the house! It has a huge backyard and we put a garden in the south end of the yard. Last weekend we even built a doghouse for our babies - which we are in the process of painting right now.

Today is the day!

Today we are signing papers on our new house! I can't wait. It will be so great...and our first Christmas. We never had our own Christmas because we were always going home for Christmas. New house, new paint, new carpet, new vinyl...oh - that's not that fun. But, hey we'll put tile in later. New furniture...yes it has been a great and new journey for both of us. Can't wait!

One day, Chuck and I decided we would BBQ. Why not? It was the first nice warm day of the year (haven't had many since) and everyone was outside lighting up their grills. So we bought a small charcol grill and food, then lit her up! The burgers were fabulous and we ate like kings that night. We BBQ'd the next day for dinner as well. Here are some pics of Our First BBQ.

Well, I am on the last leg of my of my internship.YEAH! Chuck and I were able to go home for Mother's Day and take a weekend getaway to our beloved hometown. However, like always, he got sick and was throwing up all night. It went around the family, but luckily I [Alicia] never got it. Whew!

Ginger

My name is Ginger and I am a short haired mini Dachshund. I am currently 11 weeks old and love living in my new home. I even know my name and will come running when mommy or daddy come home. I love playing with my toys and sleeping in the bed with mommy and daddy-which doesn't happen very often.

To read more about my adventures, check out my very own webpage. Just click on the link "Ginger"

Downtown Chicago fun

We saw the Rainforest Cafe in downtown Chicago and I looks as though there might be some similarities between these two. What do you think?

We went to Little Italy and ate a great "real" Italian restaurant named Tuscany. It was like a dream. Our waiter was incredibly friendly and showed me how to eat the bread the correct way. Incidentally, the entire restaurant was staffed by men, except the hostess. We could hear them speaking Italian to each other and it was great!

When we were in Little Italy we also found this great little Italian Ice shop that made their own ice. It was so yummy! I tried the peach one that had slices of fresh peaches in it. I have been craving it since!

Giordano's

Okay, so we both love pizza! Can you tell? Giordano's is one of the best Chicago-style deep-dish pizza places around. We actually drove for a while just to eat there. It is pretty fantastic and whenever you are in Chicago, just go for it. The calories are worth it, every single one!

Bubba!

Okay, so the major reason we went to Chicago was to see Bubba, ("Bear") aka. Dustin on his mission. We took him and his companion our for a steak dinner/lunch and had a great time. The town he was serving in was small compared to most of the towns in the Valley, but it was a nice area. Here are the pics of our beloved Bubba!

The Chicago Art Museum

We also saw the Chicago Art Museum. It was incredible, but Chuck and I had a great disappointment. The "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper that was at the museum was loaned out to another museum! Can you believe this? That piece was one of the main reasons we went to the museum. We were both incredibly bummed, so sad. Well, we thought we could share some of the other great pieces we saw there.

The Windy City

Our trip to Chicago was great! We saw the Lincoln Park Zoo and took several pictures of the monkeys. They were so fast, only a few pictures came out well. We also saw the lions, tigers and bears...oh my! The most interesting animal there was probably the hippopotamus. The giraffe's were so close it felt like we could touch them and the polar bears were so beautiful! The best part of the zoo is that it right in the middle of the city. It was also great exercise!

Paco

Our cat Juan Paco the Love Taco is the laziest cat you will ever meet. All he does is sleep, cry for food, sleep, eat, sleep and oh sleep. Here are the lastes pics of his royal highness!

Uncle Chuckie Buckie

Chuck with his new family the Simpsons (top) and the baby girls (bottom)

Hair

I finally cut my hair after several long months of painstaking growth. I will donate it to Locks of Love. In the meantime I am thoroughly enjoying a quick and easy haircut! I LOVE short hair!

~Alicia

Current Pics

These are some of the latest pictures of Chuckie and Alicia Hilbran!

Latest Masterpieces

Completed July 25th, 2007

"Asian Lady" -Chuck 2007

Update on Chuck & Alicia

Chuck and I are home in Arizona for the summer and loving being close to our family. We have been married just over 6 months and love married life. Funny thing that now we've been married he eats more fruits and vegetables and I eat more meat-which is a good thing. We are both working full time until we leave for Illinois about August 17th.

I have one more semester of Grad School and then I FINALLY get to begin my internship in St. Louis at St. John's Mercy Medical Center. After my internship, we will move back to Arizona and I will work while Chuck goes to school to be an art & history teacher. We plan on beginning our family next summer after we move back to AZ.

So far that's the plan, but you never know what the big man upstairs has planned.

Take care all!

~Alicia