Air and Water Show

We have been anticipating this weekend since we got the boat! I have always wanted to watch Chicago's Air and Water Show out on a boat and not only was I able to cross that off my list this weekend but we were able to do it on OUR boat! To make this 'first' better and to add another 'first' to it we were able to share this experience with both Brady's and my families, this was the first time our parents have met each other!

The day started off great with bloody marys, sun and LOTS of laughter. We headed out to secure our spot while the water show was going on only to be beckoned back by the Cost Guard due to a quickly approaching storm. Fortunately we were closer to 'home' this time and had no issues making it back to safe harbor this time, unlike what happened last weekend!

Another storm heading our way

Thankfully this didn't stop the party at all, in hind sight, it probably helped to get this going a bit faster since we just moved the party to the salon! After an hour and a half, things cleared up and we headed back out to once again try to claim our perfect spot!

Day partying in full effect, rain or shine!

When all was said and done we had an amazing day out on the water with great company, good food and exciting entertainment! We are already putting together our guest list for Chicago's 2012 Air and Water Show!

Our niece Paislee excited to see the planes

Too bad she didn't make it, she was out before the show began!

In all of the commotion, our favorite Guatemalan caught red handed trying to hijack Further!

Brandon gave the show a standing ovation

Not sure what is happening with Nadine's Dad but I think we had a bit too much sun and fun!

Party Boat!

The bride-to-be spotting the storm

Right around the time we first put Further in the water and sailed her down to Montrose Harbor a wonderful friend of ours, Taylor, asked us if she could have part of her bachlorette party on the boat in August. We both said yes without hesitation and couldn't wait to show off our sailing skills we hopefully would gain over the summer.

Finally that time came this past weekend and unfortunately all weather sources were reporting rain and thunderstorms all day. We decided to play it by ear and see how the weather was the day of. We were surprised and excited when we woke up to an amazingly beautiful day. After speaking with the bride-to-be, we decided to meet on the boat at about 11am to enjoy an afternoon sail before the evenings festivities began.

The storm quickly approaching

We could hear the group of rowdy bachlorettes walking up to our dock and we excitedly packed everyone onto the boat. Brady and I agreed that even though the weather was currently beautiful we would keep a watchful eye out for the impending storms. After about an hour and a half of sailing down the Chicago skyline Taylor, the bride to be, happened to turn around and notice some nasty black clouds sneaking up from behind. So long for us paying attention to the weather! At that moment we obviously decided to head back to safe harbor thinking we might be able to make it back before the storm hit. Well, this wasn't the case. The storm was rolling in much faster than we anticipated and minutes before the wind picked up we thankfully thought of the bright idea to drop our sails and start motoring. The storm hit us right away with full force, our first gust of wind was over 40 knots! You could see the sheet of rain coming quickly toward us as we prepared the boat and the girls for the storm by handing out rain jackets, foul weather gear and fresh drinks, hoping that would help calm everyone's nerves. Thank goodness we did this since the weather instantly dropped 20 degrees as soon as the storm hit.

Double fisting; beer in
one hand, wheel in the other!

Ready with wine!

Brady taking charge

Trying to dry everything off,
look at those blue skies behind us now!

Brady and I each took to our jobs, Brady manned the wheel trying to steer the boat toward our harbor while I looked out for other boats since our visibility dropped quite a bit. After a minute we realized that the storm and continuous wind was too strong and it easily out powered our dinky little motor. For the duration of the storm we were going nowhere, and Brady did a great job keeping control of the boat while the wind and waves were trying to bully us around. As the expert he is, or at least faked it, he kept control of the boat with one hand on the wheel and the other with a beer in it! The girls quickly went to work by making sure everyone drinks never ran dry. Fortunately all of our passengers were pros and kept calm throughout the storm. I think Brady and I were the ones who were the most stressed while it was going on! The storm lasted for about 30-40 minutes and the minute the storm passed us we were surrounded by bright and beautiful blue skies! Not to press our luck, we decided to quit while we were ahead and head back for shore all sopping wet.

Thankfully we had a wonderful group of passengers that day which helped the entire situation. It turned out everyone had an amazing time even with our unplanned adventure! I'm sure it will be a hard one to forget by all who attended. We definitely won't forget our first squall!

One Step Closer

Today we just learned that I GOT INTO RUSH UNIVERSITY'S 

GENERALIST MASTERS PROGRAM FOR NURSING!!!!

This is amazing for multiple reasons but the main one being that we are now one step closer to our dream of being free to choose where we want to live and have nothing holding us down. Having an RN license allows me the ability to work anywhere in the US relatively easily, and maybe, hopefully beyond. Fortunately Brady with his job is already able to work anywhere there is internet. So now this will allow us both to be mobile and flexible in the workforce. We risked a lot doing this as I quit my job to go back to school full time so that I could complete all of my prerequisite classes in one year. This sped up the process of our dream becoming a reality. Thankfully our gamble paid off!

Further Just Got A Little Fuller (and a couple of Kerns too)!

The Kern-Fuller Clan

We had a pseudo-suprise visit from Brady's family this weekend. It was pseudo since we knew about it in advance but only found out about it a couple days before they arrived on Thursday, July 29 and that Brady's grandparents and sister also were able to join the fun!

We did a lot of fun Chicago things with the Kern-Fuller clan like explore the Museum of Science and Industry, visited the Bean, Buckingham Fountain, Millennium Park and Crown Fountain. We also just had a lot of fun hanging out and catching up! But the best part about their visit was that we were able to have the whole family out on Further for a very nice and relaxing late afternoon/sunset sail.