Peeks from the Week

Farewell July, you fire-crackered outta here SO fast.  Stick around longer next year will ya?

Anyways, happy Friday!!!!  Here is the cheery napkin note Dan put in my lunchbox this morning.  

This is what we've been up to all week:

X-Men.  Lots and lots of x-men.  Dan got the newest movie on DVD for his birthday and I wanted to watch some of the other ones too.  Dan already owned two on DVD and we rented the rest on Amazon.  Sunday-Wednesday night we watched X-Men, and I'm hooked.  Guys, for a superhero saga, it actually believable.  Of course DNA could mutate and make you a blue creature with the superpower to imitate anyone instantaneously.  Of course.    

We've been feeling Hot Hot Hot over here all week with a heat wave blowing through and I'm not annoyed by it one bit because long live summer!!!

Yesterday was Dan and my 11 month wedding anniversary.  In 31 more days we can stop counting the months and check off year one.  We've held strong to the tradition of re-reading our vows on the "30th" every month even if I remembered mere minutes before midnight.  We've been pulling out the index cards we used on the actual wedding day, all crinkled from water being spilled on them and dried.  I want to keep them forever but prevent them from wearing out.  So I strongly hinted that perhaps Dan should make something crafty and sustainable so we can reread our vows without hurting the originals.  It could be our first anniversary "paper" gift.  Hey Buddy, this is your not so discreet reminder.  

Also last night I got to hang-out with Rebekah and make crafty garlands and chat.  Also she made amazing chocolate eclair parfaits which were delicious.  It did my chocolate deprived soul good.  I'm hoping we get to do more girl's craft nights soon.

When I got home I found this!!!  Happy early birthday to me and how sweet is it that Dan decorated it in an effort to "wrap" it?  So excited to test it out this weekend.

And finally, my current song obsession of the week: "This Life" by The Afters

Hope you enjoyed these peeks.  Have a great weekend!

Hold on summer!

I interrupt the regularly positive posts to bring you a gut punch.  Everyone out there hurrying the approach of fall along...STOP!   I strongly dislike you.  It borders hate. 

You have plenty of time for fall scents, sweaters, soups, and pumpkin spice lattes starting in October.  It's still July so let the rest of us enjoy and soak in summer.  I have yet to put my bathing suit on this year so hush-up about the boot weather.

Thanks. 

Mandy and I hate fall. Always truly and forever have and will.  Fall signals the approach of four terrible things: cold, dark, death, and school.  Fortunately I don't have to worry about that pit in the stomach feeling about the approaching school year but I still have sympathy pains for the kids out there that do.

I accept that fall is inevitable and I will embrace its presence at the appropriate seasonal time which is late September, no sooner.  No amount of fall decor, Halloween candy, or pumpkin scented candles can make-up for how depressing it is.  I saw this on Sunday and it made my heart cry.

But I'm not too worried because today is the start of a heat wave - take that fall lovers! 

Weekending it

My weekends start early in the summer, thanks to Summer Fridays.  Last week I went and sat by the water near my office and chatted with my Momma on the phone.  Then I walked along the esplanade to Battery Park.  It's shaping up to be such a pretty summer.

I was texting with Dan and he was actually in the city meeting with a client and got off work early too.  He met me and we took advantage of the serendipitous time to ride the Staten Island Ferry.

I'd only been on this free ferry once before when I lived in NYC for a month and a half during my undergrad days as a studious Gilder Lehrman History Scholar.

Since moving here over five years ago I never had the desire to get on that boat again (it's a tourist trap).  But Dan suggested and I thought, well why not?  It was free and fun.

Fun little adventure.

Saturday afternoon we headed to Floyd Bennett Field for a birthday party with a lot of people from church.  It was a Route 66 theme to celebrate Jim's 66th birthday.  We had a lot of fun. 

On Sunday we had the soccer/arts camp again.  I decided to do friendship bracelets with the elementary kids since they were all ages 9-11 and, I thought, the concept was pretty simple (pick three colors of string and tie knots).  It ended up being too complex of a craft for them.  Very frustrating experience.  I  guess the soccer portion went well?  Also little kids in oversize t-shirts are the cutest. 

Sunday afternoon once we had recharged after church we got Italian Ices and went for a long walk.  We finished the evening with egg in a pie shell thing for dinner and watching X-men...which I am now hooked on.   

Also, Birthday shout-out to Sam (Dan's "little" brother).  He turns 26 today.

Chicago - the last day

Last Monday was our last full day in Chicago.  We were getting super bummed that the visit was almost over but thrilled we still had one day left to play.

We got up early to go take Mandy's car in for a tune-up and then took my Grandma's car to go get donuts.  Dunkin' Donuts has a total monopoly on the donut industry in the suburbs but we managed to find a dive shop call Dunk Donuts and it hit the spot.  I love maple frosted and I was so happy to see that had it there.

After breakfast we did a little shopping before the mini golf place opened.  Mini golf was Dan's idea and Mandy found a cool glow-in-the-dark indoor place.  Lucky for us we got in just before they closed to the public since two large school groups were coming in.  The course was huge with two levels and tons of unique holes.  We left as soon as we finished the last hole because the place was swarming with kids.

Mini-golf was followed by a little more shopping and then we headed way far out in the suburbs for lunch.  While we were eating we were trying to come up with other options for things to do, not wanting to waste the last bit of time we had.  We decided that since we were close we would head back to the Arboretum to go biking again.  It was a cooler day and we would have more than just an hour to bike.  It was perfect.  We each got a bike and we were able to go all the way around the whole park, uninterrupted.

That night, over dinner, we discussed our traditional vacation favorites.

What's your favorite thing you did?

We all agreed that biking was a highlight followed by the views from Dan's cousin's apartment 

What's you favorite thing you got?

Dan - his zoo shirt
Steph - romper and hat, followed by the shower curtain (I know, I'm easy to please)
Mandy - TV and TV stand

What's your favorite thing you ate? 

We all said Sweet Baby Rays BBQ, followed by Berghoff's German

It was such a fun trip and the three of us all had a great time and still desperately miss the company and adventure.  Mandy is a hoot and a half and I love being with her and I was so happy that Dan got to bond with her as well.

Now, onward to the doldrums of routine and responsibility!

Sunday Funday

Typically when we make a trip to Chicago it's around the holidays and we don't do a lot of galavanting.  First because it's freaking frigid in Chicago during winter and second because we are always busy last minute Christmas shopping.

If it had been just me visiting Mandy this time I can guarantee we would have gone shopping multiple times and watched movies, that's it.  But since it was a trip with Dan and all day shopping isn't exactly his jam, we adventured non-stop and it was a blast.  

On Sunday we skipped church because Dan and I NEVER have a Sunday where we aren't responsible for multiple things let alone the option of missing.  So Dan led a devotion for us and then we headed off to the local zoo in Mandy's neighborhood.  

Mandy comes to this zoo on a weekly basis with the boys she nannies.  Our theme for the visit was Dolphins because this zoo has a pod and a show!  That was our first stop. 

See that dolphin up there parallel to the water?!?!

We got a stuffed dolphin at the gift shop to join our buddies at home.  Her name is Aurora. 

After the dolphin show we explored all the other exhibits 

We stopped for treats and pictures.  And got a squished penny.

We rode the carousel.  Obviously. 

We left the zoo when the female parties became hot and cranky and the male party had no idea how to deal with dueling sisters.  

We escaped into a cool dark theater to see Inside Out.  The seats were leather and reclined!  It was the perfect solution for heat induced bad attitudes.  

Now let me just say, Inside Out is an amazing movie.  I cried three times and nearly cried four other times.  And I never cry in movies.  It was cute, funny, and was pure genius for animating the importance of emotion.  As an adult it was such a simple way of showing kids (and adults) that sadness isn't always a bad thing and without it you wouldn't fully understand the importance joy.  Also it was surprisingly good at demonstrating depression and making that disease more visible.  Go see it! 

For dinner we went for Chicago deep dish pizza.  I didn't take a picture because I was too busy shoving my face.  

After dinner we went for a long walk through Mandy's beautiful historic neighborhood, Oak Park, and got ice cream to celebrate National Ice Cream Day!

Wow!  Congrats if you made it this far! Stayed tuned for one last post about our trip. 

Bicycle built for two!

Continuing our Chicago vacation recap...

On Saturday we slept-in and had cinnamon rolls in bed.  After getting around, Mandy headed to the hospital to pick-up our Grandma and Dan and I headed to the grocery store to restock her fridge.  We settled her in back home and then headed out for a day of adventuring.

Mandy got a membership to the Morton Arboretum several weeks ago.  The Arboretum is a huge nature preserve in the suburbs.  I had been there a couple of times with her back in college.  Throwback!

Here I am back in May of 2008 at the Arboretum.  Such a lil baby!

Anyways, we got Chick-fil-a for lunch and had a picnic before renting bikes to explore.

This squirrel tried to join us.  He was vigilant.

Unfortunately due to the heat index that day (in the 100s) the bike rentals were closing early so we were only able to bike for about an hour.   I suggested Mandy and I get the tandem bike because I thought it was cheaper (wrong).  Man was it hard to get used to that thing.  The person in the back had to fully relinquish the instinct to control the steering.  Only the person in front can steer and if the person in the back tries the bike sways all over the place.  It's a battle of wills.  Once we got the hang of it we cruised along nicely.

Dan did pretty good too!

We had SO much fun even though we were all drenched in sweat after the hour.  We cooled off by exploring the Children's garden which had a stream for wading and cool rope bridges to climb.

There was also a Lego exhibit in the garden which Dan loved.

We did the shrub maze as well and then checked out the gift shop where we picked up a pretty oak leaf ornament to commemorate our trip (Oak - for Oak Park...where Mandy lives).  I also got a hat.

It started to rain as we were leaving so we headed to Dairy Queen for an afternoon treat and then did some shopping at Michael's, Home Goods, and Pier One.

For dinner that night we went to Sweet Baby Ray's which is the place where we had our wedding catered.  SO GOOD!! 

Back at Mandy's apartment, Handy Dandy helped put together her new TV stand and television.  This girl is moving up in the world!

Another great day full of new memories.