Blackhawks, part 3

This week we headed out to the United Center for our third Hawks game of the season. Unfortunately, Rob & I are no longer witnesses to only Blackhawk wins as San Jose got the best of them. And to make things worse, even though we arrived 45 minutes early, we weren't one of the first 10,000 fans - so no Blackhawk Santa Hat for us..... However, we were plenty early to hear the National Anthem. It's an experience like nothing else - below is the video, but we're not too impressed with the quality of the iPhone...

Oh Christmas Tree!

Since last year I was not feeling Christmas spirit after my company's holiday party and we didn't decorate our silver little tree, this year we decided to go get a real one! I wasn't too keen on putting a living thing in my living room, but Rob convinced me and I do say, it does look quite nice! I hadn't had a real tree since I was probably about 8 years old. Of course there are some down sides of waiting a week before Christmas to decorate - the stores are all sold out of lights. Rob searched high and low looking for a couple of strands of white lights. He found a "double roll" of 400 lights total and thought it was way too much, but was tired of going from store to store. However, apparently he had never seen my mom decorate a Christmas Tree - you have to start at the bottom and put lights on each branch - in and out - and work your way to the top. 400 was no challenge for me! Rob thought I was crazy, but we were at my parent's house this weekend and Mom had 950 lights on her tree. I think I can beat that if we ever get a fake tree! Anyways, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the needles stay on the tree and off the floor.

Yes, I did.

I tried to help the Huskers out by dressing up Buddy & Boomer up in a little Husker gear, but unfortunately time didn't run out quickly enough... And yup, you're not seeing things, Rob really does have some extra warmth on his face. We'll see how he looks by Christmas (which is fast approaching by the way!!!)

First Real Snow!

We're supposed to get more starting tomorrow....

The Last Month+

In October we attended our annual Nebraska Huskers game. Unfortunately to find 6 tickets together, Bob & Donna placed us right smack in the middle of the "Red Raiders" section (see dude's hat) with their flying guns. I wish I could say that the awesome play by the home team made up for the close company, but the Huskers apparently didn't receive the memo regarding the game that day.... At least we got to hang out with Russ & Rachel!

We caught our first Blackhawks game of the year in October as well. The play was a bit more stellar then the Huskers and we dropped the Predators. Rob got a tad annoyed with me when I suddenly realized that I'd actually met one of the Predators! #20, Ryan Suter, is from Madison/Oregon. And before he was making millions we had a mutual "friend." I thought this was quite hysterical, but I don't think Rob was on the same page....

My newest niece, Kaylee Renee, was born on October 23rd! A big girl, she weighed in at 9 pounds, 9 ounces. I went up to Madison to see her in the hospital and came in handy as they were just about ready to be discharged. She's quite the cuttie pie and definitely wont be starved for attention from her two brothers.

After spending a couple of days with 1-week old Kaylee, Tony and I headed up North to the cabin with Wyatt. Dad had drove up a couple of days before with Derrick, cousin Dan, and his old pal Al Leonard. We took the kids trick-or-treating in Minocqua on Saturday and then the rest of them had to head back South. Tony & I stayed a couple more days with Wyatt and answered a lot of his questions and tried to keep him entertained with trips to the park, car rides, and my iPhone. I think he may have liked the phone the best.

An original motion picture by Wyatt, the audio is priceless!

On Wisconsin! Last weekend, Rob and I went back up to Madison to watch the Badgers take on the Wolverines. I'm not gonna lie, I was ready for a cold bitter day where once again the home team forgot to show up. BUT, I was pleasantly surprised! It was a beautiful day in November and we crushed them! The Badgers played extremely well and we had a blast, I think we'll have to include a Badger game every Fall too! Rob even suggested we stay for the Fifth Quarter, and I have caught him singing "Varsity, Varsity" a few times in the last week....! :)

One Year Down!

To celebrate the big occasion, we headed up to Coachman's for the night. Mom had dropped off our complimentary cake from Craig's cake (we choose strawberry & cream cheese) and a bottle of champagne that I surprised Rob with. After enjoying some cake & champagne (ok, the whole bottle), we headed over to the bar to relive the big day with some burgers and Spotted Cow. We also threw in some cheese curds for good measure. We had a fun time and even met some of the people who were there last year and were wittinesses to the shenanigans that went on at the bar throughout our reception....!

Good Times!

Another Trip to the Vet

We thought our Friday night was going to consist of cheering the Blackhawks on in their final home pre-season game. But Boomer had other plans. The dogs were finishing up their dinners and I was on the computer when I heard Boo making his infamous attempts at jumping up to try to get food off of the counter. And then before I could go shoo him away, he yelped out in pain and then ran at me using only 3 legs. When we got to the vet they found no broken legs, just some tissue damage around his knee. They told us he was a perfect candidate for laser treatment (we're thinking $$$$), but if that means he'll be fine and no medication will be required, sure why not? So Boomer got his first (and hopefully last) laser treatment while Rob tried to talk the nurse into using it a little on his own ankle. And the good news is that Boo is back to himself and it only cost $45 (plus $66 for the ER office visit)!!!

Hopefully that'll be the last Vet trip for while....

Nebraska, Virginia & Wrigley!

Rob & I took Boo & Budd to Nebraska for Labor Day to visit Bob & Donna. We left Friday after work and made pretty decent time as we were there by 2:00 am! It was a nice and relaxing weekend with the highlights being 18 holes of golf (36 for Bob & Rob), Husker football and my first trip to the casino! The dogs decided it was more fun to travel if they were closer together....

Last weekend we flew out to Fairfax, Virginia to attend my friend Sarah's wedding. Rob doesn't have much vacation time, so we left Saturday morning and were back home just over 24 hours later. Sarah and Sean threw a great party and we had a fantastic time spending time with my girls from George Mason! It made us want to jet-set to the East Coast more often....

Sean & Sarah

Us

The Girls

We've been trying to get out and do more "Chicago" stuff lately so yesterday we did a tour of the Friendly Confines. We got to see the press box, home and away clubhouses & dugouts, go out on the field, and some other areas of Wrigley that we'd never been before. Even though the Cubbies haven't been doing the best for the last few months, it was a great experience. There's always next year....

Len & Bob's Box

View from the Press Box

Cubbies Clubhouse

Us in the Dugout!

We're terrible Parents!

Notice - in this picture Pepe looks very similar to the last picture we posted....

And Tommy the tomato hasn't grown much over the last 1+ month either...


Donna tells us this is because the pots we've been trying to grow them in are too small yet. We shall try again next year. Good thing we're not practicing on humans...

Springfield, Puppies, & Boston

Rob and I (along with the four-legged members of our family) traveled to far away Springfield, Illinois for the weekend a while back. It was just a short trip, but so nice to get away at the same time. We decided Springfield is kind of stuck in some place between it's past filled with Abraham Lincoln stories and it's present of nowhere-Illinois. All in all, a good time was had visiting the new (and slightly Disney-esque) Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum, Lincoln grave sight, Old Springfield and Bennigans.



Some new pictures of the Boo & Budd -




I think they look more innocent than they really are. And in case any of you were thinking about getting a he-dog - don't!!! Buddy had his own "male problem" this weekend - and now he's wearing a cone...

On another note, last weekend we were lucky enough to go out to the Boston area for Rob's friend Ryan's wedding. Rob & Ryan knew each other from their time in Florida (oh the Florida winters!) and we flew out there for Ryan & Andrea's wedding. Ryan was in our wedding and we loved Andrea immediately, so it was great to be able to be there for their awesome day. A good time was had by all and we even got to see a little bit of Boston at the same time.

The grave of a great patriot & namesake of great beer as well!

Ryan & Andrea!

A Viking?

I don't know if I have anything to say if this really happens....

We're Gonna Be Parents!

I think we'll call him Pepe the Pepper! Rob & I are trying our hand at "gardening" this year. We have one pepper plant and one tomato plant that are each in pots on our back porch. Today we noticed that we have a little pepper growing! No tomatoes yet. We'll be happy with just a few considering the pot it's in is really just one of Mom's old Tupperware containers that's probably a bit to small for it. We also have a couple of flowers pots back there too.

Kentucky...

Mom & I are trying to do a long weekend trip once a year where we do some sort of walk. It all started because I need an excuse not to walk the 17-mile Syttende Mai walk in Stoughton every year. Last June we hiked up Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota and took in Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park on the quick trip. This year we wanted to go somewhere a little closer and where we hadn't been before. We settled on the Tri-State area of Kentucky, Tennesee, and Virginia. We took Grandma Trader along and stayed in a log cabin at Pine Mountain State Resort Park in Kentucky.



On the way we stopped at President Lincoln's boyhood home in Indiana where Lincoln's mother is also buried. This is the outline of the cabin that Lincoln grew up in. Some of the mantel rocks are original.




It was too hot to do any real long walking (hiking is more accurate) until Monday. Mom and I then took on two trails that proved to be one of a kind. At times we had to guess where the trail was, others we had to climb under or over trees and squeeze through rocks! Although a little primitive, it was a very beautiful area.





We also went to Cumberland Gap National Park where the boundaries of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee are. The Gap is where Daniel Boone and others made their way West between the Appalachians (that's Ap-LATCH-ins). Another beautiful area.

Golf?

While we were in Nebraska for Memorial Day, Bob & Donna decided to take us to the driving range. Donna had been taking lessons and she got to show off! Well, Rob & I needed a new hobby that didn't involve baseball, which is good because I'm hooked! We got back to Chicago and before too long purchased some clubs for me. We've been out to the driving range a bit and played three different courses in Chicago and Wisconsin. I'm still quite terrible, but hit lots of boogies on the par 3 course!




And Boomer wants to be Bob's caddy...



Bob on the way to the driving range...

Baseball, Baseball, Baseball, and a Little Hockey

We've been taking advantage of Chicago sports this Spring and early Summer. The Hawks were having a good run, and luckily my company bought some boxes and amazing tickets that we were able to take advantage of. The view from the 3rd row was pretty sweet! As was Kane's Hat Trick.



We've spent quite a bit of time at Wrigley as well this year. And, good news we're undefeated! Rob may have gone years and years without seeing a win, but now he appears to be lucky. Which is good considering the less than stellar season. This picture is with the "good seats" from my company:



Before another game we decided we should stop for a drink, as they are cheaper on the "outside." However, I didn't quite have a drink this big in mind... Don't worry, a liter of beer with 30 minutes before first pitch doesn't scare us, we were good to go!




For my birthday, we headed up to Wrigley North to watch the Cubs take on the Brewers with my brother, Tony and his wife, Nichole. It was a little chilly, but not cold enough to keep us from tailgating with the best of them. If only the Cubs would have shown up to play though... Oh well, at least the Cubs got the best of them this weekend at Wrigley!



Watching another win with Tarah and Ryan...



During the off-season the Cubs traded two of our favorite players, Kerry Wood & Mark DeRosa (who we officially can't like any more now that he's at St Louis!), to the Cleveland Indians. Russ and Rachel decided to make the trek to Chicago for the series and we got sunny Bleacher tickets to the game on Saturday. It was just a little on the hot side (80+), and after 13 innings, lots of beer, a couple of sunburns, water and Popsicles, the Cubs managed to pull off a win! Luckily Russ finally got to see a Cubbie win in person!

Oops, It's Been a While...

Katie reminded me once again (over a week ago), that I haven't updated the blog. I really don't have any good excuses, other than I really like to hang outwith Panasonic Miller. Anyways,
here's another mega update:

My company has taken over the entire 22nd floor of the Annex building of the Chicago Board of Trade. Since we finally hired a new full time receptionist, I've moved on to bigger and better things. We also have more offices than we know what to do with, so somehow I managed to score a sweet one in the corner. Here's the view of sunrise over Lake Michigan -


And (taken the same day), here's one of sunset over the South Loop -


Rob & I also decided that it was about time to start looking for a house that we could call our own. Although we really love living in the city, affording our own soil in it just really isn't an option for us. We spent a weekend looking out in the Western 'burbs and in less than a week we had made an offer on a house in Aurora. However, it's a short sale, there's another offer on it, and it's a long shot, plus it will be at least another month until we know if it's ours. Keep your fingers crossed...


We celebrated Boomer's one year adoption anniversary with a trip to the vet. As usual, he hammed it up and had the vet tech eating out of his hand by the time we left. He got all of his shots (including one that our former vet just forgot to give him), and he managed not to chase the vet kitty. On our car ride home, Boo decided he wanted to give Rob a second look at his breakfast - after it had been digesting in his tummy for over an hour. 2 phone calls to the vet, one more visit, two more shots, and $400 later, he was happily resting at home - with only a minor alergic reaction. Russ & Rach - are you sure you want a dog? Just remember, Rob & I strongly suggest getting girl dogs as they're less likely to...umm...fall out....