foggy

i came home from work the other day at 5:00 and the city looked like it was on fire.
but really, it was crazy fog...

steel city

nate is out of town for work, so instead of spending my birthday weekend alone, i flew to pittsburgh to visit my brother geoff and his family. it was so fun to see where they lived and to explore the city. i really love all the bridges and water. plus, my niece gets cuter and funnier every time i see her. thank you so much g&a!

the polar bear at the pittsburgh zoo was real friendly. he came right up to the glass, then offered us a cold bottle of coke.

the cathedral of learning where geoff goes to school, or hogwarts.

loved all the old architecture

we tried to find this famous state park, but ended up on a scenic tour of the back woods of pennsylvania -- and a view of this cute town

next time, i'm taking nate with me!

don't call me bummer

i mostly document preschool quotes for me to remember. i need some happy memories of this job right now because it's a little hard for me to get up in the morning sometimes. i keep reminding myself of what nate has always said to me: keep on keepin on.

me, pointing to the earth on a puzzle: what planet is this?
G: the really big ball
me, pointing to uranus on a puzzle: what planet is this?
G: the really cool ball

(at lunch, as we're passing the green beans around the table - we eat family style)
G: hollllla! gimme the beans, boy!
N: we don't say holla at school. we say "please"
G: hollllla! please gimme the beans, boy!
N: ms. lawler! he said it! he's not being nice!

when J dropped his milk on the floor (happens at least twice a day), i said "bummer!"
later, i found J sitting in the corner sobbing.
me: J, what's wrong?
J, between sobs: you....called.....me.....bummmmmmmer!

chicago in motion

my cousin matt made a movie of their recent trip out to visit us.
you can see it here

milwaukee

i drove up to milwaukee (about 2 hrs. away) with some friends to go see brian regan last night. nate first introduced me to him on the meet-the-family road trip to california when we were dating. brian's mannerisms are hilarious in person.

"apparently the sign of a good doctor is not being able to get an appointment with the guy. oh he's a great doctor -- you can't even get in to see him! well, he sounds sensational."

it was my first time in milwaukee too, and i thought it was charming...in the dark at least. i hear it's pretty dead even in the daytime compared to chicago, but i love the quaint buildings and the pretty bridges. i think another day trip to milwaukee is in order.

m&b do chitown

september was the month of visitors. nate and my cousin matt surprised me and belize by planning a chicago trip behind our backs. i cannot think of a better surprise! and the cherry on top was that my parents were also in town for a business conference. all my favorite people all at once!

we finally did the architecture boat tour on a beautiful, hot day.

millennium park

the art institute

the staircases are covered in these beautiful quotes from jitish kallat's public notice speech. we pulled the classic self timer and set the camera on a rail, but all the pictures just reveal our personalities. matt is cracking up, nate looks awkwardly tough, belize is modeling perfectly, and i am just smiling because i forgot if we were supposed to be serious or not.

fancy schmancy dinner

belize makes everything more fun. and it was a really windy day.

we ended everything with a cubs victory at wrigley field.

i missed m&b's little evie, but it was so fun to walk around all day long, see movies, eat amazing food, and stay up super late. at one point, we looked at the clock and realized it was 2:30 am. why stop then? we made cookies at 3:00 am and watched the dark knight.
come back soon m&b.