Things I'm Excited About - Kelly

Seeing Candide at the Goodman

Running (and training for) the Hot Chocolate 15K

Fall in Chicago

This week's book club

My Perfect Life - Brady

Okay, Chicago is officially starting to feel like home. On Tuesday night we had storm warnings so Kevin and I skipped the long run we had planned and walked to Kelly's to watch Glee. Then, on the way home from her place, a Chicago police officer actually stopped us and offered us two free tickets to the Cubs game that had started about an hour before. We had to go, right? If a member of the CPD tells you to go to a baseball game, you go to a baseball game!

So the night was pretty much awesome already. We texted Kelly to tell her about our good luck, and she informed us that Amy and Roger were at the same game! We walked over and hung out with them for a bit, and then headed our separate directions. It was a perfect night.

Fast forward to this morning, Kevin and I are on a jog, and we hear some crazy lady yelling at us. Well, it turns out that the crazy lady was Amy getting into her car to go to work trying to get our attention. We said hi to her and have a good day, and jogged off on our favorite route which, interesting, goes right by Kelly's coach house.

Here's the thing. I've loved Chicago since I moved here the second time in 2005. (Yes, I've moved here three times now.) I still loved it even when Kevin and I were commuting to see each other and I was questioning my decision to go to graduate school. Now, I've got my city and a good percentage of my favorite people right here with me (or within a short drive). I honestly cannot imagine my life getting much better.

Amy, Roger, and Courtney (who I secretly want to be my best friend) at the Cubs game.

First Day of Classes-Brady

1) I am much happier today than I was at this point last year.

2) Although I was dreading starting courses again, it actually feels good to be busy.

3) I have decided I am going to rock statistics this quarter. I'm not just going to survive it, I'm going to understand it so well that I'll teach it to all of you. (No I won't - you would hate that.) I found when we were in Key West a "café cubano" (coffee with whole milk and lots and lots of sugar) made my brain work in overdrive. I'm planning on getting one of those every week before my 2.5 hour class, making sure I sleep lots the nights before, and putting my game face on, every stats day.

That is all.

Sundays with the Joneses - Brady

When the 3 of us were little, there were very few Sunday evenings we did not spend at my grandparents' house in La Porte. I think I can speak for my sisters when I say that we all loved this tradition. Grandma and Grandpa's house was always stocked with diet coke, chocolate chip cookies, and some sort of delicious dinner (in my pre-vegetarian days, grandma's pork sandwiches were one of my very favorite meals). We'd sit in their big comfy furniture or on their breezy porch and play/talk the day away with the entire Jones side of the family.

Now that we live away from La Porte, we don't get back to that house on weekends as often as we'd like. However, since we're all in Chicago, we've started a new tradition - Sundays at the Jones-Rasp-Jacksons'. Amy and Roger had us over last Sunday for snacks and pizza. And Kevin and I are hosting Amy and Roger (Kelly is somewhere...can't remember where) this coming Sunday for brunch. And Kelly, party-hostess-queen, will throw together a pretty amazing evening for us in the near future, I have no doubt.

I can't tell you how much I love that a majority of my family now lives in my very favorite place in the world. Chicago is feeling more and more like home all the time.

Now how to get mom and dad to move here...?

Missing in Action -Amy

Hello blogger world!

I have definitely been missing in action, but this time I like to think it's for good reason. I have been so busy at school, that I find it hard to stay awake at night, let alone communicate with friends and family I should be talking to and update the blog. I really do enjoy blogging though, so I need to be sure to make it a priority.

So, the reason I have been so busy is because of my new, wonderful, and exausting job. I am loving my students, I am loving the staff I work with, and I am loving the fact that I feel like it is challenging me and making me a better teacher. Still, I worry a lot that I am not doing things correctly or that I am not being as effective as possible. I know there is always room for improvement, I am just hoping that I have a normal amount of room. Somedays I feel like I'm getting no where. Other days and lessons I feel like went really well and my students are getting it. There are definitely great teaching days and bad teaching days. I need to learn to shake of the bad ones and learn from them. That is just something that has proved harder for me to do than I thought it would.

I feel like I will get into the groove a little more, and then I am sure that I will feel like I am having more successful days than struggling days. I LOVE my job, I just want to make sure I'm good at it!

Fall - Kelly

I am SO happy that fall is just around the corner in Chicago. Sure, I'm going to miss tank tops and sundresses, sitting outside in the sunshine, and trips to the beach... but I LOVE fall.

Sweaters, leggings, scarves, red wine, apples, jackets, windows cracked JUST enough to get some cool fresh air, leaves changing, bonfires... all of it!

I went running by the lake today in my favorite comfy long sleeve t-shirt.. it's been a long time! I'm also sipping a glass of red wine for the first time in quite awhile.

I know come January I'll be antsy for warm weather again, but for now I'm pretty darn thrilled about the cool weather!

The End of an Era - Brady

I don't know how I feel about living in a Chicago where Daley isn't the mayor.

Enjoying the last days of summer at Lake Wawasee:

And looking forward to the colder temperatures to come:

(This is the 2nd or 3rd best cup of hot chocolate I've ever had. It's from a restaurant called Xoco in River North.)

Living and Traveling Part 2

We got the place in East Lakeview! Yay! We are really excited. We've also had our inspection and that went well, so everything's moving along great!

We also took a little trip this weekend to Madison. For my birthday, I had asked Kevin to take me someplace that would be a complete surprise. I really, really like traveling, even if it's to somewhere close by, so this ended up being an awesome gift for me. If you'd like to see pictures, click here.