Lots of excitement! - Brady

You know how sometimes life is just moving along, you're following your regular routines, doing your normal activities, seeing the friends you typically see, eating dinner at your regular restaurants. And then all of a sudden a bunch of exciting things happen all at once and everything looks different? I remember senior year of high school feeling that way, and senior year of college come to think of it. And then a few other times in life, like when I got my first teaching job and we were moving to Indiana, then getting into grad school and moving back to Chicago.

Well, Kevin and I have hit another pocket of excitement. After a couple of years trying to have kids, trips to various doctors, lots of disappointment, and one very big bright spot named Ms. Molly Jones-Rasp (we decided to adopt her after a particularly rough doctor's appointment in which we were told it would still be awhile longer before we could have kids), we're finally excited to announce that we're having a baby in October. Right before we found out that news, as a kind of "we feel sorry for ourselves because we can't have kids" consolation prize, we booked a long trip to France. So the last few weeks and months have brought all kinds of very non-routine, non-typical emotions and activities!

Here's a picture of my belly, last Sunday at 13 weeks. Not too big yet, just a little bit thicker than normal. 

And here are 10 much more attractive pictures of our trip to Paris! I'm also going to include the Facebook link below because there are so many great ones not included here. 

A pretty store called Merci we visited in Paris.

Kevin and me in Burgundy.

The grounds of an abbey in Burgundy.

The medieval town where we stayed out in the country.

The Rose Window at Notre Dame.

A beautiful street in Paris.

Burgundy.

Paris.

The street where we stayed in Paris.

One of the many gorgeous pictures Kevin took of the small town where we stayed in Burgundy.

You can click here to go to the Facebook album with over 100 photos if you're interested! 

Needless to say, it's been a very happy spring. :)

Rocktober - Brady

I always feel like there's way too much to pack into October. It's such a great month with such great weather, there are awesome October-themed foods to eat (Oktoberfest beer, pumpkin everything, sweet potato everything, apple everything), and you actually welcome - because you're not tired of it yet - cool mornings and evenings. Here's a little bit of how we made the most of it. 

GRRACE's Rescue Romp:

GRRACE is the organization we used to find and adopt Molly. Every year, they hold an annual picnic, and about forty beautiful Golden Retrievers take over a barn at the Lebanon, Indiana fairgrounds. We had the best time. Everyone kept saying they couldn't believe we drove all the way down from Chicago "so Molly could have a play date," but we couldn't believe they thought we'd miss it! It was also Kevin's birthday weekend, and although he now knows what he'll be doing on that Saturday for the rest of Molly's life, I don't think he minds. :)

A small taste of the chaos.

Kevin's birthday donut, on the drive down.

The Chicago Marathon:

We looooove watching The Chicago Marathon when we're in town. There's something so inspiring about it. 

The front-runners.

Molly taking it all in.

Coffee and pastry stop down the street.

Several hours later, the not-front-runners pass by as we have brunch.

Camping at Starved Rock State Park:

Wow. We just barely summoned the energy to squeeze in one more camping trip this summer and it was worth it. We had beautiful autumn weather, somehow finagled the prettiest campsite, and beat the crowds to the trails. I had trouble deciding which of our many pictures to include here.

Trip to Portland, Oregon:

Another one with too many pretty pictures to choose from. We flew out to Oregon to visit Kevin's aunt and uncle, to see my cousin and his family, and just to check out a city we'd heard so many great things about. It exceeded my expectations. We ate incredibly well, the scenery was beautiful, and the people were friendly. We can't wait to go back. 

And now it's November, and we're home, and we will be home for quite some time, settling in for the holidays and then for winter. It's getting dark by 5 p.m. now and it feels like there's a little less to pack in. Just lots of time for reading, watching movies, sitting by the fire, getting lots of work done, drinking coffee, and eating comfort food.

Labor Day Dogcation 2013 or What I Like About Denver - Brady

Kevin and I have a big group of friends who all live out in Denver, so we get out there pretty often to visit - at least twice a year for the last couple of years. (Sometimes I skip the wintertime trip, though, so I can travel to Siesta Key to visit my grandparents. Call me crazy, but I like 80 degree weather, palm trees, tropical sunsets, and reading on the beach better than I like picking my way slooooooowly down a snow-covered mountain in rented ski boots.) This summer, since our Denver friends all have super cool dogs, we decided to drive out rather than fly so we could take the Molly Monster with us to meet her Colorado cousins.

What did Ms. Molly do, you ask?

I'll tell you in pictures.

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She fetched tennis balls in the backyard with her buddies.

She hiked.

She camped.

She ran around off leash and swam in a mountain lake.

And she slept. 

We left Denver at 6 a.m. yesterday morning. It took us 16 hours to drive home. She was so tired from all of her adventures that she slept through the entire car ride. We got home at 11 p.m. and were in bed by 12. She slept from then until this morning at 6:30. When she came back from her walk, she slept again from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. with only one trip outside to break it up. And she's sleeping now. Think she had fun? 

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Kevin and I had quite a bit of fun ourselves. Denver is a really different city than Chicago, and it's neat to kind of step into a more relaxed, outdoorsy, R.E.I.-clad life for a few days. This trip in particular, mostly because of the dogs, probably, and because many of the couples we know have recently gotten settled into homes of their own, felt very comfortable and very easy. We knew our way around a little bit better. We made our own coffee. We walked to the 7-11 to buy toilet paper and to Sprouts to buy groceries. We sat in our friends' backyard, and I nursed an upset stomach from a long, hot run on their couch, watching Mad Men. We had a big family-style dinner on their deck and drank far more beer at home than we did out at bars. Like I said, comfortable and easy and certainly a place I look forward to visiting for years to come. 

I was in HAWAII - Brady

Yesterday (yesterday!) I was in Hawaii. I've dreamed about visiting Hawaii more than I've dreamed about going just about anywhere. And it was even better than I hoped it'd be. I said to Kevin multiple times during our week there, "This really is paradise."

Because I could write a book about my trip, I'm limiting myself to a top ten list of Hawaii memories. Here we go, with photos.

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Favorite Memory #1: Our first night in Honolulu. Discovering the fabulousness that is Waikiki Beach and drinking my first Mai Tai.

Favorite memory #2: Getting my first Hawaiian lei. Kevin bought one for me that first night. They're heavier, prettier, and smell stronger (in a good way) than I expected. I also learned that many, including the lei pictured above, are made out of plumeria, which was one of my favorite Bath and Body Works scents as a teenager. :)  Never actually knew what "plumeria" was before.

Favorite Memory #3: Exploring the Diamond Head area of Honolulu. We did a post-conference hike and a pre-conference visit to the farmer's market at the mountain's base. Such a beautiful area, and the market was fascinating - lots of fruits and other foods we don't have in Chicago.

Favorite Memory #4: Visiting Pearl Harbor and finding the memorial stone for the submarine Kevin's grandfather served on. The story goes that he was released for leave when his first child (Jane, Kevin's aunt) was born, and while he was away the sub sank. It's so strange to think that if things had been just a little bit different - if Jane had been born a few weeks earlier or later - Kevin's grandpa likely would've died, Kevin's dad would never have been born, and Kevin never would've existed.

Favorite Memory #5: My first sip of iced coconut water. We were driving along the beautiful North Shore of Oahu for an hour or two (in a convertible - amazing), and the sun was getting to both of us. We stopped at a stand that pulled fresh coconuts off ice, hacked off the tops, and stuck a straw in. It was one of the most delicious, refreshing things I've ever tasted.

Favorite Memory #6: Hawaiian music and hula. I guess I always thought of both of these art forms as kind of cheesy, but when I heard the music and saw the dancing in person, I was surprised how beautiful they both were. I've been listening to Hawaiian style music non-stop since I got home. And by the way, the hula dancer in this picture is a former Miss Hawaii! Her name's Skyler, and she introduced herself to us afterward. I kind of wanted to be her best friend.

Favorite Memory #7: Once we got to Kauai (after a close call with a very delayed flight and a lot of confusion about what room we were supposed to sleep in), we got settled in a beautiful apartment overlooking a small cove. I loved going to sleep every night to the sound of the waves, and I REALLY loved watching all the sea turtles that gathered on the rocks below us!

Favorite Memory #8: The Na Pali Coast. Oh my goodness, never have I seen a place quite so beautiful. We hiked, snorkeled, and explored sea caves here, and also took a sunset catamaran cruise to see the mountains from the water. My new life dream is to come back and do a multiple day camping trip on the beaches here.

Favorite Memory #9: Exploring little towns in Kauai. We stayed in Koloa, which was adorable, but my favorite by far was Hanalei. You drive up and see these gorgeous, green mountains and a perfect waterfall right in the middle. It supposedly inspired the land of "Hanalee" mentioned in the song "Puff the Magic Dragon."  This is where I'd like to stay the next time I visit Hawaii. 

Favorite Memory #10: Having this guy along for the trip. He took time off work to come with me, entertained me on the long flights, let me practice my talk on him, and was rarin' to go for fun once my sessions let out for the day. He also is the one and only reason we didn't miss an entire day of vacation in Kauai - his quick thinking and polite demeanor got us on a flight that left at 5:30 p.m. rather than one that left (delayed) at 10:30 at night. So grateful for my job, so grateful for my family, so grateful for the opportunities I have to travel.