Midwest tour 2009 - Chicago

After learning more than a year ago that our good friends John and Jen were getting married in Milwaukee, WI, we decided to plant the seed for a mini-tour of some midwest cities. Chicago was our first stop along the way and we were so happy that the Lomax-Finke cousins were willing to drive from their home in Rochester Hills/Detroit, MI home to see us in Chicago.

We walked, and we walked and we walked so more. It was great fun to get to see John, Tracy, Cailin and have Miles and Mac go head to head once again. Between Lincoln Park, the waterfront, the Magnificent Mile, Millennium Park, Navy Pier and a few different neighborhoods, we made the most of our time. Some people don't like the less than pleasant smells that come from being in a big city, but the moment I stepped into the transit area of O'Hare and took in the aromas that come with too many people, humidity and other elements, I felt at home. I hope we get to go back again soon since there was much more we wanted to see and do.

After Chicago, we took the train to Milwaukee for four days of wedding fun. More on that soon!

Camping on Camano

A couple of weeks ago we packed up and headed north to the gorgeous Camano Island. With ten other adults, six dogs and three babies, we effectively used the three camping spots. We were celebrating and mourning the upcoming move of our dear friends Shannon and Bobby to Ann Arbor, Michigan where Bobby will be pursuing and conquering his PhD for the next five years. We're so excited for them but very sad to not be able to have them here as they are two of the most wonderful people we know. If you've checked out the links on our blog, you may know them as BobbyQ:). Just one more thing we'll miss.

We had a great time camping. Macadam didn't do as well on the first night as our last time camping (call it karma for his mother being overconfident about how he'd sleep) but the second night he slept like an angel. The weather was fantastic, the campsites were comfortable and the company, well, it was pretty fantastic too. We and Macadam are really fortunate to have such great friends up here. If only we could do these kind of trips more often!

Here's the slideshow of the many photos we have (expect these in the next few posts as there are just too many to edit down, sorry):

Hiatus

After a travel induced hiatus, we hope to have some updates soon. It feels insanely good to be home. We cancelled our trip for this weekend, and while we hate to disappoint, I think a weekend at home is just what we need to get settled in before I officially return to work and being gone for most of the month. We had an amazing trip to the midwest for yet another spectacular wedding of dear friends and even got to enjoy the Lo-Fin-Max-ke clan while we were in Chicago.

Hope everyone is keeping cool, especially those further south in Oregon. With temps hovering near 108 degrees on my drive back from getting Buster, it was a gift to have air conditioning.

More soon!

SoCal and the living's easy

It continues to be busy around here. We're home for just a couple of days between trips and then off again for the rest of July. We went to Ojai, CA this past weekend for one fantastic weekend of wedding celebrations. Our dear friend Chris married his truly wonderful match, Nickie, and we couldn't be happier for them. There were three days of events and each was fun and delightful. The trip started out rough as Macadam ended up catching the bug I had (on my first day back in the office no less) on the plane. That's right, it's every mother's dream. Sick baby on a plane - luckily his projection only hit me and the floor. He continued to be sick the rest of the day up until the rehearsal dinner, which was fortunate but running LA around trying to clean a car seat out that many times is not so much.

While we weren't able to see Santa Barbara and much of Ojai itself, we saw plenty of good friends and family (Grandma Karen was there too!) and plenty of the beauty that is the Ojai Valley (go now!).

I don't think many want to wade through our 200+ photos, so here are some highlights:

Up next for Mac? He is camping this weekend, drops Buster off at Grandma and Grandpa Fox's, flies to Chicago to see his cousin Miles, then Milwaukee for his honorary Aunt Jen and Uncle John's wedding, a quick tour of Madison and then back to get Buster before heading to Leavenworth for the weekend. Anyone tired yet?

It's going to be a whirlwind of the rest of the month, but hopefully we'll have some updates here and there. August marks my return to work (part-time) and we feel pretty fortunate that we've found, what we hope, will be a great situation for all!

First Fourth

This past weekend was one of the few we'll be spending in Seattle this summer and it was a great time. We were able to catch up with friends, celebrate the holiday and be just as busy without major plans as are with them.

Macadam enjoyed the festivities each day and while he didn't get to stay up for the fireworks, he made the most of the warm weather.

Ten months

We're getting dangerously close to making note of Macadam's first year and it really drives home that time goes by all too quickly. Ever-changing, Mac is seriously on the prowl. He has officially become mobile and likes to explore nonstop.

Along with having five teeth and more on the way, Macadam is pulling himself up to both sitting and standing positions and making a mockery of the traditional crawl as he goes commando (style of crawl, not without his undies) faster and faster. He'll walk around while you hold his hands and he remains to be way more into watching and interacting with people than he is with conventional toys and books. Make no mistake, the kid can play but if given the choice between watching the world pass by and wait around for us to read to him, he'd pick people watching for the time being.

He's also in this really sweet giggly phase. He can look at a piece of paper on the floor and start laughing but still, people are his number one subject. Blowing kisses, high fives and flirting are still in his top five for showing people he wants some attention:). He also loves it when you talk about the sounds animals make. Lovely distraction mechanism we've discovered (for now)!

Holiday weekend

Here's a nice little way to get your holiday weekend off to a happy start. Watch this.