Trying to do everything and see everyone

Our last summer in Chicago was a fun filled couple of months. We made the most out of this time as we tried to do as many things "Chicago" as possible This included specialty food restaurants that we knew we could not get in Madison. We also tried to see all of our friends a couple of times before the move, but that proved difficult with everyone taking their own vacations and doing their own things. As our summer comes to a close, it is time to take a look back at our last couple of months in Chicago. It started with dinner and drinks with some good D23 friends; Tina, Mimi and Jason. We met them for a Mexican dinner at Zocalo. They met us right after they stood in line for hours waiting to see Johnny Depp at his premiere of Public Enemies. They saw him and Mimi even talked to him in French. After our delicious dinner we headed to Martini Park, a martini bar where we listened to a sweet 80's cover band called Spazmatics and had 2 too many martinis. So many to choose from, we all tried something different. My favorite was the traditional Cosmo. Can't go wrong with that, right mom? We continued to dance the night away to some awesome tunes. We also got to see Kristin a couple of times, but the most memorable was an afternoon and evening in Chicago watching the Cubs game! A great time was had by all as we participated in an all you can drink $25 deal, a fish bowl of powerade liquor goodness, many appetizers, some bartender friends named Catfish and Oyster and crying because I didn't want to leave her. All in all, an unforgettable night with great friends. Love you Kris! And no, Mimi I'm not going to put that picture on here!! As many of you know, we love to play volleyball with some of Andrew's friends from high school. It started as 'corporate challenge' when we would sneak into a corporate area and play on their nice court. But, we got caught and Wong couldn't bail us out anymore so we had to find other places to play. Anyway, we only got to play like once this summer, but it was a good last game. Most of the crew came out to play and we even went to Steak-n-Shake for some sweet treats after the big game. We will definitely miss the pick up games every couple of weekends. Yeah I know, I really have pictures for everything!! So a couple of Cubs games later, Scotty had tickets and we couldn't pass them up so we got to go with him too! Andrew and I celebrated our one year anniversary. It's hard to believe that we have been married for a year already. We continue to say that that was the best day of our lives and that we have such great family and friends that we got to celebrate our love with. We wish we could go back to that weekend often. To celebrate our 1 year anniversary, we went to Ben Pao, a fabulous Lettuce Entertain You Chinese restaurant in the city. It's probably one of our favorite restaurants and we hope to go back. Besides going out to dinner, we spent a couple days in Saugatuck, MI again. We took many pictures so that will be another post. We got to go to Ravinia a couple of times, but I only have pictures from one. The first time we went with our fun friends Mimi and Jason. We saw the symphony and found out you can get in free with a student ID (even if it is 15 years old and you don't look like that anymore). The symphony at Ravinia is great because it is not as crowded and you can sit pretty much where ever you want, especially if you get there before the gates open. We had a nice spread, good wine with great friends. We also went to Ravinia with my mom, step-dad and in-laws. We saw the symphony again and had another wonderful spread. It's really nice when both families get along. We all got to catch up and have a great night. So after a couple of bigger trips and fun times (which will be posted later) we finally got to move. We waited patiently the whole summer for August to come so we could make the move. With the many trips that we did take, we started the packing process early and lives among boxes since early July. We were glad the time had come to pack up everything and end this stressful process. (Please refer an earlier post for those details). On August 7, we drove with all of our belongs and Midnight to complete the closing, which went smoothly and become homeowners of the best house ever! This has been a great summer with lots of fabulous memories to remember the summer of the move.

Remembering Scooter

Funerals are never easy, but they are especially hard when it is unexpected and for someone so young. Two weeks ago, the world lost one of the most sincere, fun-loving guys. Scott Hull, my girlfriend Erin's fiance was taken in an ATV accident. They were to be married at the end of September. I feel so helpless and only wish I could help end Erin's pain. I can't imagine what she is going through, but she has been an extraordinary woman. I admire her strength and courage during this time and can only wish her the best in the future. Scott always put a smile on your face, brightened any room he entered and was a friend to everyone. The memories I have of him will always make me smile. Scott loved Erin more than anything, and the love they shared together is what true love is all about. Erin, we love you and are here if you need anything. xoxo

We miss you Scott.

Moving is Stressful

We've had quite a busy week as we made the move to Madison. To start, we are getting settled in and are loving the house, but it took some drama to get here. So here's the story.... It all started when I got a call from the place we were to pick up our truck. We were suppose to pick up the truck on Thursday at 9:30AM. On Wednesday at 5:30PM, I got a call saying the truck had mechanical problems and would not be drivable. She continued to tell us that she had worked all day to find a new truck with no luck and that we would have to find one for the next morning. While most places close at 6:00, we frantically called our parents for numbers to other truck places to call; we were not at home and needed the internet. No one had an extra 24 foot truck that we could use the next day. We were getting really worried. Then we get a call from my dad, he found a 24 footer in Elgin. It was reserved online, so Dad drove over to the place to actually see the truck. There were two of them, we were sure we had a truck and the place opened at 7:30, even better. Thursday morning, we get to the truck place at 7:30AM, to find a note on the door, "I have a doctor's appointment, I can be reached at ###-####." Are you kidding me!?!? We are all calling the number, no one answers. We start calling more more truck places to find a truck, but the movers were coming at 10:00AM. We had to find a truck fast!!! Finally, the guy answers and tells us he doesn't open until 8:30, not 7:30 like the online reservation told us. He gets there and then takes FOREVER to get the reservation finalized and it could only be a local delivery, not one way, so we had to figure out how to get the truck back to him by Saturday morning. Ugh....this is turning out to be more of a hassle and a pain in the butt. At 9:30 we leave the place headed home. At that point, I didn't even care anymore. I had a truck, the movers were coming in 30 minutes and we had to get home. At 9:45, I get a call that the movers were there ringing our bell with no answer. Of course, we are driving the truck back. We get there, park the truck and the movers start to load. Good thing we were completely packed Wednesday night. The only good thing of the morning. The men we rented from Two Men and a Truck were FABULOUS!! They worked their butts off and were running to get back up the stairs and just worked really hard to get done fast. It was great!! The truck was now loaded with everything from our apartment. Andrew and his friend, Amit, loaded our storage unit and furniture from my mom's as Andrew's family helped me clean the apartment. The day was turning out to be OK. It was great to have all the help we did. That night we stayed at my Dad's, parked the truck up against a wall and had pizza waiting for us. We were just glad that the day was over. Friday morning, we got up before the sun and headed to Madison. Andrew drove the truck and I drove the CRV. The closing went very smoothly thanks to our loan officer and real estate agent. It started to rain and continued as we unloaded the truck, but everything else went well. Andrew's family came up that afternoon to see the house, have dinner and drive the truck back to Elgin. Thanks Patti, Dan and Maddy, that was a HUGE help!!!!! Two days and many dilemmas later, we were finally in our house with all of our belongings. It was a fabulous feeling to spend the night in our first home on Friday. Now the weird and sometimes scary noises of an older home that we heard that night.....that's a whole other story....