In Retrospect ...

We have now been in Chicago for about a year. We are settling in, getting familiar with the lay of the land, and getting overall acclimated to our new home. We both feel that it wasn't as hard as we expected getting used to such a larger city than we were accustomed to. And while there are a lot of things we miss about Minnesota (mostly people), we do like Chicago. As has been our tradition the last couple years, we thought we would take you all through the past year in pictures. This year will be via blog posts as Nathan's former website is currently down. We do like the other format better, as it was easier to customize to our liking, but this will do. In each post, click on the photo to see more from that event.

Zoo Lights 2008

We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo for Zoo Lights this year. We happened to go on a very wet and rainy night. We got so soaked that we had to buy ponchos at the gift shop! We did get to see a few animals but mostly lights. Even with the rain it was still a good time (how can you beat being able to wear such high fashion such as yellow ponchos?!).

Mustache Monday

With November gone so went the facial hair ... into mutton chops that is! It was quite the sight to see that many mustaches all in one place at one time!

No-Shave November

Nathan participated in "No-Shave November" at work this year. Those that signed up weren't allowed to shave for the month of November. Here is a slideshow of the progress:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Thanksgiving Weekend

For Thanksgiving we went to a friend of a friend's house. We had a very nice and relaxing time visiting, not to mention delicious food! Saturday we went to Stoughton to visit with some relatives. It was good to see everyone!

Holiday Window Displays

We went to see the window displays at Macy's on State St again this year. This has become one of Missy's new favorite holiday traditions! This year's theme was hope and "A Million Reasons To Believe..." On our way there, we also saw another building with interesting lighting. While we were looking at the displays it started to lightly snow. That added to the atmosphere of the evening. 

The Smashing Pumpkins

We went to one night of the two-night "Black & White" concert of The Smashing Pumpkins. They put on an entertaining show. It was a really fun night, and the only thing that could have made it better is if the crazy lady behind us would have passed out sooner! ;-)

City Hall and Union Station

We decided to take part of a day to go see the banners at City Hall and check out Union Station. It was fun to see the inside of Union Station, particularly the warped stairs. The albums these pictures are in also have other pictures of sights around Chicago since we have been here. 

History In the Making

We knew that moving to Chicago would open up many more opportunities to us, but we never dreamt that we would be able to be a part of such an important, historical event. We were privileged to be able to attend the Election NIght Obama Rally at Grant Park. It was an absolute amazing experience. So many emotions ran through us, and the whole event seemed so surreal. Being there brought us a great sense of connection to our country. In addition to the pictures posted at Picasa (click on above picture to see the others), there are also some videos posted at youtube. Please check those out as well!

Google-Ween

Google likes to celebrate Halloween. They have a costume contest, pumpkin carving contest, and family time. Guitar Hero was the winner of the costume contest this year. The lights were even working lights!

Our Dear, Sweet Zeb

Unfortunately, our dear Zeb passed away in October. He was battling a sickness for awhile and could no longer fight. He was a good friend to us and is missed terribly. 

Second City

We finally went to Second City. We went with a group with Nathan's work. We saw the "best of" show, which is improv and sketch comedy. It was a good show. We eventually want to check out their other shows, too.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

The main reason we went home when we did was to attend Eric and Melissa Smith's wedding reception. It was in one of the new event rooms at Black Bear Casino. It was a very beautiful reception and fun to hang out with friends, some of which we hadn't seen in years.

Fall Leaves

While in Minnesota, we were able to see some of the fall colors. We didn't have a lot of spare time but we were able to take some in while on the road and while taking engagement pictures at Enger Tower for our friends, Nate and Erin. 

Turns Out It was Brett Favre's Birthday ...

Mid-October we went to Minnesota/Wisconsin area again. Friday night we visited with some friends and hung out in Shiela and Rob's new neck of the woods - "the county." We found out that it was Brett Favre's birthday while we were there and thought it was a rather appropriate way to celebrate his birthday!

Weezer

In the beginning of October Maria, Nathan, and I went to the Weezer concert. Tokyo Police Club and Angels & Airwaves opened for them. It was a good show! Missy succumbed to an impulse buy on the way out and got a glow-in-the-dark Weezer t-shirt.

Cat's Cramping Our Style

With September here, and now almost gone, we look back and realize we didn't do too much this month. We had a couple weddings and a Cirque show we planned to go to (all in MN) that we had to cancel or respond with regrets because one of our cats, Zeb, has been sick . He has lost a lot of weight and began acting out-of-sorts so we took him to the vet. Turns out he has feline anemia (root cause yet to be determined). He has been on and off different medications/dosages and while he seems better at times he still isn't quite right. And it seems the longer we are away he does worse. We decided it was best for us to stay home. Currently, he still has his moments but is doing OK. Unfortunately, we seem to have stumped the vet as well. So, to keep busy we have been working, checking out sights around Chicago, Nathan has filled in on a bowling league for a co-worker, and well, all three cats have enjoyed us being at home!

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Barnard

At the end of August we went back to Minnesota for Tammy and Eric's wedding. Their rehearsal dinner was at Eric's parents Friday night. The ceremony was at the Rose Garden in Duluth, and the reception was at Grandma's Sports Garden. In between the ceremony and the reception they went to Park Point to take pictures on the beach. And even though it was Labor Day weekend the weather in Duluth decided to cooperate for a beautiful outdoor wedding.

Google Family Picnic

Google Chicago had a family picnic at Grant Park. There was food, beverages, music, and games. Nathan tried the golf swing analyzer, now just have to wait and see if he gets to test out what he learned!

Hoghead/Tammy's Shower/Bachelorette Party/Eric's Bachelor Party

Mid-August we went back to Minnesota again for Tammy and Eric's bachelor parties/shower/Hoghead Festival. Nathan played in a softball tournament in the morning and early afternoon, relaxed later in the afternoon, and then went to the Hoghead street dance in the evening. Missy went to watch the first softball game, relaxed with Tammy, attended Tammy's shower, and then went in a limo for her bachelorette party. Afterwards, the bachelorette party attendees met up with the guys at Hoghead. As usual, Hoghead was very much like a mini-reunion running into a lot of people we went to school with. 

It was a fun, yet very busy weekend!

Lollapalooza!!

Lollapalooza was in Chicago August 1-3. We lucked out and were able to get tickets somewhat last minute and were very excited that we got to go. The weather was beautiful all weekend and we got to see and/or hear a lot of different bands (sometimes we just heard the band as we were cooling off or waiting for another band to start on a nearby stage)! The bands that we saw were The Black Keys, The Raconteurs, Radiohead, Mason Jennings, Perry Farrell with Slash, Lupe Fiasco, Rage Against the Machine, Iron and Wine, Gnarls Barkley, and Nine Inch Nails. 

Just Another Birthday ... another 27th Birthday...

Missy celebrated her "27th" birthday (again) this year. Some friends from back home came to Chicago to celebrate with us and our more local friends. We went to dinner, played Rock Band, did some sightseeing, and just had a relaxing time! 

Crocs AVP Tour

Mid-July we had the chance to go to the AVP tournament! It was held at Oak Street Beach this year. Our friend, Kelly, was able to come visit us and go to the tournament with us. It was awesome. We never thought that we would be that close to eight olympians! I put a couple clips up on yotube.

Taste Of Chicago and Hershey's

After the Fourth of July, we all went to the Taste of Chicago. We checked out the Bean on the way. Once at the festival, we checked out a lot of the booths, and tried some good food. They had Wii's set up so you could try Wii Fit. Afterwards, we went to the Hershey store. Mathew and Emma were factory workers and got buckets of candy. We then took the trolley back to our place. 

Fourth of July

We came back from Minnesota in time for the Fourth of July. Missy's brother and family were able to come this way as well so we were able to celebrate the holiday with them. We watched the fireworks from the parking lot of where we ate dinner. We were so close to where they were letting them off that we could feel each one!

Ingersoll Mini-Reunion

While in Duluth there was a mini-reunion at Nathan's parents house. It was the day that we left to head back to Chicago so we didn't get to visit as long as we would have liked but it was nice to see everyone and visit for the time that we had.

On The Road Again

In the end of June into the beginning of July we went back to Minnesota. We went to the Twin Cities area first. We were able to visit with Missy's brother and family, Eric and Tammy, Nathan's former boss Frank, as well as attend Dan and Kayte's housewarming party. We then went to Duluth for a few days to visit with family and friends. Nathan even got to play with one of his old volleyball teams (plus some new members).

Summer Sports

Nathan played beach volleyball at North Avenue Beach this summer. Although he has played beach volleyball before, he hadn't played on an actual beach before. There are a couple clips from this league on youtube if you care to check them out ! He also played on a co-ed softball team. They played 16" softball, and the guys couldn't wear gloves, so that took a little to get used to.  

Festival Season

Summer in Chicago is a season of festivals. And, although we were only able to make it to a few of them, it was fun to check them out. Some of them that we went to were Do-Division Street Fest, Ribfest, and Taste of Randolph. We saw a few bands at Taste of Randolph, such as Mike Doughty, Josh Ritter, and Matt Costa. 

Friends And Family For Memorial Day Weekend

For Memorial Day Weekend, Missy's sister and two friends, Pam and Patty, came to visit. They did some shopping, we did some sightseeing, went to "Wicked", the comedy show "Bye, Bye Liver", and did the architecture boat tour. Narni and Chris had friends in town as well so we met up with them for the comedy show.

It is almost as if we never left!

Mid-May we went back to Minnesota again. Our friends Tammy and Eric had Eric's college graduation/going-away (moving closer to us) party. Another friend, Matt, also had a graduation/going-away party that weekend that we stopped by as well.

Minnesota, Here We Come ... again!

In the beginning of May we went back to MN to see Jenny go to her first Prom. We were able to see her get ready and go to the Grand March. Missy's brother and family were in town at the same time for a wedding so we were able to briefly visit with them. Afterwards, we met up with some friends.

Wings, Horseshoes, Veils, and Apples

At the end of April Missy had to go back to Buffalo, NY and Nathan had to go to New York City for his work. We combined our trips so we each could see both places. We ate at the home of the 'original buffalo wing', went to Niagara Falls and saw the Horseshoe and Bridal Veil Falls, and then finished the trip in the Big Apple. We went to a Yankees game, saw "Rent", went to a live taping of "The Daily Show", and still managed to do some sightseeing! Even with all of that, there is still a lot more we wanted to do. Oh well, just gives us an excuse to go back! With this post, the three pictures here will still take you the albums with more pictures, however, there are a total of 10 albums related, so please check out all the others as well! They are also on Picasa.

Shiela and Rob Visit

In the early part of April Shiela and Rob were able to visit. They were in the relative area for a whole week! Rob had to go to Kenosha, WI for work. It couldn't have worked out better!

Volleyball

Nathan continued his history of playing volleyball this year. In the winter he played at Lincoln Park High School. It was an average gym with average recreational level standards for the net. He played at Fitness Formula Club for his Spring league. It was a welcome shock to have real standards for the net!

Buffalo, New York

At the end of March Missy did some traveling for work. She went to Buffalo, NY to assist with a training class there. She met a lot of nice people there, as well as was able to finally put some faces to names. They even got to play Rock Band during lunch one day!

St. Patrick's Day Weekend

St. Patrick's Day is a big deal around Chicago - they even dye the river green(er)! Our friends Cody and Sarah were in town visiting other friends and we were able to hang out with them some of the time they were here.

Minnesota, Here We Come!

In March we went back to Minnesota. It was nice to spend time with family and friends though we often fail at seeing everyone we would like to when we are back home.