Evey enjoyed her second weekend, and first one at Nonnie & Poppie's new house in Evanston over Columbus Day weekend.  They had lots of fun together, despite Evey's 4am wake up times.  Ack!  I heard she was able to fall back asleep in their bed though, so everyone got at least a little bit longer shut-eye!

A couple weekends ago, on Saturday Jeff, Evey, Grandma, and I went apple picking ... and the pickings were pretty slim so next year we're going to try going in September.  That same Sunday Jeff, Evey, several of our friends, and I went to Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm where we had fun, but didn't stay overly long because the wind was fierce.  It's been pretty gusty around here on several days, including just this past Sunday!  And temperatures have crept below freezing at night!

This year for Halloween Evey is going to be a piggy, since she learned how to snort at daycare.  I took 1/2 of the day off so I can bring her to my work and to Jeff's work for a visit before we go home to trick-or-treat.

Sept. 30, 2008

Not a lot going on right now ... Evey talks up a storm and is getting pretty good at climbing.  She launched herself out of her crib a few nights ago, so we converted it to a day bed.  I knew she'd been capable on getting out for the last few months, but it wasn't until then that she finally decided to rebel!

I'm going caving over Columbus Day weekend.  I won't have an 8 hour drive though because I have to fly to Louisville for work that Friday, yippee!  I'm really looking forward to it!  It'll probably be my last Mammoth trip until early next year.

On Sept. 27th Jeff, his friend Maggie, Evey, and I went downtown to the Lincoln Park Zoo and then Maggie took Evey into the Shedd Aquarium while Jeff and I walked over to Michigan Ave and Jackson for a Segway tour, courtesy of gift certificates my Dad and Christie gave us for Christmas last year.  It was a lot of fun, and didn't take too long to get adjusted to.  I don't know how it works, but when the machine is on, it stays balanced so that unless you really try, you can't fall off.

We haven't been to the city for awhile either, and I found parts of it were really, actually beautiful.  That's saying a lot for me because I prefer rural areas.  I am learning to appreciate a variety of landscapes!  That being said ... there certainly were "blah" areas, too.  And to anyone who thinks most odd people live in the boonies ... no way, no how.  I've never seen stranger people than in the midst of the city.  They make cavers look normal!!

Sept. 2, 2008

We had a wonderful time in California visiting my mom's side of the family.  They live near Monterey and in San Jose, CA.  In addition, my aunt and uncle from Pensacola, FL flew in and my aunt and cousin from Hawaii also flew in.  Oh, and my Grandma's sister's two children flew in from Ohio and Florida for just a few days.  On Sunday we held a memorial service for my Grandma in Big Basin surrounded by Redwood trees.  It was beautiful, as was the weather!  In fact, for our whole stay we had excellent weather. 

On Monday Jeff and I went shore diving with a divemaster in Monterey.  On the second dive, we tried to release a fish caught on a lure that had snagged under a rock.  We couldn't get the hook out so the divemaster cut the line with his teeth, but that probably means the fish will still die.  It was the first time I witnessed what goes on under the water while someone is fishing.  I'm not going to stop eating fish, but it did give me yet another perspective.  The kelp forests were awing, too.

On Tuesday most of the family went on a private charter for boat diving and snorkeling.  Instead of snorkeling, we swam with a multitude of dolphins and whales!  It was so unusual to see so many animals that even the crew jumped in the water.  Later, I found out we were in shark territory!  We were in water a few thousand feet deep, the Monterey Trench I think it was called near Carmel.  Yikes!  The scuba diving was good there, too, but I only dove once because I was a little sea-sick.  Next time I know to take medicine before even boarding the boat!

On Wednesday some of us drove to San Francisco where we saw Alcatraz, walked around the city, and went to the Ghiradelli Factory (twice because we also went on Thursday!).  Also on Thursday, Jeff decided to get another tattoo, on the right side of his back, on his shoulder.  It is a wolf howling at the moon and says Evey underneath it.  It looks sweet!  We stopped for dinner at my Uncle Steve's in San Jose on the way back to where we were staying at my Uncle Mike's.

On Friday we took Evey to Dennis the Menace park in Monterey.  She loved chasing the birds.  We also walked around the town of Monterey and went on a short hike in Point Lobos, about 20 minutes south.  We also saw the movie Tropic Thunder that evening, which was hilarious. 

I was worried about the flight home, as Jeff & my mom were on one and Evey & I were on another, with a layover in St. Louis.  Much to my delight, we had good a flight!  She played for about half the time the first leg, then slept.  The second, very short 45 min flight was awesome.  The lady at the gate changed our seats to the bulkhead and there was no one in the seat next to us!!

June 30, 2008

Our family from Colorado (except my Grandma and Grandpa) flew out a couple weeks ago and finally got to meet Evey!  We only saw them a couple times, but we had a lot of fun both times.  They spent most of their vacation here with Evey's Nonnie and Poppie in the city.  We are hoping to visit them in Colorado some time next year!

Our first off-roading experience at the Badlands Park in Attica, IN was lots of fun!  We went with our friends, John & Jen Lehst, and their sons Kevin and Andrew.  John's sister Kim and her two children were there as well.  Jeff and Kevin rented ATVs, but we all took turns riding them.  For having stock Wranglers, we didn't do so bad either!  I felt a little bit like a dork at first, because it's amazing what people have done to their vehicles.  They look awesome!  But we spent about 2 hours with some guys and they were very nice and very helpful to us.  They were part of a northern IL Jeep club that drove down for the day.  We spent the night camping both Friday and Saturday.  And we took lots of pictures and videos, which I'll post links to below.  Jen and John took pictures and videos as well, and I'll send another note around once I get those posted!

Off-roading Pictures

Videos

Up a hill

Laura's Jeep in the mud

Laura's POV down a hill (yes, you can hear Evey in the background)

Not either one of our Jeeps!!

Jen in the water