Lessons Learned

So today I've learned a few things about conjunctivitis (pink eye)...

1. It is disgusting

2. There are many different varieties

3. Waking up with it is painful

4. It is HIGHLY contagious

5. Doesn't make supervisors very happy

6. Leads to a five-day work vacation...

I should be a little more excited about that 5 day weekend but to tell you the truth, I'd much rather have a healthy eye! Hope everyone is enjoying their friday and has a wonderful weekend. I'm sorry for all those in MT with snow in the forecast.  Chicago, however, is predicting an 80 degree weekend!!:)

Playing Tourist

Josh and Trese came to visit for a few days and it was so nice to have them here!  Jason has been bragging up Chicago's architectural boat tours for a while now so we decided to try it out.  The boat takes you up and down the Chicago river, and we saw so many awesome parts of the city that I didn't even know existed.  

One of the many bridges that spans the Chicago river.

Changing Chicago's skyline is Donald Trumps building, humbly named, the Trump Tower.

Taking a break in Millenium park and grabbing a bite to eat at Downtown Dogs. I'd have to say this was the first time I have ever ordered a hotdog from a restaurant. Although it was pretty tasty! 

Waiting in line for the Ferris wheel on Navy Pier, one of my favorite things to do in the city.

I love this picture! Jason makes the exact same face...must come with the genes:)

365 Amazing days!

On September 29th Jason and I celebrated our first anniversary!! 1 wonderful year has passed and we are looking forward to many many more!

We wanted to get away for the weekend, but only had Saturday so we opted to see a little more of our home state. Jason surprised me with tickets to the broadway musical Jersey Boys, about Franky Valli and the Four Seasons. We got dressed up for the show on Friday night and then headed out early Saturday morning on yet another of our roadtrip adventures. 

We ended up in Galena, IL which was home to Ulysses S Grant, and is a small historical town turned  tourist trap. We enjoyed spending some time at the shops and then headed on to Dubuque, IA to see the Mississippi. 

This was a little fort along the way.

In front of U. S. Grant's post cival war home. This house was given to him by the city when he returned home from war as a hero.

The first lady and I

Jason enjoying an afternoon rest with the senior citizen tour

The grand Mississippi!

After meeting we went to lunch with the Millers, and then spent some time at the park. They have 5 children with their 6th on the way. Sounds like a Buckingham sized family to me!

Overlooking the Mississippi!

My Old Man

Our company has left us and our house is so quiet!! :( So I figured it was time to get some pictures up of our last few adventures. Jason turned 25 on September 25! Josh and Trese were in town visiting so we celebrated with fondue. We had to get a little creative when it came to candles.

...

April showers bring May flowers, but what do September showers bring?? flooding..and lots of it! 6.6 inches of rain were recorded at O'Hare yesterday with 2 more added today.  This is yet another time when living on the 19th floor comes in handy, our only flood damage is apparent on the windowsills and fairly easily controlled. The northern and western suburbs didn't get so lucky. Here are a couple pictures from the Chicago Tribune. 

Orders Received!!

Jason was given his tentative externship schedule for next year and we are very excited about  it! I am however glad that we still have 8 months left to finish exploring the city before we trek off on our cross-country adventures. 

Next spring and summer will find us in Juneau, AK!! I can not wait to show Jason around Southeast and a little bit of the area I grew up in. It will be a great time of year for hiking and fishing, so for us that is the perfect fit.

In August we will head back down to the "lower 48" and spend a few more months right here in the great city of Chicago. I love the fall time here and am very thankful the winter months will be spent elsewhere!

When that daunting winter comes we will jaunt a few hundred miles east and land in Wilmington, North Carolina. Neither of us have been to the east coast, and have heard rumors that the winters average about 45 degrees which sounds dandy!

Then last but not least...the 3 months before graduation will be spent in Mountain Home, Tennessee. This is just a few miles from our good friends the Burtons which is very exciting. It is also close to the Appalachian trail and we hope to put some time in treading the soil there. 

This is just a tentative schedule and will not be set in stone for about another month, but we are still very excited for the adventures to come! In the meantime we are counting down days until our visit from Josh and Trese...can't wait to have you two!

Summers Fleeting

September has come!..which means Labor day weekend has gone, flu season is right around the corner, and work is about to get crazy!  But enough about work! We had quite the weekend discovering a little of what Michigan adds to the United States. So far we are very impressed. We spent the long weekend on North Manitou Island...yeah, we hadn't heard of it either. Turns out, it's the place to be. Dana and Tyler invited us on a camping trip and since it involved 2 hours of private flying each way Jason couldn't resist.  We took off before sunrise on Saturday (4:30 am to be exact!) and landed at the sugar loaf runway with just enough time to hitch hike our way to the ferry terminal. 

Our ride..

...just kidding!  We did get to fly in a Cessna 182, so we didnt have much to complain about!

Dana and I getting ready to gear up for our hike to the ferry...

Jason and I in the adorable but tiny town of Leland, MI where we caught our ferry.

Approaching the island after our hour ferry ride. The buildings you can see now house the Park rangers.

Enjoying a day of hiking on the beach. 

The North Manitou Island had families living on it year round at one time, so there are quite a few old farms and houses still standing. It was fun to imagine what life was like on the island then.

We hiked into Lake Manitou and stopped for a relaxing lunch and swim before heading to the west side of the island.

There were tons of blackberry bushes and the occasional orchard along the way, so none of us were short on food..including the snake above! I thought it was crazy that you can see his last meal just hanging out.  Creepy!!

This was a beach on the west side. The sand here was hard to beat!

The boys in front of the old Swenson barn. 

They were so anxious to see the barn they figured we could just cut straight through the woods and get there faster than following the trail, needless to say we were quite excited when they FINALLY spotted it!!

Headed to the ferry dock, sad to leave the island...

A quick picture in front of the plane before we loaded up for the trip home.

Flying over Michigan..what a beautiful area!

Jason and I enjoying the jet set life of economy plus!