9 days until...

This

and this

and this

and the Clements!

(and no I don't like the Yankees one bit ( boo to ARod) and am not a huge fan of the Mets either, but both of their stadiums are being torn down next year so we had to go and see Yankee's stadium at least once! and we might as well go to a Met's game while we're in town!)

Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day we left for the weekend up to Wisconsin to go camping. Ben bought two travel books about Wisconsin's hikes and best campgrounds so we can take full advantage while we're here a few more years and we're only a few hours away. They helped us find this perfectly forgotten campground that was beautiful and quiet.

This was our campsite. It was right on a lake (called Bloody Lake - kinda gross I know - but it was named after a battle between Chief Black Hawk and the U.S. Army that happened feet from our site). We were completely surrounded by trees and then the lake - perfect! 

The view from our tent. In the mornings the lake was all foggy. I wanted so badly to get a row boat and row around the lake like in The Notebook. Love that movie...

Our wild apple tree right next to our tent. And yes I ate two apples off of that tree... was that a bad idea?

Just a few miles outside our campsite were our cow friends. The next three pictures show our 360 degree views once we were away from our campsite.

Ben hanging up our "shower" - that thing was a life saver!

We did lots of hiking around some lakes. Below is Ben's mountain man look. Just call him Jedediah.. or Jeremiah... or something burly like that.

One of the lakes we hiked around is in the background. It felt dang fine jumping in there after hiking for hours. And below is one of our infamous "squeeze together and hold your arm out" pictures.

A guy in Freeport, Illinois gathered donations to make a miniature version of Wrigley Field and of course Ben had to see it on our way home.  So here it is.

A beautiful midwestern sunset.

You can't go to Wisconsin and not sample their plentiful cheese selection... and soft serve ice cream.

On our way home we decided to head a little further west to Iowa to Dubuque ( pretty random.. I know.. ) pretty much because I wanted to see the Mississippi River again - we were surprised to see such a cool old river town.  

We stumbled across Ulyssus S. Grant's home on the drive back too.

Love vacations! In a week and a half we're headed to New York for a Yankees' game, Met's game, and some site seeing. Woohoo!

I'm a mermaid

I can't help it.. I love these little quizzes...

Headstrong and fiesty. You have a mind of your own that's full of romantic dreams about the world around you. Exploring exotic places is your ultimate dream, and although you can be a little naive you'll realize that there is something to be gained from your family's wisdom.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

I was also 11% Mulan (strong and spirited), 22% Cinderella (dignified and hardworking), and apparently not pure/trusting/adventurous/independent/thoughtful/loving/intelligent/kind/free-spirited/wise/charming/witty/passionate or mysterious... dang it.

"And all I could say was, 'hello'..."

Medical school is tough. Being a wife of a medical student is pretty dog on tough too. Luckily I'm sharing this experience with a few ladies. When our husbands are studying non-stop (like this last week in preparation for tomorrow's huge neurology/pharmacology test- good luck, Ben!)  then we get together and have little adventures or just watch really girly movies.

This is Krista and I with Miss Illinois (Katie) - oh yeah! She was at the Taste of Greece in Greektown and I was dying to get a picture. She was very nice and I promised to root for her in January at the Miss America Pageant. Go Katie!

 

Many roasted pigs and legs of lamb in Greektown for their festival. "What?! You eat no meat?! That's okay, I make you lamb."

Andrea, me, Krista next to the symbol of Adler's Planetarium with the downtown in the background.

Chicago has some amazing museums (Art Institute Museum, Field Museum of Natural History, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Museum of Science and Industry) and even in the winter they'll have weeks where admission is free (since winters here are so harsh they try to get people out). This weekend we had a free pass (because otherwise it'd be really expensive).

 

Here we're on a free trolley (that runs to major tourist attractions) trying to fight the humidity (I really hate that about Chicago).

A few days before going to Greektown and the Planetarium, Krista and I went to Grant Park downtown where they play movies in the park for free in the summer. This night they were playing "An Affair to Remember...." looooooove this movie.

Below is a sideways video (sorry) of the beginning of the movie. Kind of random - I know - but the music is so cute.

Matt, Al, and Rhythmic Gymnastics

I was dying when I saw this video - these two are hilarious! If you don't want to watch the entire thing then start the video around 4 minutes and then watch. 

unintentional high and an amazing concert

Last Saturday we went up to Wisconsin for a Dave Matthew's band concert that was AMAZING. The Black Crowes opened at 7 and played for about 45 min and then Dave Matthews got on at 8:15 and stopped at 11:45! Long and sweet concert but the two hour drive home (after trying to get out of the parking lot for almost two hours) was tough - especially since I drove and Ben slept. Another sucker at this concert was all of the doobage smoking. I've been to plenty of concerts where people have smoked marijuana but Ben and I were surrounded on all sides by them and they puffed all night. We got home and our clothes did not smell like smoke but marijuana smoke... yuck.

This is us before the concert - alert, happy, pre-lung cancer.

This is us after the concert had started for only about an hour - groggy, nauseous, and full of second-hand smoke induced lung cancer.

Crazy dancing lady that knew every word to the Black Crowes' songs and let it move her... literally.

My favorite song - Satellite.

he's a fan of bow ties

Ben LOVES bow ties. He says he's always wanted one for years so my mom got him the smaller looking one that has baseballs on it and he bought the second one the same week. He has about five more on his list from this company that he wants. At first I was hesitant but I think he pulls them off quite nicely - they fit him.