Fall in Chicago

1. Riding the bus
2. Jacob at the Lincoln Park Zoo
3. Walking with part of Rob's Family
4. Thanksgiving at Becca's apartment

September

A shot from the Free Andrew Bird show at Millennium Park



A cheap toupee?



Meg teaching the "Keepon" how to dance at Wired NextFest.



We've recently found out that the odds of winning passes to advanced screenings to movies advertised in the paper is are really high. I've been winning passes about once a week lately.

Ghosttown was probably one of the better comedies I've seen in a long time. They could easily just make a full 90 minute movie of Ricky Gervais (the boss from the original "the Office") doing different facial expressions. As a whole the movie was pretty good. Though the funny first half was a lot better than the sappy second half. I'd recommend this movie. The story isn't phenomenal but there's enough good acting and memorable lines to make up for that.

I don't think I have much to say about Burn After Reading. John Malkovich was great. Everyone else was just too goofy for me. I usually really like Brad Pitt and George Clooney but not so much in this one.

Nick and Norah's Infinate Playlist was just okay. I was pretty excited for it because it features the Shout Out Louds in the trailer (and in the movie) but there weren't a whole lot of other good tracks in the movie. It was way too predictable even for a romantic comedy. I still like Michael Cera even though he's the exact same in every movie. What I like about him is that he never seems like he's acting. He just seems like a normal guy.

This week I have passes to How to lose Friends and Alienate People. Not sure if we'll make it or not... it's at 7 on Wednesday night... sometimes I'm still working then.

Enough for now.

Bye.

Neko

We had our camera replaced as it was never working.
Here's a new picture of Neko.

Joanna Nesom

We saw her last night with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The first half was played with the orchestra and was mostly her Ys album. Perfect.

The second half consisted of a mix of The Milk-Eyed Mender and some songs I had not heard before. Wonderful.

If you ever get the chance... it is quite the experience.

Neko

This is our new cat Neko. We got her last weekend at the anti-cruelty society. Her hair was incredibly matted so we just chopped most of it off, but it's normally much longer than Ollie's is. She is the exact opposite of Ollie. She is very affectionate, but still a bit skittish. The only thing they really have in common is they both like food... and only the most recently poured dish of food. We'll have to figure out how to pour both dishes at the same time.

We had to use the webcam to photograph her because our camera is not working very well.

Fourth of July weekend...

7.3.08

Fireworks on the lake, best show I have ever seen!

7.4.08

All day picnic with great food and lot of new faces, thanks for the invite.

7.5.08

Day at the beach getting a tan, and then a trip to F.A.O Schwarz toy store, and a movie at a luxury theatre.

7.6.08

Trip to IKEA for some glasses and gifts for the trip home.....

and fresh, hot cinnamon rolls!

Summer begins...

We were pretty busy for the past couple weeks. Rob's parents came out for a visit over Memorial Day weekend. We took them downtown and all over the place. I think they enjoyed themselves.

While they were here, we took them to the Field Museum. Rob and I had been there before, but we got to see two new exhibits, which were pretty cool.

In other news, my first kindergarten class graduated last Friday. They put on a pretty good show for the parents. We sang, recited a poem, and some other things, and at the end of it all, we let go the butterflies that we grew from caterpillars. Summer Camp here we come!

Last weekend was our church's annual Church Picnic. We went to a place by Gary, Indiana and Lake Michigan. It was beautiful! We spent the morning outside chatting and Rob attempted to play "Monkey Balls." Right before lunch there was a sudden down pour that lasted for a while, so the picnic was moved indoors. Before we left, Pastor Tim showed us the beach. It was beautiful! There is a state park just east of where we were, so Rob and I hope to go camping there this summer. Anyone want to come?

flowers, mary poppins, and leona's

Beautiful flowers + Dinner and Visit from Grandpa & Grandma Haan + Mary Poppins =
A Wonderful 2 Year Wedding Anniversary!

Update...

Chicago is much better in the spring than in the winter. The weather has been amazing lately, and we have taken advantage of that. It seems like we have done more in the past couple weeks than during the whole winter. We have gone to the Lincoln Park Zoo, walked around different neighborhoods, and gone to a couple different art expos. Also, the other week, Rob and I went to the New Pornographers concert for my birthday! It was the best concert that I have been to. If you haven't heard their music, you should really look them up, they are great!

Other than the weather, everything has been good. For those of you who don't know, in December I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I saw a nutritionist yesterday, and have learned so much on how I can control my diabetes with a specialized meal plan. I am also on insulin and have to give myself 1-3 shots a day according to how high or low my blood sugar is before a meal. It has been kind of a struggle to get it under control, but finally, I can manage all of the changes. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

(The bottom picture is of a hospital that is in Chicago. It looks like it came straight out of 1984 or A Brave New World. Creepy!)

tasty bread

thanks mom!

our family

from becomeanmm.com
and yes, Ollie is bigger than Meg.

File under "C"

My Forearms

This morning as I was having my pre-commute coffee Ollie came flying through the air and sliced my left arm up with his back claws.

Then I went to work.

Then I went to my other work.

As I was walking home I fell on some ice and made a huge bump on my right arm to balance my injuries out. (The photo does not do justice to the swollen-ness of the bump.)

That was my day.

I hope this is at least moderately amusing for you. It kinda made me laugh.

Skiball

I don't take our camera out too much since it started acting up. I took this photo with my camera. It's Danny Klaver collecting all the tickets he'd won playing skiball.

Just thought I'd post a lil' something in case anyone still checks this blog.