Weekend Recap: Birthday Dinner

Well this has been a pretty low key relaxing weekend.  Friday night I had to work a little late, so by the time I got home Teddy and I were both pretty hungry.  So we headed out to Emmett's in downtown DG for dinner.  It's a microbrewery that has pretty good beer, and decent pub style food.  I had completely forgotten that Friday nights downtown DG has cruise night in the summer and it was an absolute zoo of people meandering about looking at a ton of classic and sports cars.  After dinner we headed home to just cozy up on the couch and relax.

Saturday we got up early and headed to the farmers market.  I am really going to miss doing all my food shopping there when October hits.  It is just so much better quality of veggies, fruit and meat.  So we did our grocery shopping there, grabbed breakfast and then headed out to run some errands.  It was a beautiful day out so Teddy and I decided to actually use our pool and spent a few hours swiming around.  What a great day. 

Around lunchtime we started getting ready to head out for dinner with my parents, sister and brother-in-law.  We were going out to celebrate my dad's birthday.  His birthday is actually in June, but since Teddy and I were in Hawaii during his birthday and when we got back they all left for vacation, we never got to celebrate it.  Better late than never right!  So we headed out to mom and dad's to hear about their vacation and hang out before dinner. 

Dinner was at Enrico's in Frankfort.  It's a place none of us had been to in a while and is one of the family favorites.  Dad was excited.

It was nice to spend the night together hanging out and threatening dad with restaurant birthday songs.  Hehe! :)  Here are a few more pictures from dinner.

We headed back to mom and dad's for dessert.  It was a great night.

Today Teddy and I are working on some laundry, hoping the rain stays away so we can get in the pool again, and may head to a friends house to help with some basement flooding issues. 

All in all, a pretty nice weekend!  On to another week...

Honeymoon Kauai: Top Ten

I'm way behind on my honeymoon recap, and since it's been a few weeks since we got home, I decided to do a quick top 10 of our favorite things on each island.  I'm starting with Kauai

10.  The convertible

 It was so nice driving around the island with the top down, enjoying the scenery, blue skies, hot sun and ocean breeze.  It was the perfect way to get around, and I'm glad we thought about this when we were planning the trip.

9.  The waterfalls

There are all sorts of waterfalls all over the island, and we spent an afternoon checking quite a few of them out.  All were beautiful, and serene. 

8.  The outdoor shower

We stayed at a bed and breakfast in a small cottage on the property, and this cottage had an outdoor shower as the only shower.  It was completely private and so nice after a long day of hiking or beach going.  But, as a tip, make sure the door isn't locked when you head out there.  You don't want to be trapped outside with nothing but a towel only to have to trample through bushes to figure out how to break into the cottage and get the bathroom door unlocked.  Ahem, but that didn't happen to us...

7.  The Bed and Breakfast - Dilly Dally House

We decided to stay at a Bed and Breakfast in Kapa'a.  The property was absolutely amazing with lush green views.  We had a private cottage on the property.  They had an amazing pool and every morning Denise made breakfast for all the guests.  This was wonderful because we all got to discuss the different things we did, places we went and what we liked and didn't like.  We got some great tips from this.  And Denise always made an amazing spread of fabulous fresh fruit, pastries and a main dish to die for.  My favorite was the macadamia nut pancakes.  Yum!  Kapa'a was also a great place to stay.  The town had quite a few great restaurants and it was more centrally located so no matter what part of the island you wanted to visit, it was pretty quick to get there.

6.  How green everything is

It is hard to describe and explain, but I have never seen anywhere else that was as green as Kauai.  I guess since it is the rainiest place on earth you'd expect a lot of green, but it is hard to describe.  This picture was from a hike Teddy and I did on the west side of the island up at the top of the Waimea Canyon drive.  Nearly everywhere you look on the island are different shades of green.

5. Waimea Canyon

This canyon is on the West side of the island and took about a half day to drive up and stop at all the look out points.  Near the bottom of the canyon it is almost desert like (which is weird given my #6), but as you get higher and higher up to 4,000 feet and reach the Napali Coast side, everything starts getting more green again.  Each look out point was a completely different view and was just amazing.

4.  Feeling like you're in Neverland

This was one of the last lookouts for Waimea and before us was the Napali coast.  When we first arrived at this very spot we were in the clouds and couldn't even see that the ocean was out there.  But having settled in on island time we were patient and waited around to see if it would lift at all.  And for only 2 - 3 minutes, the clouds lifted and revealed this view.  I thought I was seeing Never-neverland from Peter Pan for the first time.  The blue of the ocean and sky, with the green valley was stunning and well worth the wait.

3.  The beaches

We visited a few different beaches on Kauai mostly on the south shore.  If we had more time we probably would have had one more beach day on the north shore, but all the beaches we went to were great.  Surf was high, water was warm, sun was bright, turtles were swimming near and a seal beached himself on the sand.  In between beaches we were able to stop and sample the famous Pukka dogs, which were interesting.  A hot dog with a spicy garlic sauce and tropical fruit salsa is one I hadn't tried before. 

2. Adventure

On our last full day there, Teddy and I explored the north shore of the island, and one of the things we did was try to find Queens Bath, this much talked about water hole in a protective lava shelf.  Well, the hike to find it was a little more challenging than we thought it would be, but Teddy stuck with me despite his nervousness and we got to see the beautiful Queen's Bath.  So much of this trip was just seeing where each different path would take us, and every time it was worth it to see the sights at the end.

1.  The Napali Coast

We took a boat cruise of the Napali Coast as our final sightseeing adventure on Kauai.  It was beautiful.  The turquoise blue waters, blue skies, and carved cliffs covered in green were amazing.  Each turn of the coast revealed a more beautiful view and interesting story of Hawaiian history.  We went into sea caves, saw a collapsed volcano, and snorkeled with a bunch of fish.  It was perfect.  (The trip home was a little choppy, OK a lot choppy, kind of like the Perfect Storm at times, but it was worth it for these views)

I could go on and on about Kauai.  We loved this island and it was a wonderful place to explore together.  Soon I'll do my top 10 of Maui.

Weekend Recap: Dinner for Schmucks and Babysitting

This weekend on Friday night Teddy and I made a game time decision for dinner at Flat Top and then decided to catch a movie.  We decided to go see Dinner for Schmucks.

We thought it looked just plain silly.  Well, it was awkwardly funny.  At various points in the movie Teddy and I kept stealing glances at each other of laughter, confusion and awkwardness.  Walking out of the theater neither of us were quite sure whether we liked it or not.  But then as the night progressed we both found ourselves quoting ridiculous lines from this movie.  I had a similar reaction to Anchorman the first time I saw that - not quite sure about the movie, but days later still quoting it and finding it more funny. 

On Saturday, Teddy and I got to babysit our niece and nephew, Emily and Carson.  We had a great time!  Kris and Erica headed out around 11am, and we watched some of Toy Story 2 with the kids, then gave Emily a snack and put both kids down for a nap.  Apparently they were tired because Carson slept from 12:15 until 3:30 and Emily from 12:15 until 4:00.  When they each woke up they got fed, and then we headed out for a walk and to play at the park.  Emily loves the swings.  While at the park, Kris and Erica called saying they were going to be home soon, so we put everyone back in the stroller and headed for home.  We had a quick dinner with the tired family, and then headed home.  Here are some pictures throughout the day.

Me doing a quick diaper change

Carson being super smiley

Me feeding Carson waiting for Emily to wake up

Carson's tummy is full and he's hanging out

Teddy playing with Carson, wondering if Emily is ever going to wake up!

She finally wakes up and eats a yummy snack of hotdog and cheetos :)

Teddy and Emily swinging at the park

And Carson fell asleep again!  I hope he slept for mom and dad that night!!!

Then I took a turn pushing Emily on the swings

Carson woke up!

We had a great day with the kids, and are looking forward to the next time we get to babysit. 

Sunday was a great day.  We went to church and came home to get some things done around the house.  It was a great weekend, and we're hanging on to summer as long as we can!

Two week old weekend recap

Well, I've fallen behind again, so I'll start with a recap of last weekend.  Teddy and I spent the week dog sitting for my parent's dog, Watson.  He is a crazy nut similar to our dog Fozzie and I think enjoyed his time here running around the yard, chasing Fozzie, and playing fetch with his ball.  Everytime I came home or even sat on the couch I was attacked with kisses from both dogs.  We had fun having an extra furry friend in our house for a week.

How did Teddy manage to get both the dogs looking at the camera! 

The main event last weekend was our nephew Carson's baptism.  We headed up to Gurnee early to help with set up for the festivities following the baptism service.   Before we new it, it was time to head to the church.  Here are a few pictures of the service.

Kris & Erica with Godparents Beth & Jamie and of course the man of the hour, little Carson

Emily watching her little brother get baptised

Kris, Erica, Beth, Carson and Jamie after the baptism. 

After the ceremony we headed back to Kris & Erica's house for some food and festivities.  It was a perfect day outside with warm, but not humid weather and the sun shining bright.  We had a great time visiting with the family and celebrating this milestone of Carson's with them. 

Final Wedding Recap - The Photobooth

As we were planning the wedding, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for a guest book.  There are so many ideas out there.  Then Teddy and I went to a party that had a photobooth, and we were sold.  We thought it would be a great addition to the party and would be another source of fun pictures to capture the night.  I also thought it would be fun to see the natural progression of the night.  I went out to Party City and bought a whole bunch of hats, glasses, feather boas, etc. as props for the booth. 

At the begining people took really nice pictures, sans props.

Then couples started to get a little racy and kiss in their pictures. 

People then discovered just how many people could fit into the booth, and the props started making appearences.  Teddy and I even started getting in on the fun.

And then the party really got started.  Lots of props, and lots of people filled the shots.  These are just a few of my favorites.  Unfortunately I couldn't get all of them on there, but man were they good.

Pat, Sara, Greg, Melissa, Tracy and Alessandra

Dan, Kelly, Kim & Ed - These guys were in there about 10 times :)

Sara and Michael

Aunt Diane and Uncle John

Dan, Kelly, Kim & Ed (again) with Mom and Dad (nice headress dad!)

Uncle Bobby, Aunt Linda, Dad, Mom, Uncle Brian, Teresa, Aunt Barb, Uncle Bill and Gini

Um...my new in laws...I think i'll fit in (see my family above)

Lauren, Dana and me

Chief Likes SoCo and Officer Friendly (aka - Tom & Stacy)

The three amigos, Stacy, me and Nilam

Uhoh, Chief Likes Soco changes name to Chief Loves SoCo, and Officer Friendly changes in her badge for a life of Pimptom

Erica and Heather

Steve and Karen glam it up

This and the shot above was a 8 part series brought to you by the crew.  After 5 pictures people got a little cramped and headed out.  So, Teddy and I finished it up.

This was one of my favorite parts of the wedding.  And I think by the photos, you can tell that everyone was having a great time!  In fact, most of the props went home with the guests.  

My father sported the pimp hat most of the night and home.  There was a drunk driver road block trap waiting for us when we left Ruffled Feathers.  My brother in law was driving my parents home (thank goodness!).  So, dad was in the front passenger seat wearing his tux and of course, his pimp hat.  He leans over Michael in the car to make sure the cop knew that he was the father of the bride.  As I was told, the officer smirked and said, "Congratulations sir, I'm just glad you're not driving".  :)

Tommy (aka. Chief Loves Soco) retired his feathers the next day after a little bit of a rough morning. 

As I said in my last post, it was a great party!  Teddy and I accomplished what we really wanted out of the day.  A beautiful ceremony followed by a blast of a party.  We'll remember this day forever!