November

November didn't have the best of starts...

Car Troubles...

One weekend early in the month, we walked out to our car to head to church. Well, that was until I walked to the passenger side and found the whole window broken and the stereo ripped out. There was glass everywhere, and whoever broke into the car even got in the trunk to see if we had any goodies there! (Thankfully, we didn't!)

So, the rest of our not-so-restful Sunday was spent getting the window repaired and mourning the loss of our radio in the car. Praise God we found a great & inexpensive place to get the window repaired, and it only took an hour! (Though, we didn't end up getting a new stereo system until after Christmas - Kyle was going crazy with his silent drives to work! Thanks to Kyle's dad for installing it for us!)

Trouble, oh we got trouble...With a capital T

We were also able to see Kyle's cousin, Kevin, star in his middle school's production of The Music Man. Yes, Kevin was the big star, the Music Man! Kevin did an amazing job - we couldn't believe all the lines and songs he memorized! After the play, we headed to the "after party" at the Massimilians' - with all the cast members. It was a middle schooler's dream - video games, ping pong, Guitar Hero... and of course Kyle and I were right in the middle of it all! Kyle tried to tell a few cast members what a great job they did, but all we got was a dazed and scared look in reply, we finally realized just how much older we were than middle schoolers... and they probably considered us "old." Yikes.

Turkey Bowl Time!

We spent Thanksgiving with Kyle's family in Wisconsin. His Aunt Kathy & Uncle Terry hosted, and we had a blast! Kyle has missed thanksgiving with his family the past two years, and was so excited we were able to be there this year. Most of his excitement was for the Turkey Bowl - an annual football game played before eating Thanksgiving dinner. And you know how much Kyle loves football. He had a blast playing, and left with a black eye.... from his dad! :)

Dinner was fabulous, and we even brought a new "drink" to try - Apple Pie Cider. We love it - it's a perfect drink when the weather starts getting chilly! You can see the recipe in the picture below. (Though, we did have to have someone buy the alcohol in Indiana because it's illegal to )buy in Illinois!)

A Weekend in the Windy City!

I loved spending so much time with Kyle's family - from Kevin's play to Thanksgiving - but I definitely missed my family! So, my parents hopped in a car and took a weekend vacation in Chicago! It was so great to have them here, especially when Kyle had a break from rotations. We packed the weekend full of fun & plenty of memories for my mom and Greg to take back to Ohio!

First, we checked out the Lincoln Park Zoo. I love having it right across the street, especially because they put up lights for Christmas. They provided 3-D glasses to view the lights. As you can tell from the pictures, we had fun being goofy!

We also spent some time walking around Michigan Avenue & Navy Pier. The weather warmed up a bit while they were here, which was great! While we were on Michigan Ave, Greg was even able to sneak in some Christmas shopping for my mom without her knowing!

We grabbed lunch at the Billy Goat Tavern at Navy Pier - cheezborgercheezborgercheezborger! Again, we found chances to be goofy as we strolled around the pier.

Having fun with the mirrors at Navy Pier!

Kissy Kissy Woo Woo!

We ended up playing cards, the usual when we're together. (And might I add, the girls won!!) The weekend flew by too fast, but we loved having my mom & Greg in Chicago. Can't wait for you guys to come back!

October

October was quite the crazy month! We waited what seemed like forever to get Kyle's first rotation assignment. After finding out we would be in Chicago, we hopped in the car and headed to the Windy City to pick out our apartment. Thanks to the help of a great family friend, we found an amazing apartment in Lincoln Park. We (well, technically my mom did a majority of the packing...) packed up all our stuff, included wedding presents all still in their boxes and drove to our new home! (We are finally enjoying them all - Thank You!!!)

Our New Home

Thank goodness for amazing family to help us pack, unpack, and get settled into our apartment! My parents helped pack us up, Kyle's parents came to move us in & get things organized, and of course the queen of decorating, my mom came to help make the place look "pretty." All in all, we love our apartment and how it quickly felt like home soon after we moved in!

Andrea's Mom comes to visit!

Living Room

Kitchen

Bedroom

Bathroom

Kyle's pride & joy: the game closet!

Our friend the beaver who lies across the street at the Lincoln Park Zoo!

Dr. Kyle: Back At It

In October, Kyle started his first rotation - Internal Medicine at Jackson Park Hospital, which is one the south side of the city. For those who don't know, internal medicine could be nicknamed "diagnostics," and for those House fans out there, Greggory House would fall into the "internal medicine" department.

Though the condition of the hospital was somewhat comparable to Dominica (Kyle's Grandmere was there when she was a little girl, and we joked probably not much had changed at the hospital since then!), Kyle really did enjoy the rotation, and is still considering I.M. as a specialty. During his time at Jackson Park, Kyle served as the Chief Medical Student - which held the not-so-glamorous responsibility of keeping attendance and making the on-call schedule (though he was a very fair leader, he may not have been some students favorite...) But the position allowed him to get to know some of the doctors on a more personal level, which was great!

Workin' Woman

Also in October, I had my first (somewhat) "real" job interview! Two weeks after we moved, I interviewed at Gymboree Play & Music, which is different than the clothing stores. They teach child development classes for children 0 -5 yrs, and the parents or caregiver attends classes. The interview was quite unique, when right off the bat we were asked to sing (and trust me, I'm no "American Idol") in front of a group of 15 people, and also introduce an activity. A few days later I had a second interview, and soon after that, I accepted the job & I started training!

Blown Away by the Windy City!

At the very end of the month, we celebrated Halloween! If you saw our Christmas card, you know what we went as - The Windy City Duo! Our new home served as inspiration as we put wire in our clothes so we looked like we were being blown away. As we walked down the street, people would look at us a little funny, but all we had to do was lean to one side, and then they would start laughing as they got it...

We both learned to live on Google Maps, which not only provides driving & walking directions, but also directions for public transportation & time schedules. I still don't know what I would do without it!

October held a lot of other exciting events, like when the newly engaged Wes & Michelle came to visit. And then other less exciting details that Kyle is still trying to forget.... like the Cubs missing their chance to go to the World Series...

All in All, October was a busy month, but was a great start for our new lives in Chicago!

Here we go...

So, I noticed I've been slacking a little... and many of you made it clear over the holidays that I haven't been doing a great job at updating the blog. I mean, come on, it's been like 4 months since the last "real" update. That isn't SO bad is it??? ;)

Yes, I know it is.

To get everyone up to date, I'm going to recap the past few months, each month having their own post. Some of you don't even what state we live in at this point!!

Even though we're in the good old US of A with most of our friends and family, we still miss all of you very much. So hopefully our daily happenings in the windy city will be just as exciting as our extended honeymoon in Dominica! SO sit back, relax & enjoy :)