2010: a year in review (part 2)

july:
the beginning of the month completed 'camp uncles a & g'.  the kids had a good time as did we, but it was exhausting week!  kudos to parents everywhere!  while the kids were here we went to shedd aquarium.  what an awesome place!  the aquatics show was amazing!  later in the month, g's mom came to visit.  we went to the museum of science & industry to visit the green house.  i imagine that it's not too far until many homes are so environmentally friendly!

 

august:  

g went on a week-long caribbean cruise with his friend bryant.  i stayed at home and spent time with friends and did a few home improvements!  i painted our dining room, added a few crucial touches to the living room, and bough a couple pieces of furniture!  it was fun to give the place a bit of a makeover!  andrea joined me on one of my trips to boston!  we saw a few touristy sites and met up with my crew at a couple pubs.  i was glad to share one of my favorite US cities with my bestie!  

 

september:

since g took a small trip, it was only fair that i did the same!  andrea and i jetted off to puerta vallarta, mexico for our friends' stephanie & jason's wedding.  it was a great long weekend of soaking up the sun, imbibing in numerous margaritas and mojitos, and working on the perfect end-of-summer tan!  the wedding was beautiful and the scenery was amazing!  congrats to the happy couple!  

 

october:

g and i started off the month with a wonderful mediterranean cruise.  the cruise left out of barcelona and stopped in monaco, florence, rome, naples, and mallorca.  the sites were absolutely amazing.  i was glad to get a small taste of all these places so i know just where to go back and visit again someday!  we were very fortunate to have two wonderful cat-sitters while we were gone who took wonderful care of our dear emerson.  sadly, we discovered that he had a incurable disease after a visit to the vet.  while out of the country we had to make the horribly difficult decision to have him put to sleep.  it was a very hard time for us, especially being so far away.  again, we were so grateful that two of em's favorite people were there to take care of him in his last days.  (the picture below is the very last picture of emerson.)   we miss him dearly.  

november:

every day that went by we missed emerson more and more.  it wasn't fun to walk into the home with out him greeting you at the door, cuddling on the couch to watch tv, or greeting you with his loud purr first thing in the morning.  we agreed that we would wait a while to adopt another cat.  but by mid-month we couldn't wait any longer.  we adopted two adorable female kitties at a local non-profit adoption center.  lucy and ali were much slower to adapt to their new surroundings than em, but eventually they are coming to love us and their new home.   we flew to cleveland to have thanksgiving with g's family and then came back to chicago to celebrate thanksgiving with my family the following day. 

december:

i was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday in boston and philadelphia with g, bryant, andrea, and her sister amity.  although we were working, it was great to be in two fantastic cities!  i tried to work smart and have as much time off during the month.  on a couple of my free days, i delved into my first candy-making experience.  the buckeyes, fudge, and peppermint patties were a hit!  i have a feeling it will become an annual holiday tradition!  we were able to spend christmas with both of our families by driving to cleveland christmas even, driving to indiana on christmas day, and then home to chicago the following day.  it's always nice to spend christmas with both families (and celebrate anderson's 3rd birthday) even if it means a lot of driving!  tonight we will ring in the new year with a few friends.  it's sort of become a tradition of staying in, dressing comfy, and spending time with close friends to celebrate the new year.  and i'd truly have it no other way!  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  
MAY 2011 BE A GREAT YEAR FOR YOU!