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 :)

OK, OK, OK.....

Ok so here you go Ashley.... I'll start blogging again!! Ha ha, I'm sure you're the only one reading! :)

Ashley tagged me so here goes...


What is the:
First Thing that Shocked You After Arriving The First Time: I came to visit Kyle in March before I came down for good 5 months later in August. I remember being embarrassed when I walked up to the guy's car who picked me up, and patiently waited for him to unlock what I thought was the passenger door. He looked at me and said, "OH you're driving?" and he gave me the keys...Other than that, I just remember flying along the road on the way to campus just staring at all the homes just made of tin, the people walking every where, and all the chickens that would just bolt across the road!

Most Beautiful Place in Dominica: I loved the view from our kayaks when Kyle and I went to secret beach. The water just looks so pretty. And whenever we would go down to PBH beach, I loved looking around at all the mountains & hills that surrounded us - they look like big bunches of broccoli!

Most Memorable “Only in Dominica” Moment: Choose one?! - Ditto Ashley! I guess mine would be when Kyle & I were getting ready to have about 15 people over for Thanksgiving in our tiny apartment... and wouldn't you know at 10 the night before we run out of propane as a pumpkin pie was in the oven... and of course, the island was out of propane that day! The next day I gathered all my food up that I still had to make, and walked myself over to Ashley's apartment , and Praise God, her propane didn't run out!! Kyle was in charge of the turkey, which he made videos of as he would go from our apartment a friend's on the floor below us to cook the turkey. At the end of the day everything went great and the food tasted delicious, thanks to great friends with full propane tanks :)

Food I Missed the Most While in Dominica: Other than ice cream, I think I just missed how easy all the food is to find and make in the US. Planning meals took forever because you had to make so many things from scratch, and substitute and substitute again!!

Favorite Item I Brought from the US: Pictures and small things I brought to make our apartment feel like home. Oh, and my "art box" filled with craft supplies that I used so many times to make cards or gifts... and of course the big knife I brought that came in handy slicing bread!

Most Useful Skill Learned: If you would have told me I could make homemade bread before I came to Dominica, let alone sell it to people, I would have told you I was crazy!

Favorite Tropical Food: cannips and the fish!! It doesn't taste as good here!

Worst Part of Living in Dominica: Missing family and friends, and sweating more than I ever sweat in my life. But if I could go back, and have all the same people there, I wouldn't care if it was 10 degrees hotter, I would do it!! We would just have to actually use the air conditioner :)

If I Had to Do it Over Again, What Would I Change: Ummm use the air conditioner more - what were we thinking?!?! Also, not be so excited to count the days down so quickly - you'll miss it once you leave the island!!!

Favorite Hike: I loved taking my mom to Trafalgar Falls and Titou Gorge. Also Aba Wavine Cyrique was amazing!!

Article of Clothing I Lived in: My flip flops - I still have a tan line!!!

Describe a Typical Evening in Dominica: Baking bread. Planning dinner, then cooking, quickly opening the door so Kyle could sprint in so bugs wouldn't get it, eat dinner, relax while Kyle did dishes, check my email a million times, and then watch an episode or 2 of grey's.

Scariest Moment in Dominica: When Kyle hurt his shoulder playing football and having to go to Princess Margaret Hospital - that place looks like the set of a horror movie!!

Strangest Thing I Saw: Oh goodness who knows. The man who serenaded me, Kyle, Ashley, Ryan, Chris and Katy at Iguana Cafe was quite memorable. But not quite as memorable as the "cheesecake" they served us.....

Most Valuable Kitchen Tool: Kitchenaid Stand Mixer - other than Cindee, I think I may have been the only person on the island with one!

First Thing I’ll Do When Back in the US: I gave my mom a big hug!!! :) And ate at McDonalds!

What Will You Miss Most About Dominica: Pretty much everything you said Ashley!!! The friends who quickly turned into family! (Can't wait for you to get to Chicago Ashley!!) I also miss how easy things were down there - even though Kyle studied a lot, I loved feeling like we were off on our own and being so dependant on each other. Everything is so busy here!!

So there you go Ashley, hope you enjoyed it :) Now get back to packing!!!!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This has got to be one of Kyle's favorite seasons: football season! His time is now taken over by fantasy football, NFL on Sunday and Monday night football. And then, with Illinois having some of the top high school football teams, there's football on Friday and Saturdays, too! One question: Andrea, are you ready for some football?!?

While we were in Naperville, we were able to catch a few of Kris' football games for Naperville North. We had a blast cheering on Kris and the Huskies - go dawgs! - and hope to make it to some more games this season to watch North's up-and-coming cornerback superstar! Go #29!

Since we've been home...

We loved our time in Dominica, but let me tell you, we're loving our time even more back in the good old U S of A!! Since we got back, we've split our time between Ohio & Illinois. Here are some photos from our adventures so far. Enjoy!

Meet Ethan

This is our little nephew Ethan, and we had a blast babysitting him! Kyle was transformed into a jungle gym for the afternoon and I got a little bit of exercise chasing him all over the house!

You may be asking yourself, "Where is that child's pants??" Well, let me tell you. I changed his diaper, and he decided he would rather have no diaper or pants on so I told him run free, child!! So he did. Next thing we know, he decided he had to go to the bathroom again... right on the carpet! (no worries, it was only #1... sorry for the details...)

Here's a video of Ethan chasing a ball and then crash landing right into Uncle Kyle!

Reunion Time!

One thing I love about being home is being so close to friends and family. We definitely took advantage of being in the same country of our friends these past few weeks! First, I went to a little get-together with the girls from my college Bible study in Westerville. It was so good to be able to talk and catch up with every one in person, instead of through e-mail!

When we headed to Illinois, I went to a mini-reunion with girls from my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. I hadn't seen some of these girls since we graduated!

I also went down to the city a day early to hang out with some of the AXO girls that also lived in Melee. I loved seeing them and catching up, especially since we've been spread all over the country & the world! Rachel lives in Cincinnati, Ellie & Kristen live together in Chicago, and Colleen was on a two-week break from Africa, where she serves in the Peace Corps.

Kyle was able to catch up with a lot of his friends as well (though we don't have any pictures to prove it!) He headed downtown Naperville one night to hang out with friends from high school, and then he also went to Chicago for somewhat of a fraternity reunion of his own!

Extreme Tubing Time!

We also had time to to spend a day at Kyle's Uncle Jim & Aunt Eileen's lake house at Lake Carrol in Illinois. We spent our time soaking up the sun, while Kyle skied and Kevin showed off is wake boarding skills.

Now, Uncle Jim is known for providing some crazy tube rides, so we braced ourselves before hopping in the water. Well, we should have prepared more because it was out of control - we still have the scrapes and bruises to prove it! Our hats go of to Andrea & Kevin because as we gripped onto those tubes for dear life, they acted like it was no big deal. Even when they sent one tube flying through the air over top of the other! Obviously, we had a blast!

Puppy Time!

Andrea's new favorite date: going to the pet store and playing with puppies! Most of our friends who are married now have puppy-additions in their family, and knowing this wouldn't be the greatest time for us to get a dog, there's no harm in going to look, right?

(Kyle's jokes that he knows one day we're going to go, and I'm going to fall in love with one of the pups, but luckily, it hasn't happened yet!)

One Year Old

Welcome to our second year of marriage!

We had an amazing first year, full of amazing memories from Dominica that we will never forget.

As we headed to the airport to leave the island (bright & early at 4:30am), it finally hit us that we were leaving our first home as a married couple. We were saying goodbye to friends that we will forever be bonded to because of our shared adventures on the island. And we were even sad to leave our first "adopted" pets!

But let me tell you, it is so good to be back in the amazing United States, home sweet home! And we were so happy to be able to celebrate our anniversary on August 25th back home!

We spent the day simply spending quality time together (which is definitely my love language!) We wandered around downtown Naperville stopping to have lunch, and of course, grab some ice cream!

Later than night we headed to Cheesecake Factory for a great, romantic dinner.

But that wasn't the end of our celebration...

Kyle knows me too well, and knows I love surprises. So before we went to bed that night, he handed me a card with two tickets to see Wicked in Chicago the next night! And to top it off, he made hotel reservations as well! I know, I'm spoiled! :) We loved the show and recommend that you see it!

We hope to continue the blog as we continue on with the next step of our journey! But we also want to thank you all so much for reading our adventures, and for our your thoughts and prayers for our first year of marriage. We have definitely been showered in blessings, and have loved that God hand-picked each of you to be in our lives!