Ohio Wedding

Lori's cousin Megan got married at her parents home in rural central Ohio, so we went down. Here are some pictures from the Saturday wedding party and the brunch the next morning.

Return of the Nesters

Hello all, Greg here. I've been off the blog since last fall, when our camera suddenly quit taking pictures and we began relying on Lori's iPhone to take our pictures. But because we didn't put those photos on my computer, I couldn't upload them to the blog easily.

Anyway, long story short, we have a new camera, and I'm going to get back to work on this blog now.

Over the Memorial Day weekend we've been at Drummond Island, as usual for this holiday. We've been potting plants, cleaning gutters, reading, partying, eating fish sandwiches at Chuck's place, going to church with dogs, and playing Euchre—the same things we always do up here in the spring. But after all of Dad and Mom's troubles over the fall, winter and early spring, it's been especially nice this year just to be with them doing normal things.

Here are some shots of us being normal.

Kai Enjoying His Presents

Kai is just about ready to walk.  I was hoping I would get to see his first steps and that he would say Mimi on this visit, but I tried not to pressure him too much.  He loved his new wagon and nearly runs when he pushes it and he had a great time playing with his new boats in the tub.

Kai's birthday week-end

Kai likes his birthdays like I do (to last for more than one day). We kicked off our fun with an exciting visit to the ultrasound technician to get a view of little sister. She's going to be a match for Kai in the cuteness department. Then we headed to Colorado Springs for a night at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort and a trip to the zoo the next day.  Kai found the giraffes to be pretty startling.  We celebrated his birthday Sunday night with YaYa and Grampy Tom.   Kai had a cupcake and tried three flavors of ice cream. After two separate tests, chocolate was the obvious winner (Mommy's influence).

Philly Phun

Greg joined me in Philadelphia where I was attending the Public Library Association Conference. We got to see Betty White who was adorable and funny (sorry no photos of her) and enjoy the sights on St. Patrick's Day.

Here we are at the Liberty Bell. Greg, people watching at Rittenhouse Square Park, in awe of our founding fathers, waiting to get into Independence Hall, waiting for a beer near Grace Church, and at Ben Franklin's Grave.

Now that he's conquered the fear of short plane trips, we'll have more adventures to share in the future!

Fast Times at Coonhead Cabin

"Fast" because it was a Friday-Monday weekend in Brown County, Indiana with Pat and Kevin, visiting Nashville's quaint shopping district, hot-tubbing, listening to music, shooting a BB gun, Sunday brunching at Gatesville's excellent little eatery, hiking in the state park, and driving through covered bridges.

"Times" because we all came from Central Daylight into Eastern Daylight, so Friday we all set our clocks ahead one hour. Saturday night, we all set our clocks back an hour to Eastern Standard, and Monday we all set them back an additional hour to Central Standard as we headed for home.

"Coonhead Cabin" because, well I think that's obvious from the first photo. We've got some additional photos and videos we'll try to post in the next few days.

Peoria

After Milwaukee, we went up to Drummond for a long weekend with Jim and Sandra. Partially to help them close the cabin, but also for Lori and I to get a sanity break. And we got to see some beautiful fall colors.

We got back to Chicago on a Tuesday evening, and the following Saturday morning we were on our way to Peoria to see Sam. I had visited him in July when Lori was in Hawaii, but she hadn't seen him since last April.

We took him shopping for clothes and other essentials, then shot some pool at his place. While shooting pool, one of his roommates demonstrated the efficacy of his new electric fly-swatter (see video below).

We went for supper to the Hofbrau, each of us choosing a "lite" wurst platter of sausage, sauerkraut and German potato salad. It was very, very tasty--I now acknowledge sauerkraut's place in the awesome food universe.

After supper, Sam took us to the bar he's working at—Diesel. It's a very interesting place. We got to meet Sam's boss, Todd, but neglected to take a picture of him.

Sunday we took Sam to brunch and then headed back to Chicago. Up next for us: meeting Kevin and Pat in southern Indiana in early November for a fall weekend.