Violet's First Bath

She didn't LOVE it, but after the initial shock of running water, V adjusted...slowly. As nervous as she may have been, she managed to be absolutely adorable throughout the process.

Demolition for Jesus

When our church announced its first work day in quite some time, most people thought it might entail a little heavy lifting, but nothing back breaking.

However, the week of, the leadership team decided that, in light of the growing number of people on Sunday mornings, it was time to remove the stage from Resurrection Covenant.

START


Keep in mind, this stage was built back in 1920, meaning crazy-long nails, ridiculous amounts of wood, and lots of crowbars. After a full day of work, we reached the insulation and found these hymnals from the Prohibition Era...very cool!










As hard as it was, it felt good to get the entire stage out...getting to use power tools was a bonus.

FINISH

City of Concerts

One of the best things about summer in Chicago is the opportunity to hear good music. Granted, Sao Jorge has not made his annual trek to the Windy City, but we had the opportunity to go see two other cool shows.

Concert 1: American Idol Tour (Allstate Arena)

Now, I realize that this might not be considered "good music" to many in the blogosphere, but for me and my friend Jesse (who followed Idol all season and had many a wonderful meal while watching Blake rock!), it was a real treat. Of course, Sanjaya was nuts and Haley was all legs and no substance, but the rest of the group did well. In addition to her surprise proposal (!), Gina Glocksen proved that, while not a powerhouse singer, there's potential to do well in her niche. Chris Richardson showed that he might have the chops to take a Timberlake-esque path to semi-stardom. Lakisha Jones blew us away with her big voice and Melinda Doolittle, as expected, was flawless.

The real story of the night: Blake. For some reason, i can't get my video from the evening to post (I'm working on it!), but his rendition of Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved" was phenomenal, as was his performance of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name." Seeing his creativity live was definitely worth the price of admission.

Lastly, Ms. Jordin Sparks. Hearing her perform "I Who Have Nothing" in person was fantastic. All the 10-year-old girls sitting around us agreed. :-)






Concert 2: Nickelcreek with special guest, Fiona Apple (Ravinia)

While a little heavy on Fiona for me, the night was pretty amazing. Nickelcreek has a great blend of impressive instrumentals and an alternately haunting/charming female vocal. It was crowded, but we found a patch just big enough for us, Mackensey, Dena and the Browns. All in all, a fun night.

Retropost: Birthday Surprise(s)!

After two lackluster birthdays in a row, Thais decided my 26th would be one to remember - and it was. The festivities began the weekend before, with an overnight trip to Indianapolis. We enjoyed a great dinner and freshly made brews at the Alcatraz brewpub in downtown, then headed over to White River State Park for a relaxing evening listening to folk singer Allison Kraus. The surprises just kept rolling in the days ahead, including a post-softball surprise party at our place - complete with food, drink, friends, and pinata - as well as a delightfully unexpected visit from none other than Ms. Lisa "Caprese" Cockrel.

Fremont Lake

After a somewhat harrowing flight/drive schedule to get there, the Carters made it to Fremont Lake. Our generous hosts, John & Susan and Susan's parents, Phyllis & Andy, treated us to bean bags, boating, smores and cards. It was a great weekend!

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It was also a momentous weekend, as this was Violet's first experience in water. She was a little hesitant at first, but our girl was a trooper.

Violet's New Toy

This one's for you, Tania!

Mom purchased Violet this bizarre looking little pink dog. It's not that involved...it's long and it squeaks. However, Violet LOVES it! Here are some pictures of her playing with it.

RetroPost: NY Wedding

Periodically, we will be "retro posting." Essentially, anything that happened pre-blog will be put up over the next couple of weeks, providing fun flashbacks (we hope!).

First up: Our road trip out to Rochester, NY to celebrate with Thais' cousin Jimmy and his new wife, Liz, on their wedding day.

Part 1: Post Ceremony / Pre Reception shin-dig at Suzanne's.







Part 2: Nothing makes Grandma happier than showing off her grandkids.


(sorry it's not rotated!)



Part 3: Total lunacy.