Elise and the Bee

The Rainbow

Elise and I flew to Nevada early this month to attend the funeral of my dear Grandma Young, who passed away after 89 wonderful years of life. It was truly a celebration of her life and love, and a reminder of

Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness.

During our stay, a rainbow arched perfectly above my parents' home, and I thought of Grandma, and this little poem by Sarah Josepha Hale:

O beautiful rainbow;--all woven of light!

There's not in thy tissue one shadow of night;

Heaven surely is open when thou dost appear.

And, bending thee above, the angels draw near,

and sing,--"The rainbow! The rainbow! The smile of God is here."

Happy Birthday, Aunt Brittany!

A Cow Says "Boo"

Chicago: My Kind of Town!

On Labor Day weekend we took an impromptu trip to Chicago to celebrate my birthday early. We checked into our room at Hotel Blake on Friday afternoon, and dashed out to catch an architectural boat tour of the Windy City (which, coincidentally, was very windy!).

Our favorite buildings had to be L: The Wrigley Building - According to our tour guide, Mr. Wrigley requested a white building with green trim (hard to see in the picture) to remind consumers of the fresh minty-white feeling his chewing gum gave their mouths!

and R: 333 W. Wacker Dr. (the beautiful emerald one on the far right).

Of course, Willis Tower (previously known as Sears Tower) was a favorite.

It's that tall building in the back with two spires.

While the adults admired the buildings, Elise kept herself occupied by pointing at the water and waving at pedestrians. She did get a little obnoxious as the tour went on...

She's her father's daughter.

After the boat we walked over to Navy Pier on Lake Michigan. We bought churros and strolled along the pier, enjoying the huge Ferris wheel. It is a 150' replica of the original Ferris wheel, built for the Chicago World's Fair.

Outside the Pier there is a statue of comedian/actor Bob Newhart (a Chicago native) as his TV character, Dr. Bob Hartley. D.J. couldn't resist a photo op.

There was also a big Kraft macaroni noodle near the Pier. We visited its twin the next day (after a scrumptious breakfast at the Bongo Room) outside of Wrigley Field on our way to a Cubs baseball game.

Wrigley Field was so much fun! We took the subway to get there, and the moment we stepped through the gates, the ushers sent us to fan services to get Elise a certificate commemorating her first Cubs game.

She even got a sticker that said, "It's my first time at Wrigley Field, Home of the Chicago Cubs".

Our seats were positioned across from first base and only about 8 rows back. The Cubs played the NY Mets, and Chicago won, 5 to 3. We even saw two home runs!

Elise was a true Chicago fan with her authentic Cubs baseball cap.

Before leaving for home, we stopped to see the Buckingham Fountain and happened upon a free jazz festival in the park - such a treat! We also dropped by Millennium Park to visit Anish Kapoor's famous Cloud Gate sculpture (lovingly referred to as "The Bean"). I was a little disgusted by the grimy fingerprints all over it (see them in the first picture?), but resisted the urge to dig out a wet-wipe and start sanitizing. Underneath the sculpture the reflections twist into a spiral that bends your reflection every which way (see third pic).

It was such a great birthday getaway! We loved Chicago, and want to go back and see more. I think Sinatra sang it best, "Chicago is...my kind of razzmatazz!"

Hiatus

At the beginning of June we packed up our cars and moved to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia) while D.J. completed his summer marketing internship with Johnson & Johnson. He interned for Benadryl (you know, THE Benadryl) and - in layman's terms - formulated a plan to launch one of their new multi-million dollar products next year. What an experience!

The internet connectivity at our temporary home was horribly unreliable, so blogging slid to the back burner. But we're back, and have a lot of catching up to do...

We saw Rocky and sprinted up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art - more than once! We also visited the inside of the museum and especially enjoyed the armory and early American art.

A trip to Philadelphia isn't compete without a stop at Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. To stand in the same place as the men and women who brought about the birth of our great nation is breathtaking and inspiring!

We feel humbled and blessed to be citizens of America the Beautiful.

Philadelphia is home to the nation' s first zoo, and we took full advantage! The best exhibits were the giraffes and the primate house, where we saw the new baby orangutan, Batu. Of course, the cutest baby at the zoo was ours...

One of our favorite places was the Peter Wentz Farmstead, a working farm close to our house where General George Washington stayed on several occasions during the Revolutionary War. We toured the old farmhouse and saw the room where Washington slept, and visited the farm animals. Look at how green everything was.

Next door to the farmstead is Merrymead Farms, a dairy with a farmer's market and several animals - a huge and smelly hog named Harley, chickens, a burro, goats, rabbits, sheep, and peacocks. Elise loved the Holstein calves, and they gave me flashbacks of home. Merrymead also had the best ice cream we've ever tasted!

Speaking of taste, we visited Hershey, Pennsylvania to get the full chocolate experience. How could we not check out a place where Hershey "kiss" lamps line streets named "Cocoa" and "Chocolate" Avenue? It wasn't as grand as we had hoped, but Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is tough to beat. We loved Hershey Gardens, though. Their children's garden boasted lots of photo-worthy farm animals, which we gleefully plunked Elise on any chance we got. She wasn't so excited about some of them (see her face on the chicken?).

We celebrated Elise's first birthday in Philadelphia, too. Look at THAT face!

We even got a visit from Grandma Candy while we were in PA. We packed in as much sight-seeing and adventure into our schedule as you can in a week. She did it all, and even had time for some crafting fun too! Grandma watched Elise a few times so D.J. and I could go out together. It was such a treat. Everyone cried when she had to leave, and Elise was bored out of her mind for the next several days. If only we lived closer!

Another highlight of our summer was visiting the Washington D.C. temple. As we approached D.C. on the freeway, the temple's beautiful spires burst into view. It was so magnificent! It is one of the larger temples I've ever been in, and was lovely inside and out. Before our session, D.J. actually ran into a friend he served his mission with in Brazil! They hadn't seen each other for over 10 years. Small world, right?

D.J. completed his internship in mid-August, and we said goodbye to the City of Brotherly Love. It was a great summer, but we were happy to leave for Indiana. Can you tell Elise was excited to go back?

These are just a few of the things we did while we were there, so if you're ever planning a trip, let me know and I will tell much more about our experience in Philly!

The Great Escape

While mopping today, I left the front door open to help the floor dry faster.

Obviously intrigued, Elise sat playing on the floor - casually glancing at me, then the open door.

I turned my back for a second...

and ZOOM!!

There she sat... cute and innocent at the threshold.

Another second...

I had a fugitive on my hands!

Not to worry, though. The escapee was apprehended.

Much to her dismay.

Victory is Sweet

Each spring, MBA students in the Big 10 Conference meet in Columbus, Ohio at the Fisher College of Business for the annual Big 10 Case Competition.

D.J. and three of his classmates from Purdue participated in the challenge: One team from each school analyzes a complex business case. Teams must identify the company’s challenge and present their recommendations to an often unforgiving panel of industry and academic experts.

They won!!

The team's trophy sits proudly on display at the Krannert School of Business on campus. It was a huge victory for Purdue. D.J.'s coaches were ecstatic, and weeks later the team is still receiving congratulations from faculty and staff at Krannert. D.J. was awarded "Best Q&A" also!

D.J. was especially elated. Not only was he awarded "Best Q&A", he got to rub his win into my brother's face! He and Dan (my brother) have a long-standing, trash-talking, name-calling rivalry involving Ohio State. Dan served on the OSU campus during his church mission, so he's a Buckeye at heart, and D.J. is a big fan of UT (Texas Longhorns) - OSU's rival. Things got more complicated when D.J. started attending Purdue and the Boilermakers (who, sadly, weren't at their best last football season) beat OSU, who were ranked 7th in the nation at the time.

So of course D.J. had to give Dan all kinds of grief over the Big 10 MBA win.

I believe he even sent him a postcard:

Mobility

The child has been moving around on her own for a while now.

I keep finding her in different places around the apartment.

Like the other day...

And then the day after that...

Like a tornado, she leaves destruction in her path...

...but how can we not love a face like this?

Or just die for another laugh like this...

I think we'll keep her.

She's even willing to help with the laundry. :)

Taste Test

I promised Elise's Aunt I would post more often. A week later (sorry!) I'm finally getting around to it. To make it up to her, this post is dedicated to Ashley. :)

**Brief note: Since I am still sifting through hundreds of D.J.'s pictures from China and trying to figure out what ones to use, details about his amazing trip are forthcoming. **

Okay, on with the post!

In our quest to be fantastic parents (haha), providing the foundation for a well-rounded (read: nutritious) diet for our baby has had its rough spots. For example: it's not easy to limit your child's sugar intake when her grandfather gives her chocolate at 4 months, or when aunts and uncles gleefully spoon strawberry lemonade down her throat when you're not looking.

Previously mentioned diet sabotage aside, I think we've done rather well in the nutrition department. I'm always on the lookout for new food ideas, though. I recently read an article online about feeding your baby avocado, and thought, "Huh. We should try that!" We let Elise sample some for the first time the other day, and this was her reaction:

Tasting...

Reaction to creamy texture and delicious avocadoness...

GAG!! BLECH!!!

Then, of course, the "What in the heck were you thinking?!?" face:

I have to admit, the girl's all drama! On another day we decided to venture into the Land of Cheerios:

See what I mean about drama? Since this video she has mastered the art of picking up the little O's and LOVES them. I love them too, because they occupy her while I work on something else.

Next up? Who knows. Bon Appétit Baby!

Oh, the Places We'll Go

D.J. was neck-deep in Midterms in February (poor guy). Since he spent most of his time away studying or meeting with classmates for more studying, Elise and I paid a visit to the Ranch.

This was Elise's 3rd flying experience, so she traveled like a pro. She's always a hit with the flight attendants and loves to play with the unopened peanuts on the plane. Early February is slow travel-wise, and we lucked out with 3 seats to ourselves on every one of our flights (4 total). It made for easy flying, especially since Baby Girl could stretch out and play or sleep without bothering anyone else.

Grandma and Auntie Boo picked us up at the airport in Reno and took us out to lunch and shopping (woohoo!). Then it was off to the ranch.

If you're not familiar with my country-girl roots, let me just tell you I grew up in the middle of nowhere. No, not just rural or remote- The. Middle. Of. Nowhere. While isolated living can have its down points, you can't beat the beauty of the wilderness. I once showed a Texan a picture of the ranch via Google Maps, and he said, "Oh! You're from the mountains!!" Yep. Nestled against the mountains sits Birch Creek Ranch: 10 miles from the nearest neighbor-- my childhood home. I never appreciated those great big mountains in my backyard until I moved away from them.

While we were visiting the mountains, we were lucky enough to see ALL of my siblings! Brittany had a basketball game in Jackpot (on the Nevada/Idaho border), and Ashley and Tiffany drove from Rexburg to meet us there. Seeing them made me so happy, and they loved playing with Elise. We all stayed in adjoining hotel rooms in Jackpot and bonded for 24 hours. Short, but oh, so sweet.

Brittany played some amazing ball, and I felt pretty nostalgic cheering for my high school. That's her in the 2nd picture (in orange on the far left) making a basket--that's my girl! 3 of my cousins were also there-- one plays with Brittany, one plays on the boys' team, and one coaches the boys team. It was a family affair!

After Jackpot we headed back to the ranch and had a lot of quality grandparent time. Great-Grandma Young came up for dinner one night, and I loved visiting with her. Elise suffered from a little separation anxiety, as you can see by the terrified expression on her face! Haha!!

We also spent a lot of time with Uncle Dan and Aunt Katie. Dan had to work when we went to Jackpot (we missed him!) but Katie came with us. Elise thinks Katie is BEAUTIFUL and couldn't keep her eyes off of her the entire trip! :)

Dan somehow eluded getting his picture taken, but he looked a little something like this:

He got a haircut right before we left, but I think the mustache remains (poor Katie!). We love him anyway.

The week flew by, and before we knew it we were back at the airport. Emily ditched school and came with us to say goodbye.

Our flight home was uneventful, and we were so happy to see D.J. He said he slept better while we were gone than he has in months! I guess that's what having a baby does to you. :)

Finals are upon us, so he's scarce again, but we've got plenty to keep us busy. At the end of the week he leaves for China (CHINA!) for 18 days. He will travel with a group from the school, listen to lectures, and even get class credit for the trip! He's taking the camera with strict instructions to get lots of pictures, so we'll share when he gets back.