Summer Underway

June was a pretty busy month for us here in the Galloway Calvert household. Both of us got Memorial Day off (ok, I know that's not in June, but close enough, since it was also the weekend before my birthday). The Saturday prior to Memorial day we went out to a dinner/show at Medieval Times Castle out in Schaumburg. It was the weekend just before my birthday (as aforementioned). There was a discount on tickets for that weekend so we went. It was fun, there were a lot of children, of course, but we got to eat with our hands just like in the good ol' days (baked half chicken, corn on the cob--which would not have existed in Medieval Europe--baked potatoes and bread rolls) all the while men in medieval get-up recited a cheesy script and large, beautiful horses trotted, swords clanked, and lances cracked in front of us. I'm 26, I'm an adult, and I know that wearing a paper crown will never get old.

 

On Memorial Day itself, we went down to Navy Pier. It was a sunny, hot day, so we jumped on a tall ship tour and spent an hour on the lake. We grabbed some dinner at a sea-food place on the pier and then headed back home. I'm pretty sure we saw the new X-Men movie at some point.

Tall Ship Windy at Navy Pier

Lawrence helping with the rigging

This is definitely not 26 candles

My birthday is on the first, and Lawrence came home with a tiny cake and candles (the candles were normal-sized, and there were not 26 of them, I doubt they would have fit on the cake!). We got Chinese from a place on the corner from our apartment, and just had a regular night in afterward.

A couple weeks later, we took a long weekend and flew back West for my younger brother's wedding. Lawrence and the Galloways haven't seen each other since our wedding two years ago. Even though we had to get up before even the crack of dawn to catch the plane, it was a lovely weekend, a nice break from the city. We rented a car, possibly the ugliest thing the rental company had, though the youngest boys thought it was funny.

We stayed at the Grandparents' house, took a dip in their indoor pool (actually remembered to pack swimsuits this time). It was a bit chilly on the day of the wedding, but it went through alright nonetheless. Lawrence and I Now we have a sister-in-law. Our family was in charge of the family luncheon the day after the wedding, and Lawrence shucked corn for the first time in his life. I guess that's an American thing...? Ha.My mom, the master of marinading, put together a great BBQ spread at the park for the families, and we filled ourselves on shish-kabobs, potato salad and pork chops.

Not everyone likes having their picture taken...

One of my sisters has a horse, and she led Lawrence around the little paddock. We had a good time playing twister with the younger kids, taking a tour of a Lego town, seeing robin eggs and beehives and horses and cows, and the snow still on the mountain caps. The night before we flew back, we stayed with an old friend of mine from college and then before we knew it, we were back to the city.

Our anniversary was the day after we returned. We didn't do much to celebrate. Went out for Mexican, came home and watched a movie. Happy two years to us!

We went out and purchased roller blades at the beginning of the month, and have since made good use of them, just about every weekend. There's a forest preserve just outside Chicago with a nice paved trail that we've done a few times, and there's a sculpture park not too far from us. We tried going along the beach, but there were too many people, and the trails weren't as well kept. But we've gotten some good use out of the blades, and we're keeping fit! We have managed not to come away with any serious injuries other than a few scrapes and bruises, and we're getting better every week.

Lawrence's birthday was on the 27th, which was a Monday, so the Saturday prior, I got us a reservation at the House of Blues, where we filled ourselves on fried chicken and lobster mac n' cheese to the ambiance of live blues music. Then I made a small cake (with the candles recycled from my birthday) on his actual birthday.



There's the sum-up of our month of June basically. The temperatures here in Chicago are rising, and we've had to break out the AC and a fan so we don't slowly steam to death in our third-floor apartment. I know I shouldn't complain about the heat, since I know full well within the next three months, I will start to complain about the cold.