"Summertime Girls are the kind I like; I'll steal your honey like I stole your bike" - LFO

It's finally starting to feel like summer in Chicago...most days. Everyone keeps talking about how great the city is during the warmer months, and Cary Anne and I are starting to see it for ourselves.

One of the best things about warm weather in the city is that the beaches of Lake Michigan are actually useable. (Walking down and sticking your bare feet in the sand isn't exactly pleasant when it's in the 40s.) Just a few weeks ago, our friend Kelly invited Cary Anne and I down to the beach for an afternoon of reading in the sun. Turns out, there wasn't actually much reading involved. We mainly just sat around and talked and threw rocks at seagulls. (We're sadistic in that way.) Sadly, I learned that just because the weather is warm, it doesn't mean the water is. Guess I'll have to wait a few more weeks to actually go swimming.

After the beach, we picked up our friend Sam and headed to a custard shop Cary Anne and I had been wanting to try called “Lickity Split.” During our year in Lexington, a self-serve frozen yogurt place called “Orange Leaf” got really popular, and expanded from one location to at least four in just a few months. With tons of flavors, lots of toppings, and reasonable prices, it wasn't uncommon for us to swing by on a nearly weekly basis. We've been looking for a suitable alternative here in Chicago, but so far nothing has blown us away. But it looks like we may be switching to custard now. Though “Lickity Split” only has 3 types of custard on tap at any given time, there are dozens of toppings assorted into different glass jars, like an old-school candy shop, making the combinations basically limitless. (I had vanilla custard with hot fudge and dark chocolate covered pretzels.) Kelly and Sam seemed equally impressed by the shop, and I would not be upset if it became a summer staple.

Recently, we got to travel back to Kentucky for Memorial Day. Our friends Chris and Hannah in Louisville were nice enough to put us up in their spare bedroom for the long weekend. The great thing about our friendship with C&H is that we're able to have great time with them even when we're not doing anything particularly exciting. That was evident over the weekend based on the amount of time we spent playing “Settlers of Catan,” looking up videos for old bands we used to listen to during our middle school years (think BBMac, Bwitched, and LFO), and the hours Chris and I spent shooting zombies on “Call of Duty” while our wives reevaluated their life choices. 

However, we did leave their apartment a few times. On Saturday we went for a walk down by the water front, where we stumbled upon bus loads of old English dancers. They had on puffy white shirts and bells strapped to their shins, and they marched around in a line twirling ribbons. It was very captivating and confusing. Sadly, it was over 90 degrees outside, so we quickly returned home. After cooling off, we decided to go bowling. Somehow, during the course of the second game, it was determined that Chris and Cary Anne, as a team, were trying to out score Hannah and I. Things looked bleak when Hannah stepped up for the final frame and we were down by 10 pins. She only succeeded in knocking down 9, and Chris and CA leapt into celebration. However, their cheering quickly turned to tears when we realized Hannah had gotten a spare in the previous frame, so her 9 pins were enough to put us in the lead. I started telling people to suck it. (I'm not a gracious winner.)

On Sunday, CA and I visited Chris and Hannah's church. I was distracted during the sermon because the guy sitting beside me had his iPad out. I thought he was taking notes, but when I glanced over I realized he was actually surfing Cracker Barrel's website. Later that night, my folks drove up to have dinner with us and show us photos from my cousin's wedding, which, sadly, CA and I couldn't afford to go to. On Monday, our other college friend Shelby came over for a big brunch. It was great catching up with her considering we hadn't seen her in well over 6 months. 

So far, summer has been off to a great start, and hopefully it will only get better. 

Last month, we (mostly me) also started a journaling project where we film 5 seconds of our life everyday. I'll be sure to post the videos here...

"Feel the Illinoise"

Big things have been happening in Chicago lately. Last weekend, the city turned a whopping 175 years old, after officially becoming a town all the way back in 1837. Then, Monday was Chicago's annual Casimir Pulaski Day, where on the first Monday of March the school system shuts down so all the kids can stay home and listen to that depressing Sufjan Stevens song. (Actually, Pulaski was a hero of the American Revolution. Shame on you, if you were unaware.) So how did Cary Anne and I celebrate these momentous occasions? We splurged on the more expensive ice cream at the store. Seriously.

Actually, things in our life have been fairly busy. First, my level one improv class at iO came to an end. For 8 weeks, I had the opportunity to bond with about 20 of the kindest, funniest people I've ever met. My 3 hours with them every Wednesday night was easily one of the best parts of my week, and I already miss getting up on stage and playing with them regularly. (Luckily, I succeeded in getting everyone to sing Vitamin C's "Graduation Song" during our last class. It really wasn't hard after 8 weeks of of being told "Support your partner(s)" and "Look for the pattern and join in." Seriously, just go into an improv class and start singing anything. If they're any good, they'll join in.) The class was a great growing experience, and I can't wait to get some more money saved to sign up for level 2. Cary Anne also recently finished the first play she was volunteering with as a stage hand and immediately threw herself into another production, this time as an assistant Stage Manager. Though the work consumes a lot of her evenings, she says it's worth it to be back in the theatre world. However, I know she's ready to take a breather once this show comes to a close. 

With Cary Anne working a full time job while helping to put up a show and with my sporadic work schedule while trying to pursue some comedic endeavors, it's not always easy for us to spend quality time together. Luckily, last week, we both had Friday night off so we decided to plan a date night. I found a small, cheap bowling alley not far from us called Timber Lanes. I didn't realize just how cozy it would be until we walked in: 8 lanes and no computer system. Every ball in the joint was inscribed with a name. I used a shiny red one called "Rat Boy," and Cary Anne used a blue ball named "Penny." For about an hour we played, continually hoping our Wii bowling training would somehow come in handy, but it didn't really. Without a computer system, we had no idea what our score was, so we just wrote down the numbers and resolved to Google it when we got home. In the end, I think we only played slightly worse than the group of elementary schoolers who were using the lane beside us. (Though, in our defense, they were relying on the bumpers pretty heavily.) Overall, it was a lot of fun, and it was so nice to find a simple, old-fashioned alley tucked away into the glitz and noise of the big city. Cary Anne and I have already told multiple other couples about it, and they're all demanding a double date sometime in the near future. Though I'm not sure they can compete with our sweet 120 average.