Lions, Tigers, and Euchre, oh my!

Friends and family,

It is wonderful to get to tell you all stories about how we are spending our time.  We rarely see all of you together - our wedding was probably the only time we ever will.  But continuing to tell you all about each other and how you affect our lives is refreshing to us and hopefully exciting to you.

After a long 2 months of teaching, Trena is on her first two week break (year-round scheduling rocks).  We spent last week in Manassas, Virginia with Trena's parents and brother.  We spent Sunday watching the Detroit Lions make their second miraculous comeback in a row to continue their unbeaten streak and then celebrated by seeing The Lion King in 3D.  The rest of the evenings involved Euchre, Detroit Tigers, and staple Thomas artichoke dip, ice cream, Margarita's and tacos, or "garbage" omelets. We planted some Mums, went on a forest adventure AND got to see Vicki and Sam in DC!  The weather was beautiful except for one rainy day which made everything even better. Sunshine is an instant daymaker. No question about it. On the drive home, the colors in the trees along the Pennsylvania turnpike were beginning to show.  Trena said the rolling hills looked like Beppe's  shag carpet.

On Sunday, Elyn and a few of her friends ran in the Chicago Marathon.  We spent the day cheering them on, and even got to jump in a run a few miles with her!  Most of the Courey family was in Chicago for the weekend, except for Jake who is working hard and doing well in Asbury, Kentucky.

We are enjoying getting to know some couples our age in the city.  It is encouraging to know that God is providing for us in every way! YAY FRIENDS!

Right now we are making nutty sweet potato soup that I (Trena) am obsessed with.  Everyone should try it. Ready go.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nutty-sweet-potato-soup-recipe/index.html
I could eat this every day.  Happy Fall!

An Unnecessary Anniversary

This weekend we were able to go to a White Sox game and see first hand the fireworks that we hear from our apartment every time the Sox hit a home run.  After seeing both sides of Chicago baseball, the south-siders stadium is bigger and the team is better, but when you're in Wrigley Field you feel like you've gone back 50 years.  But we walked to US Cellular, and you can't complain about that.

It was 100 days ago that we moved from 74 E. 8th Street, apartment C1 in Holland, to 2801 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, apartment 1713 in the north part of the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.  We are beginning to feel at home.  There have been moments where the house apartment is clean and we sat back and felt completely moved in.  This even happened in our first month here, and it feels good to have had such a smooth transition.  We are beginning to make some friends at church and at work.

We've been here long enough to have made it through mini up's and down's: there is now a scuff on the wall and the toilette seat wiggles.  We have had to clean the bath tub.  We've rearranged furniture from where we put it on move-in day.  We might paint the walls.  A plant died.  Boaz has been to the vet.  Trena is used to the CTA and I'm sick of it.  Our printer is finally set up.

August in the city with broad shoulders

At the beginning of August, Trena has started her teaching residency at Dodge Renaissance Academy, an AUSL Turn-Around school.  The teacher she is with teaches 8th grade reading, writing, and history, as well as 6th grade reading and writing.  The school is very strict but the students perform well and love the teachers.  Trena could write a lot more about the struggles and rewards that have come from this job so far.

But the job in itself has, of course, given us the ability to move into Chicago, where I am still pursuing a number of things.  Over the last three weeks I have spent days researching grad schools and applying for jobs.  We are praying that I will find a full time job soon, but in the meantime God has blessed me with some alternate sources of income (teaching ACT prep, photo shoot assistant).  This motivates me to stay focused and take full advantage of being right in the middle of a huge metropolis.

We have continually enjoyed visits from friends and family, and have been able to begin meeting some new friends through church.  The pastor at Park Church has made a point to make us feel welcome and introduce us to couples our own age.  We also met some great people at an Educators Fellowship meeting located at the north side branch of Park.

We are excited to go back to Holland for Labor Day, to see family, lots of friends from out of town, and that big, clean, beautiful beach.

Courey Vacation 2011

On Friday morning, Trena and I left Chicago to head toward Michigan for our Courey family summer camping vacation in Pentwater.  Like many vacations, we would spend some time at the camp site, but then head off on day trips to towns and beaches.

After a busy week, Trena still had a couple hours of work to do, but no harm done.  We stopped off in Holland and spent some lovely time at JP's.

When we got up north, we joined everyone at the Pentwater State Park, where they had been all day.  Jake, Si, and Aaron introduced us to a new game involving two posts, two bottles, and a frisbee.  We stayed there for another couple of hours before heading back to the camp ground.

On Saturday, we we north to Frankfort.  On the way we stopped at Bear Lake where we ate lunch.  In Frankfurt, we spent the afternoon at the beach with games, food, and books.  On the way home we had A&W for dinner.  We caught the sunset at a beach with a beautiful winding pool along the dunes leading into Lake Michigan.

We spent most of Sunday in Grand Haven and then spent Monday in Holland before heading back to Chi-Town.

Ann Arbor, LeRoy Weekend

After a full day of work Trena and Gabe climbed onto the 3 bus which took them downtown so they could catch the X28 bus.  at 4:45 we took the megabus from Union Station to Ann Arbor with a 20 minute stop.  We weren't able to sit next to each other, but luckily we were able to sleep for a lot of the trip.  We slept at Lauren Moak's while she was off watching Harry Potter 7 Part 2.  The next morning we had breakfast with Trevor and Lauren before Mom Thomas and Jim arrived to pick us up.

It was great to have a long drive up north with Jim and Mom, and we were able to stop and see Lola, Papa, and Uncle Todd in Traverse City on the way.  We arrived at Tim and Robbie's in time for a late dinner and a great campfire.

The next morning Tim and Robbie drove downstate to be with Jason, Susan, and newborn Reese Jaclyne (sp?) LeRoy.  They are in our thoughts and prayers.  Reese was born a little under 4 lbs., and will need to be kept at the hospital for a few weeks, but both her and Susan are doing well.

The rest of the day was as much a vacation as anyone could ask for.  Dad Thomas arrived around 10am. We spent most of the day either on the water, playing yard games, or eating.  The 90+ weather made the mid-afternoon young adult balloon fight a definitely highlight.  Saturday night included tacos and a bonfire that highlighted repeated verses of children's songs, "Let him be," and Sound of Music, and "Taco Party" (composed by Ryan, Jim, Susie, Trena, Gabe, and Matt).  

On Sunday, Dad flew home, and we packed up the car to head back to Chicago (not without another stop in TC for Chocolate Soda's).  It was a tired drive home, though not void of good conversations and road games.  

We're glad that Jim and Mom got to see our apartment and rest here until their drive back to VA.  The next day would be our 1 year anniversary!!!

Independence Day

We have been in Chicago for about a month now!  It has gone quickly, as we've stayed busy with work, setting up our apartment, and getting to know the area.  This does not mean that we didn't experience some loneliness at times when life slowed down.  We still miss the things that were most comforting in Holland.  However, we've felt blessed by the presence of friends and family visiting us a few times already.

On July 2, Schrock, McAuliffe, Sarah V., Sarah B., and the Phillips' arrived for dinner, the fireworks, and a sleepover.  It was great to be surrounded by friends who we feel very close to.  On the 3rd we went to Lincoln Park Zoo and then Mollie's Cupcakes.  It was an excellent day!  Dave stayed an additional night so that he would be rested for the drive back to Michigan.

On the 4th, Dave spent the morning with us before heading back home.  For the afternoon, Trena and I went to a cookout put on by my Jamaican soccer club, the West Indies Jets.  We enjoyed some authentic Jerk Chicken and rice, and Trena conversed with some families while I played some soccer.  At night, fireworks covered the horizon.  We attempted to watch the Navy Pier firework show from the Shedd Aquarium (only a 20 minute bike ride from our apartment), but when we got there the show had already ended.

the Worm Hole

On Saturday, we went into Wicker Park, a neighborhood on the NW side of Chicago.  We heard of hipsters and a cool coffee shop called the Worm Hole.  We got off the CTA blue line and began wandering down streets seeking this coffee shop.  We visited a four-story used book store, who's floor to ceiling labyrinth smelled of dust and mildewed pages.  The main strip was strewn with second-hand shops and bars, each with its own personality.

When we finally found the Worm Hole we took a seat at the bar and enjoyed glasses of iced tea, commenting on the Star Wars and other 70's/80's paraphernalia (including a full sized DeLorean).  We played Super Mario Bro's.  Wicker Park is truly hipster.

When we arrived back at the Loop downtown, we felt at home near the 20-story buildings and flying taxi's.  We realized that when it comes to being hipster, we are not.  We are us and it's ok to realize we're not something else.