somber day

it started out as just an olive and me day. we got up together, as usual, well actually i get up before olive does so i am ready to go. she ate, we played, she napped, and i cleaned, blogged, and organized our home. after her nap, i got her dressed and we were about to head out when hc had called me. i missed his phone call and called him back to some startling news.

hc used to work for a company called arrowstream for five years and still has friends who work for the company. the ceo of the company was shot by an employee that morning and the employee then committed suicide. such a crazy, sad incident. hc knew the shooter and of course, the ceo. i have met them both and we are both shocked at what has happened.

hc was on his way home. for a bit, we chilled and talked about what had happened. it’s disturbing, you never ever think something so close to home could happen like this. there is a lot of disbelief and confusion. my heart goes out to both their families.

after we spent some time absorbing what had happened, we decided to head out to enjoy the day. enjoy our life, because a grave moment like this really grounds you and you slow down to really appreciate what is around you.

we stopped in downtown downers grove for a late lunch. we spent a lovely time eating alfresco and all the servers and patrons doted on olive. she is such a cutie! after lunch, we strolled around the streets and hit some shops to pick up some things we needed.

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[olive staring at some people coming in]

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[summer skin]

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[cheers!]

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[cheers!]

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[this vegetable boxty kicked my ass]

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[me and my babes]

we did some more errands and then headed back home to relax. hc did some remodeling duties and olive and i played together. the night rolled by, we did a lot of reflecting, we talked a lot about stuff {our life, our relationship, our commitments}, and we cherished the time we get to spend together as a family.

xoxo

flashback friday

today takes us back to september 2009.

hc and i {dating for almost a year in this pic} decided one day to do a totally tourista thing: go to navy pier! we actually had a grand ‘ol time! we drove down to evanston and from there, we rode our bikes from evanston to chicago. as we were cruising down the lake, we figured since navy pier was the closest attraction, why not swing by there since we had nothing better to do.

we walked the pier, enjoyed the scenery, ate food, reveled in the people watching, and took a lot of pictures {of course!}. we had a swell time walking along the pier with all the tourists and being touristas ourselves! it was a lovely day of riding and a wonderful day spent exploring around chicago {my favorite city, besides new york! that’s my other love}.

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sometimes ya gotta step back, slow down, and look at the same old scenery and find something new and amazing in it. we tend to forget or take for granted all the wonderful offerings of this awesome city we live in…get out this weekend and enjoy an activity or something that is very chicago!!!

happy friday y’all!!!

xoxo