Sup ya'll - I apologize for having more to say than I have pictures to show - but you'll just have to bear with me: So this picture was taken yesterday - this is Obama's envoy on Lake Shore Drive coming from his place in Hyde Park to his "transition headquarters" downtown. The red arrow points to our building, so yes...I do find it rather cool that the President-elect drives right in front of us everyday (as though you guys didn't already think we were proud enough of this great city). And yes, I do find it odd that their rear windows are open...energy? I don't know, I could make a silly right-wing comment about how they should all be packed in the car to the right of them (green arrow), but that would-be-silly, and I'm not for Inconvenient Ridiculousness. Uh-hem...excuse me.

Anyway, we did spend election day out in our front yard (Grant Park) to take in the history that was in the making and experience the energy felt throughout the city. It was hard to ignore the excitement spread across the whole city and the hundreds of thousands at the park. I've really never seen so many people unified for a cause. I certainly failed to capitalize on such an event: a friend of a friend invested $500 to print "Change Happened" on 2000 shirts. At $15 a pop, he sold out hours before it even got dark. Let's hope those shirts are wearable in 4 years...uh-hem, pardon.

Pics: We spent last weekend up in Lincoln Park. Every once in a while, Heather and I like to get our yuppy fix in and go to places where we get to tilt our noses a little higher and attempt to blend in with the other yuppies. For good reason though, we love Lincoln Park (the neighborhood, and the actual park) for all the great things it has to offer. We enjoy Molly's cupcakes, crepes by our friend from Brussels, and my personal favorite, Aloha Eats - Spam burgers - yum. LP is a great neighborhood and always a fun date with the lady.

We took a hundred of these, and this was the best shot we ended up with...(above)

We also spent about an hour walking through the Lincoln Park Zoo. Since Heather takes Ruthy (her wednesday baby) there often, she was able to act as a zoo guide. I have an odd affection for zoos. It's odd because I only like zoos in the fall. Smells don't seem to penetrate the senses when it's cooler out, there's less people, and of course, the fall colors. I am mesmerized by animals and I find it quite relaxing. It was indeed a very serene fall afternoon.

Thanks for your comments, we need to do better at commenting on your blogs. We actively read all the blogs on our list. Hope all is well.

Remember Clark Griswold and Mary the store clerk?

Back by popular demand, my friends, is another update of what's going on in The Patin Palace. Ok - well I don't really know about demand, but I did promise Heather I would blog - and in fact, I do have some really interesting things to share with you.

First of all, today is Halloween - and by even mentioning it, I'm going against all that I believe in when it comes to this pseudo-holiday. I will save you from any further explanation, but let's just say my reasons are purely economical. Umm...here's this year's punkin -

Brian, a good friend of mine, joined in the carving festivities - his is on the left.
The only good thing about H-------- is when it's over, the holiday season begins. That's right, this weekend we're making the trip in our '85 wood paneled wagon to the rural country to find ourselves an oversized tree only to be stampeded over and burned to a crisp by Cousin Eddie's dog and Uncle Lewis' cigar. (I'm sorry, Christmas Vacation is a holiday must to bring in the Christmas spirit)

I'm sorry - I'm getting too excited for Christmas this year - I have in fact, already watched C.V. once for this upcoming holiday, and plan to this weekend...I'll miss you Steve :(

Back to H--------, our friends the Walkers are known for great halloween (tired of typing dashes) parties - and they hosted their second annual one a few nights ago. Great games and even better costumes made the night one to remember. It's always fun to see what LDS adults come up with for halloween - I'll spare the embarrassment of everyone that was there in hopes that they put themselves up on their blog - This was Heather and me this year -

Okay - well that's actually Erin, who dressed up as Juno (along with her husband Mike, as Bleeker - awesome) and Heather, who dressed up as Erin. As of this past Tuesday, Heather's costume is no longer valid, for the Featherstones added another citizen to this great city of Chicago - A-train.

Everything about this outfit is real.

This past weekend we had the Stahelihs (mispelling intentional) in town from one of the forks in Utah. They're decent people and we enjoyed the company.

In all seriousness, we had the most fun we've had in a while. Other than their appreciation for country music (must be a Kanab thing), it's nice to know Patin Culture is represented outside our 22x16 ft. apartment. (That is not meant to be pretentious, and in fact, I don't know what Patin culture even means...)

We decided to take a lake and river tour on the Wendella - it was pretty good. I would recommend it if you'd like to see Chicago from a different point of view.

Spoon - Chicago at Night...?

Okay, so among doing other things that took an hour and a half - I must move on with my day - stay tuned for further updates from the Griswolds...Patins.

Getting back to blogging...!

So our biggest and latest news is…….We’re going to Cambodia! Yes I know I’ve been saying that since we got married, but it’s really happening! Much credit is due to our friends Juan and Whitney (Juan served with Allen in Cambodia and now lives here in Chicago) for bringing up the idea of going together. We tried our best, but due to our different schedules we will be going in January, and for 3 weeks! Now I’ll be honest, I’m a little scared, and I’ve never been out of the States so I don’t know what to expect of a third world country. But with Allen serving his mission there, knowing the language and the people, I know we’ll be fine! Hopefully we’ll be able to do some good while we’re there (Allen has mentioned of renting beach cruiser bicycles like he had and getting dressed in Sunday clothes while riding around all day to get a feel for what he went through…he says the crazy looks are enough for you to forget about how hot it is).

I whipped up this little number in a couple of days. It’s my first diaper bag - and no, I’m not pregnant, I just fell in love with the fabric and wanted to make something. I’m pretty impressed with how it turned out, considering it’s the first thing I’ve made using a pattern. And the best part is…it’s reversible! Oh, and the label will be the name of my company when I start one!

Last Saturday was the most gorgeous and memorable day all year! Just picture it - it’s clear, sunny, about 72 degrees, with a slight cool breeze…simply breathtaking! I had a couple of hours to spare with Allen studying really hard for tests, so I decided to take a walk and get out and take advantage of these last few days of warmth and sun before the snow rolls in. I took my camera in hopes of savoring these times - Look I’m a tree hugger!

Allen - he’s sweet and thoughtful, but I would never call him selfish except when it comes to sharing my homemade strawberry freezer Jam. Since strawberry season is almost over, it was time to stock up for winter. This weekend I made 8 more jars (you’d be so proud Mom, it’s part of my food storage - that is until Allen eats it all up). I was feeling adventurous so I made a couple jars of raspberry too. Yum – o! (shout out to R.Ray)

So Allen’s family decided to get a Shi Tzu, and initially I had bad thoughts about the whole thing but after Mom and Dad’s visit last weekend, I am hesitant to say… I’m an “Ollie” lover! He’s the cutest puppy I’ve ever seen! But you be the judge…

Green Jello

Sup ya'll - so I owe you guys a report on my week in Utah. Look, I know it's "Zion" and all, but if it weren't for all you friends and family out there, I can't say there'd be much to go out there for. I guess that's a little harsh. I am pictured off-roading at one of the peaks on the point of the mountain - that was pretty cool. I have to say - the mountains were a wonder to look at. Very nice. Oh - and the whole bad Utah attitude is not serious......I mean, I heard it's great for skiing.

So I spent my first day with my old companion from the mish - Trevor, we had a gay ol' time and he showed me around his part of town. I enjoyed a scrumpcious Crown Burger, shared some laughs over Flight of the Conchords, and checked out Park City - it was fun.

Then it was off to the High Uintas for a 4 day camp/hike trip with the brothers-in-law minus Ryan plus Justin. Can't say I enjoyed that very much, seeing as my idea of camping is a place where you're not freezing wearing anything less than 5 layers, and you're not sweating profusely, sticking to the polyester sleeping bag during a night's rest. Did I mention that no one seem to bring up the fact that mosquitos are EVERYWHERE? Sure, I'm just a city-boy...I can't handle it...Well - if you don't mind hundreds of mosquitos swarming your face and flying into your eyes constantly - be my guest - you handle it. As for me and my house, we will stay away.

I did catch my first real fish though. And I say real because this was the first time I wasn't using my 2 and a half foot blue and red Snoopy fishing rod. Man those were frustrating times. Memories of caught lines, slimey worms, and zero fish. My impressions of fishing were not good. But amazingly enough, Garrett's first three casts caught fish - then it was bliss from that point on. This was my first guy...not bad for an amateur eh? I then had the pleasure of helping Garrett cut up and clean the next 20+ fish we caught the next hour and a half for dinner - delish.

I felt like a Cambodian again, eating fish right off the coals and getting to stare the little guy right in his lifeless eyes as he fed me his nutrients. (Sorry vegetarians.) Jimmy and Me. The father of the cute kids you'll see below.

I failed to mention, to make the trip even more fun, we decided to throw out this new way of hiking and go old school - no trails. Yeah - it wasn't on purpose. We got lost and ended up hiking an extra 2 hours or so up and over the mountain as oppose to around it. That took longer? You ask...Well - when it's nothing but thick brush, boggy marshes, boulders, and howling coyotes - you tend to be careful where you take your steps.

This was a cool picture of a lone tree that survived a pretty powerful avalanche - the path is pretty obvious, but I couldn't get a shot of the whole avalanche, it was at least a mile long. Sometimes I feel like this tree - standing up and fighting the forces that want to push it down - but I hold firm and true to my foundation. Okay, not really, but maybe someone out there does feel this way. Maybe we all do sometimes....

Some Utah scenery on the way to our mountain. Pretty cool.

My favorite part of the trip was coming across little lakes and ponds; places where it seemed unscathed by human contact. It was really cool to see nature just the way it was.

Upon our survival we headed up to Kaysville where Jimmy and his family live. I spent a couple of days with them. They literally are the coolest bunch of kids - their knowledge of good music is beyond 95% of the people I talk music with - and definitely of anyone within twice their age...lil' Stu on the right enjoyed The Bravery and Smashing Pumpkins not too long ago. Autographed tickets too. "Do you have Highly Suspicious?" - The first question Jonah (on the left) asked me when he saw my ipod. When I told him I didn't, he then asked if I had any My Morning Jacket. The guy was checking out my stuff. I failed miserably.

For dinner one night we had tacos. Of course, all Max wanted was the shredded cheese. Holly being a good mother made sure to feed him something a little more nutritous after we were all done. So Max had a bowl of oatmeal, as you can probably see. With a little cheese left in the bowl, I offered Max what was left, instead of putting it straight in his mouth like he had been doing all night, he decided to sprinkle it on his oatmeal. "Brrrrrrrng" So, with such limited time I wasn't able to catch up with our great friends the Stahelis and team Oyler. I was very disappointed - for some reason I thought everyone was so close - but I guess Logan and Spanish Fork are a little ways from Kaysville. I got home, and our awesome friends, the Probst family, joined us up in Chicago from Nashville. It was great - seeing as we are the only ones really far from everyone else's friends and family, it was great to have some visitors. We had to share our Wrigley Field, our Chicago style deep dish pizza, a great authentic Mexican meal in Pilsen, and everything else we love about Chicago.
Here is Jenny and Heather as we made our way to Joy-Yee down in Chinatown. Dave loved it - for good reason too, Joy-Yee is the real deal. We love Chinatown.
Thanks to Jenny's good friend, Anthony, we scored some southside tickets. The game was a blowout, but it's always fun to get out to the ballpark every summer. Thanks to the Probst for giving us a reason to get out and see the sights again - Chicago never gets old. You guys are awesome.
Well, that was our week - Heather heads out to Utah to drive with her mom out to California for the biannual family camp out. That's whats in store for us...check back in a week with new and exciting updates coming your way from the Patin Palace!

On the Beaches of Capistrano

"I'm talking about a place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talking about a little place called Aspen."

Welcome to the Patin Palace - we're going strong - two weeks in a row now! Hope you are all doing well. We miss everyone who is far from us and we wish we could see all of you.

This past week we felt we took advantage of the great weather. Chicago was very lucky to have sunny skies and hot temperatures (for here), we spent as much time outside as we could! After 18 months and two summers, it still amazes us every time we step outside that we live in such a beautiful city. As we made our way to the beach on Friday, we were glad we didn't have to put up with the ridiculous amount of traffic everywhere! Allen went for a run along the lake at about 3 p.m. on Friday and people had already set up tents and marked their territory for the fireworks that didn't come on until 10. We packed a little picnic, and at about 8:30 strolled over to the lake. It was very pleasant. This is actually one of the only shots that came out clear that night. So, for all of your viewing pleasure...

For all of you that didn't feel like setting up camp and waiting around for 7 hours for the show, here is a clip of the final couple of minutes. It was quite spectacular.

As for what's in store for the week - Allen will be heading to Utah for a few days to join the other brothers-in-law of Heather's family for a hike/camp trip. He is looking forward to that, as he has never really seen much of Utah other than the lovely Provo..............

Hope you all have a great week, and remember, feel free to stop by the ol' Patin place anytime.

It has happened - this has been something we have been working on for over a year now. After witnessing the joy found in our couple friends after having one of their own, we recognized it was not only an addition that would bring a new spirit into our home, it was our responsibility to move on to the next stage in our relationship. So, we are happy to finally announce after months of unsuccessful efforts, Wii has joined our family!



Flashbacks of Christmas ’91 brought with it a quiet sob of joy – for a void caused by the loss of Allen’s Super Nintendo had been filled (now with the ability to download old school games) while standing in line at Best Buy – dazed – for the chance to relive childhood moments was quite surreal. For what it’s worth, that was the best $199 Grandma could have ever spent. Who would have known that Mario Kart (Yoshi being Allen’s favorite) would teach the driving skills essential for survival on Chicago streets or the efficiency only to be exemplified by the 6 hr. and 4 min. record down I-65 to Nashville?
Not to limit the amount of Nintendo’s life-learning-lessons, abilities beyond pure physical talent were gained too. Cost-benefit analysis came with the gathering of bananas in the most dangerous of places for Donkey Kong’s sustained health – despite the chance of falling into a screen-less oblivion. The hard lessons of high-risk high-return and diversification were learned through not following the beaten path (yes, there were at times a bunch of bananas, and sometimes nothing at all).
So while our new Wii gets Heather boxing random-nameless “Miis” – the chance to be 10 again is worth reliving the horrors of Wario’s castle.



Okay, so after all that - we have been enjoying summer in Chicago! Allen has been in school trying to make up for the credits he lost after switching into the business college. Despite our new addition - we have made it to the beach a few times and have set a goal to go on a bike ride at least once a week. Thanks to Heather's stellar action poses and Allen's sweet photography skills - we captured this shot. (credit to Brian for throwing the frisbee)

We've heard of tandem bikes and we've heard of Mormon families doing weird things for fun - so could this family possibly be....Mormon? - all wearing helmets - matching spandex shorts - you decide. Oh....did we mention the whole family is riding on ONE BIKE?
Among our Chicago adventures this summer was the Death Cab For Cutie show in early June. It was nice to enjoy one of our favorite bands right down the street from us.

While in the music spirit - Heather came across this little number on Youtube. Please take the time to check it out, you won't regret it. If only Allen had been this talented at that age...oh where he'd be now......

Hey Jude - The Beatles

Hello Goodbye

Hello anxious visitors of the Patin Palace! Yes, we realize our doors have been shut for quite some time now, but we are back open for business!

We've had to say goodbye to some friends we hold dear this month, namely our friends at Dunder Miflin, who we will miss until we find out what happens with Ryan, the Dwight/Angela/Andy love triangle, and Michael's old and new flames, the Wood Family, and Bianca.



First of all, Heather has had to say goodbye to little Joey (showcased previously), the Wood family, and their warm Wrigleyville home. In an effort to find a family to care for closer to home (she passed Wrigley Field on her way to work...not so fun on game days!), she has been in search and found a family that's no more than 4 or 5 minutes away. With a commute that's six times shorter and less hours, Heather will have more time to spend doing other things she loves. But it has come at the cost of losing a wonderful fun-loving family. Heather says hello to her new family this coming Monday. They are very sweet and the children she'll be caring for are 2 years and 3 months, so it will be a handful! We'll keep you posted...



Our next goodbye of the month will be Bianca - our mazda6. More out of trying to cut every cost associated with having a car, not to mention when your living in the city, the intangible cost and frustration of seeing your car scratched up by some careless, thoughtless, wonderful human being. So it is bittersweet - goodbye to Bianca - who has given us many great road trips, but auf wiedersehen to parking tickets, parking garages, dents & scratches, and $60+ gas fillups.



Sbakir to "Scooter" or "Black Lightning" ! Our new Schwinn 150 recently joined our family as the newest member! Sorry dogs are too expensive in the long run, we don't care for their strong "scent," and no matter how we'd try, I don't see attempting to ride one along Lake Shore Drive on a sunny Chicago day working out very well.



Given our new Americanese sensation - we figured we'd take it along some of Chicago's tourist spots and take part in the obligitory tourist pose of a certain part of the world. If you've seen it, you know what we're talking about, if not, then it's not that funny anyway.



Now, there are some critics out there that just don't see how we'll do it - to them we say - that's a relevant concern, but for what we're saving a month - not to mention how we won't have to deal with our garage parking staff - we'll find ways to get around if we have to.

That is all we have for now...

Joys of my Job!

Some days my job can be be very hard, and for most days I wouldn't trade it for anything (except for my own children of course)! This is Joey, my Mon-Wed baby. He loves hockey, frozen corn, squirrels, and giving his dog kisses! Together we like to play hide n' seek, take walks to the park, play at Gymboree, and take frequent quick trips to Target. When I compare him with Ruthie (Thurs baby) I've discovered that I prefer little girls, they are less of a handful. Joey has all the energy in the world and never stops running around, so some days I feel like I've been hit by a truck!

So at work we have a new little friend living in the garage. Paul, (yes, he's been named) spends his days poking around looking for food, and posing for pictures. Isn't he cute?

Catch-up

Hey everybody! So we were finally able to upload pictures from the past 3 months so we have a little sharing to do. We'll save you the boring details and just post them because we know some of you have been waiting to see these.

As for currently, Allen has his last week before spring break, so he's been pretty anti-social these past few days. Contrary to common belief, he's actually been diligent with his work and not using study as an excuse to not to hang out with friends! It's been a couple of weeks since he's been able to sit down and play guitar, so he's looking forward to getting together with his buddies to a jam session or two...

Liz and Garrett, we played Twister...not as fun as we remembered playing with jr. high crushes, but I don't think we'll bother heeding your strategical advice next time.

This last Thursday, Chicago had one of the nicest days this year (about 52 degrees), so Allen ditched his one class and went to work with me! Driving their family's car and taking Ruthy (my Thursday baby) to 'play group' and driving around with a 'baby on board' made us feel like old folks. It was a neat little adventure nevertheless. We spent some time at the Lincoln Park Zoo and realized we won't be counting on Allen to watch our kids while we're at the zoo, he gets easily distracted by the animals...

These past couple of weeks have also been a time for visits from friends. There's no question of our Chicago pride, so we always enjoy showing others how awesome city life is. Olivia came in from Southern California for a couple of days and loved every minute of it. I finally got the opporrtunity to go see Wicked, because I wasn't going to go alone (Allen wouldn't go without a trustworthy approval). Loved it! Here's a couple pics for Olivia, I have more to send.

And one last little visit we got recently was from one half of the Chandace duo. It was great to see Chad as we went on a little expedition to the north side and checked out Aloha Eats, a little Hawaiian grub. De-lish! (shout out to our fav. tv host...RR). Then we ventured next door to Molly's Cupcakes. A $4 cupcake, are you serious? If anything, the Sock 'Em Bop 'Em Robots was worth what the cupcake wasn't. A heated battle, but Chad was the victor. 'Good-night'!

"Nature!"....'Gou-let'