Holland, Michigan

That's right, I'm blogging from Tulip Town, U.S.A. My courses this quarter are all focused on one major project. We're acting as a consulting firm for the Holland Sentinel, which wants to boost its online presence and possibly develop new products to reach a wider audience. Maybe the biggest problem they face is the wide diversity in their coverage area: from super-rich Chicagoans who own summer homes on the lake front (much quieter over here than on the Chicago side) to rural families who have worked for the same manufacturing company for generations, and everything in between. So we're here interviewing the people who run the paper and several groups of community members to get to know them and provide a basis for our brainstorming and product development in the next ten weeks. I spent today speaking with members of the local arts council, customers at an out-of-the-way restaurant with a loyal following, and a high school journalism class. My classmates covered coffee shops, small business groups, religious groups, Latino groups, and all the rest. Friday we pool our data and hit the ground running next week. The weather here is no different from Evanston, but the setting is decidedly more rural and quaint, and in general more likeable (except that, while we were driving here, there was heavy fog blanketing the highway, which is already surrounded by dense trees, and it looked like something out of a horror film). I had a great plate of Cavatappi "Mac Style" at a pasta place last night (Mac & Cheese is still one of my favorite meals, anytime) and tonight we're eating at Butch's. If that's good too, I might consider asking Hillary if she'd like to return for the Tulip Festival, which I hear is a pretty big deal.

The Leah laugh

Logan was making Leah laugh one afternoon. It first started when he went to change her messy diaper and it was so stinky, Logan made a Whew! sound and Leah thought it was the funniest thing. This video is right after he finished changing her. I tried to video her on the changing table but for some reason I couldn't get it to play on our computer. Maybe I will get Logan to help me do it.

St. Patrick's Day Flop

For St. Patrick's Day we wanted to celebrate Chicago style (minus the drinking beer and getting rowdy part). We took the train downtown to see the Chicago River turned green for St. Patrick's Day. When we made it to the river, crowds of people were lined up and down the river to witness this event. So we found an open spot and waited for the green river.

As you can see, our spirits were high the first 15 minutes with anticipation for this exciting event. But much to our disappointment, we waited nearly 45 minutes and didn't see anything happening. We thought a motor boat would dry by while dumping the dye into the river, but obviously that wasn't happening. We decided to walk further down to see what was taking so long.

As it turns out, they put the dye in the river in one spot and wait for it to flow down the river. We finally saw it turning green but by then, we were cold (it's was 33 degrees), hungry and tired of waiting. We peeked at it long enough to take this picture.

We also wanted to see the St. Patrick's Day Parade, but somehow got the time wrong. When we went to Millennium Park to see the floats, they seemed to be all done. It wasn't the exciting day we had planned, but it was still fun to see those crazy Chicagoans dressed up for St. Paddy's Day. (We should of taken some pictures of people, but they might have wondered why we were snapping their picture).

Here's Leah in her green St. Patrick's Day outfit sitting on our green couch cover.

Our day at the Zoo

Last Wednesday we met Logan's cousin Michelle, her husband Matt and little boy James at the Lincoln Park Zoo down in Chicago. We both drove there because it was eight blocks from the nearest train station, and you can usually find free street parking. The zoo is also free, so it was a perfect outing for the poor student families that we are.

We saw lots of animals grazing outside because of the warmer temperatures (warmer meaning in the 50s). The last two times we've been the animals were inside because it was too cold. Here's Logan outside the zebra fence, and you might have to click on the picture for a closer view.

We tried to get a good shot of Leah and me in front of the fish aquarium. I think Michelle took a better one. I'll ask her to email it to me.

Overall, we spent close to four hours at the zoo trying to see every exhibit. It was hard to pick which one was our favorite, but I think the winner is the polar bear swimming laps in his pool. If you look closely, you can see him sticking out his tongue.

After the zoo, we made a quick trip to the Garfield Park Conservatory next door. Logan tested Michelle to see if she could identify all the plants from her landscaping background. He thought he was pretty smart when he named the plant and she couldn't. (though he peeked at the label when she wasn't looking) Our favorite was the Orchid room with all different colored flowers.

You'll have to see the other zoo pictures at our photo page.

My famous Husband

I forgot to add this to the House on the Rock post. On our way there, we drove through small Wisconsin farming towns with rolling hills and farm land in between. We saw this sign below and immediately stopped for a picture. Who knew Logan had another town named after him besides Logan, Utah? When we stopped for the picture we considered settling there and Logan running for mayor. We would be treated like kings, or so we thought. But we realized soon after that there were only 276 people in the town, and that's a little too rural for us. At least it would make it a little easier for him to get elected.

The House on the Rock

On the way back from Minnesota (see the post below Spring Break Begins), we stopped in Wisconsin to see the House on the Rock. Logan read about this marvel in an article for class and has wanted to see it ever since. We found a cheap hotel near Wisconsin Dells, which we might visit more on another occasion, and drove out to the House on the Rock the next day. Our anticipation and fascination for this House was mounting as we pulled up the drive way and parked. Our first impressions as we entered the oriental style section of the house was "This is a creepy, dark cave, and I'm getting claustrophobic." The ceilings weren't tall enough for Logan, so he had to hunch over.

We then made our way over to the Infinity Room. I will let you read what their website describes this room as: This unique room with walls of glass, projects out over the Wyoming Valley 218 feet (editor's note: the house is actually in Wisconsin by the way). A glass cocktail table provides visitors with a breathtaking view of the forest floor 156 feet below. With 3,264 windows, there's no doubt about it, there truly is no other room like it in the world. The picture to the above right shows the very end of the Infinity Room that points out where no one is allowed to walk.

This really was like no other room. After I saw this picture on the left, I had this incredible sick feeling that we would fall to our deaths. Make sure you click on the picture so you can see what the room looks like.

We can't really begin to describe what this house was like. Our tour also included the Heritage of the Sea building that features a 200-foot sea creature engaged in a struggle with a giant octopus. The sea creature is longer than the Statue of Liberty is tall. It was an incredible sight to see! You'll just have to travel there and experience it for yourself. To view more pictures from the House on the Rock, please visit our photo page.

Spring Break Begins

The last time Logan had a break from school - right before Christmas vacation - we had high hopes of visiting the holiday events of Chicago. Instead we spent our time inside because we didn't want to take Leah out in the nine-degree weather. So for Logan's spring break, we were determined to have fun.

We started out the festivities with a road trip to Minnesota for the baby blessing of my brother's fourth son. While enjoying the beautiful sunny weather, we packed our days full of swimming in the hotel pool, visiting a children's museum, keeping four little boys out of trouble, watching hockey games, and enjoying lots and lots of food. My family really knows how to eat well. And of course, we enjoyed our time spent with family including my parents, my brother (Matt) and his family in Minnesota, and my other brother (Drew) and his family. Logan calls the weekend the Wallace Convention. I told him that it was only half of my family, and reminded him about the real Wallace convention/family reunion coming this July.

I have to mention how adorable my nephews were playing hockey during our trip. Andrew (6) and Caleb (4) wowed us with their skating skills. Underneath their sweaty hockey pads, helmet, and hockey clothes, they chased the puck like future NHL stars. We were so proud.

I also mentioned swimming in the hotel pool. We introduced Leah to her first swimming pool, but she didn't enjoy it as much as we thought. We brought her out into the open water, and she immediately started to cry. I thought she would warm up to it after awhile but she didn't, and we took her out. Maybe we should have just let her lounge on the side in her darling bathing suit.

To see more pictures of our excursion, visit our photo page.

Six months old

Leah just turned six months old on Sunday. The little cream puff weighed in at 20 lbs. 5 oz. at her appointment yesterday. That puts her in the heavyweight division with Collin. We joked about it when they were born (see my comment on this post), but the more I see the more I really think they're meant for each other. Leah makes us laugh every day by doing things like holding an object in her hand and talking to it, flapping her marshmallow arms like she's about to fly, and shaking her head at us. Maybe she's seen us do it, but I don't think she's really saying "no." Also, lately she's started to like her mother more than her old dad, probably because dad has no FOOD. Hillary assures me she'll turn into a daddy's girl later.

This post sponsored by Kelcy (polka dot shirt) and Angie (performance fleece).

She's taking off...

Leah started flapping her arms a couple weeks ago like she was getting ready to take off. This video was taken as I changing either her clothes or her diaper, and she just started flapping away. I left her in this tank top onesie so you could see her chubby arms and legs.

Exciting news this morning

Logan wakes up every morning with the sound of Leah babbling in her crib. He will usually get up in the morning with her and let me sleep another hour since I get up with her at night. After that extra hour Logan will come in with Leah to wake me up. Well, this morning Logan also brought some exciting news into our room. Leah hit another milestone. Her first tooth broke through the gums either yesterday or last night, and we haven't noticed any crankiness or side effects. It's another reason we feel so blessed and lucky to be her parents. Sorry, there's not a picture to go with this post. She won't let us see it in her mouth, but we can feel it.

Old teddy, new laughs

Exclusive! Leah has been letting out some fantastic little giggles lately, and we finally got her on camera. It's tough going through her agent to set up screen time, you know. Lots of red tape for such a big star. Theodore, the hot pink teddy bear (hot pink was a cool color in the 80's) belonged to Logan when he was little, and he kept it over the years. As you can see, Leah is growing fond of it as well.

Every time we play it for her now, she smiles at herself. I wonder if she knows that it's her laughing.