I know Halloween was forever ago...

...but here are the pictures so you know that we partied hard.

A week before Halloween, we did a little practice run with Josh's costume to make sure it fit and, more importantly, to show Grandma and Grandpa his ferocity while they were in town. Josh wasn't too crazy about the tiger get up. I'm thinking he wanted a more manly, realistic portrayal of the animal. One that matched the roar he'd been working on. Not some fuzzy-cutesy-stuffed-animal-looking thing that covered his head and made him all sweaty.

Still, once he realized his little costume scored him CANDY, he was a trooper. Here's a picture from the day before Halloween when they had trick-or-treating at the business school. LOVE all these costumes.

On Halloween morning, Mardee and I were in charge of a party for the Tot Lot kids (young children of U of C students who use the little indoor playroom in our building). It was a success! Kids + costumes + toys + sugar = unstoppable FUN! Here is "pumpkin walk" that lasted as long as the kids' attention spans...about five minutes.

A hungry little shark named Max circling the snack table.

We had a table where the kids could decorate a bag with stickers so they could put all their Halloween candy in it. We also set out a world map so people could mark their home countries. There are a LOT of international families here, so it was really cool to see where everyone came from.

And here's a cute little tiger pushing a chicken that wiggled out of her costume. Josh loves little Rozi.

Later that day, there was a trunk-or-treat at the church, followed by an awesome Halloween party that Carina headed up. There were contests for pumpkin carvings, costumes, and soups. There were also carnival games and a CRAZY number of people! It was definitely the place to be! By the way, I did dress up (sort of). I had a witch's hat that night, but it didn't want to stay on my head. And earlier that day, I cut out some triangles and a toothy grin and taped them on my stomach to look like a jack-o-lantern. Count it. It's the best I could do on such a busy day.

And just so I NEVER lose these pictures or allow this memory to leave my brain...

Here is what my dad did for Halloween.

Yeah. My dad is Batman. I'm pretty proud of him for dressing up at all.

He and his boss dressed up and drove around to the different pharmaceutical stores/offices they oversee and surprised their employees. I sooooooo wish I could have been there to make fun of him and to poke his inflated pectorals.

Guess who's absolutely DONE with her undergraduate degree???

THIS GIRL!!!!!

(Actually, both of these girls are finished, but today I'm specifically talking about me. This is a pic from 2004, the very beginning of my freshman year at BYU, with my awesome roommate Lindsey on our way to a Jock Rock party.)

Yes, it's true. I actually finished. A few minutes ago, I sent off my last lesson for my final class: a 43-page typed portfolio of various writing assignments. No, "43" is not a type-o. It was a beast!

Just so nobody wants to vomit in their mouth while they are reading, this isn't meant to be a brag post. I just get a lot of questions about when I'll FINALLY finish school and how many classes I have left...so here are your answers, people. NOW. ZERO. DONE. EL FIN. NO MAS!

How am I celebrating, you ask? I'm about to go take a nice nap while my baby is snoozing. I think I deserve it. Usually this time would be used to catch up on schoolwork. It's kind of a weird feeling not to have any assignments hanging over my head. Now it's just cleaning, cooking, taking care of Josh (and Matt), laundry, grocery shopping, and an endless list of random errands.

Ahhhh...THIS is the life I've been waiting for!!!

Lincoln Park Zoo

A few days ago, Matt and I realized that he had not taken a break from school to go somewhere fun in far too long. Josh and I have been enjoying this city without him, accompanied by the other husbandless business school wives and their adorable children. I know I haven't posted much, but that's because we've been SO busy going to fun places like the museums and the apple orchard. It's really not fair to our poor men, but it's much better than suffering along with them.

So yesterday, we drove to the Lincoln Park Zoo with some friends and family that randomly decided to join us. By the end of the day, I decided that Josh's version of Heaven will most definitely involve lots of caged animals that he can gawk at behind a safe, thick layer of glass. He was so happy to be there! So fascinated by every animal!

Here's a bunch of our crew. From left to right: Campbell, Mardee('s half face), Spencer, Brooklyn, Carson, Matt, Josh, and Cadence. You've got it made when the kids in your group can take up all the railing in front of an exhibit -- no one to ruin the view!

All of these kids are so curious and smart! So many questions! So many animals! So little time!

Don't worry...Josh isn't falling. Sometimes the excitement of seeing REALLY big cats just gets the best of him and he flips out a little. Let's just say I was really glad he didn't figure out how to squeeze through the bars of the protective fence.

Here are Matt and Josh staring down a ferocious-looking mini crocodile. The funny thing was there were monkeys playing right above his pond. Ya know the song about Mr. Crocodile snapping the monkeys out of the tree? Yeah, bad idea zookeepers.

Every time Campbell saw me taking pictures, she ran straight for the camera with a super cheesey grin on her face. I wish I had a picture of her expression, but her sweet little cheeks got so close to the camera that it couldn't focus right. Campbell is without a doubt one of the sweetest babies I have ever met. She loves hugs from everyone! Rarely does she see another baby and forget to attack them with a big bear hug.

I kind of feel like a broken record, but Chicago IS beautiful! I think it is particularly cool that the zoo is right up close to the city. And did I mention it is absolutely FREE? Can life get better? I submit that it cannot!

Those big apes were pretty entertaining to the little monkeys on our side of the glass.

What? I'm in a picture? Well there you go... proof that I was actually there. Usually I'm the one behind the camera, so it's nice to have a family shot once in a while.

Carina, Carson and Brooklyn...Too cute for words. We love this family!

It was such a treat to have the DADS with us that day. Are you confused that Matt is wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and flip-flops? That's because it was 68 DEGREES outside! Can you believe it?! We were expecting to be stuck inside in an ice storm at this point in the year. We're lovin' it!

The lions were totally awesome. There was this huge lioness that was just pacing back and forth on her rock while the male took a little nap. At one point, they started roaring really loud back and forth. Josh loved it! He got some good practice making animal sounds that day.

That was Matt's version of the Circle of Life at Pride Rock. I'm not sure how the lions felt about it because that was right before they started roaring at us.

And here is how our husbands spend quite a bit of time these days. Responding to emails, checking football scores, and texting each other about school on their fancy phones. Okay okay, in their defense, at this point they were actually just looking up directions to Flubba Dub Chub's (a hot dog restaurant) so they could feed their starving families, but I still thought it was a good representation of their "free time", with school always in the back of their minds.

And now for a slightly less cute (but still hilarious) picture of my baby...

Before you get grossed out, just think...how many kids do you know who can hold a snot bubble for a picture? Eh? That's talent.

About 3.5 seconds after this picture was taken, Josh's head collapsed onto his chest and he fell into a deep sleep coma. This fun day really tired him out. He even stayed asleep on me while we walked like five blocks to get food AND while we ordered at this little delicious shack of a restaurant. I really enjoyed it as I was reminded of the days when he would ONLY sleep on or next to me. I'm so glad he's old enough to enjoy the zoo now! Thanks for the fun day, friends!

Grandma and Grandpa Madsen Visit

First, some pictures of a seriously cute couple for your viewing pleasure.

As I've said before, I live in a crazy beautiful place. Hyde Park in October is an autumn wonderland. I can't get enough of it. We have been fortunate enough not to have been scared away by frigid weather so far, which is a very pleasant surprise that makes this place seem even more lovely. The leaves all seemed to fall at once this week, and luckily I got my camera out just in time to catch some of the colors. These pictures really can't do justice to the scenery, but here is a little peek at my world from last Sunday.

The University of Chicago is about a mile from our apartment. The campus is filled with gorgeous old gothic-style buildings that are covered in ivy. I LOVE it!

This is one of my favorite streets in our neighborhood simply because of the little cone-shaped roofs on these cute houses. I get to look down this street every time I walk to the car.

Here is one of the many beautiful towers on one of the many beautiful churches surrounding campus. The architecture here just makes me swoon!

And here is what my house WILL look like someday.

Get the picture? Chicago is beautiful right now. Not wanting to miss out, my parents flew here last weekend to spend three-and-a-half wonderful days with their grandbaby. (And Matt and me, but we all know why they really came.)

Our first stop on the way home from the airport was Giordano's to get some famous Chicago-style deep dish pizza. Nothing like it. It's definitely a favorite around here.

Grandma couldn't resist buying Josh a little monkey backpack at the airport. He loves his new little friend!

One rainy morning, we took Grandma and Grandpa to the Museum of Science and Industry. I hadn't been to any section of the museum other than the kids play area, and I was really impressed with some of the other exhibits. There's an enormous U-boat (submarine) in the basement -- the first and only one the U.S. captured from Germany in World War II. It's a pretty awesome piece of history.

As we were coming out of church on Sunday, we saw that the sun had finally decided to show its face. So we went for a glorious walk toward the university and my dad and I took zillions of pictures along the way. (There's your warning. LOTS of pictures.)

Nice pose Dad. Nerd.

I know what you are wondering, and the answer is yes, my mom did have a go on the slide herself.

This is pretty much how my dad looked most of the afternoon. He's really into photography and tries to teach me a little here and there, but I have a lot to learn. (Just as soon as I'm done with school....)

Searching for squirrels!

I hope Josh never gets too old

to give his daddy kisses!

I'm so lucky that two of my cousins live on our street. We got to visit with both families before my parents left. Here's a pic of the Clive boys with their Uncle Steve. Wonder where they got the idea for that studly hairstyle?

I love this lady.

Earlier in the weekend, Josh and I took my parents downtown. It was a drizzly day, but we did what we could and stayed pretty dry. We had to stop at this little park because Josh saw a bunch of squirrels and started going nuts in his stroller. Here he is making friends with a critter that was getting a little too close for Mommy's comfort.

We tried to hit Willis Tower that day, but the visibility was absolutely zero, so we decided to head back to the Bean. Earlier that day when it was raining, it seemed like a whole different Bean. It was all fogged up with water lines from the rain. Cool, but not the same.

I was glad it stopped raining so my parents could see this baby in its glory. On days like this, the top of the Bean seems to blend in with the sky.

The next day, the sun came out for a few hours so we went back to the Tower. Apparently, every other tourist in the city had the same idea because it took an hour and a half to get to the top. Still, it was awesome. Josh gets really excited up there. He likes to sit as close to the edge as possible and press his face against the window yelling "Oh boy! Oh boy!" Sometimes he's a little too brave for my liking.

Back at home, Josh stayed pretty busy entertaining his guests. He very purposefully took out all of these cans from the box, brought them to us in the living room two at a time, and collected them after we pretended to gulp them down. His whole process was surprisingly organized and thoughtful. I think this was his helpful way of saying, "Hey fatties, lose some weight!"

Josh was dressed like a little prep school student for church on Sunday. Notice my cute mommy's little Halloween dress. She's always so festive!

Thanks for a super fun weekend Grandma and Grandpa! We all love you to pieces!