Go cubs Go!

On the train on the way to the game. We are mastering the train system here!

Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago waddya say, the cubs are gonna win today!

(this is part of the song they sing everytime the cubs win....)

Chicago has the most loyal and spirited fans I have ever seen! It adds to the experience of going to the game. All summer long we've heard about the Cubs, seen their apparel everywhere, and even heard the Cubs song at the Rascal Flatts concert. So we were pretty excited to get decked out in Cubs gear and go the the famous Wrigley Field for a game. Wrigley Field itself is like a museum. It was built in 1914, almost 100 years ago. So this is the 96th season. It is the second oldest stadium (to Fenway Park, built in 1912). This field was where Babe Ruth his his "called shot" where he pointed in the bleachers. After each game they fly a white or blue flag above the scoreboard that has W or L for win or loss.

Just a few facts for you...

View of the field. You can't really see but across the street from the stadium they have bleachers on the rooftops of these old buildings. You can get tickets to watch the game from the rooftop and have all you can eat food.

They still have a super old fashioned score board. Its not electronic and they still have somebody that changes the board inning, and when people score.

After the game, one of our friends we worked with in San Diego two summers ago showed us around Wrigleyville a little big. He's from Chicago so he knows all the cool facts. Wrigleyville is such a cool place! There are SO many bars/pubs/restaurants that you could never eat at them all. After the game people just hung around at all these places and had a good time!

The Oprah Show!

I finally scored tickets to an Oprah Show! I was SO SO excited! I tried when we were here last year with no success. I told Jonny that since we decided to extend and stay through September that I better get tickets to Oprah (since she doesn't film in the summer). About two weeks ago I signed up to get tickets. They only open the reservation line for about 2 days. And there were only 3 available shows that time, so I got really lucky! My friend Mandi went with us- we had a good time!

We had to leave our house by 5:30 AM! EARLY! We got to the studio at about 6:15 and had to wait in line for about 20 minutes before they started to take us in. You have to go through quite a security check to get in so it takes a while to get everyone in. They make you wait in this waiting room for about an hour and a half before they slowly take you into the studio. The studio holds about 350 people and Jonny was one of ten guys there! Ha ha He was such a good sport (even though he really did like it!) While we were waiting in the waiting room there wasn't enough seats for everyone, so Jonny and the other guys gave up their seats so other people could sit down. Once we got in the studio they gave all the guys hats for being gentlemen. Awww....
The show was about some of the news events that happened this summer, since she wasn't recording this summer. It was more a serous topic but it was really interesting. Lisa Ling was on the show talking about her sister and the other girl that got kidnapped in North Korea. It was really interesting to hear some of the details according to her sister. I've always liked Lisa Ling since the Channel 1 days :)
The second guest was Erin Andrews, the ESPN sports reporter who was spied on in her hotel room. I can't imagine having that happen to me! This was her first and she says her last public interview about what happened.
The last gues was this Catholic Father (priest?) who got caught by the paparazzi on the beach with his girlfriend. I hadn't heard about that story.... but it was neat.
It was crazy because we didn't know what the show was going to be about until we were in the studio. They keep it really secret. I didn't even know about the third guy until he came out on stage.
Anyways, it was really fun! I'm so glad we got to go! Its something I can check off my to do list now. OH ya, it airs on September 11th, so watch it!

Across the street from the studio there is an Oprah Store. It has souvenirs, hand-made things from Africa, and clothes that were from Oprah's close that you can buy.

Jonny in his Oprah hat!

This is Jonny's new work car that he bought. Isn't it cute!? Ha ha

Puppy Class, check!

About 9 weeks ago we registered Cubby for a Puppy class at Petsmart. He's not very social around dogs and I wanted him to be friendlier. We'd also heard how good they were for the owners. I was really excited to take it and now that its over I'm glad we did! He still has issues with other dogs that he doesn't know, and he's still a puppy but its helped us a lot! On the last day of class they do a little graduation party. We had a talent show, obstacle course race, and took pictures in a graduation cap. How fun! And yes, I took lots of pictures :)

This was Jonny taking him through the obstacle course. He took second place (only lost by .2 of a second)! jonny told him he should have tried harder.... uh oh, is this how its going to be with our kids? :)

This was Cubby's teacher, Wendy. He loved her, as you can see. Even though they had a rough start and she almost lost her hand (if you ask, I'll tell you) they've grown to be great friends. It could be that she was always giving him treats :) But, he really did like her and she was a fun teacher! This was during the talen show. We had Cubby do his backwards dolphin walk and give us five. He was so cute :) He's really learned a lot and has become better disciplined, at least when we have treats anyway.

This was the cutest thing ever!

Jonny wanted to get him this ginormous bone for his graduation present. He changed his mind when I told him he'd be in charge of taking Cubby outside in the middle of the night when he got sick from it!!

Bear Down, Chicago Bears!

Saturday was a fun day, we got to go to the Bears game. (And Jonny took the day off, long story, so we got to spend all day together too!) They played the New York Giants. It was a really good game and I loved seeing how much fun Jonny had- he LOVES football. From the second we pulled in the parking lot he kept saying how much he wished Utah had a football team. People are serious about their Bears. They have serious tail-gating parties and it looks so fun!

It ended up being really cold, 60 degrees! We haven't felt that in a long time. Jonny only had shorts and a t-shirt. We bought sweatshirts to stay warm... we better be Bears fans for a while because football apparel is never cheap!

This isn't a very good picture- it was night time and from the freeway. But Chicago is such a cool city, I love seeing the skyline at night!

Rain, Rain, Go Away....

Last week Jonny and I decided to lay out at the pool for the first time together all summer! This is wierd for us because we always laid by the pool last summer in San Diego. It was a little overcast, but it was still warm. I was reading my Harry Potter book when all of the sudden it started pouring! With no warning (ok, it was cloudy- but usually it gradually starts sprinkling first). It was just like in the movies when it starts raining cats and dogs all of the sudden, I didn't think that really happened. So we ran home as fast as we could and decided to watch a movie instead. Well it didn't stop for quite a while, and then Jonny said, "Let's go play in it!" I ran out about 10 feet from our door and turned around and came back in- I was drenched in a matter of seconds! But Jonny and Cubby went running around in it. It was really funny to see them. We were all very wet, at least we had our swimming suits on already!

Doesn't Cubby look like he had the time of his life :)


Cubby wearing jonny's gym shirt... I thought it was cute :) Go Jazz!

This was at Buffalo Wild Wings- our favorite place to eat out here. The two guys below are Scott and Jose- Jonny's favorite techs. They are going home this week and we're gonna miss them!

Vancouver Trip

Ok get ready for a PICTURE OVERLOAD! I had so much fun on our trip to Vancouver that I wanted to post pictures from everything!

The first day we were there, we spent the morning at the temple. That afternoon a large group of us went on a jet boat ride. I highly recommend it to anyone who is in Portland, we had a ton of fun. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, except I knew they were boats that went really fast. It says on their website that you may get wet. I thought people in the front or on the sides might get a 'little' wet.... but they're serious. We all got SOAKED! They call them jet boats for a reason.

Here is the group that went. Some of my family, my uncle Rick's family, and Grandma Mom. (yes, my Grandma is so cool and braved the water!)

Here are what the jetboats looked like. They crammed 60 people onto these, so I thought how fast and crazy can they go, right? Wrong. He would get going up to 50 MPH and then all of the sudden pull a 360. Thats when we got soaked. Or, he'd go really fast and then suddenly stop causing a wave of water of come over the front of the boat. It was SO much fun!This is my Uncle Rick, Courtney, Micah, and Aunt Cathy. They came down from Seattle and it was so much fun to have them there. They're always fun to hang out with, they are crazy card players!!

Dad, Cam, and Nick- after getting a little wet. Good thing it was HOT that day, it felt really nice! For some reason their side of the boat always got it worse.

The coolest Grandma ever! Too bad the poncho didn't help too much....

Me and Jonny....

After the ride, still smiling.

That night we had a big family/friend BBQ. It was the night before the wedding. We also celebrated Kris and Jonny's birthdays!

Family getting yummy food.....

Grandma Mom with 2 of her great grandchildren.

Mom and Jordan jumping on the tramp. He was so excited to put this up. It brought back a lot of memories from when I was younger. Jordan was so funny and we had such a good time showing each other our tricks on the tramp. He was SO brave by the end of the trip! I think I know what Santa needs to bring Jordan......

Jonny had to leave on Sunday to go back to Chicago :( Dang that work. But I was lucky enough to spend a few extra days at home with my family. I loved it so much. One day we went to Mt. St. Helens.... here is one picture. I didn't take much there. It was SO SO SO hot that day and I forgot how long of a drive (on windy roads) it is to get there. I hate being in the car... but I'm still glad I went.

It got SO hot the last few days there. It was a serious heat wave and broke lots of records. A lot of people don't have AC there because you don't usually need it, including the Boyle's. So we spent a lot of time out in the back yard, having waterfights and throwing water balloons. My Mom has a little kid pool in the back that she soaks her feet in. It was actually very nice to have when it got hot :)
Notice my mom and I are the only ones NOT in swimming suits.... we had just got home from the store when we got attacked by the boys. But I didn't even care, it was SO hot and felt SO nice.

MY FIRST TIME GOLFING! ever! and I really liked it, I told Jonny that I found a new hobby. My mom has started going every week with some friends, so I was excited to try it myself. My mom, Dad, Kris and I went. We went early in the morning, but it was already really hot by the time we finished 9 holes. I didn't do great, but not too bad for my first time. I think i got 65 or something. I'm excited to go again sometime.

Dad golfing. He was nice enough to carry my clubs for me too!

GOAL! HA I know thats not what you say..... but you know what I mean.Mom... hole in two...

Relaxing in the shade...

Kris showing his skills.