the first 3 weeks of june we had a visitor named chelsae stay with us. she is a friend of mine from back home(and one of my former ballet students) who came up to do american ballet theatre’s summer intensive. it was really fun having her here, and i liked having a built in friend to go do things with! our neighbor sarah came home from argentina(shed been gone a month!) so we did lots of catching up with her, too!
we showed chelsae all over the city…
one of the first stops was of course, sal and carmines pizza. matts favorite!…
southstreet seaport…
(nicole this one is for you!)
koreatown…
riverside park…
had breakfast with the girls and then went down to brooklyn for the renegade craft fair!…
went to the farmers market…
had our first dinner party in nyc!…
saw come fly away and banana schpeel…
went to pittsburgh for primanti brothers, the warhol museum and rickys first pro race!!!…
these were our two favorites parts of the museum…the balloon room and the cafe!
this was the track that morning. it was HUGE! and crazy.
this was the track later that day…there were SO many people there! see them all the way across on the infield?
so proud of my favorite pro rider!
went to chicago to help put on an event for mercy ministries, a ministry near and dear to my heart!
our awesome historic hotel, the blackstone. also where the event was held…
(…want this gold couch!)
this was our bathroom…LOVED this wallpaper!
view from our room…pretty awesome!
every morning mom and i went on a walk through grant park…spectacular!
we spent one evening having dessert in a GORGEOUS condo right on the lake…the view was navy pier. ’nuff said.
the night of the event “mercy in the evening” we had dinner in the stunning ballroom at the hotel…
barlowgirl played an acoustic set that had me in tears…
and we had a gallery of art for sale that the girls in the mercy program had painted….
this is the one i went home with…i absolutely LOVE this painting…
i dont have a single picture of me, my mom, or the other girls who put on the event. you know i was running around crazy if i didnt get any pictures!
the next day we were supposed to leave to see rickys race, but we got stranded in chicago for the night after a freak thunderstorm and missed the race, so we headed back to our homes. i spent a quiet week around the house and then on saturday lauren and caitlyn juengel came to stay with us for a few days! we had such a great time. they saw shows, we saw shows, we saw shows together! we ate pizza, and cupcakes and scones, and all sorts of deliciousness. it was basically awesome having them here.
obviously we took them to sal and carmines pizza…which of course they loved š
we saw american idiot…
we stopped by magnolia bakery on the way to see everyday rapture….YUM!
everyday rapture(with sarah!)…
over the weekend matt and i went on a little date and we saw the 39 steps. it was a spoof on hitchcock and it was hilarious! it was a fun little night out š
this evening was the perfect ending to june…sarah and i went to a Grease “sing-a-long” in riverside park. we sat out on the pier, enjoying a picnic as the sun went down. we brought roxie along, and she enjoyed the attention of her many fans, but did not so much enjoy the singing š
it was absolutely stunning watching the sun set on the city, and the lights come up.
whew…that post wore me out just writing it! i cant believe i fit all that into one month! i just kept saying, if i can make it through june…and i did! so thankful for this blessed life! now if i can just make it through july….
:).
from the desk of tara hope... 
I am sooooooo jealous that you got to see the Grease sing-a-long. I am not sure if it will release here :(.
I know that you don’t write about all of the everyday parts of your life, but even so you have a pretty awesome existence! It’s fun to read about. š
Thanks for the picture! So cool š I just want to be there so bad right now! and hold roxie, and eat giant pizza and go see lots and lots of shows with you! Miss you!!! (glad you made it through June)
Tara! The pics are so great! And I miss you guys and the city soooooooo badly! You have no idea!
First off…I didn’t know you taught ballet! Second…that is THE BIGGEST PIZZA EVER! I want a slice!! And third…if your brother ever has to race in WA let me know so we can go and cheer him on!