Applefest

Just a few minutes away is an adorable town called Lebanon, and today was their apple festival. We had things going on this morning, so we didn't make it until this afternoon when a lot of the food was sold out. But we still had a great time and ate some yummy things.

apples galore, as you'd expect

It just wouldn't be an event in Ohio without several stands of cornhole-related products. :)

busy festival, downtown closed to traffic

delicious apple dumpling

 The line for the pretzels snaked around the corner, but it was well worth the wait.Gavin agreed.

fresh-baked, piping hot, dunked in butter, then salted
PERFECTION

cute Lebanon

Oktoberfest Zinzinnati

Over the weekend we participated in America's largest Oktoberfest celebration in downtown Cincinnati. Since we're not beer drinkers we went at lunchtime to enjoy the great food before it turned too much into a party of drunks. (Don't get me wrong: the lines for beer still snaked through the crowds.)

This guy leading the kids in the chicken dance was pretty authentic.

These two!!

We missed the part where George Takei, the event's grand marshal, led the crowd in what is apparently the largest chicken dance in the world. You can see video of that event here.
We were there for the food, so I'll just get right to it.

amazing sausage, pretty good sauerkraut and mustard, and the potato pancake
with a cameo in the corner

apple strudel... Mmmmmmmm

These below almonds are, as you can tell by the way I'm embracing them, a huge love of mine. If it had been much colder, I would have been able to close my eyes and smell them sugar-roasting and feel like I was back in Germany at the Christmas markets.

after the cherry strudel 

The people-watching was almost as good as the food. Here are a few shots of people who went all-out for the event.

I asked this guy if I could take his picture. He seemed more than willing to
show off his sartorial skills. :)

Chicago

My brother Mike has a conference in Chicago this week, which was just the excuse we needed to take a road trip and spend the weekend there. I loved the city more than I expected to. It's beautiful, and we had a great time!

at Navy Pier

We started our Chicago trip with a visit to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game, which was lots of fun. Gavin made it to the 7th-inning stretch, which was more baseball than we expected him to take in.

At one point while walking through the city we happened upon a fire station. One worker (a dispatcher, I think) saw Gavin eyeing the engines and cheerfully invited him to climb into the one he liked best. He was in heaven!

Mike and I escaped for a couple of hours to the Chicago Art Institute, a fantastic place to which I hope to someday return. We saw so many masterpieces, including these:

"Two Sisters" by Renoir; "American Gothic" by Grant Wood; "At the Moulin Rouge" by Toulouse-Lautrec; "Wheatstacks (End of Summer)" by Monet; "Self-portrait" by Van Gogh; and "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Seurat

Mike (and a painting by Jackson Pollock)

some funky statues outside the museum

Just a few more photos from our fun Chicago weekend...

(part of the) view from our hotel room

(more of the) view from our hotel room

Gavin was such a great traveler. The chocolate helped...

with Uncle Mike

(If, while reading this post, you've wondered what's up with Gavin's ear, I have answers for you. It swelled pretty big (reaction to a bug bite? infected bug bite? We're not sure), and we treated it using recommendations from 2 pharmacists. It's much better now.)

a girl!

We were a little surprised-but overjoyed-to learn our new little one is a girl! I also think, and you can sort of see it in the above photo, she has the cutest nose. :)

We're gearing up for her arrival around January 11, 2014!

BTW, the lady doing the ultrasound scan said she would GUARANTEE it's a girl. We like that kind of certainty!

I'd post baby bump pictures, but I haven't really taken any. I'll take some in the coming weeks and post soon.