Congratulations, Janae!!!

Last Friday Travis & I embarked on our first Secret Operation.  The task? Surprise Janae and the rest of the Hancock family by surprising them during her graduation open house.

Sweet success!

We had a wonderful weekend with our family! We played games, ate at Bob Evans while Janae waited on us, watched Babe, and went to a great missionary fireside. Janae's graduation party was a blast and Travis & I had fun playing Mission Impossible, Salem, Betrayal, Maelstrom, and Super Smash Brothers with the boys.  It was great to have some time to relax and visit with Mom & Dad Hancock.  It was hard to leave! But we'll see you guys again soon :)

Monday morning we left Ohio and headed to Indy.  This was also supposed to be a surprise visit, but Mom knew we were going to the Hancocks' for the weekend.  When she called and realized we had just driven through Indianapolis on our way to Ohio Friday, she started crying and Travis just couldn't keep it in any longer and told our secret. :)

Oh, it was fun to spend Memorial Day with the Hightowers! We had a traditional Hightower cookout with hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, corn on the cob, and more.  We played frisbee and took a bike ride around the block and had a really relaxing day at home.  We love you guys!

On our way back we got smashed by a thunderstorm.  It was kind of scary, but we were fine and after the rain, we saw this:

Not a great camera, but that is a double rainbow :)

Chicago Apartment #2

We've got a great new place here in Lincoln Park! It's really old but definitely feels like home :)

It's a cute little studio, and the space is divided really well.

There may not be a lot of room, but there's enough for us and anyone who wants to come visit! We're looking forward to a visit from Mom&Dad Hancock and family in a few weeks!

CUBS.Navy Pier.Birthday.Chicago Deep Dish. Hobbies.

A couple weeks ago, Travis and I walked down the street to Wrigley Field for our first Cubs game! They even gave us a certificate to prove it, hahah!

They lost, but hey, we didn't really go to see some great baseball.  It was neat knowing we were just a few minutes' walk from home while we sat there eating our hot dogs and pretzels!












We also made our first trip to Navy Pier and decided it's a pretty neat place! We went back a couple nights later and watched Star Trek in IMAX 3D and rode the Ferris Wheel (which was higher and a little scarier than we expected)! But man, oh man, it gave us a stunning view of the city at night!

And I had a birthday! Travis & I celebrated with a DQ Ice Cream cake (YUMMY!)--

We're still loving the city (minus how difficult it is to find parking!!). Our car is currently parked illegally between 6pm and midnight, but gosh it was hard to find that spot! I think we'll leave it there and pray we don't get a ticket...updates to come ;)

Travis became one happy camper when we found "the best Chicago Deep Dish in Lincoln Park" at Lou Malnati's Pizzeria--just a few minutes' walk from our apartment.  Yum!

And here's what keeps me busy at home--Hancock Buttons (website coming soon ;)

Our first real client: Indianapolis IN Stake Young Women's President (a.k.a. Mom)

I designed and made about a thousand of these little gems for their Youth Conference trip to Kirtland and Palmyra this summer.  It's been fun!

We're In LOVE!

...with this city!

What a week we've had!  On Tuesday night, I met Travis at his building (my very first subway experience here in Chicago!) and we walked the Magnificent Mile.  Michigan Avenue is full of shops and restaurants and fun things to do and see.

We walked on until we reached Millenium Park, home of The Bean.  Who knew a huge, reflective, metal bean could be so much fun?!

We ate at Chili's that night and watched the Heat vs. Bulls game (Heat CRUSHED the Bulls, which made Travis very happy!).  On Thursday, Travis and I were trying to think of another place we could go to watch Friday's game since we don't have ESPN.  We thought for a while and Travis said, "You know, they are playing at the United Center..." Thanks to a "YOLO" from Braden,  we found ourselves (quietly) rooting for LeBron and the Heat in a sea of diehard Bulls fans Friday night! It rocked.

Trav & the Michael Jordan Statue

Go Heat!

"Standing Room Only" ...unless you find some stairs to sit on.

He loved it!

Mothers' Day weekend was a great one for the Hancocks--we all got to chat with Derek.  It was my first time really interacting with him, besides emails and the Christmas phone call.  I have to say, I think
he looks a LOT like Janae! What a good-lookin' family!  It was fun to see all the Hancock kids post messages about Mom and hear Derek talk about how much he loves his mom.  Joann, you are a wonderful mother with lots of evidence to prove it!

We also signed for our new apartment (once again, a temporary space. That'll make 4 total moves in less than 2 months)! It's in a great part of town and we love it.

We went to our ward for the first time yesterday--we meet in an elementary school! It's so cool.

We had an extra special Mothers' Day with an (almost) surprise visit from the Hoosier Hightowers.  I love my mom so much and was glad we got to spend the day together.  Last week she told Dad that for Mother's Day she wanted a $60 gas card, 12 hours time, and a picnic.  How sweet is that??! Things like that define her whole life as a wife and mother--she loves us all so much and just wants to be with us.  She's my greatest example; I hope to be just like her when I grow up! :)

I love you, momma!

Oh, and here are some pictures from our cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico!

All aboard the Carnival Inspiration!

Ensenada, Mexico

La bandera--"un águila con un serpiente en su pico."

The view from the top!

Minigolf on the ship!

It was a fun, carefree time :)

CHICAGOLAND

Here we are!  We have officially moved into our (temporary) studio apartment here in the Lakeview area of Chicago.  We're on day two here and we love it already!

Here's our little kitchen--that sweet looking H is a one-of-a-kind from Caitlin. Thanks!

Yes, I did jump on the bed after taking this picture.

 Our only other decorations besides the H--these great pictures from the Millars

 Yes, mom, I did climb on the kitchen counters for this one!

Salsa courtesy of Camille!  We get to taste test them all and write a review for her blog!

It's nice to be almost settled in, especially since we've: gotten married, finished a semester of school, attended Travis' graduation from the BYU Marriott School of business, moved into/out of three apartments and a stateroom on a cruise ship, flown to California, sailed to Catalina Island, spent a day in Mexico with a former member of the Mexican Mafia, driven 21 hours cross country, stayed with family in Iowa, and SO MUCH MORE in the past 5 weeks!

Travis started his internship with Weber Shandwick today, working (where else, but) at the Hancock Center:

"I'm excited! I'm going to be spending most of my time on the "Got Milk?" campaign, and more specifically with the new "Got Chocolate Milk?" push. I'm working way up high and the people there are neat, and I love riding the subway. And coming home to a smokin' hot wife! Life is good."

 --Trav

I spent the day exploring the neighborhood and getting us all set up in our apartment.  I'm loving our apartment location--it's close to the L-Train Red Line that takes Travis right to his building, there are three parks on our block, an elementary school, and some nice places to eat, shop, get groceries, etc. within walking distance.  It's no Southport, IN but I feel pretty safe! We have to be out of here in two weeks, so I'm looking for our next great place!

Travis & I also decided on the name of our blog today.
Rationale:
1. Hancock is our last name
2. I was formerly a Tower (a High one!)
3. The Hancock Center (where Travis works) is iconic here in Chicago.  It's the tallest building, it's got a little bit of everything in it, and it's going places--just like us.