2010 Awesome

We had quite a busy year and wanted to fill you in on whats been happening with us.  We watched 2009 come to a close with a bang – our own Chicago wedding and honeymoon to Mexico was more than we could ever ask for – thank you to those of you who could share our big day with us!

JANUARY – 2010 started off with a ski trip to Boyne Mountain in Michigan with Rene + Zac – Mrs. + Mrs. Fiel were very gracious to let us stay in their lovely home. Shellie + Large spent a couple of weeknights at focus group sessions trying out vodka, fiber bars, and other misc. items. Had a nice dinner with B + J, then headed to Chicago Art Department for the iPhone show “iPhone therefor iArt”.

FEBRUARY- Our favorite world traveler Amy McIlwain came to visit us in Chicago and we had a blast exploring the city.  Went out for Sangria and tapas with the ladies, then partied it up at Loft Six Ten for Large’s birthday! Took Amanda’s advice about Joe’s Seafood and had a delicious and romantic Valentine’s Day dinner there together.

MARCH – We had some birthday beers with John S. Cooney. Celebrated Chicago’s birthday at Chicago Art Department’s show “City of Chicago Birthday Celebration”.  We enjoyed some wine and king crab legs with Rene and Zac at our place, then headed over to Mike Nourse’s art show opening at Salvage One.

APRIL – Mom + Dad visited for a weekend in March and we drove up to Milwaukee, WI to check out the Harley Davidson Museum. In April, Reverend Graeme Tower came to visit and Shellie spent a couple days at the Usability Conference in downtown Chicago. Bobby went to Whiskeyfest with Graeme, Kurt, and Bornack and discovered his favorite Scotch. We went on a boat cruise by the lake with the whole Orbit crew.

MAY – In May, we traveled to Austin, Texas for Melissa  + Juan’s beautiful wedding. After that, Shellie celebrated Mo Fiocca’s 60th birthday in Findlay, Ohio while Bobby went to New Orleans to see Susie, Lenny, & Dottie. For our birthday weekend that we share, we traveled to Toronto to visit Dave, Holly, Jacob and visit Niagara Falls – what a fun trip! Shellie turned 30 and decided to become a brunette! Summer (or should I say all year) was a big baby year – congratulations on all the new bundles of joy including: Asher, Grant, Theodore, Whitney, Grace, Nico, Anders, Hunter, Ashley, & Stella. Please forgive us if we forgot to mention anyone else here!

JUNE – Shellie’s cousin Justin + girlfriend Leah came to visit us in Chicago – all the way from Hawaii (now we just need to go visit them!) Shellie went to Mandy’s bachelorette party and learned to dance with a boa while Bobby headed to the lake in WI with all the guys for JWin’s bachelor party weekend extravaganza. Dante + Jen gave us some tickets to a Cubs vs. Reds game – fun times! Had some great dinner get-togethers with John + Bridget – such good cooks and such good friends!

JULY – Went to a Cubs/Reds game with Jess + Sang-woo!  Shellie celebrated 3 years at Orbit Media Studios and Bobby celebrated 3 years at Orbitz Worldwide.  Bobby went on a golf trip with Dante Sr., Dante Jr., and Nick in Tuscon, AZ. We took a drive to Indianapolis, IN to spend time with Jen, Dave, and our awesome nephew Alex! After Sang-woo and Bobby carried a 500 lb credenza up 3 flights of stairs and we all celebrated Justin’s 30th birthday, we karaoke-d  our way through 25 miles of Chicago skyline on bikes for the annual McDonald’s L.A.T.E ride with Ken, Kurt, and the birthday boy.

AUGUST – Bobby took a new job at Orbitz as the Service Operations Center Manager and he’s been working all the hours to prove it.  We drove out to Lamont, IL for Aras & Vanessa’s beautiful wedding.  Spent a weekend in Cleveland celebrating Justin + Mandy’s wedding, in which Bobby was a groomsman!  Lenny visited us in Chicago for a long weekend of relaxing and touring around the city taking photos.  Went to a Mark Beidelman’s going-away Mustache Party at Happy Village – we miss you already! Oh yeah, we FINALLY went to Lollapalooza!

SEPTEMBER – Mom + Dad Fiocca came to visit for a fun weekend and Jamie taught Shellie how to make the famous sauce + meatballs! We carpooled to Weirton,  WVA for Grandma Fiocca’s 90th birthday celebration and Dante drove the whole way while Shellie, Jen, and Bella watched Miley Cyrus movies in the backseat. Shellie drove down to Dayton, OH with Jess Large for Melinda’s baby shower and also to see all the BG girls and Jess Patterson’s baby bump!  Bobby traveled to New Orleans to celebrate his mom Susie’s birthday.

OCTOBER – We packed our bags again and headed to Seattle, WA for Cory & Kristi’s wedding and had a blast exploring the city, shops, and boat tours. Graeme and Adrianna came to visit Hotel D’Argeanton for a week and had fun exploring the city and hanging out! We had a glamorous night out in downtown Chicago for Alex and Marina’s beautiful wedding! Shellie and Jen went to the burbs for Bella’s American Girl fashion show and drank tea with all the moms and daughters. Went down to Nick’s Haastyle show at Mobili Mobel and had sushi afterward with some fun Orbiteers.  Partied it up for the annual Pre-Thanksgiving food extravaganza at Amanda/Sheyna’s place – YUM. Shellie spent a lot of time jogging with Jess Large and doing all different types of yoga (with the most-awesome Tracy Von Kaenel) to calm her spirit, but she also joined the Colossal Squid Road & Track Club, which led to three successful 5K races and one miserable blizzard-style 8K race a couple weeks ago!

NOVEMBER- We celebrated our 1-year anniversary in November with a nice night out together at The Publican.  Our nephew Alex turned 4 years old – can’t believe he is growing up so fast! We took another short trip to Findlay, Ohio to hang out with Jamie + Mo once more before the holiday craziness. Traveled to New Orleans to be with family during a very tough time – mourning the passing of Bobby’s grandmother Dorothy “Dottie” Argeanton – we will continue to celebrate her life.  We headed back to Chicago from NOLA to spend “Friendsgiving” at the Cooney-Gannon household, holding our glasses up to cheers Matthew & Jessica Riggenbach’s wedding celebration from afar. We cut down our very own Christmas Tree for the first time with Ken and Kurt & lit up our home for the holiday season.

DECEMBER – We had a great time dancing, drinking, eating, and socializing at the Annual Orbitz Holiday Party. Shellie ran her first 8K race (The Rudolph Ramble) like a champ in 15 degree weather with 30 mph wind and snow (Bobby waited in the car with the heater on).  We stayed in Chicago for Christmas for the first time ever, visited Melissa, Juan and family for Christmas Eve and had a fabulous Christmas evening dinner with Bridget + John.  We also got to see Dante, Jen, Bella, and Aunt Debbie quite a bit which made us very happy.  Most of all we really cherished some time alone to be thankful for all the wonderful memories that were created in this exciting year of our lives. Jamie + Mo get in today to celebrate NYE with us in Chicago – we couldn’t be happier to see them – it just wasn’t the same without them on Christmas!

Thank you to all the people (thats YOU!) who make our lives so blessed and wonderful. Hope you all have a very happy holiday season – be safe!  Love, Shellie + Bobby