Our sweet Poppaw and Bebe kicked off the summer with a visit at the end of May. They couldn't have come at a more perfect time because I had just quit my job and had a few weeks to get adjusted to staying home all day with two little monkeys. And I needed a break. Whew.
I tried to do a better job of actually getting out into the city with them this time since I feel like we usually just stick around the neighborhood. We attempted to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo on Memorial Day (ha haha hahaha, along with everyone else in the city), and after sitting in traffic in the car for over an hour (the zoo is only a couple of miles from our home, by the way) we decided to just go back to the park in our neighborhood. Sigh.
The next day we were able to try again, and I'm so glad we did.
There is plenty of room to roam around in the zoo, so it was fantastic to have to extra folks help me corral Mimi in when she wandered a little. One of Mimi's favorite parts of the zoo is the farm. And I'm sure it was Old MacJerry's also. Here they're checking out the new little piglets.
Or is that my children when they're eating a snack? Hmm . . .
And the rest of the trip I basically handed the children to my mom, kicked my feet up, and drank a beer. See, she's a natural. He he.
My dad even helped just a little. He didn't seem to mind.
And then came the two most hip visitors -- my fourteen-year-old neice Jean-Nicolette and her buddy Sylvia.
In a plane. By themselves. Wowzers.
So we ate Chicago-style hot dogs and deep-dish, we saw the Bean and the beach, we rode the train, and they even got stuck in a revolving door. They shopped on Michigan, ordered Chinese take-out in little boxes (per Sylvia's request), and saw tall buildings. But that was not what they came for. What they came to see I could never give them. They came . . . for GLEE.The girls had fantastic tickets (like, 5th row, I think) and a fun little VIP pass, and I was able to take them to the concert (but I didn't go in because I was letting them be cool) and witness more skinny teenage girls in the tiniest little shorts ever (When did it become cool to wear shorts so short that pockets hang out the bottom? I'm so old). But they had a blast, and I'm fairly certain that nothing else in their teenage years will be half as exciting for them as this concert. No football game, no cute boy, and no "let's sneak out and roll yards" kind of sleepover. This was pretty awesome.
They came back to show Mimi their moves, and then they basically sat on our couch and watched the entire first season of Glee the rest of the weekend. Oh, to be young again. But they were responsible and mature and I'm hoping my big brother lets them come again next year.:)
Then we had Neal and Brian and Louisa and baby Harrison. I got absolutely no photos of the entire weekend (which was pretty awesome and consisted of Clint performing a cartwheel on a downtown sidewalk and Brian heckling a cab driver) except for a few of Mack and his new little buddy. They loved each other and will hopefully be more mature than their dads. Nah, maybe not.
And then came the wildness, otherwise known as JR Bolton. Gah, I love this kid.
Clint's sister Mary Claire and her children stayed with us for a long weekend, and my kiddos were in heaven with all the entertainment. They loved waking up and having cousins to play with all day. Clint and I were able to go on an architectural boat tour with Mary Claire and Olivia, something that we've been wanting to do since we moved here. It was amazing -- I totally recommend it. Even though it was a little chilly, they still loved the sprinklers at our neighborhood park. 
A few weeks ago a good friend I once taught with in a former life (I cannot believe I was a teacher) and I haven't seen in about five years came to Chicago and had a day to play with us. We took her and her daughter Madi (along with Madi's Flat Stanley that Mack made friends with) to the aquarium.
It was ridiculously hot and the aquarium was nice and cool and calm. Well, the fish were calm, but my children were crazy. Mimi ran all over the place (imagine that), and Mack wanted to crawl everywhere. Thank goodness Madi is a mature little thing, or I might have lost my marbles. 
Mack loved the Beluga whales. Mimi did some ballet moves for them.
Whew, so I finally cleaned the house and washed the sheets, so feel free to start booking ahead for next summer. I can't guarantee those sheets will still be clean, but the cook makes some fine banana pancakes.
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