Two readers

This is just awesome.

Yes, we still owe you footage of Lincoln reading. But we can tell you that he already has reached the goal of 10 books in the summer reading program! Levynn did it, too - in one week!

Ballet

Until tonight, we hadn't been to a concert at Millennium Park this year. It's late!

Mom got us out there this time. The Paris Opera Ballet, the oldest national ballet company in the world dating to the 1600s, was making its first appearance in Chicago since 1948 with a performance of "Giselle" at the Harris Theater (Millennium Park's indoor venue). But it was simulcast on a screen at Pritzker Pavilion for all to see, and Mom wanted to get a look.

We didn't stay for all of it, or even close. We made our way to the fountain before heading home.

It appears that Levynn had been inspired.

What. A. Day.

It seems like just yesterday that we had no plans for this weekend, letting us look ahead to some post-party down time. Then Tuesday night rolled along, Dad learned he had won four free passes to LEGOLAND Discovery Center in the suburbs, and voila - the heck with down time, we said.

"Let's go Saturday morning, right after the party!"

You may recall we went there, for the first time, on Mom's last birthday. So we upped the ante and decided to add the Chicago Botanic Garden to our Saturday adventure. It's another suburban attraction, we'd never been there, and who cares that it's in a different direction than LEGOLAND.

"Let's spend the whole day in the burbs!"

And we did. We returned home around 8:30 p.m. and enjoyed it to the fullest.

Here are a few shots from LEGOLAND, where Dad also won a session in the Master Builder Academy class (for Dad and Levynn) and the first kit in the Master Builder Academy series (for the kids to share).

But we have a lot of shots from the botanic garden, which Dad does not hesitate to say is one of the most beautiful places he has seen.

"We'll meet you over there!"

"Chipmunk!"

And there it is.

"Is that a pear?" (It is.)

"Frog!"

And there it is.

"Bonsai!"

"Rabbit!"

That sign...

... is referring to this.

"Crane!"

And goodbye.

Wow.

What a night!

You should have seen the mermaids (and mermen) frolicking in our building tonight.

Yes, Levynn's 8th birthday party was a success, thanks to Mom's hard work. Actually a co-birthday party, shared with a good friend turning 8 in a couple of days, it had the mermaid theme the girls requested and Mom delivered.

From the home-sewn tails for every boy and girl who wanted one;

to the cake, with its water frosting, crushed cookie sand, and Playmobil toys;

the fish-in-the-sea jellos;

the frames to decorate with shells (and we later added a group photo as a take-home);

the oyster cookies, as seen on the plate to the left;

this toilet paper-tails race, which was very entertaining; and much more; it all was Mom's labor of love. And the girls loved it.

Here they are earlier in the day.

Here they are in costume.

And here they are with friends and siblings (minus a couple sibs - like Lincoln, who didn't want to be in the photo - and a friend who was late).

Happy birthday, girls!

Happy birthday, Levynn!

You're 8 years old today!

So let's get silly!

Another Summer Reading reader

Lincoln has participated in previous Chicago Public Library summer reading programs (now dubbed Rahm's Readers), but not as a reader - until now.

When this year's program opened today, with the healthy living theme You Are What You Read, we were there to get started. And Lincoln signed up not to have 25 books read to him but to read 10 books himself.

Yes, still 4 for another three weeks or so, and he's reading!

We'll try to get you video of him doing it soon.

The first few days of summer vacation

... have worn us out, we easily could say.

Let's run down what we all did.

Thursday:

Lincoln played with an ex-classmate - his third of the week! - and that was a 45-minute trek each way by train and foot. After that, Dad and the kids walked to a playground and a library in our old neighborhood. Then, on the way home, we went to Whole Foods to get fruit to make a salad for the Brownies Bridging ceremony and party in the evening.

What is a bridging ceremony, you ask? In short, kids moving from Daisies to Brownies or from Brownies to Juniors were officially released from one and welcomed to the other (although Levynn is staying right where she is); also, each kid was recognized for what she accomplished during the year. And then we ate and were merry.

Friday:

Levynn got straight As!

And, as we expected, she was very excited to find out. Mom and Levynn went to school to get the report card, but they didn't look at it until we all could see it together at home. It seems like a lot of buildup for grades, agreed, but Mom and Dad were confident of a big payoff.

We also went to the beach for the first time this season. We met several of Levynn's friends there.

Later in the afternoon, we grabbed an I-Go car and went to the north side for birthday shopping - for presents for other kids' parties this weekend and for items for our own kids' parties that are right around the corner.

Saturday

Dad volunteered at the Tribune's Printers Row Lit Fest, the largest such event in the Midwest (or so the Trib says).

Meanwhile, Mom and the kids went to the farmers' market for Club Sprouts and lunch and then stopped at Baskin-Robbins for ice cream.

Sunday

Simultaneous birthday parties!

Mom brought Levynn to American Girl for an old friend's party, and Dad took Lincoln to Garfield Park Conservatory for an ex-classmate's party.

There were animals to see and touch at the conservatory party - an armadillo, a boa, a bat, a chinchilla and others, like whatever this guy is.

The last day of school, Part II

And now we have a third-grader!

Levynn finished her school year today, and we're very proud to say that she did it with a BANG!

Mom and Dad anticipate straight As again, which would give her straight As for all four terms. But that's not the whole story. She had a rough patch early in the term, across several subjects (we suspect distractions in the classroom), and she had a B in math on her recent progress report. So she doesn't think she'll have straight As.

But we can view all her grades online, as they happen, and we've seen a tremendous turnaround. So we've been telling her for a couple weeks now that we're very pleased with her effort, no matter what comes of it in the end. We just happened to peek at her grades again this week and notice that she got a 100 on a math quiz last Friday that appeared to put her over the top.

So we think she is going to be very excited at report card pickup on Friday.

Now, back to the last day. It actually was a half day of school, and Levynn went to her BFF's house afterward (but not before Dad and Lincoln gave her a big hug as she came out of the building). That left the boys with a long afternoon to themselves, and we went to the planetarium.

We stumbled on a section of the museum that we don't recall ever seeing.

It had some neat things. Professor Lincoln particularly liked this replica of a medieval astronomy class.

Does he miss school already?

Day School lovefest

Lincoln's school picnic today was at a playground we previously didn't know even existed, tucked between two "hills" and sitting alongside a pond on the northern end of Lincoln Park.

It's a spot we'll have to keep in mind.

Anyway, all four of us were able to attend, and it was a nice goodbye. Parents thanked teachers, teachers gushed over said parents' kids, parents promised other parents they'd stay in touch, and kids even showed a little love for each other.

This girl on the tire swing, smiling for the camera? She kissed Lincoln goodbye! (But let's not confuse her with the girl who thinks she is his "one true love.")

Oh, and do you like the kids' new hats?