Back to the Winter WonderFest

We didn't go to Navy Pier for the Winter WonderFest last year, the first time we didn't in years. But we made a point to get there early this year, only to find that the kids have outgrown much of what they had enjoyed.

Aside from the bounce houses, of course, there's this thing, too. The kids sat there very calm, unmoved.

But that's not to say they didn't have fun. There were things they've grown into, as well, and they ended up having a great time.

They both went on the ice with Dad.

They rode on the tea cups.

Levynn rode the zipline.

And then there was this. Who knew Lincoln was so ... ballsy?

See him?

Fit to be tie-dye

We went to a Lurie Garden class today - though not at the garden, but across the street inside the Chicago Cultural Center - to learn about the tie-dye process, like the plants the color comes from, and make bandanas.

Sweet potato sweets

Grandy had asked Dad to look for big sweet potatoes at the farmer's market so she could do a project with the kids when she came to visit around Halloween.

Dad took that task quite seriously, even calling her from the market to describe what he saw and make sure it was big enough.

What do you think?

Grandy and the kids made these treats with the sweet potatoes.

The Night Knight and Nature Girl!

Check out Grandy's Halloween creations.

Exploring the neighborhood

It's Open House Chicago weekend, and Levynn's at a Girl Scouts camp. So Mom, Dad and Lincoln visited a couple of sites today.

Our first stop was the Archbishop Quigley Center, which we walk by all the time.

And then we went to Fourth Presbyterian to see more of its addition, which has a cool chapel upstairs.

We love these places!

We brought Gram to the Chicago Botanic Gardens today. It was the fall festival again, but the weather was much different than a year ago.

Another Cubs game

The next weekend, Mom and Levynn went to American Girl Day at Wrigley Field. We got the tickets from a co-worker.

As you may have seen, the Cubs circulated a photo of Levynn on social media.

Under the trees

Earlier this month, we went to Morton Arboretum, another suburban oasis.

There were giant bugs scattered around the arboretum, like this ladybug.

Levynn's got a real daddy longlegs on this branch!

There was a maze.

There are Dad and the kids, looking down on the maze.

And that's the view of part of the maze from up there.

This resembles a photo we took at the Chicago Botanic Gardens.

There was an area with structures like this for kid to play in. And we haven't even gotten to the children's garden yet!

The children's garden is filled with climbing things like this.

And little bodies of water, like this, to wade in.

Last days of summer vacation

Gram and Papa visited us the last few days before school started last month, during their long 40th anniversary road trip.

While they were here, we went to the school's field day at a local park - a nice idea it would be good to continue in future years. It's another example of how lucky we are as a CPS family. At a time when more than 40 elementary schools have been closed and almost all others were forced to make budget cuts, our school was left intact - and got corporate sponsors for its field day to boot.

One of the activities was a tug of war. Can you spot our kids? Here's a hint: Levynn's not making much of an effort. :)

Kids got medals for participating in a certain number of events. You can't tell from the picture, but they were beat here. It was very hot, and they just had run around the track - a full 400 meters under the watch of their gym teacher.

That night they fulfilled a long-held desire, to ride in a horse-drawn carriage. Thanks, Gram and Papa!

Pop princess

Here's Levynn before she left for the Taylor Swift concert at Soldier Field last month.

Checking back in about the checkup

One of the things from the summer that we missed here is the annual update of the kids' growth numbers. Would you believe they grew?

Levynn stood at 51 inches, up 2.5, and weighed about 5 pounds more at 54.

Lincoln should hit 4 feet by next time, now that he's up almost 2 inches to 46.25. It's hard to say what he gained in weight, given his condition at last year's checkup, but he was up one way or another to 47 pounds.

First day of school

Where did our summer go?

You're probably wondering the same thing. We haven't been updating this. But it's been a challenging few months for us, and some things just haven't gotten done. This is one of them. We'll try to change that this week with a little catching up.

In the meantime, we can tell you that the kids had a smooth start to the school year today. No expressions of sadness that summer had ended, no expressions of reluctance to return to school, no tears or even worried looks.

And Levynn, in particular, was extremely excited after school - not to be leaving but to have the class she has. It may be too early to say for sure, but what's not to like about a teacher who's been in the system for 20 years and is starting her 10th year at the school; "has lines on her face," as Levynn put it; breaks the ice with a true-or-false quiz - about herself; and promises to prove she can do a cartwheel (on a gym day when she's not wearing a dress). Sounds like a winning combination to us! Dad would agree even if she hadn't been born in Massachusetts and didn't love the Red Sox.

Lincoln has a teacher who's new to the school, but we hope she's a winner, too.

Another LEGO birthday, of sorts

Now we have a 6-year-old, too.

To celebrate it, Lincoln wanted to go to LEGOLAND today rather than have a party. So that's what we did.

And that wasn't the only LEGO part of his day.

He opened some LEGOs at home, too. He let Levynn help build - which was fair, given that he built what she got two weeks ago!

LEGOLAND added some new things since we last were there, and Lincoln was very excited about them. There is a new 4-D movie featuring some of the characters in the sets he received today.

There is a new room dedicated to elaborate scenes from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, as you can see below.

And there are life-size LEGO statues of Harry Potter and Hagrid.

Then there's the cake. We found a neat one with a flag, and Mom added LEGOs.

Happy birthday, Lincoln!