We actually skipped two opportunities last night, the season debuts of Millenium Park's Caroling at Cloud Gate and Lincoln Park Zoo's Zoo Lights, even though Mom didn't have to work until almost bedtime.
But Dad and the kids corrected that on this unseasonably beautiful November evening, which brought out the largest crowd we've seen at the zoo.
So here is Zoo Lights, including that snowman who now looks more in his element.
On the way home, we stopped at More - our decadent neighborhood cupcake shop - because Levynn spotted her buddy, More's owner, through the window. She has red hair and has stated repeatedly that she wants to trade one of her kids for Levynn. Well, she met Lincoln for the first time tonight and now wants to trade two of her kids. So can you guess what we took home, free of charge?
Who needs to shop on a day like this in a city like this?
We did not. But we did get outside.
The day after Thanksgiving also is known here for the traditional Wreathing of the Lions at The Art Institute, and we braved the cold to be there for the first time.
There was pre-wreathing amusement, like this guy - from Cirque du Soleil's new show "Banana Shpeel" - chatting with the kids
and Scrooge from Goodman Theatre's "A Christmas Carol" production.
But the hundreds of people didn't come for any of that. They came for this:
More was inside the museum, including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
and a holiday wreaths project inspired by the museum's Victorian photocollage exhibition.
We don't have any lions at home, but Lincoln wreathed a monkey instead.
Levynn wreathed her hideout door.
And Mom wreathed our apartment door.
We also pulled out our Christmas books and our one Christmas game, which is based on the classic Charlie Brown television special.
We can thank Mom for ours. "She's a Wonder Woman," as one of her in-laws said today.
Last night, she made the pumpkin pie (from farm-fresh pie pumpkins) and got the dressing and yeast rolls started.
This morning, she ran the Turkey Trot 8K and finished the five miles in approximately 51:45 (official results are not available yet). Unfortunately, we don't have any photos or videos of that. To make a long story short, Mom was so fast that she beat Dad and the kids to the finish line.
When she got home (before the rest of us!), she cooked the dressing, cooked the rolls, made and cooked corn pudding, and made banana pudding.
And this is what it all looked like when she was done. Look at those rolls, Grandy!
It's all very yellow-orange, we know. And there was no bird, as you can see. We had planned to have a squash and potato gratin, but we decided that we had enough food for our small family (not to mention enough yellow and orange!).
Levynn set the table.
And we ate.
Now Mom is working, the first of her two straight late shifts that will keep her in the office until the wee hours.
At least it is here in Chicago, starting tonight with the 18th annual Magnificent Mile Lights Festival.
But this was quite a day for families overall, actually. Before the lights festival, the main branch of the Chicago Public Library system held the 16th annual Bookamania. And it had Dad wondering, "How did we miss this last year?"
Bookamania was four hours long. Dad and Levynn were there only for the last two, after lunch, and we realized that we could have been there the entire time and not run out of things to do. It is, hands down, one of the very best family events we've attended.
There were more than 25 activities, all inspired by specific children's books; two professional musical theater performances of the book "Click, Clack, Moo" in the auditorium; another stage with constant entertainment; a third area for more quiet performances, like readings; author and illustrator appearances; and wandering storybook characters. And any kid who completed seven activities (they got a stamp in a "passport" for each one) was able to pick a free book to take home. (Thanks again, Target.)
The book "Duck! Rabbit!" prompted this activity. Levynn cut out the figure, guessed whether it was a duck or a rabbit, and then got a better look.
Duck?
Rabbit?
She signed the Fairytale Guest Book for the King and Queen.
She high-fived a Wild Thing.
But TheatreworksUSA's "Click, Clack, Moo" was the coup de grace.
Dad and Levynn met Mom and Lincoln at the Tribune. We all had to fight crowds to get there, with people waiting for the lights festival parade or listening to a popular band performing in the Trib's courtyard. But Dad and the kids joined Mom in the building, where we were allowed a privileged view of the parade.
Mickey Mouse was the grand marshal, and the holiday lights along Michigan Ave. were lit for the first time as he made his way down the street.
The kids lost patience in our perch in the Trib newsroom's kitchen; we weren't in the cold, but we also weren't close to the action. So Dad, Levynn and Lincoln started for home before the parade ended, and we actually were able to see some things as we walked.
When Dad left the apartment to do some grocery shopping one afternoon, Levynn was reading on the couch, Mom was sleeping in a chair, and Lincoln was sleeping in his bed.
When Dad returned, Levynn was reading on the floor and...
Awwwwww...
Anyway, Mom's still running, folks! And she just registered for two more races: the Turkey Trot 8K, a five-miler Thanksgiving morning, and the Soldier Field 10 Mile next May 29. Go, Mom!
And Levynn's still reading - of course! - and doing it like a machine. To think that she comes home from school with assignments about teaching kids how to turn pages in the right direction, where to begin reading on a page, etc. Parent-teacher conferences are Wednesday, so that should be interesting.
Dad spent some time with Levynn's class Friday, joining them on a little walking field trip to the local fire station.
Psst... Can you see that she's holding hands with the boy wearing the stars and stripes hat?
Granted, the teacher told all the kids to hold hands with their buddies. But no others did once at the fire station. And - get this - he once said to her, "You're the best girl ever," to which she replied, "You're the best boy ever."
The weather has been wacky this year, to say the least. The temperature hit 70 degrees both yesterday and today, making this an extraordinarily beautiful November weekend.
So how funny is this photo?
The Lincoln Park Zoo, which we thought would be a good place to enjoy the sunshine yesterday, obviously is getting an early start on its Christmas look. The kids got a kick out of it.
It was so unusually warm that the kangaroos and the gorillas were roaming outside.
The kangaroos have been out of sight most of the times we've visited the zoo, and we had seen the gorillas only in their indoor home.
First we welcomed Granddaddy, Susan, Mammy and Pap to Chicago. Then we welcomed Grandy. Then came Saturday, which not only was Halloween but also Levynn's last soccer class.
Oh, and it was Mom's birthday, too.
Whew!
Believe it or not, we have no photos of Levynn in full Halloween dress. (And Lincoln didn't want to get in costume at all!) So you'll have to cobble her royal ballerina look together in your mind with the shots below.
Here you can see part of the pink, long-sleeved leotard and the poofy pink skirt.
Here you can get a better look at the braid in her hair, as she gets a bite of a treat at the Green City Market's Halloween fest. Below, also at the market, you can see her crown as she shows her mini pumpkin.
You may gather that we had a non-traditional Halloween. After soccer - see her trophy? - we went downstairs to the "breakfast room" for our building's Halloween party, where we had pizza, cupcakes, candy, bingo, a costume contest (all the kids won!) and a pinata.
And that was that for our Halloween. So you might be surprised that, despite no door-to-door trick-or-treating, the kids stockpiled more candy than we're willing to let them eat. So what we did was good enough!
Anyway, thanks for visiting, everyone. We'll see you again soon, down your way.
