Summer camp ends, Summer Olympics begin!

If you recall, Levynn went to a camp called Summer Worlds Tour at museum campus in 2009. She was on the verge of kindergarten at the time. Guess who's on the verge now?

So Lincoln and Levynn went to the camp this time. They spent a day and a half each at the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium, and it went very well. If this was a test for Lincoln - whose longest day prior to this was 2 hours, 45 minutes - he passed with flying colors. And, yes, it's been confirmed: Lincoln will have full-day kindergarten, 7 hours long.

But that's for another day. For now, let the Games begin!

Three years later...

We were back at the Garrott family reunion at Kenlake this weekend!

Tsk, tsk, we didn't take a single photo with our camera. But Mom did capture this with her phone, and it's enough to see how the kids have grown since the last reunion in 2009.

Grandy's visit

So, yes, Grandy was here for a few days.

You've seen the highlights already. But she, and anyone else, can come visit again for more!

Holy growth spurts, Batman!

Both kids have grown about 3 inches in the last 11 months!

Yes, it's been that much in not quite a year, even - from last Aug. 5 to today.

Levynn actually reached one milestone, surpassing 4 feet, and probably would have weighed 50 pounds, too, had she finished her Angus beef sliders at Ditka's a couple of hours earlier. As it is, she weighed 49.25 pounds, up from 44, and she had grown to 48.5 inches from 45.75.

Lincoln, poor boy, was vomiting much of last night and so his weight truly was not right today. Bad day for a checkup, and right after his birthday, no less! He was only 41.75 pounds - he was 40 last year - but he has weighed more like 45 on our scale. In much better news, he had grown to 44.5 inches from 41.

Happy birthday, Lincoln!

This was quite a day for our new 5-year-old, who celebrated not only with America but also - for the first time - with his friends.

Yes, we were able to corral some families on the holiday to make his first kids' party possible on his actual birthday, which seems to us to be no mean feat.

So, after a 6 a.m. wakeup, presents, breakfast and final party prep, it was time!

Oh, did we mention it was a LEGO party? That's a homemade banner, with the official LEGO font, no less.

And that cake, check out that cake. Great work, Mom and Grandy!

And what about the LEGOs holding the grapes, you ask? Well, great work building that, Dad and Lincoln!

Here's the birthday boy - can't forget him! - in front of one of his party activities, Pin-the-head-on-the-LEGO-minfigure, under a LEGO Star Wars banner. The activity is homemade, the banner is not (borrowed from one of Mom's co-workers).

And here are the LEGO-styled gift bags Mom put together.

Dad, Levynn and Lincoln met the kids in the lobby with built LEGO sets to help them get into the mood, then we headed back as a group to play... with (red, white and blue) balloons and annoying noisemakers.

At least this fine young man knew what to do with all those LEGOs.

Actually, they all played with the LEGOs eventually. (Most have them at home.) Dad led this project, building the number 5 with two or three kids at a time.

They built cars, and there was a downhill track to race the cars.

They pinned the heads.

With mom, they made crayons shaped like LEGO bricks and minifigures.

There was good ole Papa John's pizza, grapes and goldfish for lunch.

And Lincoln sat next to the girl who kissed him goodbye at the end of the school picnic about a month ago. Remember that?

They were whispering to each other during lunch today.

Do you like the LEGO candles?

What a cute bunch!

The rest of Lincoln's day was building, building and more building. After all, he has about a dozen new LEGO sets as of today (a LEGO party will do that for you), and there might be nothing else he likes to do more.

By the time night rolled along, he and Levynn weren't interested in beating the crowd to Hancock Observatory and waiting for fireworks. So they stayed home with Dad and watched these all across the western horizon while Mom and Grandy went to Hancock. That was good enough for them at the end of this day.

Family T-Ball!

The kids got a batting tee and bases as birthday presents (thanks Uncle Colin and Aunt Katey!), and here we are using them in the park.

Have you heard that Levynn has started switch hitting, all on her own?

And Lincoln is taking some mean cuts these days.