The LONG first day is in the books!

We followed the longest school day in CPS history with (a few innings of) a Cubs night game, and, lo and behold, we've got two worn out kids. Suffice to say that we won't do that again anytime soon.

But there's only one first day of school, right? So have fun with it!

With that in mind, Levynn decided to dress in pink from head to toe.

And Lincoln took Star Wars as far as he could, right down to his skivvies.

To go with his Darth Vader backpack...

and his Darth Vader lunchbox.

This, by the way, is what it looks like to have two elementary school kids.

And off we went.

Levynn had said that she wanted to be escorted into school. So we were ready to split up. But she changed her mind at the door, and that meant Mom and Dad both could follow Lincoln inside.

If you're wondering, he kept smiling, waved goodbye and let us go. No tears - before, during or after.

Oh, yeah, the "after."

Not long after the school day ended, we headed to Wrigley Field for a ballgame and a special pre-game ceremony.

A Girl Scout parade on the field!

The kids have run the bases after a game or two, but this time we walked on the outfield warning track along the ivy walls.

We even got a close-up view of Alfonso Soriano and Anthony Rizzo!

Then we watched some baseball.

Some baseball. It was a long day.

School starts tomorrow!

How exciting it will be when we all walk to the same school tomorrow morning.

Lincoln will be in the same building as Levynn now, with him in kindergarten and her in third grade. He visited his classroom, met his teacher, sat in his assigned spot and found his locker during a meet-and-greet last Thursday evening. So it's not all new to him. And he's been talking a good game. So we think he'll respond well. We know he's certainly ready!

As for Levynn, well, she's a pro by now. She just wishes one of her three closest friends was in her class. One is going back to the private school where she started, although moving a block a or so closer to us, and the other two are in a different class. But we bet she'll be pleasantly surprised to see a few other familiar faces.

So, are you wondering what we've been doing since SUMMER VACATION, aside from Lincoln's meet-and-greet?

Well, the very next day, we went to the Cubs game. Mom got four tickets to the Trib's 18-seat suite, for her into-the-wee-hours work on the paper's Olympics preview section (begging the question: who gets those tickets for all the other games?).

Dad and the kids checked out the Museum of Contemporary Art's skyscrapers exhibition, which was all over the map. The same guy created this...

and this.

It was a little more interesting from there, like this city in a suitcase. "Hey, that's Chicago!"

There was this rendering of the World Trade Center. One Chicago Tribune was added to each stack every day, until both towers were "built" again.

And there was a city of refrigerators, among many other things.

The kids liked this the best.

Lincoln rode Levynn's old bike, to which we've added training wheels again.

We watched the Air and Water show from the same vantage point as last year, in the home of the twin redheads who are Levynn's friends.

We played in the Tribune's plaza a few times.

We hadn't been to the beach enough, apparently. We went at night this time.

Dad and the kids went to the Children's Museum with the twins.

Levynn saw her BFF - the one off to private school - a few times.

And Dad and the kids visited the Chicago History Museum today and enjoyed the new magic exhibit, complete with a working magician. (And we weren't expecting anything new so we didn't bring the camera. Maybe next time.)

And that was our summer, folks. We hope you had a good one, too.

We'll be sure to let you know about the first day of school - and Girl Scout Night at the Cubs game a few hours later - as soon as we can!

SUMMER VACATION, Day 8: The end

This was travel day, sadly. But we didn't leave the beach house until after lunch. So we had more time to play in the sand.

Thanks for the great week, everyone!

SUMMER VACATION, Day 7: The sea

As you'll see, the ocean is in all but one of the photos here, and the exception is just a matter of angle. It was that kind of day.

Alas, it also was "that kind of day" in another way. Think of the whale watching experience earlier. In other words, aside from the pleasure of their own company, the Chambers men - Dad, Uncle Dan, Uncle Andy, Uncle Colin (taking the photo) and Papa (not pictured) - had no luck on their deep sea fishing adventure.

They returned with no fish for dinner. In fact, of the more than 50 people on the boat, only one left with a fish - and he left with but one.

So Dad, whose turn it was to cook on this night, went to the grocery store and happened to find Cape Cod striped bass. Problem solved.

Meanwhile, Mom and Aunt Rachel took the kids to the beach.

Notice that no one in these photos went more than ankle deep in the water. It was frigid. It seemed to Dad no different than the beach water in Maine. Just plain intolerable.

Keep that in mind, now. For sometime after dinner, Dan, we believe, proposed that the boys swim to the dock to see who could get there first. That was an insane idea, no doubt.

But look here. Dad's lined up anyway. Let's see how this goes.

Yes, Dad and Colin quit.

Yes, Dan and Andy got to the dock. Bully for them. And, yes, Dan won.

But Dad is not ashamed to say that it was just too damn cold, so cold that his legs hurt walking back to shore.

How two could tolerate it and two could not, well, we'll leave that to your imagination.

SUMMER VACATION, Day 6: Plymouth or Plimoth?

You might think that, newly arrived at the beach after a busy few days of sightseeing elsewhere, Mom and Dad would have been eager for relaxation in the sand on this morning.

But, eager or not, we didn't get it. Plimoth Plantation awaited!

Since Mom and the kids had not been there, the town of Plymouth was next door, and the Chambers men had a deep sea fishing trip planned for the next day, it was now or never. So we joined Gram, Papa, and Cousin Chloe to witness life in the New World in 1620.

Now lead the way, Levynn!

And there you have it!

But when we returned to the house, then it was time for Mom and Dad to go to the beach.

Here's the house, by the way.

And that's one of the lobsters Mom carried home (in a bag) with Gram! Imagine THAT! (But that's not her hand holding it.)

While Gram and Uncle Andy cooked those critters, the other men played bean bag toss - or cornhole, if you will - in the backyard. It was epic, a best-of-three showdown between, on one side, Dad and the unrivaled Uncle Colin, and on the other side, Papa and Uncle Dan.

"Ooh, it's close!"

Triumph!

Then it was time to eat.

Mmmmmmm.

Cheers!

The kids weren't interested in the main course.

But Dad was!

And Dan...

After dinner, there was cake to celebrate all the kids' summer birthdays.

And there was more family time.