Halloween... in a galaxy far, far away

You're looking at Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, in case you didn't know already or (astonishingly!) you cannot see that for yourself.

A lot of work went into these get-ups! Mom sewed Leia's cape with hood and Luke's tunic, Dad made the blaster pistols, and we hunted for worthy belts. (The lightsaber already existed.) What do you think?

With that kind of build-up, it made sense that the Halloween experience was so drawn out, if exhausting. It started Saturday, with a costume party in our building. At school today, the kids paraded outside; Dad tagged along.

Right after school, with backpacks still in hand, Dad took the kids to one of our favorite playgrounds, Goudy Square, in what might be the wealthiest enclave in the state. The neighborhood association decks it out beginning at 4 p.m. every Halloween - too bad we didn't know that before! - and residents already are stationed outside their homes to pass out candy at that hour. Bonanza!

The kids filled their buckets and were pooped, and we still had our building to visit. So we only went to a few floors before calling it a night.

Happy Days

Granddaddy and Susan were here for a visit over the last few days, well-timed for his 60th birthday (earlier in the week), our 10th anniversary, and an event for fans of architecture.

Yes, Mom and Dad have been married 10 years!

Have a look.

Granddaddy blew out the candles on a pineapple upside-down cake on Thursday night.

Granddaddy and Susan walked to school with the kids on Friday morning.

We ate a celebratory dinner at Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse that night. (Thanks to Susan for most of these photos; for this one, however, we have to thank the waitstaff!)

Saturday was the first day of Open House Chicago, which you may remember from last year. On this day, we stayed in the Gold Coast neighborhood to see a couple of mansions from the late 1800s and early 1900s. But we started at the kids' school, which also was part of the event. Here we are in the library.

On Sunday, Dad guided Granddaddy and Susan on a wearying walking tour of other sites. The highlight was the Kemper Building. Its 360-degree public observation deck, the city's first when built in 1962, had been closed for the last 40 years but was open on this day. Imagine the views from the 41st floor of a building directly across the river from Trump Tower.

Best of all, perhaps, was the view of the Jeweler's Building next door. People supposedly waited two hours or more to get inside the Jeweler's Building but couldn't see the best part - the outside of it!

Stars of the week

Lincoln's class began its Star of the Week program this week, and his teacher chose him to be the first!

Also, Mom and Dad each began once-a-week volunteering assignments in Lincoln's class, and we're very pleased to say that we're impressed with his teacher's handling of the students. For one reason or another, we had concerns - until we saw the class in action for extended periods of time.

We're not sure how much he'll learn in kindergarten, considering how far along he is already and the seemingly limited curriculum (so far) the school uses at this level. But what new things he has seen, like tally marks, he has absorbed like a sponge.

Progress reports and NWEA test results came home this week, as well. The former are not very revealing for kindergarteners, simply noting whether a student is "beginning development" or better in different subject areas. But the test results put Lincoln in the 99th percentile in both math and reading. To put that in perspective, Levynn is a straight-A student these days, and she never has tested that high in math.

As for his reading...

He was reading from a "Cars" storybook, and that was the first time he had read that particular story.

But let's not forget Levynn!

Her progress report was a little more detailed (you may recall the B in math she fretted about in the middle of the spring term last school year). This time there was not a B to be found.

Back to the Botanic Garden

With a library pass for free parking (the only admission fee) and no other plans for our three free car sharing hours for the month, we couldn't pass on the chance to go back to the Chicago Botanic Garden today for its fall festival.

Plus, after seeing the colors of summer, we wanted to see the colors of fall.

And there they are.

We met Dad's friends John and Carolina there. She snapped this shot of us in front of a beautiful pile of gourds.

The festival included a hay maze that - even with those low, single-bale walls - kids loved.

And look how easy it can be to get kids to be useful!

See that structure in the distance? That's a carillon. We don't remember seeing it last time. And it's functional! We definitely don't remember that.