Boys' day out

While the girls were enjoying themselves elsewhere, it just so happened to be a great day - rain showers notwithstanding - for the boys to do the same.

We had yet to go to Millenium Park's Family Fun Festival (which started Wednesday and continues daily into September); the Chicago Blues Festival was in its second day in Grant Park; and the Chicago Tribune's Printers Row Lit Fest had just started in the South Loop.

Dad and Lincoln tackled the first and last - and Dad got a special taste of the other in between.


As always, we started the family festival with the Wiggleworms program.


But not at all like always, there were live animals to touch! And Lincoln had no qualms about petting the giant pythons, the little turtles, and the lizard. It was Wild in the City week, with activities provided by Chicago Wilderness and Millenium Park's own Lurie Garden.


Watch this comical encounter between Lincoln and a turtle. They stare each other down!

We stopped to hear a little of Sarah and the Tall Boys playing on the Pritzker Pavilion stage before strolling to Lit Fest, where we just wanted to see Peter "Paul and Mary" Yarrow - who wrote "Puff the Magic Dragon" - perform kids songs.

We passed the front of the Art Institute and got our first look at how the lions had been decorated recently. The Chicago Blackhawks just won the Stanley Cup, in case you hadn't heard.

Lincoln fell asleep soon after and thus did not get to meet Otis Taylor, the blues musician that Dad saw perform Thursday. Taylor and another man were walking toward us, heading in the direction of the blues festival. Dad stopped him and shook hands. He's a nice guy!

Then, when we got to Lit Fest, the cast of the Tony-nominated musical "Million Dollar Quartet" was rocking the stage. They weren't even on the schedule Dad had in hand! They stuck around to see Peter Yarrow perform.


And here he is. Thank goodness Lincoln was awake for it!

Girls having fun

Levynn's best friend celebrated her birthday today - at McDonald's and a kids salon (yes, there is such a thing!) - and most of the girls in their class were there.

Lots of pink, purple and glitter. Lots of happy little girls.




Mom was there, too, and is glad she got a peek as a preview for Levynn's own birthday party - her first with friends - next weekend. And she's glad Dad didn’t because he might be running for the hills!

More music!

Dad plans to take better advantage of Millenium Park's free musical offerings this summer, in case you haven't noticed yet, and made a solo visit today for blues rebel Otis Taylor's short set at Pritzker Pavilion - a day before his headlining act at the Chicago Blues Festival at Grant Park. He's terrific.


This is "Ten Million Slaves," a key song in the film "Public Enemies."

A night on the town

To think Dad secretly wished that Mom had been off tonight, as she will be every Monday starting next week, or that he had hired our new babysitter for a few hours. Tonight just wouldn't have been the same!

With dinner, a picnic blanket, books and toys packed in the stroller, Dad, Levynn and Lincoln walked to Millenium Park to meet friends John and Carolina for a free She & Him concert in Pritzker Pavilion. Dad expected to spend at least some of the time in the lawn, where the kids like to stretch their legs, but it already was overflowing when we arrived a full 45 minutes before the opening act was scheduled to start.

The seating area in front, however, was wide open (the lawn always fills faster, even though you can't see from there), and that's where we had to sit for the duration - or go home early. And Dad oh so didn't want to go home early on this night.

But the kids were great! For three hours of waiting and music and more waiting and more music, they ate, played, danced and thoroughly enjoyed the company of Dad's friends, all while confined to our seating area amidst a massive crowd that far exceeded the venue's 11,000 capacity. It was remarkable, absolutely remarkable.

Millenium Park is rockin' again!

This wasn't the park's first concert of the season, but it was our first there. We owed ourselves a picnic this week and figured we couldn't do better than music at Millenium Park on Mom's off night!

We heard The Very Best, which features a Malawian singer using four languages and two British DJs backing him. The kids did some dancing!

While Grandy was here...

Grandy, Mom, and Lincoln visited Millenium Park and its Lurie Garden, which had these amazing flowers. (Thanks for the photo, Grandy!)


Grandy and Levynn did a little gardening at home, giving Lev's science project plant (which, appropriately enough, was a gift from Grandy) a big girl pot to stretch its roots.

And then there was race day. Levynn tried to keep Mom cool and relaxed (in another of Grandy's photos). Maybe it worked!

Here, well, this one kinda speaks for itself. Grandy sure has an eye for nature's bounty.

Still going strong

Tired and sore - oh so sore - Mom had to smile through it today. The Soldier Field 10 Mile kicked her butt, sure, but she kicked its butt right back.

Mom bettered her pace from shorter races to finish this unprecedented distance in 1:42.13, at a clip of 10:13 per mile. The results are here.

Dad and Levynn somehow missed her in the crowd as she crossed the finish line on Soldier Field's grass but were there to hug her afterward. She deserved it!

Go, Cubs, Go!

How did we get that shot of the Wrigley Field scoreboard during the Cubs' victory song "Go, Cubs, Go" this afternoon, you ask?

Mom and Levynn were there singing it, of course!

Oh, you mean how were we even there in the first place?

Good question!

Well, today of all days - as Mom was making her way to a 1:10 p.m. doctor's appointment, Levynn was still in school, and Lincoln was napping - Mom received a phone call from our building's office staff and was told two tickets for the Cubs' 1:20 p.m. game were waiting in our name at Wrigley's will call booth.

"What?!" you ask? So did we. And all we were told was, "We've got connections, and we thought of you." Then thank you, thank you, thank you!

To make a long story kinda short, Mom and Levynn arrived at their seats - row 8! behind home plate! valued at $101.80 each! - in the eighth inning. Luckily for them, though, neither team had scored a run, and they watched the Cubs hit two triples to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the inning and closer Carlos Marmol strike out the side - including Manny Ramirez - in the top of the ninth for the win.

Mom captured some good shots of the action.

Here's rookie Tyler Colvin's RBI triple.

Here are rookie shortstop Starlin Castro and his predecessor, now-second baseman Ryan Theriot, in the on-deck circle.

Here is Marmol pitching.


And here is Marmol striking out Manny, much to Levynn's excitement.

How cool is that? Mom says, "Very, very, VERY."

Summer is here!

At least in some sense, it is. The first neighborhood festival of the season was held this weekend - in our own former neighborhood, coincidentally - and the temperature out there is pushing 90 degrees all of a sudden.

That festival, Mayfest, included four kid-focused hours yesterday. So we rode the train back to our old neck of the woods, not quite knowing what to expect, and were pleasantly surprised to find free goodies like make-your-own healthy snacks (as opposed to the expensive unhealthy snacks outside the tent!), homemade fairy wands, and balloon twisting experts. It was enjoyable.

And now Millenium Park's season kicks into gear this week! Bring on summer vacation!

Another milestone!