How We Spent Our Summer Vacation

A reminder for one of the rules of the Urban Mom blog here at the Urban Family Country Day Academy... no pictures of us. So in order to do this "How We Spent Our Summer Vacation" post, I can only use the goofy pictures that don't show our faces too much. Thanks for understanding!

If you've never been to Chicago's Millenium Park, you have to go! It's the most beautiful $40-million-over-budget project you've ever seen! These are from a section that has two large, glass block walls that show faces of Chicagoans. Water runs down the walls into the reflecting pool between them, and they occasionally spit out water. About 15 seconds after opening, the kids of Chicago took it over. As you can see, they had the right idea.

I think Urban Kid 1 is in there somewhere.




In late June, we did a day trip to the Indiana side of Lake Michigan. It was U-Kid 2's first time putting her feet in the sand.

I kid you not...she made a beeline for U-Dad's backpack in order to retrieve her.....


shoes. She is truly and deeply, an Urban Kid, I suppose.


U-Dad with U-Kid 1 checking out the water (it was cold!).

Tiptoeing in with U-Kid 2 (U-Kid 1 has made herself at home... and borrowed a toy from another family).

For July 4th, we went to Best Namma Ever!'s, who lives in a 'burb of St. Louis. Ya gotta love the Independence Day Parade!



When you are from St. Louis, you learn about Lewis & Clark. A lot. And often.


Best Namma Ever! loves, loves a marching band in a parade. She grew up in Edwardsville, Illinois, so perhaps it has to do with her small-town roots. Sadly, these kids played nothing until they were about 50 yards past us.



Errrr... this might just be a Missouri thing. I'm not entirely sure. But it did get quite a reaction from the crowd!


And the ever-popular firetruck! No parade is complete without one! (seriously, U-Kid 1 was intrigued)


U-Dad took U-Kid 1 to her first Cubs game at Wrigley. It was hot as Hades and then had a cloudburst of pouring rain. But the Cubs won, and U-Kid1 came home bursting with the news!




Finally, U-Kid 2 had her first haircut. Once the U-Dad finally got me to agree to it, he got up and went to get the scissors himself. Heck, NO! I was only going to allow a trained professional near my baby's head! Luckily, Lee, hairstylist to both myself and Best Namma Ever!, threw her scissors in her bag and ventured north from her salon in the Loop to see us. Her reward is that she got to work out with me at the gym. (ok, ok, she piled on the favor by letting me tag along for her relentless workout so that I might actually learn something new!)

More over the next few days about.... who isn't the English Department Chair... and getting started with our schooling at home.

Have you noticed that the days are already shorter? And we're expecting a high of only 73 tomorrow.

Summer is too short!