Sox Game

On of my favorite ways to celebrate summer in the City is by attending a White Sox game.  Bre, Vic, Drew and I enjoyed a fabulous tailgate meal before heading into the park to watch the game.

Pods or Social Groups?

Erin's making quite a name for herself at Brookfield Zoo this summer.  As she was reading thru the fact sheets that the volunteers are given, she noticed that it mentioned dolphins travel in pods.  Actually, they don't - they travel in social groups.  The difference is that a pod is a group that's all related by blood, and while a social group hangs out together, they're not related.  Erin knew this because she's read Randy Wells' extensive research on dolphins in the wild.

Erin pointed out the inaccuracy of the dolphin fact sheet to her YVC supervisor, who did an online search about pods vs. social groups.  The online research supported the fact sheet.  Erin stood her ground.  "Randy Wells' research says dolphins run in social groups, and since he's affiliated with Brookfield Zoo, I think the fact sheet needs to be changed," she maintained.  "Bring me hard proof," replied her supervisor.

Erin emailed Randy, whom she met last month at a special lecture on whales.  This very busy, well-known dolphin researcher returned her email in an hour, and confirmed her position:  dolphins travel in social groups.  He also emailed up and down the Zoo foodchain, letting them know about the correction.

I've always told Erin she needs to come up with a "Plan B" should the dolphin trainer thing not work out.  It seems at this point her Plan A will work out just fine.

Drew's Big Heart

Drew and I have been doing a study of I Peter this summer, in preparation for the Bible Bee event next month.  Today we were challenged to do something nice for someone and expect nothing in return.  Drew decided he wanted to make chocolate chip cookies and give them away to friends and neighbors.  He donned an apron and began cooking.

Drew made a double batch, and we kept just two dozen cookies for our family.  He blessed several friends and neighbors with his homemade goodies.  He said he really liked seeing the joy on people's faces when he handed them the cookies, and that everyone loved the fact that he used real butter!

Drew has made great strides toward maturity in the past few months, and it's been fun to watch.  He's always had a big, generous heart, but this ability to offer up a good deed and expect nothing in return is a new step for him.  I'm so proud of him!

Cousins Camp - Last Day

All good things must end...today the cousins packed up and left Grandma and Grandpa's a little earlier than usual. This year, Cousins Camp ended with the Farmer's Day parade.

I absolutely love the Farmer's Day parade!  It's held the Saturday morning of Jesup's annual Farmer's Days.  Somewhere, my parents have really old silent home movies of my sister and me riding our tricycles in the parade when we were really little.  I don't remember a ton about that particular parade, other than the very loud BOOM! that got the parade started, and the terribly hot, long ride on my trike.  I'd never realized how long the parade route was until I had to peddle it all by myself!

The reality is that the parade route starts on the north edge of town, on Sixth Street up by the high school.  It heads south toward the middle of town before turning around and heading back north again.  We always sit on the lawn of the Methodist church - my parents were married there and my Grandma Hodges played the organ on Sunday mornings for years.

The Farmer's Day parade is the epitome of rural Americana, and whenever I have a chance to witness it, my heart swells with pride for my country and for my small-town roots.  The parade starts off with an escourt by the County Sherrif, followed by the Color Guard carrying the American flag, which leads the procession of vetrans.

It's the reaction of the crowd that makes this part of the parade so special.  As the flag passes by, every single person stands and is absolutely silent.  No one suggests this should happen.  No one enforces it.  It's just the way it is, year-in and year-out.  And as soon as the flag passes, the crowd remains standing, and bursts into applause to show appreciation for the veterans as they pass by.  This simple display of patriotism and gratitude for those who have served our country is, in my mind, at the heart and soul of what makes this country special.  It's ordinary people who appreciate that other ordinary people have done extraordinary things.

The parade is comprised almost exclusively of locals.  The florist shop in town handed out carnations; the politicians up for re-election in the fall handed out their fliers and shook hands with the crowd; the local sports teams rode on top of floats they had designed; the volunteer fire department brought out the old, old engines; there were tractors from the 1930s and 1940s that had been lovingly restored; and of course there was a marching band.

It's also local tradition that class reunions for Jesup High School are held during the Farmer's Day weekend. As part of the festivities each class participates in the parade by decorating and riding on a float.  This year is Mom and Dad's 50th class reunion.  Dad drove the tractor that pulled the decorated wagon that carried his fellow Class of '61 classmates.  He snapped these pics of the cousins while driving by:

 

Cousins Camp - Day 3

Cousins Camp, third day highlights:

Fontana Nature Center...

...Swimming...

...quiet time...

...Diet Coke and Mentos (yeah, it really did go higher than the house!)...

...a new card game called Maui, Maui that started in the house...

...and finished outside by the fire pit.

I love the memories that are made at Cousins Camp!

Cousins Camp - Day 2

Highlights from the second day of Cousins Camp:

Puppies...

...milking cows and feeding calves at Hansen's Farm...

...badminton with racquets acquired in yesterday's treasure hunt.

Cousins Camp - Day 1

Today I took the kids out to Iowa for the 12th annual Cousins Camp.  Kelsey had to attend her art foundations class before we could leave (she can only miss two days, and she'll use those up tomorrow and Friday), so we didn't arrive until close to supper time.  The rest of the cousins killed time waiting for my crew to get there.

Almost as soon as they were out of the car, Kelsey, Erin and Drew were off on the traditional first activity of Cousins Camp:  the Treasure Hunt.  I waved good-bye as I pulled out of Mom & Dad's driveway, and I saw huge smiles on everyone's faces.

Cousins Camp 2011 is off to a good start!

Where Did I Go Wrong?

We're leaving for Cousins Camp tomorrow, which made today Last Call for Laundry Day.  Each of the kids was told that any clothes they wanted washed to take with them to Cousins Camp had to be down the laundry shoot by noon.

I do my level best to tackle laundry every day so it doesn't stack up.  I honestly don't mind doing a load or two a day; however, I despise getting stuck on laundry all day long when it gets out of control.  So, I was none too pleased to see the mountain Drew shoved down the shoot around 10am today.

As I started sorting thru the pile, I found a t-shirt of Drew's that was still neatly folded, and very clearly had not been worn.  Here was the exchange that followed:

Me:  Drew!  I just found a t-shirt of yours in the dirty clothes that was unworn and still perfectly folded.  That's not ok, do you understand?

Drew:  Yes I do.  From now on, before I throw my clothes down the laundry, I need to unfold them.

Um, where did I go wrong?

Deconstruction of The Taste

 We had such a good time at The Taste last year, we decided to go again this year. 

The program.  It highlights the good, the bad, and the totally clueless.  Be patient - the 5 Ring Circus Taste of Chicago Awards are later in this post.

The friends.  These two have known each other since kindergarten.

The girl and the goat.  No, not the restaurant.  Goat isn't something I prepare at home, but Kelsey tried it at the Taste last year, and it was the first thing she went for today.

The ham.  We stopped to watch a dance troupe that was performing near Buckingham Fountain.  Drew was picked to be part of their act, and he totally stole the show!

There were 59 restaurants represented at The Taste this year.  I'm not going to lie and tell you we ate at all of them, but we certainly sampled our fair share.  Based on our experience, I present to you the 5 Ring Circus Awards for 2011 Taste of Chicago, Best and Worst.  In each category, these places won their awards by  a landslide:

Most Disorganized:  Starfruit Cafe.  Really?  You have only one person handing out the frozen kefir (it's like yogurt, but with an aftertaste) to seven servers, none of whom know what in the world they're doing?

False Advertising:  Tutto Italiano.  When you charge 9 tickets for something called Steak Burger with Blue Cheese, one assumes there will actually be blue cheese on or in the burger.  Not so.  The burger was slapped with a mustard sauce that had a slight hint of a blue cheese taste.  When Baird complained and asked for actual blue cheese on his burger, they hassled him.

Kelsey's Favorite:  Vee-Vee's African Restaurant.  See The Girl and the Goat picture above.

Baird's and My Favorite:  Vermillion.  We celebrated Valentine's at this place earlier this year, and we were excited to see them at Taste.  Their Grilled Chicken Kabab with Tomatillo, Potatoes and Charred Onion was fantastic, and their Ginger Dusted Crisp Apple Fritter with Mango Cardamom Sauce won the Best Overall Dessert category this year.  We agree.

Best BBQ:  Smoke Daddy.  The Pulled Pork Sandwich had a delicious smoky flavor with BBQ sauce the complemented, rather than competed with, that deep, smoky flavor.

22

Today is our 22nd wedding anniversary.  It marks a big milestone in my life:  I've now been married for more than half my life.  It comes as a bit of a shock, since it just doesn't seem that long ago that I was walking down the aisle, saying my vows, enjoying a casual outdoor reception that included a pig roast, and then heading off to Barbados for a honeymoon.  Even as I think back to July1, 1989, a part of me says, it wasn't that long ago, but then the reality hits that I'm the mother of a 16-year-old (and two others), and that brings it all into perspective.

Marriage is quite frequently perceived as a trial to endure.  The idea of I've been married xx number of years, a few of them good seems pretty pervasive, and I think it's a shame.  I won't pretend that every single day of the last 22 years has been absolutely perfect (let's be honest:  when you live with someone day in and day out, they get on your nerves once in awhile).  I am, however, realistic enough to know that not every day can be the best day of my life, and I can honestly say that I'm glad I've spent the last 22 years married to Baird.  We are both better people because we met, fell in love, got married, and have stayed together.  I love his sense of humor - he still makes me laugh after all this time, and regularly makes Drew laugh so hard he falls out of his chair at the dinner table.  I'm so glad he introduced me to jazz music, and I love that jazz is also something he and Kelsey have bonded over.  I'm thrilled that he introduced our family to outdoor camping trips, enabling Erin's friends to endow her with the nickname "Ranger Erin."

We celebrated our special day at a fabulous new restaurant, Autre Monde.  While we were waiting for our pasta course to be served (it was Tortellacci with goat cheese, black truffle and brown butter, and wow, was it good!), we started talking about how we've celebrated our various anniversaries.  Here are the highlights:

1st:  The Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, with dinner at Spiagga

5th:  Minneapolis.  I was pregnant with Kelsey.  Just before we reached our hotel, we were in a car accident. Baird broke 3 ribs.

10th:  I was in Cameroon, West Africa.  I was able to email Baird's pager with an anniversary message

15th:  Bed and Breakfast in Saugatuck, Michigan

20th:  New Orleans

I'm looking forward to many more anniversaries to come!