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!

The Long Good-Bye

Erin met the Rappaports on the Irving School Playground, a few days before she went into fifth grade.  She was helping me with Irving's New Kindergarten Parent Welcome.  A was starting kindergarten in just a few days, and she was a little nervous.  Erin got down on her knees so she was eye-level with A, and started up a conversation with her.  The next thing I knew, they were off playing on the jungle gyms.  A's mom was so impressed with Erin, she began calling her for mommy's helper jobs.  As soon as Erin was legally old enough to babysit, the Rappaports were one of the first families to hire her.  Over the years, this babysitting gig has become something more:  Erin's become an honorary member of their family.

So it is with a large degree of sadness that we have come to this week.  Like so many Oak Parkers, the Rappaports are relocating out of state.  Erin's been spending most of her days this week watching over the kids, while L finishes packing up the house.  Tonight Erin offered to make them dinner.  She made spaghetti and homemade sauce and sunshine salad.  She threw in a loaf of fresh Italian bread and some fresh berries.  She packed it all up in dispoable containers and carted it the three blocks to their house.  She made enough so they could have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

The Rappaports are leaving Saturday morning, and we're sure going to miss them!

Today was Father's Day, and The 5 Ring Circus celebrated with a low-key family day.  After church this morning, Baird spent some time with each of the kids individually.  He had decided that instead of having the kids give him gifts, he wanted to give them something special.  He had written each one a very personal letter, where he told them how much he loved them and how special they were to him.  He sat with each of the kids privately while they read the letter he had written them.  Erin said her letter was her Best Thing for the day, and Drew and Kelsey said they really liked theirs too.

Late afternoon, we headed into the City to dine al fresco as a family at Pizzeria Due.  It's the place Baird and I ate at the day after we were married, before we left for our honeymoon in Barbados.  We'd also taken Brad and Caleb there after we treated them to a Bulls game back in the day when Michael Jordan played (Caleb, who's now over 30 and has a family of his own, was about Drew's age at the time).  We decided it was time we share this Chicago institution with the kids, and a kind patron at the next table offered to take a photo of all of us:

After stuffing ourselves with pizza, we headed over to the lakefront for a post-dinner stroll.  We walked the lakefront south to Buckingham Fountain, and then took a cab back to the car since it was starting to get late.  It was a beautiful, wonderful, peaceful family day.  Baird christened it the best Father's Day he's ever had!

Daddy's (not so little) Girls

Baird has a great relationship with all the kids, and with the girls, there's definitely a silly side that came thru loud and clear in these Father's Day candids:

H A P P Y   F A T H E R S   D A Y ! ! !