During our open house today, we went down to Hyde Park for some quality time with our old next door neighbors and good friends Ben and Maureen. They live a couple blocks from the Museum of Science and Industry, so we walked over there and took advantage of their membership.
Here are George and a newly hatched chick sizing each other up. Click the picture for a small album of our museum trip.
Showing posts with label excursions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label excursions. Show all posts
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Milk makes you jump
Yesterday, the family packed up and drove down to Fair Oaks Dairy Farm in Indiana. Fair Oaks is a working dairy farm that is open (and tailored) to visitors. We saw the milking facility where more than 60 cows are milked simultaneously on a giant carousel. We saw the mountains of Total Mixed Ration that feed the thousands of cows at the farm. Most memorably, we all sat spellbound for half an hour as cow number 49885 gave birth to a calf.
"Francis, are you seeing this?" I would ask.
"Yes, I see it, Daddy. Why is that baby cow so wet?"
"All babies are wet when they're born. You were wet."
"Really?"
"And then your mommy licked you clean just like that cow is doing."
Francis laughed, but most other people just looked away nervously.
Pictured here is the inflatable trampoline that gives the cow-birth a run for its money in the most-memorable race. Not pictured: tractor races, climbing wall, and delicious grilled cheese sandwiches.
"Francis, are you seeing this?" I would ask.
"Yes, I see it, Daddy. Why is that baby cow so wet?"
"All babies are wet when they're born. You were wet."
"Really?"
"And then your mommy licked you clean just like that cow is doing."
Francis laughed, but most other people just looked away nervously.
Pictured here is the inflatable trampoline that gives the cow-birth a run for its money in the most-memorable race. Not pictured: tractor races, climbing wall, and delicious grilled cheese sandwiches.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Francis and Georgie: BFF
Monday mornings are typically reserved for a trip to the Brown Cow for storytime with Miss Tracy (also known as Dancy Nancy on Jack's Big Music Show). However, she wasn't there this week so we headed to the Garfield Park Conservatory with the Bassetts for a chance to run around without our coats. We learned that every Monday morning they have a special kids activity, this week it was building "Bug Houses."
I've noticed, as of late, that Francis and George are really becoming...buddies. While building these little test tube bug houses Francis was continually encouraging and helping him saying "great job" and "here ya go Georgie." Big sigh. I just love them. It is so heart warming to see a bond forming between them. My sincere hope is that they become and continue to be the best of friends.
I've noticed, as of late, that Francis and George are really becoming...buddies. While building these little test tube bug houses Francis was continually encouraging and helping him saying "great job" and "here ya go Georgie." Big sigh. I just love them. It is so heart warming to see a bond forming between them. My sincere hope is that they become and continue to be the best of friends.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Mexican Vacation
Last week, we celebrated with our friends Ryan and Anna as they got married in Mexico. As a result of our experience in the Yucatan, I strongly encourage any of you who are considering marriage to do it down there. And invite us.
On the way to Cancun, we left F and G with Sally's sister's wonderful family in Ft. Worth. Our previous record for time away from the kids was about 12 hours (hotel downtown on our fifth anniversary). In Mexico, we were childless for 7 days. Luckily, there was Internet access at the resort, and we were able to video chat with them several times.
This picture shows us on our way back from a day of strolling the calles de Playa Del Carmen, a town about fifteen miles north of our hotel.
On the way to Cancun, we left F and G with Sally's sister's wonderful family in Ft. Worth. Our previous record for time away from the kids was about 12 hours (hotel downtown on our fifth anniversary). In Mexico, we were childless for 7 days. Luckily, there was Internet access at the resort, and we were able to video chat with them several times.
This picture shows us on our way back from a day of strolling the calles de Playa Del Carmen, a town about fifteen miles north of our hotel.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Almost to the finish line!
There is no better test of physical fitness than ice-skating while carrying (from a crouch position) a forty pound sack of potatoes wearing ice skates. I failed; one lap, and I was ready to call it a day. Fortunately, Francis was also finished, and I got to rest.
Though it was only one lap (during which her skates rarely touched the ice), she still talks about it. I have no doubt that she'll try it again, one lap at a time.
We had a similar experience sledding today. Francis was excited about going, but was ready to go home after one trip down the hill.
Though it was only one lap (during which her skates rarely touched the ice), she still talks about it. I have no doubt that she'll try it again, one lap at a time.
We had a similar experience sledding today. Francis was excited about going, but was ready to go home after one trip down the hill.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Congratulations, Imron and Muniza
This past weekend Matt and I had the pleasure of attending the Valima reception of our dear friends, Imron and Muniza. Now, I've been to quite a few weddings, but this was uniquely beautiful. Every woman was dressed in traditional clothing - bright oranges, blues, pinks, greens...amazing. And throughout the reception there were dance performances, each seeming to tell a story. In short, I had a wonderful time. Not just because we were celebrating the marriage of one of my favorite people, but also because it was just darn cool. Thank you both, and your families, for inviting us to be part of your special weekend.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Notre Dame Stadium
The first time I stepped foot in Notre Dame stadium was almost twenty years ago: October 24, 1987. Notre Dame played USC that day, and happened to be in the middle of an eventual 11-game winning streak against the Trojans. The streak continued that day, and I'm sure the win was important to me at the time, but more than any specific play in that game, I remember entering the stadium itself.
My brother was an athletic manager at Notre Dame. His senior year, he was lacrosse manager, and his roommate was one of the football managers. Their positions afforded me -- a thirteen-year old nobody -- certain privileges. Not only did I get a tour of the fabled locker room on Friday night, slap the Play Like A Champion sign, and watch the painting of the helmets --- but I also entered Notre Dame stadium, on gameday, through the home locker room.
This is like going into the Vatican through the Pope's entrance.
This entrance was likely more necessity than anything else. My brother's plan was to sneak me into the student section without a ticket of my own. In a wonderful lesson on rules-meant-to-be-broken, my first entrance into the Stadium remains a highlight of my long career as a Notre Dame fanatic.
Twenty years after I first visited, Francis made her debut. (really second, but she doesn't remember the first, being only 3 months old). She was a great fan. She stayed for the whole agonizing game. She cheered. She craned her neck to see. She demanded to be lifted during play. She was a credit to Notre Dame fans everywhere, and I am proud to be her father.
My brother was an athletic manager at Notre Dame. His senior year, he was lacrosse manager, and his roommate was one of the football managers. Their positions afforded me -- a thirteen-year old nobody -- certain privileges. Not only did I get a tour of the fabled locker room on Friday night, slap the Play Like A Champion sign, and watch the painting of the helmets --- but I also entered Notre Dame stadium, on gameday, through the home locker room.
This is like going into the Vatican through the Pope's entrance.
This entrance was likely more necessity than anything else. My brother's plan was to sneak me into the student section without a ticket of my own. In a wonderful lesson on rules-meant-to-be-broken, my first entrance into the Stadium remains a highlight of my long career as a Notre Dame fanatic.
Twenty years after I first visited, Francis made her debut. (really second, but she doesn't remember the first, being only 3 months old). She was a great fan. She stayed for the whole agonizing game. She cheered. She craned her neck to see. She demanded to be lifted during play. She was a credit to Notre Dame fans everywhere, and I am proud to be her father.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Hey Giraffe, I see you...
Went to the zoo today with a bunch of girlfriends. In total, 6 moms and 11 children. I love these outings. I get to talk to adults and Francis runs around like a little monkey with all of her friends. Here she is looking into a periscope into the giraffe pasture. She's growing up so fast.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Eskimo kiss
Night before last, Matt showed Francis an eskimo kiss for the first time. She loved it and gave me one during our tea party on the grass of the pumpkin patch we visited today. She seemed so grown up today.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Playing at Millenium Park
This is one of the many reasons I love raising my kids in Chicago. It doesn't get much cooler than this.
Monday, August 13, 2007
All Aboard...finally.
After months of not having the courage to ride the mall train, Francis finally hopped aboard. She looks a little sad in the photos, but I promise she really did have fun.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Baby's First Concert
Went to the Land Of Nod last week to see Peter Himmelman play. It ended up being a little bit of a let down because it only lasted about 20 minutes, but it was still fun to drive downtown and do something a little different with the kids. The children's music world seems to be a booming industry these days. It's so good in fact, that even on repeat in the car it's tolerable. Some of my favorites are: Lisa Loeb and They Might Be Giants.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Ladies Night
Last Friday night myself and a crew of my girlfriends, all mommas, went dancing in downtown Chicago. (Mind you, I haven't been dancing in over 6 years and this girl likes to shake her groove thang. ) You'd think, that I would have been out of my mind excited, but to tell you the truth, I had all kinds of anxiety about going.
First, I had NOTHING to wear. At least I'm smart enough to know that Tevas and cargos aren't appropriate for a night on the town. Currently, my wardrobe is a sad, sad state of affairs. It's full of maternity/post maternity/loosing weight after baby t-shirts and jeans. That, combined with my life consisting of going to the library and the park with two kids, let's just say...not so sexy.
And if you're going out once every 6 years, sexy is a must. Enter, friend Rachel and neighbor Maureen. These ladies always look like a million bucks. Rachel came over with a pile of clothes and Maureen gave me some sparkly earrings to wear. I typically wear fake pearls or diamond studs...both of which are lost at the moment and I've been wearing nothing for months now. I am a lost cause. What can I say? I've got to get better at this. At any rate, mission "Transform Sally" was complete. I had something to wear and felt much better about going.
Nevermind, I am 33, married, and now have the glorious post pregnancy "muffin top" waistline...maybe now, with the right clothes and club lighting, I would blend in.
We arrived at the Funky Buddha around 9:45. How did we decide where to go? I wish I could post the string of emails (there were 32) that were exchanged among this group of ladies. It was so funny. There was a lot of internet research and consulting of younger siblings and coworkers. After having to ditch our first choice of going to the Underground (because Kanye West was having a private party there) we settled on the Funky Buddha. The website said the age range was 25-50...ha.
We had a great time. A little out of practice, Lauren forgot her ID and had to drive all the way home to get it. And a little rusty on the dance floor, but soon it was all laughs and good times. I created a new dance move... it was the "look at my ring finger" dance. That seemed to weed out most of the creeps. One guy, in fact, appreciating my effort, bought me a drink and said, "Have a great time with your girlfriends tonight." So, I count that as a success. A free drink. I still got it. ;)
It was a great time. Not more fun than eating breakfast everyday with Francis and George or watching back -to-back episodes of 24 on the couch with Matt, but a different kind of fun. Just a great night out by myself, with my girlfriends. Thanks Ladies. I needed it.
First, I had NOTHING to wear. At least I'm smart enough to know that Tevas and cargos aren't appropriate for a night on the town. Currently, my wardrobe is a sad, sad state of affairs. It's full of maternity/post maternity/loosing weight after baby t-shirts and jeans. That, combined with my life consisting of going to the library and the park with two kids, let's just say...not so sexy.
And if you're going out once every 6 years, sexy is a must. Enter, friend Rachel and neighbor Maureen. These ladies always look like a million bucks. Rachel came over with a pile of clothes and Maureen gave me some sparkly earrings to wear. I typically wear fake pearls or diamond studs...both of which are lost at the moment and I've been wearing nothing for months now. I am a lost cause. What can I say? I've got to get better at this. At any rate, mission "Transform Sally" was complete. I had something to wear and felt much better about going.
Nevermind, I am 33, married, and now have the glorious post pregnancy "muffin top" waistline...maybe now, with the right clothes and club lighting, I would blend in.
We arrived at the Funky Buddha around 9:45. How did we decide where to go? I wish I could post the string of emails (there were 32) that were exchanged among this group of ladies. It was so funny. There was a lot of internet research and consulting of younger siblings and coworkers. After having to ditch our first choice of going to the Underground (because Kanye West was having a private party there) we settled on the Funky Buddha. The website said the age range was 25-50...ha.
We had a great time. A little out of practice, Lauren forgot her ID and had to drive all the way home to get it. And a little rusty on the dance floor, but soon it was all laughs and good times. I created a new dance move... it was the "look at my ring finger" dance. That seemed to weed out most of the creeps. One guy, in fact, appreciating my effort, bought me a drink and said, "Have a great time with your girlfriends tonight." So, I count that as a success. A free drink. I still got it. ;)
It was a great time. Not more fun than eating breakfast everyday with Francis and George or watching back -to-back episodes of 24 on the couch with Matt, but a different kind of fun. Just a great night out by myself, with my girlfriends. Thanks Ladies. I needed it.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Kissin' Cubbies
A couple of months ago, Matt came home with two bleacher seat tickets to the Cubs game today. We totally forgot all about it until yesterday and had to scramble like crazy to find a sitter. The good news: we found a great one. The bad news: she didn't come cheap.
Nevermind the $70 on sitting and the cubbies lost. I spent an afternoon with my boyfriend and I felt like kissin'.
Nevermind the $70 on sitting and the cubbies lost. I spent an afternoon with my boyfriend and I felt like kissin'.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
God Bless America!
We celebrated our nation's birthday with a parade, a trip to the park, and then barbecued ribs with our next-door neighbors. It doesn't get any more American than that. Grandma Carns helped us get into the holiday spirit with patriotic gifts (notice Francis's hat and purse in the pictures).
At the parade, we saw the greatest entry of any parade since the dawn of parading: this guy. He stood in the back of his cabriolet, guitar in hand and amp plugged in, thrashing the Oak Park parade all the way up Ridgeland Ave.
At the parade, we saw the greatest entry of any parade since the dawn of parading: this guy. He stood in the back of his cabriolet, guitar in hand and amp plugged in, thrashing the Oak Park parade all the way up Ridgeland Ave.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Happy belated St. Patrick's Day
Francis and I took the el downtown for the Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade. We had a great time laughing at all of the people with funny hats, watching the bucket drummers, checking out the green river, eating Garrett's popcorn, and meeting up with the Browns for lunch...where mommy drank some green beer. All in all a great day... except that Matt and Georgie were home sick!
Tap shoes: She insisted on wearing them - as she does pretty much everyday now. I brought her tennis shoes thinking she might change her mind at some point throughout the day, but no.
Tap shoes: She insisted on wearing them - as she does pretty much everyday now. I brought her tennis shoes thinking she might change her mind at some point throughout the day, but no.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Devon Excursion
Last weekend we had the pleasure of meeting up with our friends Imron and his fiancé, Muniza. We decided to meet them on Devon in Chicago, an area known for its great Indian food. We had high hopes of finding an outfit for me to wear to their wedding. Something authentic to complement their traditional ceremony this May. In fact, their wedding day will be on our 5 year anniversary! (Well, one of THREE of their wedding days.) Despite not finding the outfit, we had a great time. We ate an amazing lunch and enjoyed the company. Congratulations again you two!
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Jensen Wedding
"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2:24).
This weekend Dan Jensen cleaved unto Andrea Reade. Dictionary.com tells me that the word "cleave" comes from the Middle English "cleven," which in turns comes from the Old English "cleofian." The relevant definitions for the modern word are as follows:
1. To adhere, cling, or stick fast.
2. To be faithful: cleave to one's principles.
I don't know what word was in the original Genesis text, but I think cleave works pretty well. Three years into my own marriage, I especially like the words in the first part of the definition: "adhere, cling, stick fast."
To cleave, then, is to be like crazy glue. This reveals a deep truth about marriage. You glue things together that might otherwise come apart. You promise in marriage to stick fast to each other - even though you will sometimes feel like running far away.
Sally, Francis, and I flew out to California to watch Dan and Andrea promise to stick fast to each other. We had a great time. Click on the picture or the title to see a lot of pictures from the weekend.
Also, wherever you are when you read this, take a moment to raise a glass to this happy couple and join in this belated toast. Cheers.
And if you don't have a drink handy, go buy them something from their registry.
This weekend Dan Jensen cleaved unto Andrea Reade. Dictionary.com tells me that the word "cleave" comes from the Middle English "cleven," which in turns comes from the Old English "cleofian." The relevant definitions for the modern word are as follows:
1. To adhere, cling, or stick fast.
2. To be faithful: cleave to one's principles.
I don't know what word was in the original Genesis text, but I think cleave works pretty well. Three years into my own marriage, I especially like the words in the first part of the definition: "adhere, cling, stick fast."
To cleave, then, is to be like crazy glue. This reveals a deep truth about marriage. You glue things together that might otherwise come apart. You promise in marriage to stick fast to each other - even though you will sometimes feel like running far away.
Sally, Francis, and I flew out to California to watch Dan and Andrea promise to stick fast to each other. We had a great time. Click on the picture or the title to see a lot of pictures from the weekend.
Also, wherever you are when you read this, take a moment to raise a glass to this happy couple and join in this belated toast. Cheers.
And if you don't have a drink handy, go buy them something from their registry.
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