Bye, Bye Brian

Sadly today camp ended and Brian departed.  Hugs and kisses all the way around.

Camper Awards Ceremony

Our final camper awards ceremony included certificates for each camper.  The applause from the onlookers was stunning.

Weird Photos #2

Here are more very strange photos:

Weird Photos #1

Hard to believe, but part of being with these three boys is a series of unusual photographs.  Here is a sample:

Shedd Aquarium

We also walked across the museum campus to the Shedd Aquarium.  Fabulous.  Dolphins.  Dragons.  Lizards.  Whales.  Too cool.

Field Museum

Today was museum day - we went to the Field Musuem.  There were three cool exhibits we saw:  Natural Disasters, Underground Animals and Mythic Creatures.  It was really fun to watch them have fun and learn together.  

7-11 Happy Birthday

Today, July 11, is the birthday of 7-11.  Free and reduced SLURPEES all day long.  

This was added to Camp Chicago immediately.

Blue Man Group

The BLUE MAN GROUP was fabulous.  Patrick was sitting on the end of the row and a BLUE MAN had him throw things into his mouth.  The BLUE MAN then spit the stuff into Patrick's hand.

Yummy.

Brian's cubs game review

Well, i have to admit that my first major league baseball game was a winner. Despite our position in the bleacher seats, the view of the field was absolutely wonderful. Not only was there good baseball but authentic ballpark food as well. This greasy fare consisted of dogs, beef sandwiches, burgers, and foot-long bratwursts. The game started as well as the excessive drinking and gambling from the people behind us. We attempted to count the amount of F-bombs coming from the mouth of one of the guys behind us. The Reds put up a weak fight and were no match for the cubbies. They stayed strong through a few of the opposing "loaded bases". They won the game with a rousing chorus of the cubbies fight song: ' hey chicago whadya' say? cubs are gonna win today!". we left only suffering the splatter of 2 dropped beers!

Navy Pier

Today, the boys wanted to travel to Navy Pier.  We paid too much for parking and food, but had a FABULOUS time.  Went to the Amazing Chicago Maze, trolled the shops, rode the Ferris Wheel and had lunch at Bubba Gump.  

Random Park Photos

The boys learn and have fun at every possible opportunity.  These two facets of life are co-mingled beautifully - I think that is one reason why I resonate so much with each of them.

Enjoy the pictures!!!!

Millenium Park

After our Segway tour ended, we had a picnic dinner in the lawn at the Pritzger Pavillion.  During the 2.5 hour stay, the boys played in the fountain with reckless abandon, visited Cloudgate, ate, played soccer and frisbee.   So much fun.

Special thanks to Patrick Greer and Kristen Teague for joining us as "guest counselors" for this day of Camp Chicago.  Patrick is the Middle School Youth Director at our church and Kristen is a family friend.  Given the natural curiosity of these three boys (which I love), having a counselor/student ratio of 4:3 seemed about appropriate!

Chicago Views Beyond Compare

We covered from the NE corner of Millenium Park (near Randolph and Michigan Ave) to the southern part of Meigs Field.  The former airstrip is now a concert venue and a natural Illinois prairie park with a bike path weaving throughout the park.

We rode through Soldier Field (outside), we stopped at or near all of the museums.  The Chicago skyline views were amazing, augmented only by the picture perfect day we experienced.   Sunscreen was dutifully applied before we departed.

SEGWAY - WHOO, HOOO!!!

Riding the Segway machines was simply one of the most fun things that I have ever done.  The two hour tour seemed like it was about 5 minutes long.  

The boys were all quite adept and riding rather quickly.  The maximum speed on these things is 12.5 miles per hour - I am glad for that safeguard!  

Amazingly fun - I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Apologies for the lack of movement photos on the Segway machines.  The photographer did not meet minimum OSHA standards for balancing for riding, much less taking photographs.....

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Tonight, we went to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs play the Reds.

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It was pretty cool to see faces light up as they went to their first big-league ball game, especially in the Taj Mahal of ballparks.

We sat in the bleachers.  Much information about life was transmitted during the course of the game by the folks around us.  Eamon and Brian will have stories for years to tell about this - I'l let them share with you at a later date.

Cubs win, 7-3.  Amazing game - 2 home runs, lots of great hard play.  Ken Griffey Jr. was playing for the Reds.

Boys slept on the bus ride home (we took a park and ride from a local mall.)  Fabulous evening for a myriad of reasons.

Go Cubs Go!!!!

Salida

After lunch,  we walked for a bit more, jumped in the car, and headed home.  This neighborhood is 23 miles (30 minutes) from our house by car.   What a treasure! 

All were tired on the way home - all three boys looked like this:

Taqueria

We stopped at a neighborhood taqueria for some absolutely delicious cuisine.  Authentic and inexpensive are the two best words to describe our experience here.

More Beautiful Murals

The Pilsen neighborhood is renowned for the amazing murals that abound in the area.  Here are just a few shots of some of the amazing art work.

Panderia

After the museum, we walked through the Pilsen neighborhood.  Originally inhabited by people from the Czech town of Plzen, this neighborhood became largely Mexican in the 1950's due to an expansion of UIC.  The neighborhood is now facing tremendous gentrification issues as UIC continues to encroach and as yuppyfication of the area begins.  

After a short walk, we enter a local bakery and experienced some yummy baked treats.  Muy bueno.