Spring Time in Chicago!

Spring has ever so grudgingly crawled back into the Chicago area this month. It has hovered around the 30's and 40's most of late march and early April. Over the weekend of April 8th (happy birthday Eric), it snowed. It was actually one of the weirdest weather days I have ever experienced. One minute it would be sunny and calm and the next blustery and cold with white out conditions ... and then sunny and calm again. This went on all day. 

And of course I forced the girls outside so I could document the experience. Ada was not too keen to partake in this photo shoot. 

Weird weather.

And out the window first period at New Trier of weird weather weekend. 

Which just so happened to be "Bring your kid to school day"! 

The girls love this day and I very much enjoy having them with me at school. At New Trier, teachers open their classrooms up for kids and have various subject related activities for them to participate in. We did Geopardy in world geo. The girls get two student guides, thank you Hunter and Daniela, and had a good day of learning and fun. Ada is dutifully wearing her LDC name tag!

Lunchtime. I typically have a working lunch so we brought our food back to the classroom I teach in around lunch time. Also, it was Friday so lots of random baked goods were strewn around the building. Every Friday, kids bring donuts, muffins, bagels and other breakfast items to advisory and left overs kind of get devoured throughout the day by subsequent hungry teenagers coming into different classrooms. Emmerson took part in a box of left over donuts.

No idea who this is our how it got on my phone - creepy.

Shudder .... 

Some New and Rare Experiences!

Ada got her ears pierced! She and Emmerson have been going back and forth about this for a while and finally, Ada decided to go for it. She was put off for several years by Emmerson's experience. She got hers pierced when she was 6 or 7 and absolutely hated changing them in that difficult first month when the holes are stilling setting up. She would get hysterical and I would actually have to wrap her up in a blanket and hold her so Alicia could tent to the ears. But Emmerson has explained to Ada that she was WAY over the top with this and it is not that bad. These pictures are actually pre-earing. I wanted a before and after but did not seem to get any afters .... 

Selfie with Emmerson. I took her to the York High School production of Les Mis. They did a nice job. Emmerson has been singing various songs now that are stuck in her head but can only keep repeating the same lines over and over because she doesn't know any of the other words. 

And another new and exciting for Ada - her first organized soccer team! She is a proud member of the Lightning Bugs in the AYSO league. A tough go in her first match - 10 - 1 but she was still all smiles after the game. Very glad that she is able to do this and is enjoying it. 

And witnessed this rarity the other Saturday night on the way to dinner - an actual caboose! I have a very intimate relationship with the trains of Chicago and have never seen a caboose on a train until this day. 

  

So I had Alicia model in a few to pretty things up a bit. 

Asian Market Visit

Always exciting to find a new food option, especially if it is of a genre not common to these parts. Such was Ada and my experience a few Sunday afternoon's ago when we visited the Asian market we used to frequent when we lived in Brookfield. The market is attached to an Asian mini mall that contains a food court and a new Korean restaurant had opened up since our last visit. A few pictures of Ada sampling our selections and some random of Po trying to stuff himself into a shoe box.

Ada doing some damage to a strawberry flavored tapioca ball drink. I can't recall what the two items pictured where called but I do remember the contents. The noodle dish had a number of condiments typiucally served with any Korean dish mixed in with the noodles. The bun was a light rice bun folded over a barbecued pork belly. Both were quite nice. 

Sure do like trying new things with the girls. 

Good job, Po!

Easter Time

The girls finally got the OK to come downstairs to begin there Easter hunt way too early in the a.m

They sure do love a celebration .... Po looking on from her perch on the window. 

In full hunt - Po ready to pounce.

Ada enjoying the bounty of the hunt. The worry is that they did not find all the hard boiled eggs - but they did. 

Happy Easter Ada!

Finishing up the hunt with a final sweep of the grounds.

Easter Girls!

Palm Sunday

Grace Lutheran created the stations of the cross in a various rooms at Church. It was a neat way to celebrate Palm Sunday. 

Jerusalem.

Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem

The last supper.

March Randomness

Girls surviving their first cold winter back in the States.

and Po

And Neko sprawling expertly.

Wisely's are in the States on furlough so I took the train out to Winfield to see Dan. It just so happened to be St. Patrick's day weekend so all the revelers were up and out early for the 9 a.m. train to Chicago.

Fortunately I was going the other way. 

Danny modeling the sign at the McCormick family forest preserve out in Winfield. 

And of course any self respecting estate will have a horse and hound cemetery. 

Emmerson extending her birthday into March in Freeport. 

Oh my. The grandparents basement coughs up all sorts of things that the girls seem to enjoy. 

Po thinking he's quite the cat in his makeshift hammock. 

... oh yes, quite the cat.