And Summer Vacation Begins.... NOW!

I am committed to posting more now that school is out. I plan on staying very busy this summer and will no doubt be exhausted at the end of the day, but unlike during the school year, I won't have any grading or planning to do! So, blogging will hopefully fill that hole. Also, with more frequent blogging, some of the posts might get boring. Like this one.

Friday ended with beers on a local patio with a large group of coworkers, many who will be missed as they move on to greener pastures. Jayson and the girls met me there for dinner and then we went grocery shopping and got We Bought a Zoo from Redbox.

In the morning, I did the Lozilu mud run with my sister, my bff, her sister, and a group of women from my sister's gym. I was not sure if I would be ready for it, just a day short of two weeks from my appendectomy. I knew I could run, but any kind of stretching or lifting was off limits. Luckily, I only had to skip one obstacle, which was climbing a wall. The giant Slip N Slide was my favorite. See how fun!?!?

My sister came home with me and while we waited for her husband and sons to drive from Madison (my oldest nephew had a baseball game), she played with the girls and I got food ready for Audrey's party. When everybody arrived, we went out to eat downtown at Ryan Braun's Graffito. The food was decent, but servings were small and overpriced. We sat on the patio where we could watch boats go up and down the river, and the kids enjoyed that. We wanted to get ice cream in the 3rd Ward, but everything was shutting down, so we went to Oscar's closer to home.

When we got home, we got beds ready for my sister's family to stay over. The kids played outside. I gave mine a quick shower and took one myself with Charlie (she won't go in alone) and it was bedtime. Everybody was asleep immediately after such a long day.

Today was Audrey's birthday party. Her buddy from the gym, Nathan, came and she was just beside herself with excitement. I made her an Ariel cake, per her request, and it turned out! Yay! Nathan gave her plush Angry Birds toys and as I type, she is cuddled up with them in bed, one happy little girl.

Tomorrow is the official start to summer vacation and tonight we talked about all the things we want to do. The list thus far:

• Museums (we have a Discovery World Membership and a Betty Brinn one-time pass)
• Beaches (we like Fox Brook Park in Brookfield)
• Splash pads 
• Fountains at Bayshore
• Pools (the gym for sure, but hopefully some outdoor ones too)
• Water Park (we got passes to Country Springs for Christmas)
• Shedd Aquarium and possibly more of Chicago
• Jelly Belly
• Library
• Bay Beach (and visit the fabulous Adam and Jenny and their new little baby)
• Bike rides
• Zoo
• Madison
• ???

Hopefully we'll add to the list.