Oh my goodness, the weather over the weekend was glorious to say the least. I love a pretty summer days, but they're nothing compared to a pretty day in fall. Saturday was all outside and we did the same yesterday, too, starting with the zoo first thing in the morning because they were celebrating their 100th birthday with treats for the animals and crafts for the kids. The animals are so much happier in the cooler weather.
We were outside in the afternoon, too, shuffling through leaves, and I fit in a long outdoor run, perhaps the last for he season, before Jon's parents came over to celebrate their birthdays with a walk at our favorite metro park and pizza. We went to sleep to the sounds of a thunderstorm.
Today we weren't quite so lucky, "stuck" inside sorting books and working on that Halloween costume while the winds raged around us, but inside days are fun, too, with books, and chores, and cuddling, and we did a lot of all of that. Calvin's dino diorama is coming along nicely, and Halloween is starting to pop up all over the house, as with the five pumpkins on the porch, and the spooky books he's suddenly reading. Whatever plans I'd had to study American and U.S. history before Thanksgiving have definitely come and gone, but I don't think any of us could be happier with the new plans, or lack thereof, that have taken their place.
We arrived back at home tonight after spending a long weekend with my family in Chicago. We were there courtesy of my parents, who gathered us all to celebrate their 40th anniversary, and of my brother and his girlfriend, who live there and are always kind enough to open their home to us and show us a great time in their big city.
I never find the time to post while we are there because without fail our time is packed with fun activities, good company, and delicious food. This weekend, it was a matter of grilling on the rooftop while an orange evening sun lit up our city view, of sipping wine at a sidewalk wine bar, of Italian, and sushi, and when we weren't eating we were at the Brookfield Zoo or the Field Museum, and today we even made sure Calvin had his chance to ride the El before we headed for home.
We spent Saturday at the Brookfield Zoo, which is a beautiful zoo in the suburbs. Lots of room to move, for both animals and observers, and a few more exotic species that i have seen only rarely in the zoo setting, like Mexican Gray Wolves, and the Okapi, which happens to be one of my favorite animals, thus it gave me great joy to be able to share him with my son and my family. Sloth bears are pretty cool, too, and they had unique and enjoyable desert and rainforest buildings with even more animals I haven't seen since I studied their skins and skeletons back in my college days (and they are oh so much more fun alive). We ate bison burgers outside the bison enclosure, and Calvin played with a seal through the glass of her underwater exhibit. We spent hours there under a warm sun and blue sky and came home deliciously exhausted.
Slide Show—hover over the sides of the photo to reveal slide show controls, then click through to see the pictures from the Brookfield Zoo. Vertical pictures don't render properly yet (this is a new feature from Squarespace), so click here if you want to see the photos in the Chicago 2011 gallery.
Sunday we spent at the Field Museum. The hours we spent there are another example of how much Calvin has grown. The last time we were here he was not quite two yet; he sat in a stroller for what ended up being a disappointingly brief dash through the museum while we balanced our own interest with his toddler sized patience. This time around he walked the museum for almost six hours, and while his attention wasn't rapt for the entire time, he had enough pre-seeded information to give him at least some interest in every exhibit, from the taxidermy section, to the walk of Evolution, to Ancient Egypt, and finally to the Native Americas. To do it right, of course, we would have to spend several days there, visiting just one exhibit per day, and preferably over time. I guess that means we will have to visit each time we start to explore and study any of the subjects for which they have a permanent exhibit.
Slide Show—hover over the edges of the photo to reveal slide show controls, then click through to see the pictures from the Field Museum. Vertical pictures don't render properly yet (this is a new feature), so click here if you want to see the photos in the Chicago 2011 gallery.
And our quieter moments were good, too; Oregon Trail on the iPad, grilling on the roof in delightful weather, celebrating 40 years and the family they created with toasts and dinner.
Wine before dinner, celebrating 40 years and the family they created
Sushi on Sunday, learning to use the chopsticks
coloring with Uncle curtis
Riding the El...in the front car nonetheless
And now we're home and attempting to get back into the swing of things. If we're lucky we'll actually get there some day, or maybe the point is avoid that kind of mundane existence after all.
With temperatures at a manageable level, lazy white clouds drifting across the sky, and a week of hard work and great patience (preparing for the book sale), today just had to be a zoo day. The other bit of impetus was that Calvin finished reading Mr. Popper's Penguins and thought that it might be nice to see some real penguins. He asked very nicely about planning a trip to Antarctica, and I suggested the zoo. He was amazed! He'd had no idea there were penguins at our zoo. All these zoo trips and we hadn't taken him in the penguinarium since he was a baby. For shame.
The zoo was willing to oblige, and even treated us to penguin feeding time just as we got there. We spent about a half hour in the penguinarium, actually (after a while the fish smell is no longer noticeable. Really), and observed all kinds of behaviors.
The cinereous vulture was mighty friendly. I'm probably the only person in the world who finds them cute. Did you know International Vulture Awareness Day is just around the corner? Don't forget to love your vulture on September 3!
The tigers and bears were asleep, the lions were on vacation (they're getting a new house!)
The elephants have been gone from our zoo for years, except for this cutie pie, and if you think this makes me want to get him an elephant friend, you're right.
Fungus, fungus everywhere
In the primate area the drills were being bashful and the chimps were attempting Rodin.
And the butterfly house was our last stop, as usual.
Weeks ago I thought of what I wanted to do with Calvin on his birthday: A Lego store opened in Michigan last fall, only an hour from our house and, even better, only fifteen minutes from the Detroit Zoo, of which we are loving members. Calvin loves Legos, he loves the zoo, it seemed a no-brainer, and I was right. When I suggested a day trip to him, first to the Lego Store and the to the zoo, he was as near to ecstatic as he gets. I had a brief moment of panic when I pulled into the mall and the parking lot resembled that of an amusement park, but luck was with us and when we ended up parking on the third floor "skyway" (simply because that's where the lane we were in took us) and thus entered the mall on the third floor, the Lego store was on that top level as well. That didn't stop us from taking the escalators all the way up and down a few times, but that's what life is for.
The whole day was a success. We gave Calvin some birthday money and I allowed him to decide how he would spend it. He came home from the Lego store with two new small sets to add to his castle mania. At the zoo we rode the train and I allowed him the choice between riding the train a second time, as he said he wanted to do, and visiting the dinosaurs, which he ultimately decided to do. It was a good choice—as we entered the walk through Dinosauria a docent who was off duty (are they ever if the love what they do?) was just going in as well, and we were treated to a guided tour.
We enjoyed lunch by the polar bears, something Jon and I loved to do before Calvin was born, the last time we enjoyed it alone being just a week before he was born. Five years ago.
The day was overcast but dry and much, much cooler than the previous few days had been. We couldn't have asked for a better day, because who really wants sun on a day at the zoo? Overcast is better for animal viewing and for pictures.
When we came home we enjoyed an impromptu dinner with family to celebrate. It will be the first of two, since the same group with re-gather at our house for Calvin's planned Wizard of Oz party.
Today was everything I needed it to be. Sometimes time can get away from me, and chores and teaching and life can get in the way of my enjoyment of those very things. It was Calvin's birthday, not mine, but having a full day of celebration to remind me that celebrating this life is what everyday is about? That's what I needed. And I got it, thanks to my son and to my family.
Monday, October 24, 2011
