Back Home and Home Again

I'm afraid the following will be a jumble of disjunct pictures and half-finished thoughts about our two-week retreat to Grandma's, aka, home. Always home. It was partially emotional, partially exhausting, and partially therapeutic, and I'm satisfied having spent much more than a weekend there. We visited some dear, old friends and some dear, old places. I wish I was back on the porch with time to record more than just "we did this" or "we saw them", but that's all I have time for right now. I wish I had taken pictures of every moment and every meeting, but I just wasn't that organized. We're back home now, Chicago home, and embarking on a new adventure as resident heads, and for me, a full-time stay-at-home momship (with a little piano teaching on the side...)

Okay, here goes. Two weeks in a walnut shell.

We arrived Saturday night, July 25th, and took off for mom's beach at South Haven on Sunday. We did the same the following Sunday, but went to the public beach where I used to hang out with my friends while skipping school when the weather was nice.

Half of our little half-pint, Avi.

It was warm enough to swim, and cold enough to wear a sweater. Nourit screamed with delight (or fear, or both) when I took her with me into the huge waves that day.

Back at home, doing a little weeding. We picked wildflowers from the field and made Grandma Queen of the Green.

Her crown is too big for Her Highness, Nourit.

On Monday, Mike and I walked down the road to the Cinzori's farm for some fresh, organic produce that we ate heartily for the next week. (Hey Chicagoans, look in the produce section at Whole Foods next time you are there and you'll find their homegrown veggies!)

This is what we saw along the way, times about 10.

And some beautiful sandhill cranes.

A trip home wouldn't be complete without a trip to the mall. Oh, the memories of 8 hour shopping sprees and modeling on Fashion Panel. And oh, how my priorities have changed!

I think is a true depiction of Nourit's personality. Her shirt aptly says, "Lucky to Be Me!" Oh, yes, she is.

Nourit and I also had a "date" at Full Blast, a new waterpark downtown, and then I took her to Rice's Shoestore nearby where I used to get my feet measured for shoes when I was probably her age. We spent a morning at the Mullen's farm, swimming and visiting with my childhood friend and her sisters and the new generation of kids. Baron is now Ace, and Buckshot is no longer around, but it still felt so familiar. We had a whirlwind visit with Michelle and Izzie (whose picture is too cute for words, but I want to be a little sensitive about posting her picture online since not everyone is comfortable having their life out there for the world to see.) Then, we made the inevitable trip to Binder Park Zoo. We stayed for four hours, our record!

Nourit on the 'Swamp Adventure', where she walked the entire mile, and really thought it was an adventure.

The day and the spot couldn't have been more beautiful.

More nature.

Nourit on the train.

Avital on the carousel. She screamed with delight most of the way around.

We had a good visit with our friends, the Harters, much to Nourit's delight! And on my birthday, we visited the Jones' up in Eaton Crapids (Amy's name for it, not mine. I thought it was beautiful!) for a wonderful visit, complete with dinner and a play involving Laura Ingalls, a dog, and a zebra, and a latent appearance by a fairy princess. Unfortunately, no pictures of that one! I also had time to catch up with my old friend Randy, and am thankful for that after so many years.

Here is the sweet picture.

Here is the scary one.

Hard to see, but there were about 15-20 wild turkeys walking across the backyard. Oh, I wish I had had a gun because they would have gone rather well with the green beans and zucchini we brought home from the Jones' garden.

So two weeks, gone by in a flash, and now we're back home in Chicago. I'm finishing up my work in the Psych Dept this week, and we attended a (very interesting) meeting tonight with members from the Woodlawn community and the University community about development and safety on the Southside. Monday, we move!