Since Nadia is all about dinosaurs these days, we planned a visit to the Field Museum. Going there on Tuesday was a great idea – the first day of school was Monday, and the museum was almost empty. One thing neither Anna nor I could predict was how long our visit would last. We thought about 2- 2,5 hours, and we were even thinking about going to the Maggie Daley park afterward (since we didn’t go there on Saturday), but we ended up spending six hours in the museum! Nadia could not get enough of it!
We started from watching a 3D movie about titanosaurus. Then, we saw the Pacific nations exhibit, then Evoving Earth, Jade, a gemstone exhibit, the Ancient China, Jane Goodall exhibit, the Underground adventure and I think I forgot something :). Nadia kept exploring
Everybody asks me about details of Vlad’s engagement, but I do not know what else I can say except for the pictures. Vlad told us a while ago that he will come back to Chicago at the end of August to celebrate his and Anna’s 30th birthday. The date for the party was set in July, and when I told Boris, he said that he would try to come to be here for that milestone birthday. Between the European conferences he had to attend and his dental work, he ended up having only three days. First, I told him it is not worth coming, especially because the girls will be here all the time. He said something to the effect: it’s important for the kids, and I thought: who am I to forbid him from attending his children’s birthday?!
So he flew in Friday evening, just a couple of hours before the girls arrived, and yes, it was a little bit chaotic but very happy. Vlad and Dylon stayed with their friends in Oak Park, so it was quite a journey to attend the party!
Now, about the engagement. Several days before the party, Vlad called me: Mom, I wanted to let you know that I am going to propose to Dylon before the party. And also, his family will be there, so you will get to meet everybody.
To say I was happy would be not enough. I was over the moon. And how awesome it was that Boris was going to be there! Their friends’ house is gorgeous, and they could not find a better place for both the party and the proposal:)
Anna brought her cargo bike with her (she ended up driving a truck because of that), and although driving a truck in the city is not the most enjoyable activity, the presence of a cargo bike made a huge difference! We could go anywhere on bikes! Both Sunday and Monday mornings, we would head to the Lake Front Trail to explore the playgrounds – thank you, Chicago Park District!
We biked to the Edgewater Art Fair on Sunday evening (because Nadia really wanted to listen to some concert), and we biked to Andersonville on Monday to have lunch with Vlad and Dylon.
At the Edgewater Art Fair, Nadia danced for forty minutes straight while the band was playing, and Kira followed as much as she could:). Neither me nor Anna could expect it!
Only later we thought that we could plan more outings with the cargo bike, including going to the Lincoln Park Zoo and to Navy Pier – both are relatively close to where I live, but unfortunately do not have convenient public transportation. We will plan better next time!
We’ve been to two museums with my granddaughters, and both museum visits went surprisingly well. On Saturday afternoon, Anna suggested that Boris and I would take Nadia to the Art Institute. The Rayan Educational Center in the Art Institute is still closed, and I thought that that would be the biggest attraction, but Nadia said she wanted to go anyway. I asked whether she also wanted to splash in the Crown fountain, but she said no. Well, having the Maggie Daley Park as our backup plan, we headed to the Loop. It was a long way on the Red Line, but Nadia enjoyed peering out of the window, looking at the people, streets, and cars from the elevation of the L.
We entered the Art Institute from the Modern Wing Entrance, and I decided to take a shot at viewing the contemporary art. We ended up looking at one or two artworks in each room, and I answered Nadia’s questions about them and told her what I feel looking at these pieces, and she told me how they felt for her. I think we both enjoyed that experience, and just at the moment I thought that that was enough for one visit Nadia said that that was enough:)
Some pictures which caught our attention:
We talked about why the bodies are painted with different colorsWe talked about two faces on one faceNadia surprised me by asking why the woman in the picture looks so angry – I didn’t even notice it before she mentioned!Nadia liked this Mardi Gras pictureAnd she really liked all the Buddhas!
On the way back, we took the Brown Line and later switched to the Red Line. I think, Boris enjoyed it more than Nadia:), but I agree it was a great idea – seen the Loop from above!
At some point, Anna expressed a concern that the beach’s proximity will alter her daughter’s priorities in Chicago and that instead of the “museum Baba” I will become a “beach Baba.” And indeed, the first request was about going to the beach. The girls arrived late on Friday, and Saturday morning, we headed to the beach straight after breakfast.
We spent about three hours at the beach, the girls mostly playing on the shore and in the shallow water. I was helping them to build the sandcastles and used the opportunity to go deeper into the water while there were no lifeguards on duty.
Also, we had snacks in Ropa Cabana (seen on the background), a new beach food stand run by one enthusiastic couple.
I thought it is going to be a beach every day, but after that, we took a deep dive into the cultural experience!
The past six days were packed with events, and I do not even know where to start.
It all started when Vlad mentioned that he would come to Chicago to celebrate his (and Anna’s) 30th birthday. Their birthday is on August 23, and Vlad told us that he would have a party on August 29. When I mentioned it to Boris, he said he would try to come, but he had two conferences right before that (ending August 26) and some dental work scheduled for September 1. When he told me he could only come for three days, I told him that it’s not worth it. He replied to the effect that it is important “for the kids,” and I backed up :). I told him, though, that it will be very hectic. And that’s how it was!
And as if it was not enough, I had an “extra bonus” of an extremely long and tiring discussion with the Russian translator of our book. This story probably deserves a separate blog post, but for now, I will say that it took a lot of time which could be spent more joyfully. I was running on four hours of sleep again, and then the family weekend was here. I promised the translator that I will deliver a final review over the weekend, and since I had zero time during the day, I ran on four hours of sleep for several more days.
The time spent with my girls was such fun, though! The four days were packed with activities and kept everybody, including me, very busy.
And four days before the party Vlad called me and said that he is going to propose to Dylon before the party! And then, he planned a lunch with the family on Monday.
And we had another million activities with the girls, and I took two days off work while already having a backlog :).
To summarize: I am very happy, very tired, and very sleep deprived 🙂
Another interesting event that happened last weekend was Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest. Since that’s my first year in Rogers Park, I was not aware of the scale of this event. Next year, I will be better prepared and will allocate more time to attend, including enough of night time! Granted, I had tons of things happening that weekend, but I still could plan it better! (FYI – I still ended up going twice!)
On Tuesday, there was a member night in the Aquarium. There were two days to choose from, August 24 and 27, and I’ve realized that I won’t be able to make it on August 27, because my family is coming for our big weekend. When I signed up there was not much information about what would happen during the member’s night. I just knew that there wouldn’t be an aquatic presentation and that there will be no speeches:), and there will be no banquet. The entry was timed, and I thought it would be just an opportunity to see the exhibit without the crowd.
I took mom with me because she didn’t go when I want with Anna & her family.
It turned out that the Aquarium came up with the program just hours before it started, and I didn’t even look at my personal emails! Still, I was able to figure out what we can do and in which sequence.
Mom was pretty much like a child, which was good in this case. It was the first time in her life that she saw the 4D movies, and she loved it, although she said that it was a little bit too much stimulation for her.
The ending of the night was a little bit dramatic. When we headed out, we saw that the terrible thunderstorm we expected earlier had finally started. And it was terrible indeed! There was no way we could get out; no umbrella could keep us dry!
So we turned back to the museum and went to the cafe to have dinner. I was hoping to see the rain calming doing, but that didn’t happen. So we asked the staff which exit will be the most convenient for Uber pickup and headed out. We were lucky to get an amazing driver who was from Rogers Park herself, so we talked all the way :). And then she said that there is no way I could walk home from mom’s place, so she pulled up and waited till I walked mom to her apartment, and then added my stop to the ride:)
But regardless, it was a great event. I think that the Aquarium staff went above and beyond to make it a memorable experience. ANd I was so glad to see that there were many kids attending!
