I took my monkeys to see the gorillas

...at the zoo last Sunday.

Yes. These days pass by so fast that I haven't had time to get these sunshine-y pictures up to share. The kids, my parents, and I headed over to Lincoln Park last weekend. I had a workshop to attend (and a free field trip granted for my classroom for participating to boot). The rest of the gang toured the ground with a P&S camera in hand for exciting sights and shots (I've trained them well!)

I thought they did a fantastic job of catching the "wild" life.

...including some self portraits.

By the time I caught back up with them, we decide to head east across the grassy knoll, over the Drive, and to the beach.

This bridge has stretched across Lake Shore Drive for years, but for some reason we never took the time to cross over here. So cool to walk right over the crazy cars that pass through here along the lakeshore - a beautiful connector from urban life to the sandy shores on the other side.

It didn't take more than a few seconds for Brandan to rip off his shoes and roll up his pants to head into the lake. What I couldn't get him to understand was #1 these were not tropical shores, #2 it is September in Chicago, and #3 the waters are COLD and slimy, non-salt filled places.

...did it make a difference? No. Of course not. He was in so deep he left with heavy, wet jeans. Listening is not his strong suit. Head strong and brave fits him better.

...so what is good for one...is good for the other, right? At this point, whatever.

To me, even though I have lived here all my life, it still amazes me that our urban metropolis sits on a grand sandy shore.

And since we missed out on Grandparents' day this year (seeing as how all of them were nearly a 1,000 miles from us on the actual date) we took a few moments to enjoy them today.

Well, that was last weekend.
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This weekend slipped away just as quickly. We ran errands. Washed loads of laundry. Enjoyed a few moments watching tv in comfy positions.

Today, we spent the afternoon with our baby cousin Lucas to celebrate his 2nd birthday. The kids jumped themselves silly inside an inflatible and the end result was one passed out kid...

...and the beligerent "don't take my picture" girl, who hasn't been around in some time recently.

And that is life... at the zoo.