The 5 o'clock nap

This is what you get when you:
(1) Wake up for the day at 5:15 a.m.
(2) Spend 3 hours in the blazing sun at the lakefront
(3) Totally, completely skip any sort of nap
(4) And then head out to the hottest playground in all of Chicago in 90 degree weather to run around like a crazy man.

The 5 o'clock nap.

The Nature Boardwalk is coming! The Nature Boardwalk is coming!

On June 24th, the Lincoln Park Zoo is going to unveil it's long-awaited Nature Boardwalk. I am so excited about this new space that I wrote a story about it in Mindful Metropolis Magazine. Want to know more? You can read the article here.

Me on WGN Radio

On Saturday, June 19th at 9:00 a.m., I am going to be a guest on ChicagoNow Radio on WGN Radio 720. I'll be chatting about family-friendly activities in and around Chicago (I mean, what else would I talk about?).

If you are interested, you can stream the broadcast live here.

Edited to add: You can listen to the recorded broadcast here.

A Dancer

A third recital for the dancing queen.
As usual, she was lovely and composed.
This girl loves a stage.

Let's Go Hawks!

They are true hockey fans, I tell you.
Too bad they can't stay awake late enough to watch an entire game (so rude of you to make the start times so late, NHL).

The Birds are Back in Town

Our house finches came back to build their nest on our back porch again this spring. I can't tell you how happy we all were to see them.

After lots of hard work constructing the nest and then a few weeks of patient waiting, mama finch welcomed three little ones into the world.

A little family of five -- just like us.

The babies have gotten quite big and the tiny nest seems pretty crowded. The flying lesson is imminent. But it was a good show while it lasted.

An End-of-the-Year Gift for the Kiddos

If your kids aren't already out of school, they will be soon. It's official -- summer has arrived.

If you are looking for a way to celebrate the end of the school year and welcome the warm weather months, I have a fun idea for you-- make summer journal satchels.

Assemble all of the items your kids will need to record their summer adventures in a journal (this is also sort of sneaky way to make sure that your little ones keep practicing all of the reading and writing skills they acquired during the school year).

Want to know more? Have a look at my kid's crafts and activity story in the June issue of Chicago Parent Magazine.