whirlwind weekend

Friday night the twins and I drove up to the College of Lake County for the opening reception of the "When I grow up, I want to be..." art exhibit. This traveling exhibit of artwork by and about Ethiopian children living in orphanages is the brainchild of Erik Blome, an adoptive father who was compelled to give something back to the country that gave him his son.

The works of art were vibrant, colourful, and beautiful, often using common objects such as postage stamps, newspaper, and tissue paper to tell their story.

There was also a full spread of treats to indulge in, and a band playing some afro-jazz fusion. I got my first taste of what life with twin toddlers is going to be like. They had a great time walking all over, socializing with people, eating crackers (surprise surprise), and dancing to the live music.

On Saturday we were supposed to go to Ravinia to see Elizabeth Mitchell
but given the damage done to the area by the recent storms, and the fact that more rain was highly likely, we opted not to go. Later that afternoon, we went to the Glenwood Arts Festival.

After that, the kids had their first taste of Jamba Juice: An all fruit strawberry smoothie. They loved it!

On Sunday, we had a very exciting day planned. We started off by having lunch at our favourite Malaysian restaurant in Chinatown. The kids do really well at restaurants (probably because going to them involves getting food!) and they like to try new things. We had Roti, Tofu Satay with cucumbers, Spicy Chili Tofu, and the most amazing fresh Mango Tofu served in a hollowed out Mango shell.

After lunch, we took the kids to the Museum of Science and Industry. I had been worried that the exhibits might be too old or boring for the twins, but I couldn't have been more wrong! They had a ton of fun watching the model trains (Jon was excited that his office building was a part of the display),

exploring yesterday's main street (Izzie liked naming the different items in the store windows), and seeing the baby chicks and imitating the noises they make. They also liked the bubble room in the Petroleum exhibit, and thought it was very funny that they could make a robot dance, draw, and make toys.

By far, their favourite experience of the day was splashing around in the water table in the Children's area.


After the museum, we drove a few miles southwest to explore Beverly, a Chicago neighborhood known for its beautiful, historic homes and ethnic diversity. We loved the architecture and the peaceful, laid back feel of the neighborhood.

Finally we made our way home, exhausted but happy for a weekend well spent!