#101. Summer Shenanigans

The twins had another great summer.  There was plenty to do both in Evanston and beyond!

We made several trips up the street to the Wilmette Library this year...

...and a lot of summer reading took place (under the watchful eye of Howie!).

Luke took tennis lessons at ETHS...

...and ended up loving the sport...

...and hopes to continue again next year!

We made our annual walk around the beautiful Baha'i Temple...

 

..and found many spots for...

...some fun photos.

They've been looking at these fountains every summer for 5 years now!

(Here's a fun throwback to our first temple visit in 2018!)

Luke got a little goofy this year...almost falling into the fountain, and then doing his best impersonation of Atlas!

Papa was along for this temple trek...

...so we were both able to get...

...some great pics with the twins.

This year, the twins did something new...a full week of summer camp!

In late June, we dropped the twins off in Bloomingdale, MI, for a whole week!

Luke's favorite part about camp was archery, dance class (wow!), playing sharks and minnows, and the cafeteria's meatloaf (double wow!)

Clare enjoyed making new friends, swimming in the lake, dance class, and eating lasagna and meatloaf (guess what's for dinner this winter?!?)

It was pretty obvious when we picked them up that they had an amazing week!

This Evanston crew will likely back for another week (or two) of camp next summer!

For the 4th of July holiday, we headed down to Eureka...

...where the twins shot off their first Roman candles (and bottle rockets!).

Grandma had a turn too!!

The Eureka 4th of July parade brought in a 'great haul' for the twins to sort with their cousin, Keira.

In the middle of July, the twins turned 9!   We didn't take a lot of photos but did manage to squeeze in our annual tree photos in front of our 100+ year old silver maple.  

We can't believe they are already 9!!

Where did the time go?!?

From 2018 to 2023, these two sure have grown!

In late July, we drove north to the Wisconsin Dells for a short family reunion/adventure.  We had fun riding water slides at Noah's Ark...

...and then had fun kayaking (Clare's first solo kayak!)...

...and tubing off the back of the pontoon!  Luke enjoyed the ride with his cousin Nick...

...and Clare with her cousin Eli.

Back home in Evanston, we put the kids to work,...

...but not so much time that we didn't have time for the beach with friends!

It was a fantastic summer for visiting Lake Michigan...

...whether it was sitting with the tide coming in...

...or digging out a new fort!

This summer we made a couple of trips into the city with friends.

The first was to pick up racing gear for Daddy and Papa's 10k race.

Willie Wildcat wasn't around but the Willie stand-in was still worth the pose.

Everyone enjoyed a scoop of Baskin Robbins ice cream on a warm, summer day...

...and being entertained by the action at the skate park...

...and seeing the downtown skyscrapers in the distance.

The Agora statues in Grant Park also were interesting to look at (and pose with)!

For our annual city adventure trip into Chicago, this year we decided to ride the Navy Pier ferris wheel!

For a sizeable sum of money ($$!!) we took a few revolutions around...

...and the views were pretty spectacular!

Outside of the wheel, we found fun along Navy Pier...

...even if it was related to my favorite baseball team's arch nemesis!

It was a hot day, but we managed to walk a fair distance with tall buildings in view...

...and everyone was rewarded with sprays from the Crown Fountain.  

Our last stop was at 'the Bean'...

...where it's always fun to take a pic from underneath...

...and another pic with the cityscape reflection.

Now it's on to 4th grade at Kingsley...the twins are ready for another great school year!!