Millenium Park Ionic Collonade. Chicago completed their new dream park a few years after the millenium-and with it they brought back a bit of the old. This collonade is a very close replica to what was situated here way back during the Columbian Exposition near the turn of the (20th) Century. Holabrid, Root, Sullivan and all the big guns helped design Chicago under the new 'City Beautiful' movement-going big, stone, classic and European...few things remain from their plan except for some of the great museums...and the two massive parks lining Lake Michigan-so the city felt they should at least bring a little bit back to honor their forward thinking planners that saved Chicago from building on every square inch of earth.

The new Frank Gehry outdoor orchestra hall-at the northern section of Grant Park. The weird spider looking things hanging aren't lights-but speakers spaced out to give a tremendous quality of sound throughout the grass seats-this place must be packed in the summer! Gehry did Seattle's EMP (Experience Music Project) and several other uniquely shaped museums and office buildings. I'm still waiting for Lego to make a model of one of his creations! Oh, people in Chicago like to use various forms of helium inflated balloons to help people find their groups...but I bet security won't let them fly the balloons through this framework.

Good to see you again, Chicago! Keep on building up, up, up! (but don't forget to add a few more trees and bike racks!)

Maddy and Wilbur (Filfur in Maddy-speak)-I'm not sure who pawed and drooled on us more?! :-)

Look out! Dad's taking over the cooking!

Mom putting her new Polish pottery to use (you West coasters recognize those bottles? Yum!)

Break-Dancing Maddy!

Continuing my Scrabble domination...even against my mother!-thanks to Jill for letting me keep up my winning average for the last year! ;-)