Facing the worst heat wave of this summer, we had a mini vacation trip up North in Chicago. On our way there we stopped at my old high school friend, Ann Marie's house in South Bend, IN. What a perfect timing it was: not only did we spend some time with Anna Banana and her husband Todd, son Jacob and daughter Alayna, but we also met Ann's parents Jerry, Bereth and grandma - who were visiting Ann just this weekend. It was a wonderfully weird feeling of having just recently been in high school, yet at the same time knowing it actually was 20 years ago. I mean, there was a bunch of kids running around - and they were ours!
And Jerry, YOU are special! To you who don't know this man: he's got the biggest heart in the whole wide world. Miss him already.
Ann dragged me into a 5K race! Again, like another shot from the New London - Spicer High School Varsity Track Team 1988, don't you think? (Ok, go ahead and zoom in if you like. I don't.)
Later on, meeting my sister Rebecca with her husband Brodie and children Calder and Quinn in Chicago! We started out by taking us downtown on a dubbel deck commuting train (I can almost see a slight tension on our rural bodies... the excitement was huge for the most of us).
Being as people friendly as ever, the city was (and is) in a way peaceful underneath its metropolitan surface of a lot of traffic, sky scrapers, loud trains. The Windy City was now very hot and humid, so after swetting in the Milennium Park we decided to do the rest of the sightseeing indoors: getting dizzy up on the top of The Hancock Tower (94th floor), having a heavenly lunch in the De Luxe Café, cruizing in a city bus, shopping in the Disney Store.
While the ladies only managed to launch a therapeutic whole day in IKEA, the rest of the gang went swimming right down town in Lake Michigan. Benke got it as he wanted: roller blades on the Lake Shore Drive, like always when visiting Chicago. He might want to tell you guys how that went this time, if you ask nicely.
After a 2 hour rush hour stop and almost a 5 hour drive home through a thunder storm we finally were back home in Cinci. Hey friends - Chicago is wonderful, come and see it!
//Hanna
Helena tells me about our garden back home, how it's blooming and giving a lot of berries and fruits right now. I miss it. Since it's almost the end of the season I was lucky to find some herbs to plant. Basil, thyme and peppermint - our favorites now grow in pots outside. And I don't have to worry about night frosts for another 2 months, I believe. Last night's temperature: + 28 celcius.
Facing the worst heat wave of this summer, we had a mini vacation trip up North in Chicago. On our way there we stopped at my old high school friend, Ann Marie's house in South Bend, IN. What a perfect timing it was: not only did we spend some time with Anna Banana and her husband Todd, son Jacob and daughter Alayna, but we also met Ann's parents Jerry, Bereth and grandma - who were visiting Ann just this weekend. It was a wonderfully weird feeling of having just recently been in high school, yet at the same time knowing it actually was 20 years ago. I mean, there was a bunch of kids running around - and they were ours!
And Jerry, YOU are special! To you who don't know this man: he's got the biggest heart in the whole wide world. Miss him already. 
Ann dragged me into a 5K race! Again, like another shot from the New London - Spicer High School Varsity Track Team 1988, don't you think? (Ok, go ahead and zoom in if you like. I don't.)
Later on, meeting my sister Rebecca with her husband Brodie and children Calder and Quinn in Chicago! We started out by taking us downtown on a dubbel deck commuting train (I can almost see a slight tension on our rural bodies... the excitement was huge for the most of us).
While the ladies only managed to launch a therapeutic whole day in IKEA, the rest of the gang went swimming right down town in Lake Michigan. Benke got it as he wanted: roller blades on the Lake Shore Drive, like always when visiting Chicago. He might want to tell you guys how that went this time, if you ask nicely. 
Jonatan
