First, the very bad news: John has been diagnosed with cancer at the base of his tongue. We're in for a few nasty months of unpleasant treatments. Fortunately, it was caught early and prognosis is good. Positive thinking makes a big difference in this battle, so I'm going to start by posting happy pictures of our summer.
This post is not about exotic adventures overseas. It is all about life back in the states.
The girls and I returned to the states for a few months over the summer to avoid the intense summer heat of Abu Dhabi and to see family and friends. However, our house in Oak Park is rented out and we had no single place we could make our home base. Instead we arranged for condo sublets in Chicago and lots of visits with extended family throughout the Midwest. We became what I like to call the Mooching Bedouins. We saw every single member of both sides of the family and put thousands of miles on our rental car.
A visit to Chicago isn't complete without a trip to Millenium Park. Cloud 9, aka "The Bean", is always a favorite. It turns out that Hannah's wonderful Abu Dhabi art teacher, Anna Goeble, was the lead assistant in the leg sculpture titled "Agora" at the south end of Grant park.
Unintentional artsy photo of the Tribune Tower.
We visited my parents in Champaign, Illinois. A trip to Arthur, the nearby Amish community, somehow inspired a little house on the prairie look back home.
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| One of the highlights of the summer was a family reunion in Frankfort, Michigan. This was the week that John took time off from his job in Abu Dhabi to visit us in the states. |
Lots of cousins and friends enjoyed several days of leisure on Lake Michigan.
Cousin Barbara and her husband Rob organized a big party at Rob's family cottage on Crystal Lake.
Tubing on Crystal Lake. Cousin Edward and his son.
Cousin Kenny organized an outing aboard a fishing boat on Lake Michigan
We visited Trick Dog, a popular local artsy cafe. My sister's sleeping Cabbage Patch twins were there, along with my brother Mark and his wife Irene.
Jumping off of the pier proved to be a popular activity.
Biking and brothers, Howard, and Bob
Sister-in-law Renata, brother Steve, me, their daughter Celeste
Our good friend Brad and more family shots
Memorable family portraits.
Some beautiful sunsets lead to a few pensive moments on the beach and pier.
I'm afraid there was a serious gap in photo taking the following week. We had a whirlwind high school reunion visit back to Champaign and Kenny's son Kirk got married in Louisville, Kentucky (a very nice event). We also spent quality time with John's parents in Frankfort, Kentucky (not to be confused with Frankfort, Michigan). I swear I took more pictures, but all I can track down is a photo of a horse:
But this is not just any horse. This is Funny Cide, a Kentucky Derby winner. We met him at the Kentucky Horse Park outside of Lexington.
After Frankfort, we visited John's brother Wid and his family in Santa Claus, Indiana. The local pool offered hours of fun. We finally got a chance to visit Holiday World, one of the oldest amusement parks in the states. Every single person in our family forgot to bring a camera, but it was a blast.
We moved on to St. Louis to visit John's sister Lois and her family.
Citygarden downtown has lots of interactive sculptures.
Forest Park, bigger than New York's Central Park, gave us several days' worth of activities. Here's a portrait of the cousins in front of a favorite waterfall.
Lots of animals at the St. Louis Zoo, one of the best in the world.
John's sister Lois and her husband Michael. He has an unusual hobby collecting and restoring antique firetrucks.
Some absolute strangers pointed out the fact that both of our T-shirts matched the Monet at the St. Louis Art Museum perfectly, so they took our picture.
John's sister Beth and her family happened to be visiting St. Louis too. Their oldest daughter was moving in to a new apartment to start a two year contract with Teach For America. More photo ops in front of her unique in-wall water fountain that the landlord had just installed in the dining room.
Then we headed to Columbia, Missouri to visit my brother Mark. His wife Irene was visiting her sister in Venezuela.
A visit to a local winery overlooking the Missouri River.
A lush state park just outside of Columbia with a lengthy cave system and wildlife.
Back in Chicago, we got a chance to catch up with friends.
Much of our time in Chicago at the beginning and end of the summer was spent with my sister and her recently expanded family. Hannah and Mackenzie learned that changing diapers, feeding, bathing, and changing clothes is a lot of work, but we all had lots of fun helping out and hanging out.
