Y + G // Day 3

We hit the road early this morning to take Greg & Yvonne back to Chicago (boo....) and see the Bowie exhibit at the MCA (yay....). We could not wait to see it, and it did not disappoint. What a brilliant man! The exhibit took a couple hours, so afterwards, we were starving again. Imagine! Y+G are staying with their friend Bill, who lives the Fulton Market district in an über-cool loft. The boys thought it was one of the most incredible places they have ever seen, and it was. Bill has impeccable taste, and it was wow. Afterwards, we went to la Sirena for a delicious lunch, and Bill joined us, which was such a treat. It was the perfect ending to our day in Chicago and our time with Greg & Yvonne. Such incredible people to be surrounded by. I for one, totally miss them already.

Y + G // Day 2

We woke up and Brian had to take the car in to get our tire replaced. A huge nail thing was in it.  Ugh ... the timing of it all! On the bright side, it meant a little bit of a lazy morning since we had to wait to pick the car up. After the tire was replaced, we were starving (eating 24/7 will do that to you) so went to Hollander for lunch. Greg and Brian took off afterwards for the Harley Davidson Museum, while Yvonne, the boys and I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum. Unfortunately, the permanent collection -- which is the main reason we went there, and I know Yvonne would absolutely love -- is closed for awhile. But, we got to see a few cool pieces and the boys got to make New Years Eve masks, so all was good. Once we were all back at the house, I made a Veggie Arrosto Misto (and under-cooked the vegetables a little -- whoops), we played a new game H got for Christmas, and once the boys went to bed, watched This is the End. Funny.

EAA

We had five hours to kill in between soccer game, and when one of the parents suggested going to the EAA in Oshkosh, we thought that sounded like a great idea. H had been on a field trip there, but it was the first time for the rest of us. Um, wow. It was really pretty amazing. The museum itself was absolutely fantastic. But to top it off, the boys got take part in the Young Fliers program, and rode in a  little two-person aircraft ... for free! What a great experience, and how much fun is that?

Milwaukee Art Museum

????? (forgot to write it down)

Nancy, 1968

Chuck Close

The Green House, Murnau, 1911

Gabriele Münter

Street at Schöneberg City Park, 1912-13

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Dandelion, 1970 & Untitled, 1970

Harry Bertoia

Homage to the Square-Early Rising, 1961

Josef Albers (I'm a big fan of his wife, Anni's, work too)

Paysage (Landscape), 1952

Nicolas de Staël

I've mentioned before, that one of my favorite places in the world is the Milwaukee Art Museum. Despite the fact that we are members, I haven't been since summer. When the boys went back to school in the fall, one thing on my to-do list was to visit the museum. By myself. Do you think that ever happened? Of course not. So the beginning of this week, I told myself that today would be the day I went there. I can't remember the last time I've wandered the museum by myself, and I left wondering why I don't do it more. It's beyond inspiring, and kind of my happy place. The museum has an excellent collection, ranging from a mummy coffin dating 500-250 BC, to current works. But my favorite pieces, by far, are the photorealism paintings, their collection contemporary artwork and German Expressionism pieces. I honestly think I could live in the Mrs. Harry L. Bradley Collection wing. I also caught the last few days of the Accidental Genius exhibit, which was quite inspirational, featuring self-taught artists. Some of them didn't even start painting until 41 or in their 70s. Amazing. I only spent a couple hours there, but wish I could go back tomorrow. Honestly, it was an excellent day in so many ways.

Date Day

We're using this week -- which is going by WAY too quick, by the way -- to do a bit of exploring and showing Brian some of our favorite places. The day after Christmas, Brian and H spent the morning at Ray's MTB while C and I made some Zombie Barf from his new Doctor Dreadful kit. Afterwards, we went over to the Audubon Nature Center for a little hike. Yesterday, we decided to go to Discovery World, where we saw a fish snack on another fish from it's tank (whoops!) and H laid on a bed of nails. We were having such a great time, we went across the street for a fancy little date at the Harbor House. C tried his first oyster, and loved it so much, he ended up ordering more and eating three!





Later, we met my dad and he took the boys for a night at my parents. (Brian's idea -- and it was great). My mom and dad leave later this week for Florida. This is the long one though -- they are gone for awhile now. Boo. So it's pretty great the boys got to spend the night with them. Brian and I took advantage of some alone time and went to a movie and dinner. Since we had such a fancy lunch, we ended up going through the Culver's drive-through. It was perfect.

Discovery World

The boys had off of school for Fall Break today. Once H & I finally convinced C to get out of his pajamas (at 1:00), we decided to visit Discovery World. The setting is absolutely gorgeous -- right on Lake Michigan. The impressive Denis Sullivan was still at homeport, but leaves soon for winter in Florida, the Bahamas and Caribbean. The Milwaukee Fire Department was having some sort of dive training. It was pretty cool to see. But what I'm really appreciating more and more about our new city, is the ease of everything. It was only a few minutes to come downtown to the museum. Parking was simple (and cost a whopping $5 for our entire visit). And even the though the boys initially said it was really small (they are used the Museum of Science and Industry after all), it was the perfect size and had exhibits that completely kept their attention. I'm sure it can get pretty crazy on the weekends (many other schools didn't have off today), but I felt like we owned the place. We spent the most time at the Reiman Aquarium, and even got to touch sting-rays and sharks. But the boys also loved the Challenge, a re-creation of a 1852 schooner built for the Great Lakes. And H tried his hands on an airplane simulator ... and crashed. I really can't wait to go back.

Museum of Science and Industry

So, we were driving to the zoo when it started pouring. I like rain, but pouring? I thought it could turn disasterous. So we headed to Hyde Park to the Museum of Science and Industry -- which happens to be the boys most favorite place in the whole wide world. "The Great Train Story" section remains the favorite spot. We went there twice. But the boys also loved the huge John Deere tractors in "Farm Tech", the "Swiss Jolly Ball," and "Under the Big Top." It was a fun day. And, there's always next week for zoo.

Valentine's Day 09

We had so much fun this Valentine's Day...

We took the el downtown and went to the Art Institute of Chicago (fyi - it's free the month of February)


H & C created a Joseph Cornell inspired art piece.

They loved the Miniature Rooms,

and looking for paintings with trains.

We walked up Michigan Ave. and visited the Lego Store.

Ate lunch. When we got home I ran to the grocery store, then we had fondue. Brian and the boys surprised me with chocolates ... and a weekend in Manhattan Beach! Just me. Alone. Can you believe it? I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm in shock. I'm going to miss my family. But, I can't wait.