Nana's Zoo

So as most of you know I'm at Nana's twice a week and, man, I gotta tell ya, a LOT goes on in those two days. The days are filled with a whole bunch of fun and activity... and, of course, Boss jumping in the pond next door and needing a complete hosedown before being allowed back in the house.

So without further ado, I give you the last month or so of me hanging out at Nana's (buckle up, folks, this is a long one):

Dad drops me off in the mornings and we always have a few yucks together before he leaves.

Then we start to get into some debauchery with a little trampoline time at the neighbors. Check out Eli pulling a reverse foot Ninja kick (bet you didn't know Eli was a Ninja, did you?)
Snack time with Boss and the Boys
Eli, at some point you're going to have to learn to feed yourself.A drum concert from Hannah in Nana's living room that brought me back to my first Nirvana concert back in '92. Hannah's like Dave Grohl, only about 47 times cooler.
Back outside and it's badminton time with Isaiah and Eli.
I don't know if you can see me - I'm over there on the left... with a helmet on. See, things can get dicey at Nana's because it's the boys, who are quite reckless and Boss, who has a bit of a space perception issue (and is often bowling me over at about 26mph) and little ol' me.

So, sometimes you just gotta protect your noodle. Wait... hold on... how do I get this thing on? Does this look funny? Something doesn't feel right.
Okay, here we go, much better.
LUNCH BREAK!!!
Now it's back outside for a little bit of yardwork
SNACK TIME! (Yes, already)
Sesame St. with my favorite little red furry buddy
And then it's down time... I kick the boys out of the room and have all the books to myself.
(By the way - this photo makes me think of the band White Lion. Remember them? They sang, "When the Children Cry" - decent hair band, great song, even better reading companion.)

Feel free to skip work any day and head out to Palos Park and join the fun.

Daniel, Son

Mr. Miyagi told me what I'm looking for in life is a pure soul and that can be achieved through hard work, perseverance and a dedication to quieting the mind.

I told Mr. Miyagi I'd get back to him a little later, I'm quite certain what I'm looking for is in here.

Frank In the Tank

We've got a new addition to the family. Elmo's got his goldfish Dorothy and now I've got Frank. Mom, Dad and I went to the Old Town Aquarium yesterday and I picked out Frank. Then we came home and got him ready for his new home.
First we had to put the gravel in the bowl
Then we put Frank in his bowl. I, personally, am a big fan of the net.
Then we had to feed Frank. I went to the kitchen to drum up some pasta but Mom said he has to eat fish flakes.
Frank... my fish, my friend.

Faces

Mom and I play a little game almost every morning at the breakfast table called "Faces." She makes a face and then I have to make it. Then it's my turn - I make a face and then she has to make it.

Here's a little peak - go ahead and try some of these.

If you're gonna copy my face in the first photo you have to make sure you have a boatload of Peanut Butter Pows in your mouth. Careful, it's tricky.

Tennis the Menace

A couple Fridays ago we had what Mom calls a "God I Love Chicago" night. We took the bus up to the Art Museum to see the new Modern Wing. Then we walked on the new overpass into Millenium Park where a few thousand people were relaxing and listening to the Chicago Symphony. We stopped for a while to take it all in.
Then we walked back through Grant Park where I stopped at a tennis court because I thought it was Wimbledon and I was quite certain the guy playing was Andy Roddick.
I was determined to sneak into the All England Club though I was quite certain being Croatian, Italian, Irish and German might pose a problem, particularly the Irish part.
Maybe... if I can just...
What, me, officer? I'm just minding my own business. No, I'm not quite sure who cut open the bottom of this fence with wirecutters trying to sneak into Wimbledon.
Wait a minute... what's this? A tennis ball outside the court? Andy Roddick would never hit the ball so poorly....
So I go to return the ball to Andy...
And come to find out that I'm not at the All England Club, it was not Wimbledon, and Andy was actually just some guy named Bill from the West Loop who was trying to work on his backhand.

Bus Trip

HISTORY LESSON - If you've ever been to Millenium Park in Chicago you've seen Crown Fountain. Here's a brief description from a Chicago web site:

Crown Fountain, designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow, sparkling reflecting pool. The towers project video images of diverse Chicago citizens, which Plensa claims is a reference to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water to flow out. Photographers traveled around to just about every neighborhood in the city of Chicago to generate a collection of Chicago's faces.

Okay, so why is this relevant? Well, this place is a tourist trap but it's one of those tourist traps that is actually really cool if you're a kid like me and you like water on a hot summer day.

So Mom, Dad and I took the bus up Michigan Ave. about ten minutes to Crown Fountain and spent a couple hours, then took the bus home in time for an afternoon nap. Here are some of the highlights.

Okay, here I am, just got to Crown Fountain, getting my feet wet, both figuratively and literally.


Now here's Dad and I getting ready to go under a fountain of water. Oh man, this is gonna be awesome...
Whoa! Wait! Hold on!
Okay, much better, doin a little dance, feelin the flow.

Sweet Child O' Mine

The title of this post is a double entendre, for all you English savants out there. The first meaning is that I'm Dad's sweet child, pretty straight forward (and super cheesy).

The second meaning, however, is a little more under the radar for some of my readers. This is Axl Rose, singer of the iconic rock band Guns 'n' Roses. Attractive lad, ain't he? Well, Axl and the boys had a hit song back in 1987 called "Sweet Child O' Mine."
And here's me doing my best Axl Rose impersonation.