Brooke and Anna started 6th and 4th grade at our elementary school which is about one street behind our house.
Lainie started 1st grade. This was "red day."
The girls were all settled in their classes, happy with their teachers and had a good friend or two in their class. THEN, we were walking out of back to school night and got a phone call that there was a spot in one of the nearby charter schools for Brooke. It was one of the toughest decisions we ever made to switch her after she had already started at her regular elementary. Ultimately she made the decision to switch, so she had a little gathering at Incredible Pizza with her best friends from her old school. Here is Brooke in her uniform for the charter school. No more Defy Gravity t-shirts for her. We got a call three days later from the charter school letting us know they had a spot for Anna too. It was a tougher switch for Anna for a few reasons.
But here we are five months later, thrilled with their school situations. They have both adjusted nicely and are doing great socially and academically. Anna has had to put in a lot of extra time in math, but it has paid off. Her first quarter she had a 'C' in math. We just got her report card today and she has an 'A' for second quarter! Good job Anna!
Lainie won't get a spot until next year, so we will continue to do the two school thing. It has worked out well so far though and it's worth the wait to me. I still haven't taken a picture of both Brooke and Anna in their uniforms, probably because Anna can't stand having to wear uniforms. The first thing she does every day when she gets home from school is change out of her uniform clothes. I actually think their uniforms are cute. They're very simple.
Mark and I got to go to Chicago in October for an oral surgery meeting. My sweet and amazingly generous sister Jennifer came from Portland to stay with our kids so we could have a little getaway.
I don't remember what this thing is called, but it's right by the waterfront and is definitely a tourist attraction. I think it's called The Cloud or something like that.
We got to spend some time at the art institute, which was amazing! I love seeing original paintings. Love this famous painting by Seurat. It's so fascinating to me to be able to stand in front of a painting in person that I have only seen in a textbook.
Monet is my favorite.
We went to the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). They had these glass decks that were built out over the city that you could step out onto. I am usually not scared of heights or any sort of "thrill" experience, but it was creepy stepping out onto this platform. Mark might have struggled even a little more than me with it.
Mark's parents came to Chicago too!
Couldn't resist but felt kinda dumb. . . . .
The black building is the Willis Tower to give you some perspective of how high up we were. Can you see the specks of the glass deck at the very top on the left side?
Here's a closeup of the observation decks from outside.
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