Picnic in the Park

Scott and I had a great day in Chicago this past Sunday, July 3rd. We got to Millenium Park early - the big concert (Grant Park Orchestra's annual Independence Day Concert) was at 5:30, but we got our spots on the Great Lawn around 2:15! It was a glorious day, around 80 degrees, with a nice breeze, and no mosquitoes in sight!

We brought our picnic, plus the Sunday paper, a crossword puzzle to share, and a deck of cards. We had fun playing, until Scott decided to beat the cookies out of me at 500 Rummy! Well, he was still having fun...

This is the view of the stage from our chairs. The Frank Gehry-designed Pritzer Pavillion is simply stunning. And I love the overhead grid - you get a feeling of being inside a room, while allowing the view of the Chicago skyline. We love not just people watching, but also chatting with the other concert-goers. We met some college kids who went to U of Minnesota (our alma mater), and also a mom and her little daughter, visiting from India.
Doesn't Scott look relaxed? These foldup chairs are very comfy, plus we have a collapsible table which doubles as a sweet foot rest!

We had a really fun day - can you tell? Oh yeah, the concert was GREAT!

Grease is the word

This is my daughter, Hannah, in a recent photo. Her friend, Katie, has a little business taking headshots - doesn't she take nice pictures?

Anyway, Hannah is in a show this summer - she is playing Sandy in "Grease!" at Summer Place Theater in Naperville. We are all very excited to see her open in the show this coming Friday night!

Hannah had some highlights in her hair, and the director told her she had to either go all brown, or all blonde.....

.... and she opted to go ALL blonde! She and I spent over 5 hours at the beauty shop a few weeks ago, and this is the result! (Plus, I got a nice haircut and some pretty highlights myself!) Her friend, Lindsay, was just completing beauty school, so she "did the honors".

I think Hannah looks pretty cute as a blonde "Sandy"...

.... but it seems that just yesterday, she looked like this:

Break a leg at the show, Hannah!!!!!!!!!! We love you!

Lobster Rolls!

Ravinia 2011! Scott and I were lucky enough to be invited to see Garrison Keillor and Prairie Home Companion a couple of weeks ago with our good friends, Cindy and Andrew. For those who don't know, Ravinia is a lovely outdoor concert venue, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony. We picnicked beforehand, and then had pavillion seats for the performance.

The guys - Scott and Andrew.
We had a sweet setup - comfy blankets to plop down on, comfy chairs (IU chairs are ours - daughter Emily attended there, and gave us the chairs for Christmas one year), and great portable table to help with glasses and the wine bottle (yum!). The main course for the day was - lobster rolls!

We found lobster rolls at a great local fish market. They packaged all of the parts separately, so we could assemble the sandwiches at the picnic - that way, they didn't get soggy. We were excited to find lobster rolls, as (1) they are DELICIOUS! and (2) our friend, Cindy, is from Massachusettes, and knows her lobster! What is a lobster roll?

Toasted frankfurter roll, lettuce, and lobster salad - lobster, with just a bit of celery and green onion, and just enough mayo to moisten. Heavenly!!! They also gave us slaw to enjoy on the side.

I loved mine, can you tell?

p.s. The show was good, too!