10th Anniversary

It's been a big last week.  Lincoln started Kindergarten!  He's off to a great start, and showing very good maturity as he walks into school by himself, goes to where he's supposed to go, and does what he's supposed to do.  He's a good boy and he's making his mom and dad proud.

Henry and Lydia are doing well at home in his absence.  The house is always just a little more manageable with two kids, and they play pretty well with each other while Jenn keeps up with odds and ends.  They're also able to get a bit more focused attention, which is also good.
This past Friday marked our 10^th anniversary.  Wow.  We look back at wedding photos and now say, "We looked so young."  It's been a crazy 10 year, and there's no way anyone could have predicted how the years would play out at the outset.  So as for the next 10 years?  It's anybody's guess.
Rather than exchange anniversary presents, we were able to make a trip, er, a vacation to Chicago of the long, Labor Day weekend with the help of the Grandparents.  A big thank you to Grandma Paulette & Grandpa Doug for taking care of the kids on the front end, and to Grandma Laura and Grandpa Dave on the back end.  
You might recall the friends we made on our Royal Caribbean cruise, Pete & Moe.  They live in down-town Chicago and way back when we first met them they offered their place for us to stay any time we visited Chicago.  We took them up on their offer and they've been wonderful hosts, providing us with a comfortable room, good company, exemplary chauffeur services, and fantastic restaurant counsel.
In addition to the touristy things, like the Shedd Aquarium, Cloud Gate, and the Field Museum, Jenn also went for a run along the shores of Lake Michigan (she's in the pink top above), and we walked all over the Grant Park, Millenium Park and Navy Pier areas.

We've eaten at some really good restaurants.  Our first stop was breakfast on Friday morning at Yolk.  A Nutella crepe with banannas and strawberries and a carnita pulled pork sandwich with an egg over easy and cream cheese on a pretzel bun.
A deep dish pizza from Geno's East was our dinner on Friday w/ Pete & Moe, and then we went to Shaw's Crab House on Saturday evening with Mike & Christine (son and daughter-in-law), where Jenn had scallops and I had shrimp, and we were surprised with a chocolate cake and key lime pie on the house for our anniversary.
On the agenda today is...

The Art Institute, dumplings from Chinatown, the Willis Tower, a wine and art event... where we get to paint (!), and a few other things that I can't remember, and I'm not sure how we're going to fit it all in.  Photos to follow.