Author: Abe Darais

Today Lily was so sweet to support me going on a long bike ride around the Alpine loop with my good friend Daniel Olsen. I’m out of shape and had to stop to rest or walk 8 or so times, but I made it and loved every second of it. I also feel newly inspired to get my conditioning up! After my bike-ride, I grabbed a Whopper burder (Burger King), visited Georgia, went shopping and took our vacuum to the repair shop. Lily ran the ship at home.

Also, Clarissa’s preschool teacher shared a bunch of pictures and a video about Clarissa’s preschool year.

Also, Ammon has started to really love basketball. Today he made his first ever basket, and he loved it so much that he kept on going until he had made about 17. I played with him a little which was fun, and then I fixed his bike tire which had a hole in it.

Here is Ammon and Clarissa talking about about their favorite things. So cute!

Also, toward the end of the day, Lily was having a really hard time emotionally. We spent the evening together talking and being together. About a week ago, I felt some depression, though not as severely as Lily was feeling it. Whether it is me that is feeling down, or Lily, it is surely such a gift to be in a companionship and to have someone to go through things with. Lily was doing much better by the end of the night.

Today we learned that Georgia broke her arm while in the bathroom. She was in so much pain and Lily left to take her to the emergency room. The kids were self-sufficient while I worked. We feel so sad for Georgia, especially knowing how much pain she is in.

Also, Lily has been extremely tired since she hasn’t slept much recently. She was mostly recovering from her trip and lack of sleep today after she helped take care of Georgia.

Here is a picture of Lydia, and a video of Ammon dancing, and one of Clarissa being cute.

Today was the last day in Illinois for Lily, Lydia and Mary. The weather was perfect again and they spent their time in Chicago. Lily did not sleep much last night so she didn’t feel super well, but otherwise, it was a completely perfect day.

I feel like they’ve bean here before…..

Lily effused to me about how amazing this play park was. It was only recently built.

Then they went to a museum about writing, and loved it!

Lily told me that Lydia and Mary were completely enthralled by the type-writer. They couldn’t get enough of it, and typed a lot.

Then they saw an exhibit about the environment and energy etc. I assume this was at a new museum.

There was also a neat dancing feature that reminded Lily of one at the Nashville museum of African-American music.

Taking the “L” to the airport.

And now I’m about to go pick them up!!

Also, today Mary’s teacher, Shannon Hyatt, shared photos from throughout the school-year with us. I put a few here in the blog. To me it’s a poetic way to end this entry. Mary loved school and her classmates so much that she was super upset when she learned that she’d miss the last couple days of school because of the Chicago trip. She even said she’d rather not go to Chicago! Of course, I’m positive she’s now glad she went! I think she was just crushed int he moment.

Wow, what a day Lily, Lydia and Mary had! All-said, they walked 11.5 miles. As I’m writing this blog, I can’t believe all this even fits into one day, but here we go!

They started at the Evanston library.

They saw some historic homes.

They visited the Bahai house of worship.

They ate lunch on the shore of Lake Michigan.

They saw fish trying to jump in the lake.

They went to the beach.

They played at a playground.

And they gardened with Sarah. I remember Sarah she was our neighbor in Evanston when we lived in Georgia’s condo!

People were pooped when it was all said and done.

I talked with Lily on the phone and she gushed about Evanston. Weather was perfect. The air was clean. She went on about the smell, the wonderful smell of the air. She was so happy to be there. She loves the architecture of the homes. I think a part of her lamented that she doesn’t still live there, and who knows what the future holds. But I am so happy for how happy she felt in Evanston today!

Lily, Lydia and Mary were elated about today, especially Lily.

First they took the train from Springfield to Evanston, IL. Here are Lydia and Mary being pals.

I’m not sure if they put this collage together, or if Google photos did it for them, but either way, it’s so cute to see how they have always been a pair.

In Evanston, they visited Dewey, Lily’s elementary school.

Then they visited the neighborhood Lily grew up in.

And they bumped into Lily’s neighbor Fonso! Fonso has known Lily since she was a baby. He said he was thinking about her today, so what a surprise that they saw each other! I’m sure it has been over a decade since they have seen each other!

Then Lily, Lydia and Mary spent time with the parents of her friend Julie.

Then Lily, Lydia and Mary visited Lily’s good friend Liz Nyden who she has not seen in years. Liz threw Lily’s baby shower for Lydia!

Here is another school Lily attended.

The day ended at the beach.

Lily was over the moon to be in Evanston. She felt home and even said she’d love to move back there, which I also think could be really nice. My next step in my career could naturally take me to Chicago area so we will see what the future holds. But as for now, It was so neat that Lily could be with old friends, and old places that make her heart sing. She had such a magical day.

Today was a more low-key day for Lily, Lydia and Mary. They saw the Dana Farber house (Frank-Lloyd Wright) which they loved (especially Lydia) and then they went swimming. They also went to dinner and did some napping and hanging out and watching TV in their hotel room.

I took Ammon and Clarissa to breakfast at Magelbee’s with Todd and his kids. It was a bit tricky to keep them all behaved (and not running around the restaurant). I finally told Ammon he was going to the car if his butt left the seat. He was good after that. I sure had a great time connecting with Todd. He is a great dude.

Then we took some French Toast from Magelbee’s to Georgia and visited for an hour. All things considered, the kids were good enough, but still a bit tricky to keep occupied for an hour while Georgia and I talked. It sure was good to connect with Georgia. She shared some thoughts about the life-story she is writing.

Then I took Ammon and Clarissa swimming. I told Ammon we’d stay for an hour and a half and he was disappointed because he wanted to stay for an hour (he didn’t realize an hour an a half was longer). To explain it to him in a way he could understand, I said we would stay 100 minutes, and he got super excited about that (and we did stay that long). Todd came too, and we all had so much fun playing together. Ammon and Clarissa are getting super comfortable in the water.

Back at home I bathed the kids and put them in their PJs and told them they could watch TV while I got some things done (like blogging). They did watch a lot of TV, but I was also delighted to see them naturally making their way to the craft room to work on sticker books.

In the morning Lily, Lydia and Mary said good-bye to Amy, Emerson and Isabel, and Lily, Lydia and Mary caught a train to Springfield.

In Springfield they went to the Lincoln museum.

The pictures below make me think of Ammon and Clarissa.

I left my moms a little after 9:00 to make church at 10:00. I lamented not getting photos with my mom and Jay. Neither of them were available for a photo at this moment, but I wanted some recollection of being at their house.

Church was so wonderful and nourishing as always. I think everyone needs to find what’s right for them. But the Community of Christ is definitely where my soul belongs.

After church we bought subway and ate it with Andrea at her house. Ammon and Clarissa were a bit crazy in her house, but it all worked out. In fairness to them, there isn’t a whole lot for kids to do there. Andrea and I talked for two and a half hours, and loved each other’s company as always. Below Andrea is teaching the kids about one of her dad’s paintings and also about the concept of texture.

After being at Andrea’s, we went home and I fed the kids dinner and put them to bed.

Today was also my anniversary with Lily. We celebrated two weeks ago knowing she was in Chicago, however, this anniversary actually turned out to be pretty special for me. With Lily gone, I have been really missing her. There have been work developments, experiences I’ve had and time that I just would much prefer to be sharing with her. I’ve even found myself getting a little blue. Just feeling a bit of that heart-ache has helped me to better appreciate her. When she is here, it just isn’t that the house runs better (which it does), but my heart runs better too. She’s my companion, my guide and my soul-mate. I cannot wait until she is home 🙂

Lily, Amy, Lydia, Mary, Emerson and Isabel had one more day in Chicago. First they had fun in their hotel room.

Then they went to breakfast and enjoyed the beautiful designs in their cups.

Then they did some bike riding and the weather was perfect!!

Then they went to the Shedd Aquarium.

And they finished Chicago where they started….at the bean 🙂

Meanwhile, I was having a sleepover at my mom and Jay’s house with Ammon and Clarissa. I stayed up the night before chatting with my mom and it was so fun to talk with her. In the morning, she made us waffles, sausage, and bacon. Then I took the kids to the tree museum in Ogden, basically an educational play area for kids. I like these pictures because it looks like Clarissa is really thinking about her moves. She has no idea how to play Chess and the game lasted maybe 30 seconds. Ammon does have an idea to play from all the times he plays chess on his Kindle.

Eventually they upgraded to a larger set 🙂

For some reason, I cannot get the two links below to embed. They are videos of Ammon and Clarissa 1) watching a block-tower tumble in slow-motion (I love the facial expressions) and 2) playing with the parachute tube.

https://youtube.com/shorts/VNsvIOwoLUc?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/8xSthmxyswE?feature=share

After our outing, David and Olivia came to my mom’s house and they brought Oslo! It is the first time I’ve seen my new Nephew!! Isn’t he cute!! Lily’s been insisting to me that his name is Ollie because she saw it in a photo that David and Olivia have shared, but David and Olivia clarified Ollie is the brand of his swaddler, and the brand name is right on the front of it, and it has confused people. They have another family member now that has been calling him Ollie, lol. The do call him Oslo though 🙂

We all had a great lunch together, and then Clarissa and I napped. Then I napped again. Then we all had diner (my mom made fish) and then I stayed up late talking to Jay. My favorite part of that conversation is when he reminisced about when he used to play Star Craft with his grandkids, Alex and Austin. He lit up as he told about one of the happiest memories of his life. I loved sharing that with him.

I’m sad I didn’t take pictures of my mom and Jay with the kids. But we had a really good time.

Lily, Amy, Lydia, Mary, Emerson and Isabel started the day by riding the subway to the Hull House.

Then they went to the museum of science and industry.

Then the toured the bell tower at the University of Chicago.

Here are pictures from Lily’s first day at Chicago. I’ll add what I know, but Lily may need to add a lot more context.

In the morning they went to Millennium Park and saw the Bean.

Then they went to the Chicago Art Museum

In Millennium Park the group listened to a performance by the Chicago Children’s Choir. Lily was so moved by the music that she cried.

They went on an architecture tour. The weather was perfect, and as always, the tour was spectacular and educational.

For dinner they went to Lou Malnati’s

What a great first day in Chicago!!