Northwestern, through Molly's eyes

My friends Jon and Jeremy from Northwestern came up to Evanston today and we spent a couple of hours wandering around campus. I gave Molly my phone to keep her occupied and she actually ended up taking some nice pictures. There are a few funny ones in there too :) I kept them all in so you can see the progression. 

Madrid otra vez

Almost one year to the week after Jason and I took our trip to Spain, I ended up back in Madrid for work. We had a busy 2-day workshop with a group of global colleagues ... and even ended up with some free time to sight see around town. As work trips go, I must say, this one was pretty wonderful.

Tour of the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium -- home of Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo

Tapas in Plaza Mayor

Photo op onstage after a flamenco show ... ole! 

The great outdoors

The summer season has officially started and we have been taking full advantage. Nights out on the back porch with friends, family, and neighbors ... dinner on the beach ... bike rides on the Green Bay Trail ... afternoons at the Skokie pool ... long runs with my sister B. We've kept our weekends pretty open and the weather has been really nice, so we've been able to pack a lot in without feeling like we're too busy. I could get used to another 2 months of this!

Look at that bad aunt drinking a beer while holding her nephew

The blog has kind of fallen by the wayside. Even during the week, there's always something I'd rather be doing. Like tonight, my mom, Molly, and I all went to see Vance Kelly & The Backstreet Blues Band at a park in Evanston and then I came home and watched clips of Hamilton on YouTube. Important stuff. Jason and I are working our way through The Wire (I'm obsessed) ... I'm still slogging through Moby Dick with a group from the library ... and I have big plans to learn alterations, bridge, golf, and travelers French from my mom this summer (haven't started learning anything yet, but I WILL).

My posts will probably be pretty sporadic over the next couple of months. If anything big happens, I'll put it out there, but if Stuff I Like goes silent for a few weeks, just assume I'm out enjoying the great outdoors :)

School's out for summer!

I started writing a post to catch up on everything that happened at the end of May, but never finished, and since today is the last day of school, that news takes over!!

Flashback ... here was Molly back in August on Day 1:

And here's Molly from earlier today ... her last day as a Kindergartner:

On the way to school

After school on the playground

Manicures on the porch -- we're having a sleepover celebration tonight

I feel like the second half of this year just flew by ... it took a few months at the beginning of the school year to find our groove, but after the holidays, things really started coming together. Molly made some really good friends this year, looooved before and after care, and made a ton of progress in learning to read.

Now on to our next adventure ... summer camp! More on that after Monday :)