Mama Gone Green is a blog dedicated to raising happy children and reducing our impact on the Earth. My name is Taryn and I am the mother of 2 young kids and an environmental studies instructor at a community college in Portland, Oregon. Please join me as I journey through life as a mama, teacher, knitter, photographer, gardener, and environmentalist!

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Sweet Home, Chicago

I've inadvertently taken quite a blogging break! At the end of June, the kids and I headed to the Chicago suburbs for 10 days to visit my family. The weather was surprisingly chilly, and while I had anticipated a vacation full of swimming, there ended up not being much of that at all. But, the kids spent a lot of time with their cousins and we did manage to do a whole bunch of stuff: an amusement park, the Brookfield zoo (with a college friend of mine and her sweet little son), family cookouts, a bonfire, The Shed Aquarium, a parade, a carnival, some fireworks, a free concert on the beach, and a lot of eating. I think I must have gained 10 pounds!
I even managed to meet up with a friend from high school that I haven't seen in over 15 years (!!) and I got to sneak away for 24 hours by myself in downtown Chicago. I strolled through Millennium Park, took myself to the Art Institute (a favorite stomping ground in my high school days), and ended the evening at the Grateful Dead Fare thee Well concert with a bunch of my favorite friends. The concert brought back a lot of memories (and emotions), and I feel really lucky to have had the chance to go.
As always, it's good to be back home and settling into a less adventurous routine (for now), but I already miss my family. 
Despite all of the fun I had, I took surprisingly few pictures (maybe because I was too busy having fun?), but here are a few....









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9 comments:

  1. This little lifeJuly 9, 2015 at 7:37 PM

    What a great trip! So amazing that you got to go to one of the shows - I grew up in a NW suburb of Chicago too and saw many shows there - I wonder if we are from the same burb! Love the last photo.

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    1. Mama Gone GreenJuly 11, 2015 at 10:16 AM

      Now I am wondering too! Where did you grow up? I lived in Palatine, Lake Zurich, and Barrington. But now my family lives in Crystal Lake and Lake in the Hills.

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    2. This little lifeJuly 11, 2015 at 11:31 AM

      I grew up in Barrington! My parents actually still live there in the village. I wonder when we overlapped, I was there until I graduated in 94. How funny, what a small world!

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    3. Mama Gone GreenJuly 11, 2015 at 12:34 PM

      What a very small world! I graduated in 1995 from Barrington High. Crazy!

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  2. IrisJuly 10, 2015 at 1:59 AM

    Looks like you had a terrific time! Glad the trip was so much fun. :)

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  3. MeganJuly 10, 2015 at 7:44 AM

    the little man looks super happy!

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  4. Kim July 10, 2015 at 12:26 PM

    Oh wow, what a great trip. Sounds like it was a ton of fun! Enjoy being home.

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  5. karenJuly 13, 2015 at 6:37 AM

    sorry you miss your family you look like you all had a great time! Maybe you can relocate to be closer to them all??? I miss my family at times but enjoy when I take trips to see them.

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  6. Deb J. in UtahJuly 13, 2015 at 1:18 PM

    Great times. I took a little blog break to visit family too. Always nice to get away and get renewed spirits and a new perspective. Enjoy the rest of the summer.

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