A Summer to Remember, Photos to Forget?

As I reflect (*sigh*) on the dwindling days left of summer, I do realize that my friend Jill's label of me is true. She called me "The Queen of Summer" and she may just be right.

No, I'm not wearing any silk sash across my chest, and I wasn't given a dozen roses or a tiara, but the title fits. I do love this time of year, and I have eeked out every moment of fun that I could these past few months. I'm exhausted (in the good way), broke (in the bad way) and fatter (in the reality way). But I wouldn't change a thing.

This has been a summer to remember. And, in case I can't (brain cells dead from all the fun and all), I'll recap it here. A highlight reel, as I'm known to do, of the activities since May:

Travel

• Costa Rica—a week in the sun in Central America with my boy and my girls and their boys. Beaches, wildlife, ziplining, fruity drinks, fresh fish/fruit, a private chef, lazy days at the pool, fun souvenirs and loads of laughs. What more could you ask for? Pura vida.


• Michigan—with Brett's parents living there, a friend's wedding hosted there and a camping trip up there, we've spent a lot of time (and money on the Skyway!) going back and forth five times this summer, and I have loved every minute of it. Except the traffic on 94—I'd ditch that in a Michigan Minute.


• California—went for a two day business trip, but had fun nonetheless. Finally saw the Crystal Cathedral from evangelistic fame, glimpsed Disney Land, and visited the Real O.C. For a day.

Music

• Stevie Wonder—was lucky enough to see/hear him at Taste of Chicago. What a great musical influence and kind spirit he is—I ran out and bought his Greatest Hits and recommend you doing the same.


• Symphony—heard the St. Joseph Symphony playing across the St. Joe river in Michigan during the 4th of July fireworks. Spectacular!


• Feist—went to Ravinia to enjoy her lilting voice and the gorgeous setting in Highland Park with a few bottles of wine and two amazing couples. What a night!


• Lynne Church—was treated to the solo vocals of Lynne as she sang during a wedding in Mackinac Island, and as a former member of the cast for Phantom, it truly was a treat!


• Ty Maxon—at the Venetian Festival in St. Joe, Michigan, we got to see Ty perform. What a talent! The carnies, however, were just creepy.


• Cat Power, The Raconteurs, Radiohead—saw 'em all at Lollapalooza, and they were worth the sweat, the sunburn, the crowds and the long lines. Fabulous. Especially Radiohead, during "Fake Plastic Trees" when the fireworks lit up the night.


• The Spice Girls, The Indigo Girls and Evan & Jaron—the Posse doing our renditions atop the swim-up-bar in Costa Rica was the closest I'll come this summer to seeing these shows. We're not half bad.

Parties

• Roofdecks—I have a great one, Brett's has an awesome view of Oak Street Beach and my friends Brenna and John recently renovated theirs with fabulous outdoor furniture and gorgeous wood planter boxes and furniture, so we have had several great parties looking at the few stars we can see in the city. And, trying to convince people not to throw stuff over the railing.


• Wedding Schtuff—with so many weddings comes so many parties. And celebrations. And drinks. Enough said.


• Backyards—oh, how I wish I had a backyard. My own little patch o' grass to host a great outdoor party on. Alas, I don't have one, but thank goodness I have friends that do! Granted, the one Katie and Jess had in late May, we were all wearing heavy jackets, but who's judging.

Events

• Taste of Chicago—gotta go at least once, gotta eat something greasy and fattening, and gotta buy a few overpriced beers to sip on while you navigate the crowds and people watch. I'm convinced most of America is really rude and classless, but I'm still pleasantly surprised when someone actually says "excuse me" when they slam into you and spill your aforementioned overpriced beer all down your front.


• Ravinia—how can you not enjoy sitting in a grassy lawn under a canopy of trees spotted with lampposts and twinkly lights listening to great music while munching on a fantastic picnic and sipping great wine? Yeah, didn't think so either.


• Wells Street Art Fair—one of my favorites, and this year's foreboding weather couldn't keep us from trolling Wells Street, drinking pink vodka lemonades and admiring the artwork. And the strange people. And the strange stuff people thinks is artwork.


• 4th of July and Venetian Festival in St. Joseph, Mi—both were great excuses to make the trek over to Brett's hometown along the "other side of the Lake" and enjoy a slower pace and a reunion with old buddies. And, great fireworks!


• Gay Pride Parade—this one is almost beyond description. But a must see to believe!


• Booze Cruises—we did one for Kristen's Birthday in June that had us on a 200-passenger dance-floor sporting lone-line-at-the-bar-having rocking party that took us up and down the river and out onto the lake. We sported neon jelly necklaces and basically acted like drunk 12-year olds. No one fell in, though. The other was with a vendor outing for Brett's work, and while it was more subdued (it was a 30 passenger party aboard an old guy's yacht), it was still a great view of the city at night.


• Air & Water Show—where else can you be sitting at your desk on Michigan Avenue with a wall of windows behind you showing the Blue Angels fighter jets soaring past, causing you to spill your coffee and get your heart racing? Watching the air portion from my roofdeck wasn't half bad either.


• "My Boys" Cast Party—my friend Molly works in PR for movies/tv, so we got invited to the cast party for the TBS show set in Chicago. The cast was really cool and very friendly. The only disappointment was not having Jim Gaffigan there so we could taunt him with "Hot Pocket" the whole time.

Movies

• "Sex and the City"—great!


• "Dark Knight" at IMAX—AMAZING and so cool to see so much of Chicago in it.


• Great Netflix rentals—some good, some snores


• "The Happening"—the worst movie I've seen EVER

Transportation*

• Car (own and rental)


• Bus


• Taxi


• Ferry


• Power boat


• Horse-drawn carriage


• Bike


• Plane


• Train (elevated and subway)

*If only I'd ridden a motorcycle, soared in a hot air balloon, been pushed in a stroller or chartered a donkey, I think I'd have covered them all.

Sports

• Cubs—I've been lucky enough to attend a few games this year, treated by Brett and his workplace ticket connections. This is OUR YEAR! Pass the Kosher Dogs.


• Ziplining—careening down a wire through the jungle, above the rooftops, reaching speeds of up to 60 mph over a seemingly death-defying length of nearly 2,500 feet, this was as much of an extreme sport as I can usually muster.


• Volleyball—watch one game of our volleyball team play on North Avenue Beach and you'd be hard-pressed to call it a sport. But we had a really good time, and only occasionally moaned and groaned as the other team smashed us into the sand.


• Biking—riding rented beach cruiser bikes the 8-mile trek around Mackinac Island in northern Michigan was well worth the $5/hour and the sore butt the next day.


• Canoeing—you've already been treated to my take on the canoe experience, but let's just say that I'm lucky I didn't end up with a broken rib or an oar to the head.


• Cornhole—a Midwestern game and I love it. If I went to the Olympics tomorrow, I'd be a contender.


• Ladder Golf—I only recently got turned on to this game, but it is a blast on the beach. Just look out for flying balls on rope.


• College Football—ok, so it hasn't started yet, but our trash-talking about the pre-season rankings is anything but sportsmanlike. I have remained somewhat quiet about our #1 ranking in all three recognized pre-season polls (so much for subtlety) but come August 30, we'll see how it goes.

So there you have it. My summer in a nutshell. Well, more precisely, a generous handful of nuts. To complete the summer sharing, here's a highlight reel of the best/funniest/worst photos that depict the above activities. These may not all be framers, but they sure make me smile.

Mom, I told you they wouldn't get stuck like this.

We sucked, but it sure was fun.

Is it a bird? A plane? A monkey? Nope, just Colleen conquering her fear of the jungle zipline.

The musical stylings of Ty and Brittany at Venetian Fest.

Isn't she lovely? Our dance moves would make Stevie Wonder proud.

Radiohead was my favorite at Lollapalooza this year.

They aren't "My Boys" but they're cute.

You can't tell from the photo, but it is blistering hot and super crowded at Lollapalooza this year. Oh wait, every year.

Things slow down a tad in Michigan.

What you don't get from the photo is the omnipresent smell of horse poop on Mackinac Island.

If only ladder golf was an Olympic sport.

John is built like this and he can cook, too!

Jack White + Chicago summer = sweaty rockstar.

Jill and I fit together like backwards spoons.

Enjoying a hooky day beer on North Avenue Beach with visiting Jenny.

As Brett's guest on the vendor booze cruise; does it look like I'm afraid of being pushed overboard?

Gotta love gay men in red speedos.

His zipline fear is real. Mine is exaggerated (slightly).

Shown here wrestling Laura at a backyard BBQ early in the season. Shortly afterwards, she surfed on my crumpled body.

Enacting cheesy couple poses, Elizabeth & Walton have it down.

You may kiss your bride!

The wheels fell off at about this time in the party.

Go Cubs Go!

We always make the guys carry things like this. Strong like Cox!

Central American pineapples make him a teeny bit crazy.

Brenna gone wild during Cranium night.

Apparently Brett's family is in a gang.

Gotta love boozing at the office for a bridal shower.

So adult. Incredibly mature. Pretty ugly.

The very famous, mostly infamous, Flip Cup Tourney at Chippewa Landing.

Sipping vodka lemonades after Kim's shower at Fireplace Inn with Jamie, Kim and Katie.

Hanging out at a tiki bar in Jaco, Costa Rica.

Life in the city. Can't complain.

Palm trees in Chicago? Check.

Riding in our bridal party carriage in Mackinac Island.

Mocking Mike while camping.

Some of the girls gathered on Brenna & John's new roofdeck.

The booze cruise to celebrate Kristen's birthday.

Goodbye summer, thanks for playing!
Now it's time to enjoy the fall, which is anchored by football season and brace for winter, which is blanketed in snow.