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Getting Ready for Vacation

We leave Monday. Bright and early Monday morning, to be exact, because we're boarding the Amtrak at 7:00 a.m. I've never been on the Amtrak. Neither have my boys.

In fact, this vacation is all about firsts for my boys.

It'll be the first time they've taken a train.
It'll be the first time they've visited Chicago.
It'll be the first time they've sampled Chicago-style pizza.
It'll be the first time they've swam in a roof-top pool.
It'll be the first time they've walked along Navy Pier, visited the exhibits at the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry, and walked through Shedd's Aquarium.

Since I plan on taking a gazillion pictures of all these firsts, the boys wardrobe had to be freshened up a bit. Okay, a lot. Growing boys are hard on their clothes! The shirts and shorts I bought at the beginning of the summer are looking a tad bit rough. There are stains. There are holes. There are more stains.

I think they roll around in the grass. And smear their lunch and dinner on every clothed body part. Who needs napkins, right?

Because the boys are so hard on their clothes, the stuff we just bought is off limits until next week.

Okay, I admit. There's one more reason I'm keeping their dirty little hands far away from their new stuff. Family portraits. I couldn't manage them in Caseville like I had hoped, so I'm planning on taking the tripod along with us and getting some frame-worthy shots in the city parks. We'll need unstained clothes for that little adventure, too.

And sunshine.

I think I'm going to cross my fingers now.

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