A Busy Weekend

This weekend has come and gone with much fun being had with very little rest. On Friday night, we went to Millennium Park for the Stars of the Lyric Opera concert. We took the bus and arrived shortly before the 7:30 pm start time. Normally we would still be able to find a seat in the Pavilion, but there were not only no seats in the lawn, there were people four deep standing around the edge. We were able to find a seat on some grass outside the park-proper, but we had to re-cork our wine as it is only allowed inside the pavilion.
Then on the way home, the bus was so crowded that I had to stand up while holding Wiggle for the entire ride. Were there two able-bodied teenage girls sitting in the seats directly in front of me who could have given up their seats? Why yes, there were. Did they? Of course not. They instead texted mean and meaner things to some poor "friend" of theirs and occasionally shot me and C dirty looks when we lurched with each bump in the road into their space. Thirty minutes and one neck cramp later, we arrived back in the HP. We all tumbled into bed around midnight and zonked out.

Bright and early Saturday morning, we walked Wiggle over to 57th street for a demo class of Marsha's Music Together. Although the demo class was super full, we had a great time singing, banging instruments, and dancing around. I think Wiggle enjoyed the class too, but he seemed more interested in the little girl sitting next to him than the music. He's a total flirt and charmed everyone when he climbed up the girl (she was quite a bit bigger than he was) and layed his head on her shoulder to snuggle. After class, we made a quick stop at the park for swinging and then walked home to eat a quick lunch.
After lunch, we picked up our friend K and went to the Renegade Craft Fair. It was hotter and more unrelentingly sunny than expected, so I bought some sunscreen at a corner store and slathered us all in it. Then we walked around for a couple of hours, people watching and admiring the various wares. While there were some cute things that I definitely want look at again online (many of the artists sell stuff on etsy too), I was left cold by many of the items. When we finally made it back to the car, we decided to make a quick trip to Peet's for some caffe freddos.
Once adequately chilled and caffeinated, we realized we were hungry and decided to go for broke (figuratively not monetarily) and try our luck at Rick Bayless's newsest venture Xoco. The place is billed as his take on street food, so we thought we could do take out, but it turns out lunch and dinner are eat-in only. K and I got in line, and miracuously C found parking less than a block away. A mere 45 minutes later, we were seated, eating fabulous sandwiches, gourmet churros, and gazing upon the Master himself. That's right Rick Bayless was there at the pass, putting the finishing touches on all the dishes. I shouldn't say this like it is unusual as I have been to Frontera Grill several times over the years and Bayless was always there at some point during the meal. The sandwiches were outstanding and I plan on going back sometime when the hype and hopefully the lines die down a little.

Wiggle's face after trying his first bite of Xoco guacamole. I think he liked it actually, but first bites are tough since he doesn't know what's coming at him.

A shortrib sandwich. C dubbed it a Mexican Philly Cheesesteak.

A blurry picture of the churros.

Pork deliciousness in sandwich form.

C and Wiggle at Xoco. Wait, is that? Could it be? Why, yes, that is Rick Bayless in the background (between their heads).

Yesterday morning, Wiggle and I went to swim class. Poor Wiggle was so tired he almost fell asleep on me in the water, but I think he still had a good time. After a brief nap (Wiggle's not ours unfortunately) and some lunch, we headed out to the 57th Street Children's Book Fair. We walked around, bought a few books, and listened to some storytellers. I think Wiggle was generally bored since he can't enjoy browsing for books yet, but the balloon he got there probably made the trip worth it.

Wiggle in the great green room where there is a telephone and a red balloon, and a picture of...

Wiggle playing with his very own gold balloon.

The reaction C got to bonking Wiggle on the head with his balloon.

Lander joining in on the balloon fun.

Here is a pic of the very over-tired boyo before bed last night, but not before bedtime, in his new pajamas (a gift from his grandparents).