Mugging for the camera near Salt Creek, Brookfield Zoo (smudge and photo courtesy of Janet).

And so the summer of 2013 comes to a close.

Ella (now 7), John Henry (turned 4 in early August), and my forgiving wife Janet tromped through through Brookfield Zoo to wind things down. Highlights included a day of hiking the ravines of Starved Rock after camping Americana (that's in tents at a RV park, with water and electric outlet), swim lessons at Devonshire and Oakton Water Parks in hometown Skokie, gardening in my raised tomato beds, and teaching the first semester of ACT English practice. I also read the first three Harry Potter novels aloud with my daughter, who has a serious case of Hogwarts mania. My son, on the other hand, discovered transformer rescue bots and the Marvel super hero squad. For my personal enjoyment, I refinished a Kentucky-made 1950s cherry desk and read several books, including Albert Brooks' so-so dystopia 2030 and an excellent memoir, That's That by Colin Broderick.