The Rowe Parents Take a Trip

Over the past few days, Ethan and I have been celebrating our 15th anniversary in Chicago, while the girls have been home with Auntie Shannon.  Some of the things we did are remarkably similar to what the girls were up to:

Ethan and I gorging ourselves over a pancake breakfast

The girls gorging themselves over a pancake breakfast


While others were quite different:

The girls relaxing in bed

Ethan and I taking a 4+ mile walk along Lake Michigan




Regardless of differences, it seems that both sets of Rowes had a great time.  The kids were thoroughly convinced that they couldn't live without us and were going to miss us SOOOO much.  I guess that lasted until Auntie Shannon dropped us off at the train station, because after frantically kissing us good-bye and shouting their love and waving fervidly at us, they were totally over it.  As Auntie Shannon tells it, the moment the car door shut Madeleine jubilantly announced, "Let the adventure BEGIN!"


Ethan and I visited the Chicago Field Museum, which had various elements to remind us of both kids.  I couldn't stop thinking about how much Julia would have enjoyed the Ancient Americans exhibit, with so many Native American artifacts and re-enactments:

Meanwhile, I discovered that Madeleine's creepily surreal artistic style proves she's just an ancient Chinese mask-maker, reincarnated:

Mask from Ancient China



At any rate, we are now home and reunited with the girls, although their reactions to us were as wildly different as their personalities.

JULIA: (arriving home from dropping Madeleine at a birthday party with Auntie Shannon) Mommy!  Daddy!  You're home!  I *missed* you!!


MADELEINE: (at the birthday party, when Ethan and I went to pick her up) ....
ME AND ETHAN: Where's Madeleine??
MADELEINE: .....
ME: (to kids at the cake table) Has anyone seen Madeleine?
MADELEINE: (turning around) I'm right here!
ME: Oh!  I couldn't find you!  We've been looking for you!
MADELEINE: Yeah, I know.  I saw Daddy.
ME: But you didn't come say hi to us??

Nope.  She didn't.


Furthermore, Julia sat, enraptured, looking through our photos of our trip, exclaiming upon the things she'd like to see in person.  Madeleine, on the other hand, couldn't even be bothered to focus on one single sentence I shared.

ME: So Madeleine, guess what?
MADELEINE: What?
ME: For breakfast one day, I had THREE turkey sausage the size of mini turkey burgers, and FIVE chocolate chip pancakes!
MADELEINE: (silence)
ME: (waiting)
MADELEINE: Wait, you had WHAT?  I wasn't really paying attention.

Oh well.  We're all happy to see each other again, and Ethan and I loved the chance to explore an unfamiliar city and get some time to ourselves, so whether or not both kids actually care what we were up to doesn't really matter much!  Now we are back for more adventures within the Rowe household!