©MaryMcgintyPhotography

©MaryMcGintyPhotography

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All photos on this blog are the property of Mary McGinty Photography (unless noted otherwise) photos may not be used or copied without my permission




Jun 28, 2009

A little get a way



File:Reliance Building (<span class=



Tim and I spent a much needed weekend
together and away from everything.
6:30 am I got TJ to Aurora and watched the Thunder
slaughter Oswego while Tim got Cal and Karrick
to grandma's in Long Grove. We met at the house around
noon and headed to Downtown Chicago. Tim and I lived
down there for years, but it is a different city
State Street has come alive again and slum
blocks transformed. When I started at the CBOE
in 1984 you didn't walk around State Street at night
I spent days finding the perfect Hotel, Hotel Burnham
was probably one of the nicest Hotels I have ever stayed in.



In 1999, after being neglected for decades and nearly forgotten, the historic Reliance Building was carefully restored and resurrected as Hotel Burnham, a Kimpton Hotel. This important building is justly listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. An inviting hotel in downtown Chicago, Hotel Burnham exudes the elegance of a bygone era and preserves a rich part of our country's history. As one of Chicago's most significant architectural landmarks, Hotel Burnham is a fitting tribute to the int
repid spirit of this city.

Occupied by an array of merchants and professionals throughout the 1900s, the Reliance Building later fell into disrepair. In the early 1990s, renovation and restoration of the Reliance Building began at the urging of the partners who own the building and with the help and support of Mayor Daley, the City of Chicago Planning and Development Department and Kimpton Hotels. Portions of the interior were completely rebuilt to match the original, while the mosaic floors, multi-colored marble ceilings and walls, and ornamental metal elevator grills

stairways and archways were meticulously refurbished

to resemble those that once existed.

The resulting 122-room boutique Hotel Burnham gorgeously

illustrates Chicago's past and present glory. The restoration of the

historic Reliance

Building as a signature hotel is also

a progressive step toward bringing State Street

back to its original splendor and confirming

it as a major tourist destination.


1900


Lobby staircase



The historic hall at the Hotel <span class=


Love the mahogany doors with the glass panels







When was the last time you actually got a key
for your room?
All original iron elevators and marble with mosiac floors




The stairs had the worn down marble steps
from 100 + years of use



Tim and I in the lobby






State Street from our window



this little girl was playing in the fountain in Daley
Plaza at Arab fest






After a great lunch on the River we went shopping on Michigan
Ave. I bought a beautiful necklace from

Dinner at Italian Village


Sunday morning we went sailing.

2 1/2 hours out on Lake Michigan, it was 85 and sunny
I was born and raised in Chicago so I often
forget all that it offers. It's all at our fingertips

Jun 26, 2009

A long long wonderful week



Callahan spent the week at IMSA taking a Science class.



Science Explorers, Jr.

During this year's Science Explorers, Jr., your inquiring young scientist will explore unusual science careers, dig through past civilizations and examine fossilized remains, investigate natural disasters, work to solve environmental issues, and play with color in chemistry, biology and physics. There's a different topic for every day! This hands-on program is developed and taught by IMSA high school students with the help of IMSA staff. This year's Jr. topics are Natural Disasters and Weather, Oddball Scientist Jobs, Archeology and Paleontology, Color, and The Environment.


He went mon-fri 8:30 am to 3 pm. Highlights for Callahan
were disecting a cow eye and making explosives.
This is the 1 week out of each year that the
light of passion glows in Cal's eyes.
He went last year and talk about it until this years class started.
He can't wait to go there for high school. you live there in
dorms 10-12 grades. Freshman year is spent at your own high school

The last hour of the last day parents are allowed in. Such an
amazing school. The brightest in the country attend imsa



to quote Cal
" I am finally with kids like me, they are as smart
or even smarter than me"

Cal on the big screen (in green shirt)



Callahan cutting the fat off of the cows eye
(look on plate)
I got a play by play of the operation
He remembers every little detail.
(again Cal displayed on big screen)
check out the research room.. yeah
it's only a high school


It was so worth 5 days of getting up at 5:30am
driving 2o miles to Aurora, then 50+ miles to Skokie
for 4 hrs of work, just to turn around and
drive back to Aurora to pick up Cal
by 3pm. then back to Lombard.
Damn near 150 miles a day
=================================================================
GO THUNDER!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday night the Thunder played their first game
of the season in North Aurora.
The North Aurora tournament is 4 days long
The boys were on fire, hitting was insane.
We ended up slaughtering the N Aurora
team 15-3. We play 3 games on Saturday and
up to 3 games on Sunday, depending on how we play
Saturday.
These kids are amazing and have equally great coaches
that spend a lot of time teaching these kids
They work hard and practice 2 hrs 3x a week
and 1 hour prior to every game
My TJ pitching

"good game walk"



Coach Ross gives the boys 1 can of pop after each game...yeah, I said pop
The boys just love it and so do I!
It is such a treat after a long hot ballgame
brings back memories of when I was a kid...you got pop
after a sporting event. I'm so done with the healthy snack for
sports and schools. That needs to be done at home
Don't get me started...
30 years ago there was no such thing as Plus clothing or a 4x
what a 20x, 30 years from now?
Just say no people!
and enjoy a Coca cola after 3 hours of baseball


After TJ's tournament we stayed at the Aurora Holiday Inn
(across the street from IMSA)
How precious is Karrick sleeping with his"best buddy"?















Jun 23, 2009

Goodbye White Sox


Last night TJ pitched his final inning as a White Sox
We lost in the playoffs which completes our in-house
season.
Next year TJ moves up to the Senior Division
and a whole new draft begins.
We had a great 3 years as a White Sox with great coaches,
players and parents. All will be missed, but TJ looks forward
to the competition the senior
division will bring.

No time to rest as Travel season is in full bloom.
We open our season Thursday night at 8pm in
North Aurora, followed by a triple header Saturday
Long day of ball as each game lasts 2 1/2 + hrs
They may play Sunday depending on Thur-Sat
performances
TJ lives for Travel season as the level of play
and competition is fierce.

Do I dare begin to think that in 1 year
TJ will be playing High School Ball?
Wasn't he just a cute little towheaded 2 year old?




Jun 22, 2009

Fathers Day


We went back up to Whitewater WI this weekend. My father in law joined us
and for Fathers Day we had a nice dinner at The Duck Inn

Welcome to The Duck Inn, a historic Supper Club located on the corner of County A and Hwy 89 in the township of Richmond, city of Delavan, WI. The name, The Duck Inn, originated first during the prohibition era when the Duck Inn was a speak easy. Therefore, patrons were to secretly "duck in" for a drink where the bartender would tell a patron to be quiet and "speak easy".

After prohibition ended, Wisconsin Liquor licenses were issued mostly outside the city limits, with the contingency that the establishment must serve food. To make use of the liquor license, establishments started to specialize in dinners, thus "supper clubs" were born.

In 1994, The Duck Inn was purchased by Jeff Karbash with the goal to restore The Duck Inn to a traditional supper club. The Karbash Family created an inviting atmosphere with casual fine dining in an elegant country setting. This is done with a historical duck theme, festive holiday decorations, friendly accommodating staff, and fine food & cocktails.


The rest of the weekend was fabulous, so relaxing. Boating,
swimming, sunning, reading and eating.

My weeks are so jammed
packed with running around that 2 days at the lake is all I need
to recharge my batteries


Jun 17, 2009

Vortex


Our house is in the middle of a renovation. Our living room
is in the kitchen, the laundry room is in the family room.
It's pure chaos.
Today the living room, stairwell, 2nd floor
hallway walls and ceilings were being painted. We were
asked to leave the home so we headed to Paradise Bay
our new $9 million pool.
It is just gorgeous, I can't even describe how
beautiful it is. Not only is it great, it is so freakin clean
(as it should be being brand spankin new)

Some highlights are:
2 zero depth pools with built in animal slides
Palm trees that spray water
floating alligator rope walks
The big toilet bowl
high dives, low dives
drop slides, curly slides
8 lane lap pool with built in bleachers
every type of spraying tube and canon
The12 foot diving well has stairs crossing the width of the pool
that go down 4 or 5 feet.

By far my favorite attraction was the Vortex pool
it is circular pool that is only 40 inches deep and
15 foot in diameter.
The water shoots out sideways to create a whirlpool.
Remember as a child running in circles to create
a vortex, than lying down while your body
floats around the edge of the pool?
This does it for you
It's incredible!
Karrick and I spent the majority of the day just
being spun around in circles




round pool by second umbrella from the right







Jun 16, 2009

Whitewater Wisconsin





This weekend we decided to skip TJ's Sunday make-up
game and head up North to the lake.

Bay side campground is owned by Tim's best friends family. It is a large
plot of land on the lake and sits next to Park side Marina.
Their are 17 independently owned trailers and boat slips.
Tim's family has owned one of the
trailers and boat slips for 30 years

Whitewater Lake is tucked in the Kettle Moraine State Park
and the scenery is breath taking. You are buried so deep in the forest
that it is hard to believe we
are only 2 hrs away


The dam that separates the lake from the creek was loaded
with 100's of foot long trout trying to swim
up and over to get into
the lake

TJ and Tim get the boat dock ready
and now it is officially Summer

The boat is a classic and I feel like I'm in a 1960's
OO7 movie
The first weekend of each summer for Tim is usually
spent fixing the boat.
This year she started right up






Never to young
to learn a little poker