After a long, hectic summer, there’s nothing like a two-week family vacation to slow things down and get everyone into a relaxed frame of mind heading into the school year, right? OK, maybe not, but we tried. And we have pictures.

Things got off to a rollicking start when we found that we didn’t have any hot water in the master bathroom the morning of the trip. The hot water heater was completely kaput, and to add to the excitement, the drain in the front bathroom was sufficiently stuck that taking more than a five-minute shower would result in a flood.

Those minor difficulties overcome—or at least deferred—we started out with a week-long stop in Chicago, where we visited my parents and went to my 20-year high school reunion. In addition to the reunion proper, there were Alumni Weekend activities, complete with kids’ play area, at IMSA on Saturday. Julia and Joseph were surprisingly unimpressed with the place where Daddy spent his formative years, though Joe did get a big kick out of the fact that there was an elevator in the school building: I probably rode it more times that afternoon than I had the entire three years I attended school there. The kids also insisted on climbing on and around the various pieces of art installed on the school grounds, proving that some things transcend generations.

While we were in Elk Grove, the kids became fascinated by the bike trails in and around the forest preserve and requested that we go for a walk in the “deep, dark forest.” Mom and I obliged them, though in hindsight, it would have been a better idea to drive into the forest preserve and walk from there, rather than haul both of them to and from the house. If it weren’t for my old wagon, which we uncovered in the garage, we never would have made it.

From Chicago, we headed to Nebraska for Julie’s reunion, which was conveniently scheduled for the weekend after mine—it helped that Julie was the one doing the organizing for her class. Everyone was very excited to see Grandma Flack’s new house in Norfolk, and the kids were especially looking forward to sleeping in the basement. Joe only fell down the stairs once, so I considered that leg of the trip to be a rousing success.

I left for home the day after the reunion, while Julie and the kids stayed in Nebraska for a few additional days, which gave me a bit of time to get caught up on work and arrange for a plumber to come by and fix our bathing problems.

Other than the trip, the other big news is that Julia has finally gotten the hang of riding her bike. The weekend before we left, she was able to make it all the way around the block, stopping only once. She still needs a little help getting going from a full stop, but she’s well on her way to achieving a new level of independence and mobility. I only hope that the world is ready.