imitation

art imitates life: 

when i got to henry's school i learned he'd climbed out a window and gone and sat in the burley parked beside the building.  when we read 'calvin and hobbes' tonight, calvin's teacher stops him as he's halfway out the classroom window.  

but that was today.  this is summer vacation... back in illinois here for a few park pictures... 

father imitates son:

i like this one because they're nearly wearing the same faces as one another... 

this park also boasted a nice forest preserve...

just looking for some bones...

and if william's with you, there's nearly a guarantee he'll find some...

signs imitate safety: 

this was still quite early into our (almost) three month trip, so i was still having a little reverse culture shock.  like upon seeing this sign for playing at the playground... 

(a couple of my favorites: running may cause injury and icy equipment may be slippery, also metal pieces may be hot if exposed to the sun.)

and it didn't stop there!

but that wasn't the only park to lay down the ground rules for how to properly enjoy oneself (ages 2-12 that is) at a park already devoid of 'dangerous' equipment that had its last big hurrah in the 1980s.

this was at our next stop, in michigan.



the kids (oblivious to the rules) had fun, and i think the culture shock must have worn off soon after this, as this may have been the last warning sign i took note of.

(next cousin now)

playing around with their uncle before bed... 

william imitates small business owners:

he made a decent profit having taken advantage of the fact that there was a garage sale and a plant sale going on nearby at the same time.  

cousins imitate one another's hot and grumpy looks while at an art fair on a hot day:

and dads oblige their children whatever accoutrements they put on their heads...



henry gets down for a bit to paint... looking so much younger in this picture than he looks now...

william cools off with some lemonade...

henry's back up now...

and that's all i've been through for now.  more will have to come tomorrow.