  This morning we got up and took the kids (on foot, except Ellie, who was backpacked in) downtown to catch the newly opened lightrail.
We got off at Rice and walked the Rice walk/jog trail to the Village where we ate at Croissant Brioche. The train was so much fun! The city center was as busy as a workday, but instead of the sidewalks being filled with tight suits and serious faces, they were filled with excited faces, people who were proud of their city! Everywhere we went, this great energy just radiated. Well, maybe not everywhere. The Rice trail regulars were like, what?
who let all these average people into my neighborhood? The city itself feels so different, for one, it feels like a real city! But there's something else, I can't explain it. I'll have to spend the next week riding the rails and working on articulating this great new urban identity. Aidan was a champion, he walked all the way both ways, nearly completely without whining. People kept complimenting him on walking like such a big boy. You can't take strollers on the trains anyway without folding them away, just one more reasons that strollers seem very un-new urbanist. We should teach our children to love walking as soon as they are able! And, chances are, they are able much sooner than you'd think. This past summer we made Aidan walk all over Europe's cities when he was only 2 years and 4 months, and he did great.
We just had to be hard asses for a little while about it. We told him strollers are for babies like his little sister, not for big boys like him. I digressed far. Now, I'm resting comfortably on the couch with a nice cold beer in our new frosty freezer beer mugs... Thanks, Jenny! Time for the playoffs! 
