Labor (Day) Of Love

First and foremost, there is great news to report on Sheila's brother-in-law, Steve. After suffering a stroke, he is now out of ICU and recovering well! According to Sheila, the doctors and paramedics said it was really touch-and-go at the beginning but the prognosis appears bright. Thank you for all of the thoughts and prayers!

On a less serious note, last week's Labor Day weekend seemingly began for the Roberts family with little fanfare and few plans. Since we will be traveling a lot in October and November, we had decided to keep it low key. Funny how even simple adventures find you when you have an open mind and are always ready to get out of the house.


The weekend began with excitement when Murphy (whose photo work you've recently seen throughout this blog) was contacted by an Israeli book publisher that wanted to use one of his Lance Armstrong photos in an upcoming book. These books, which are printed in Hebrew, are part of a non-profit effort to help young children learn how to read. Murph happily donated the photo, simply asking for a photo credit and a book. We were all so excited! Murph's work just keeps getting recognized - when we receive a book, you'll see and read all about it in an upcoming post - in Hebrew, of course!


Jackie used the long weekend to continue her heavy training for an upcoming half marathon. Aubrey and I surprised her at the halfway point of one of her long runs, meeting her in the park with water, Gatorade and Power Bars. Jackie has really been pushing the pace and is looking great!

Giving the weekend a distinctly European feel, we ventured to The Hill (the Italian part of town) and The Loop (a bustling college area) to catch part of The Gateway Cup, a local bicycle race that attracts top amateur riders from all over the country. Aubrey was fascinated by the speed of the bikes, and squealed when she felt the whoosh of the peloton (see this video), while Murph saw this as yet another photo op and recorded some great shots of the action.





One of the most tasteful highlights of our weekend was the discovery of authentic, Chicago-style pizza right here in a city that defines pizza as a cracker with a thin layer of cheese. Every time we're in Chicago, we always head for Giordano's just off Michigan Avenue. We often look for excuses to go to Chicago just for this gut-busting delicacy. Imagine our surprise when we came across a very passable version of this stuffed pie at a small, unassuming restaurant called Pizzeria Della Piazza. It was pure heaven and delicious way to top off the weekend!

I'm discovering that great get-aways are less about where you go and more about who you're with. And, for me, with my family is always the perfect place to be.

Talk to you soon. Until then, pick up the pace and run your own race.

- Jeff