Chanukah in Chicago 2008 - A Blogosphere Extravaganza, Part I

Hi, all!

I have lots to tell you, and some more fun pictures to share. I had such a wonderful time in Chicago, visiting friends and family, and I had a chance to visit with some good friends from the blogosphere!

First up - a Chanukah party! I was home for such a relatively short time, and I wanted to see so many lovely people, so why not throw a party?!? I invited a bunch of friends from high school and from my days at Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute camp (the best Jewish overnight camp in the world, if I do say so myself). Unfortunately, my school friends weren't able to come, so it turned into a mini-camp reunion, with a sing-a-long, grab bag present exchange, and lots of yummy food. AND, one of my camp friends happens to be a blogger, too - your friend and mine, Bradley Egel from The Egel Nest.

Here's Bradley, with his sister, Susan. They are both SO GREAT - I feel like our families are cut from the same cloth. I wish we could all hang out more often - darn that 700 miles between Chicago and New York!

My brother, Ricky, and me - we had such a fun time preparing for the party, and he was in charge of the "artistic vision" of the shindig :)

My adorable parents - they were so thrilled to be with everyone, and they sang along with every song. Thanks for being so wonderful, Mom and Dad!!


A shot of the song session - we sang camp songs, Indigo Girls ("Galileo" and "Closer to Fine," of course!). Bradley's son, Sammy, was shaking a tail feather in the middle.

A marvelous time was had by all - hooray!!