We were all so excited to head to Chicago over Labor Day weekend. We actually let the girls miss school so we could leave Friday morning. Both girls did well on the plane; they both just turned on our iPads and watched movies the whole time. When we arrived, Grandma Jan picked us up from Midway. We headed from there to the Shedd Aquarium. We had never visited before, but it was really neat. I let Ryan take all the pictures, but he's out of town right now so I don't have those pictures...another time. Anyway, it was a fun visit. We all really enjoyed seeing the sea show where dolphins, whales and a sea lion do cool tricks. They even had a little rescued dog come out, so they could show that they train dolphins very similarly to how we train dogs. We also visited the kids' area, watched a 4D Ice Age movie, saw several cool exhibits and ate a bit of lunch. Of course, we had to visit the gift shop too. The girls had been saving up their money and choose to spend it there. Lily bought a stuffed beluga whale and bookmarks while Mia bought an Octonauts bath set. They both loved that Grandma Jan surprised them with pretty rings and Octonauts books. It was a very fun way to start our trip. We went from there to David and Jan's home where we met up with David. We ordered some famous Chicago pizza, and we just enjoyed an evening together at their home. It was so great to be together!
On Saturday, we were expecting it to rain pretty much all day, so we planned a low key day. David picked us up from the hotel and we enjoyed a delicious breakfast together before heading to their home. Turns out a drop of rain never fell but that's alright. We stayed at David and Jan's the whole day. It was the start of college football season, so we had that on and simply enjoyed being together. The girls had a blast playing with their dog, Taz, reading their books with Grandpops and Grandma Jan and playing with their new toys.
On Sunday morning, David picked us up and we went to a different breakfast spot that we all enjoyed. Then we all headed over to the Hancock building and went to the top. It was a beautiful day so we had some great views. The girls pretended to wash windows while we were in line.
With Willis Tower behind them.
So happy to be with Grandpops and Grandma Jan!
We love this beautiful city!
Our family.
When we left Hancock, we visited the neatest Italian store ever, called Eataly (get it..."eat" "Italy"). I could have spent hours there. The first floor was filled with all sorts of fun cooking items for your home, an amazing dessert bar where we bought delicious chocolates and a Nutella bar; that's right, a whole bar where every item is made with Nutella. On the second floor, there were so many different areas. We picked up some fresh cheese, ogled the meats and seafood area, perused through the oils, vinegars and sauces and stopped at the homemade pasta area. We bought bowties for the girls and then I got a pear and pecorino ravioli (out of this world delicious) and prosciutto and cheese ravioli (also fabulous). I made a quick browned butter sauce at home and it was wonderful. David and Ryan bought and shared two different sandwiches which were wonderful. I want to go back here every time we visit Chicago!
Back at the condo, the girls separately took 1.5 hour naps which is kind of crazy since they typically don't nap anymore; they were exhausted though! I'm pretty sure at some point throughout the day, we all took naps! After that, David arranged for us to go on a boat tour of the lake which was lovely. It was really neat to go up and down the shore to see this great city. I'm so glad we did that.
After the boat tour we headed back to their condo where we all enjoyed Jan's famous spaghetti and meatballs; there's none better! Jan had taken the girls to a nearby store too where they purchased desserts to celebrate Ryan's birthday. We were all so glad that Nick got back in town and was able to come join us for awhile; we always enjoy time with him. Unfortunately Brock wasn't able to join us; hopefully next time!
Finally it was time to head back to the hotel one last time. We packed up and headed to bed. On Monday morning, David picked us up and took us to the airport. It was another easy ride.
I think we're all looking forward to our next trip back up to Chicago!
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