Chicago!

On a whim 2 weeks ago, we decided to go to Chicago for the weekend. One of Kurt's friends has an apartment right downtown (3 blocks from Navy Pier) and offered it up to us to use since he was going to be home over the weekend, so why not? To top it off, he also got a sweet Navigator to drive down there (thank you, Mitch). The kids loved the DVD player and the fact that it was so big. We even threw Kurt's mom in to the mix as well. Why not?



On the way down we asked the kids if they wanted to go see fish or dinosaurs, they picked fish, so we visited Shedd Aquarium. They had fun.

We also hit Michigan Avenue for a little window shopping. We actually didn't really shop at all (unless you count a bathing suit for Julia that was on sale). We ate at The Cheesecake Factory, which is probably one of my favorite restaurants, although Kurt really doesn't like the food, only the cheesecake...he appeased me and we ate there. Most importantly, we hit the American Girl Store. Julia will be getting a doll for her birthday and she needed to check out all of the dolls to pick which one she wanted. For a while, she told me she just wanted one in a pink dress, but she quickly realized that there were lots of clothes they could wear. She was quite methodical about picking which doll she would be getting. She wanted one with blonde hair and then decided that it needed to be long. Then it was down to 2 different girls and she picked the one with brown eyes, because "I have brown eyes too" - funny how she didn't really get into the fact that the doll's name is "Julie." It was a fun time for her to see all of that. We didn't buy anything there and she was very good about just "looking." Jimmy on the other hand told Kurt after a few minutes in there "Let's get out of here!" - too many girls, no boy stuff and he was strapped into his stroller.

No trip would be complete without a visit to Navy Pier...

Julia in a fun house mirror...long neck, short body. What a day!


On the Ferris Wheel...

All in all, it was a fun weekend, Kurt's highlight was the rooftop pool at the apartment. Let's just say that there was alot to see there :-). The kids are pretty good travelers and make these kind of trips more fun. Having mom along for the trip is fun too, she helps keep the kids occupied and I know that she enjoys spending time with us too. We are a lucky family!