Our Super-Duper Fun-Filled Trip to CHICAGO!!!

I think my title says it all. No need to explain now. We went to Chicago. Had lots of fun. The end.

I guess there is a little more to it. So thanks to Than's work, he got to go to a conference in Chicago and spouses were invited too. We shipped the kids off with aunts and uncles, who we are indebted to greatly. I was scared silly to be so far away from our little guys, to not know that they were safe every second of the day. And to top it all off, Aaron got sick 2 days before we left and had an ear infection. But even with all that going on, we packed up and headed out.

Our first day we were pretty pooped from the flight and horrible drive from O'hare to our hotel. It took us over an hour to drive 20 miles. Yet, we still got dressed up all fancy and headed to the posh hotel restaurant for some yummy eats. The next day was filled with grown-up stuff that our kids would have hated. First, Than had some classes in the morning and we had some pizza for lunch. Then we went downtown and saw Wicked. It felt like we were the last people on earth to have seen it and even a couple of 8 year old girls sitting in front of us were raving about the show before it began. I thought it was amazing and I cried at the end. Than even enjoyed himself. After the show we drove around the city so Than could see where I lived when I was a little girl. (I was born in Chicago and lived there until I was 7). I lived about a mile away from Wrigley Field and Than loved seeing that famed field where the Cubs play.

Waiting for Wicked to begin.

The famous Wrigley sign.

When we got to my old street, there was no where to park. Except in a tiny spot right next to a fire hydrant that really wasn't big enough for our rental, so we were parked a little in the red. No big deal. We were going to just take a few pictures walk down the street a bit. As we were doing just that, we started to hear sirens and joked about them heading our way. Sure enough, we turn to see a big red firetruck with lights flashing turn onto my childhood street. Oh, we panicked and ran back to our car just as the firetruck stopped a few feet away. Turns out that there was a elderly care center right across the street and the firetruck was only there to accompany an ambulance. Than was so relieved because he had visions of Backdraft going through his head where the firemen have to bust through the car's windows to get to the hydrant. Hey, that movie was even set in Chicago.

Me in front of my old house.

After all that excitement we went out to dinner at Ditka's. That's the restaurant of Mike Ditka, former coach of the Chicago Bears who lead them to winning the Superbowl in 1985. The food was delish and it was cool seeing the old and new signed photos of athletes that decorated the walls.

The next day, after classes and all, we went to the Art Institute. I loved seeing all those famous paintings. We even stared at A Sunday on Le Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. Just like Cameron on Ferris Bueller's Day Off. That night we had reservations on a dinner cruise on the lake with some others of the conference-goers. It was a beautiful crisp and clear night. Our boat cruised back and forth on the lake and we got amazing views of the city at night.

American Gothic.

Us at the pier.

The city from the lake at night.

On our last day we got to hear Bob Costas speak to the convention crowd. He had some great stories. That day was very cold and rainy. Still, we braved the elements because we had a few things we had to do. The first one was to eat an authentic Chicago Dog. Second, we took an architectural tour on the river. And the last was to walk for hours downtown in the pouring rain to find presents to take home for our kids and for everyone who helped us out while we were gone. We got soaked to the bone. Even my underwear was wet. We sought refuge in an Indian restaurant, which was to me an appropriate way to end the trip--like paying respects to my dad while I was there.

I took this picture. Not half-bad if you ask me.

The Sears Tower.

When we got home everything was fine. Aaron took his first steps to me when he saw me. (But he hasn't done it again since). Andy totally cleaned our house. Our neighbors didn't steal our mail. It was great. It was so fun to do so many grown-up things. And it was wonderful to be back home and dry with our kids.