Rock Chalk Taylors: Chicago

From our quick stop at the reunion in Wisconsin, we drove over to Chicago for two nights with Gigi and Grandbob and the Gibsons. The kids were very excited to visit a big city and see real skyscrapers. We stayed in very nice hotel with easy access to all of the sites, so it made it a very fun trip! Plus we had amazing weather while we were there!

The very first afternoon we hit WaterTower Place and the Lego store. Luke was in heaven. Gracie made her first visit to the American Girl store though she isn't quite into all of that yet. She just loves the baby dolls.

This selfie was taken while we waited in the crazy tourist line at Gino's East. We were all loopy and really hungry by this point.

Grace in Gino's East after our dinner - probably around 10 pm by this point, but she was hanging in there somehow!

The next morning our family went to the Shedd Aquarium while the others went to the Field Museum. The kids took turns taking pictures on my phone so I had about 150 pictures that looked something like this. I do like the second one because you can clearly see Luke's reflection as he's taking the photo.

The Shedd is just amazing. We have a little aquarium here now and the kids love it, so I knew they would be totally blown away by the Shedd. And they were.

As part of our ticket package we even got to touch stingrays. Luke was a little nervous and Grace didn't have any desire to do it. It was very cool!

Time for a little snack break. By the way, do you notice Grace is still "fancy"? She wanted jewelry, sunglasses, and her purse in the big city too.

By the beluga tank

Waiting for the live show with their new souvenirs. We spent a good 30 minutes in the gift shop while Luke debated what he would get. He ended up choosing a cool set of sea animals, which he actually still plays with, unlike would have happened with several of his other choices, I'm sure. Grace selected a stuffed "baby" penguin and a sting ray for the bathtub.

Grace took this shot of the boys. They both really liked the live show with belugas, sea lions, and dolphins. Gracie feel asleep in my arms toward the end though and then napped in her stroller. (Remember that picture of her from 10 pm the night before...caught up to her.)

Luke and I had a cool moment with one of his favorite creatures. We went to search for this Giant Pacific Octopus. When we walked up to the window it was hiding in the rocks and you could just see one tentacle sticking out. While we stood there it slowly emerged from the rocks and came completely out. It was awesome to watch and Luke had a front row view.

The kids with gorgeous skyline. We really love this city. Matt and I fell in love with Chicago in college and I can't tell you how many times during this trip we said we wished we had a few more days there. We will certainly be back more as the kids get older.

We took a taxi to Navy Pier to explore for a little while and enjoy the beautiful afternoon. The kids thought the taxi was cool. Luke couldn't believe that he didn't have to be in a booster or anything. Our uber-talkative taxi driver wanted to talk KU basketball.

The kids devoured some Dippin' Dots while we people watched. Definitely on our list for a future trip...a boat tour, many of which were departing from there, and a ride on the giant ferris wheel.

After playing in a fountain and walking back to our hotel, we changed clothes and three of us headed to the Cubs game. Gigi was very nice to watch John and Grace in the hotel room while the rest of us went to the game. Luke was excited to ride the "L" and it was even better because our route started as a subway and then went elevated. He was so exhausted though that he fell asleep on me part way through the ride. We had bleacher seats and a beautiful (chilly even) night for baseball.

Great seats! Going to Wrigley was a very fun experience. Such a cool, old ballpark. Luke asked several times about where the TV (jumbotron) was and I admit I found myself looking for it too.