We have returned form our trip to Chicago to visit auntie Karen and uncle Marcus. We had a great time and, luckily, did not have to make any stops at the ER : )
We were on the road at 6:45 am on Friday. It was an early morning but we wanted to get there early so that we could have the afternoon to visit. My sister was returning from a professional conference in Rhode Island that day and it just happened that we were passing O'Hare International right around the time that she was getting in. So, we made a slight detour and picked up auntie Karen! Shorty is definitely growing in there. Karen looks much more pregnant than the last time I saw her. She is a glowing mama-to-be with her little basketball bump : )
On Friday we took it easy. We hung out at Karen's new pad and strolled the new neighborhood. The new place is great!! Perfect for a growing family and plenty of room for out of town guests! We tried a new pizza place in their neighborhood for dinner which was delicious and ended up calling it a night relatively early after our long day.
Saturday morning came and our mission was clear: to take Emily to some of the Chicago landmarks for her first look. So after adding air to all of our tires (apparently I-94 was rough on them!) and making a breakfast stop at Dunkin Donuts (yum!) we headed downtown. We started with a visit to
Buckingham fountain. I haven't been there in at least a few years and that area is always so pretty with the lake right there. Emily was mesmerized by the noise and, as usual, loved the people watching.
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We then began to make our way to "
the bean". We detoured a bit to get a photo by the lions that welcome you to
The Art Institute of Chicago.
Also on our way to the bean we visited the
Crown Fountain to splash around a bit!
It was a beautiful day!! The temp was in the high 70s and it was sunny all day so by the time we got to the bean it was packed. We squeezed our way up and since the bean is basically a big mirror, Emily thought it was pretty cool. She liked looking at herself, us and all of the other people.
As we were leaving
Millennium Park we saw a tent that said Family Fun Days. Inside there were stations for coloring, playing, a stage for music and hula-hoop area. When my sister and I were younger we were both really good hula-hoopers, we could do it for hours I feel. I have since lost the ability to hula-hoop. My sister, on the other hand, has not. She picked up the hula-hoop and was able to spin that thing like a record! Even around her belly! I think it's because of her belly - it helped to hold up the hula-hoop : ) Whatever the reason, go Karen!!
We got back to Karen's house just in time for Emily to take a nap. All of the sunshine and fresh air really tired her out. We spent the rest of the day playing at auntie Karen's house - indoor and out. If you don't know, Emily does not really like grass. She is interested in pulling it and examining it, but the minute she puts a knee on it when crawling she backs right up and sits down on the blanket. It's a great way to keep her contained!!
We hadn't seen uncle Marcus yet because he was at work. But he did make it back on Saturday evening, just in time to make us a great dinner! He BBQ'd some great chicken for us while my sister made homemade potato salad and a strawberry spinach salad as well. It was all delicious and we had a really nice time catching up and hanging out with both of them.
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Sunday morning came much too early. Luckily, we got treated to an amazing breakfast - eggs, biscuits and gravy, hashbrowns and fruit salad. Emily took a quick early morning nap and it was back on the road to Mpls! It was another uneventful trip back which is exactly what we needed.
We're already looking forward to seeing them again. They will be coming to town in early October for Karen's baby shower and we can't wait!!
We are looking forward to a fun week followed by a quiet weekend!
As always, more to come...
The Harrisons
