Summer in Chicago

We just got back from our long awaited, first trip back to Chicago.  We spent ten days in the Windy City and had a great time.

Cate and Timmy did great in the airport and on the plane.  It was our first trip without a stroller!  Just two kids with their own backpacks.  Although they do like to move from one activity to the next on the plane, both were content for quite awhile doing books, stickers and coloring.

After we settled in for a few days, we decided to go to Santa's Village on Saturday.  This little amusement park was perfect for a four and almost three year old.  They loved the whip, the tilt-a-whirl and the dragon ship.

Cate passed the first time we went on the dragon ship (the one that rocks back and forth until you're perpendicular to the ground) but after getting her feet wet on the other rides, she asked if we could go on it again.

I assumed that she would be screaming and I would be trying to get the ride operator's attention to beg him to stop the ride.  Not quite.  She was a maniac.  She screamed and threw her arms up in the air like a little wild woman.  The girl surprises me sometimes.  Timmy did not love the dragon ship, but after riding the tilt-a-whirl a few times, he exclaimed, "Mama, this is very cool."

The next day, we had a summer birthday party at Mimi and Pop's house with a princess cake for Cate and a Thomas the Train cake for Timmy.  It was so much fun to see everyone and just hang out.

Later that week, we spent some time in the city.  We met Uncle Rusty for lunch near his office and took a water taxi tour on the river.

It was a really nice day to hang out outside.  Of course while we were on the water taxi, there was another passenger who kept telling me that I needed to start working on multiplication tables with Timmy.  I needed to start early for him to be good at math.  Ok sure.  He can barely identify numbers.  I guess she didn't care too much about Cate's math skills.

Before heading back to Mimi and Pop's house, we went for a swim in Uncle Rusty's rooftop pool.  It was empty (being the middle of the day on a Tuesday), so they jumped and jumped and swam across the pool until it was time to go.

Tim and I went back into the city the next night to stay on Michigan Avenue for our anniversary.  We had a great room with a great view of the Hancock Tower.  It was so nice to just shop and poke around a little bit on our own for the day.

We were sad to leave but the goodbye was made easier because we will see Mimi, Pop and Jenn again in just a few weeks in Las Vegas!  We surprised Mimi with the plan to see Celine Dion's concert there for her birthday.  We can't wait!