Exploring our neighborbood

Mini-Golf

Monday being a holiday, Kelly didn't have to go to work! So we went mini golfing as a family. The boys and I had a great time. We went to a place that Kelly and I had been to, many years ago, before we had kids. Kelly had wanted to take the boys there for quite a while. So today was the day. The weather was nice enough, not raining!

So off we went.

Andrew enjoyed golfing and also playing in the sand. My kids love the beach! I wonder if I am living in the wrong state. They would be so happy playing in the surf and sand all day. Me too!

Anyway back to golf.

In the above picture Jacob had just shot a hole-in-one.

Jacob had good focus on the game. He had a great time. I wish we had a little more time to practice our shots. Because it was a holiday, the place was packed. We had to wait for the people in front of us, and then hurry and golf so that the people behind us didn't have to wait too long. Because of this, I felt like we had to rush Jake a little. He would have enjoyed practicing the same hole several times over. Next time, I think we should go mid-day on a non-holiday. --emily
P.S. Kelly also got a hole-in-one.

Jacob's First T-Ball Game

Jacob's first t-ball game was Saturday, the day after we got back from Chicago. It was a lot of fun watching him play. He did a great job. In his t-ball league, they play two innings. Everyone gets to bat each inning. Jacob played 1st base the first inning and left field the second. After the second inning they have a relay race. He really liked playing 1st base because the ball was thrown to him a lot. Here is a video of Jacob's second at bat. --Kelly

Top Chef

Walking through Millennium park we happen upon the filming of the top chef tour.

I was asked if I wanted to be a judge for the next group. But had to say no knowing my family wouldn't want to hang out for that long. It was fun to be in the tent and part of the action anyway. --emily

Chicago In Bloom

One of my most favorite things about Chicago were all the amazing flowers everywhere. All the planters were in bloom, so bright and amazing! The trees too.

Some of my photos are blurry I know they should be perfect because the aren't wiggly children. But some of them like the one above were taken out of a moving car window.

There was so much cool art and architecture everywhere.

These potted plants were one of my favorite. They were huge pots with an amazing assortment of flowers. I want them for my yard! Not kidding.

This is our hotel in the foreground.

Down one of the main streets there were beautiful tulips grouped together by color. With all the tulips there were spray painted willow branches to match the color of the flowers. So here orange/yellow flowers with willow branches painted the same color as the flowers. But on the next block, pink flowers with spray painted pink branches and the next block purple flowers and purple sprayed branches it was supper cool looking.

Notice the darling little bird house in the planter. --emily

Chicago Style Pizza

While out enjoying the city, we had asked a random gal what the best Chicago style pizza place was. She said Giordano's. So we pulled out our little map and navigated a walking route a few blocks away.

As we began our walk, we came upon this cool one man, puppet show attached to a bike. Jacob thought he was mighty interesting!

After about 8 blocks into it we decided to ask another person if we were going the right way. To find out that, that location had moved. The new location was one block from where we started. So Kelly grabbed us a cab. The boys thought it was fun to not be in a car seat and that the cab had a little TV in it!

We found the pizza place! Yeah . . .

It was worth the wait. Look at that that yummyness. Writing this it makes me want a piece right now.

The best pizza ever. No, really. We went the next day for lunch too. I totally get the big deal with real Chicago style pizza.--emily

Model Shoot

While shopping the Magnificent Mile, we came upon a modeling shoot for Vera Bradley. A few days prior we had walked pass an RV and a rack of her bags at Millennium Park, but we didn't see any models or filming, so it was cool to happen upon this a few days later. --emily

Lake Michigan

On Thursday, we spent the morning at lake Michigan, Chicago side.

We dug in the sand,

Splashed in the water,

Soaked in some vitamin D,

Chased some birds,

Warmed our bodies on the sand!

This was the boys favorite day.

The beach and the city! A perfect day. --emily

Sky Deck

Chicago is home to one of the tallest buildings in the world--the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower). They have a great observation deck on the 103rd floor called Sky Deck. On a clear day you can see all the way to Wisconsin from the Sky Deck. It was a little cloudy the day we went there, but the view was still amazing.

Sky Deck has four observation areas that are made of glass on all sides, including the floor, so you can look straight down and feel like you are flying high above the ground. Even if you're not afraid of heights, it kind of takes your breath away to step out onto the glass floor. Jacob and Andrew didn't hesitate to run out onto the glass. They were fearless.
Jacob really didn't want to leave.
It was a great view from the top of the city. --Kelly

The Bean

Emily had heard about the Bean in Millennium Park when she researched Chicago prior to our trip, so we decided to make sure we made a stop to check it out. It was totally cool. It is a giant bean-shaped mirror ball. Jacob and Andrew loved it. You can see the whole city reflected in it as you walk around it, but the boys' favorite activity was to lay underneath it and look at their reflection. The Bean was only a few blocks from our hotel, so we passed by it several times throughout the week. --Kelly