Back from the Windy City

David, Elizabeth and I spent this past weekend in Chicago. We got there on Friday in time to meet up with a group of friends from my online group of May Mommies at the Lincoln Park Zoo.



The zoo was really neat and right in the middle of downtown Chicago. Unfortunately, it closed early that day, but after a nice walk through the park, we spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the butterflies at the Notebaert Nature Museum across the street.



Afterwards, we all descended on a local pizzeria for dinner. The waitress deserved a medal for serving all of us - including 7 toddlers! But, the food was great, and it was lot of fun to see all the kids together.

Later on in the weekend, we ventured out to Navy Pier. We had a great time riding the ferris wheel, which provided a terrific view of the city.











But, Elizabeth's favorite ride was still the carousel:



With the Thomas Train ride coming in a close second:





We ended the day with a fun boat ride out on Lake Michigan:



And, of course, a ride up the Hancock Tower to get a view of the city:




While up there, Elizabeth really enjoyed "washing" the windows - "just like Curious George"!



On Sunday morning, we all went to the Shedd Aquarium, which was just a short walk from our hotel. Elizabeth really enjoyed seeing all the fish - especially the dolphins! Then, David and I took a quick spin through the Field Museum while Elizabeth napped in the stroller. After that, we all walked back down Michigan Street to Millenium Park, the home of the Cloud Gate, aka "The Bean" - a really neat modern art reflective sculpture that Elizabeth loved playing around.



If you look really close at that picture, you can see all 3 of us reflected in The Bean. Here's a closer view:







We then finished the evening with a lot of walking through town, just taking in the sights.

On Monday morning, we got up and did a little walking down by the harbor, then finished up back at Millenium Park, where Elizabeth had a lot of fun playing in the big fountain:








Then, we had to pack up and head back to Indianapolis, where I spent 2 days doing roof inspections and arbitrations (while Elizabeth and David enjoyed the hotel pool and the Indy Children's Museum) before heading home tonight. It was a fun, quick trip! And, the best part was how well Elizabeth traveled - she did so well in the car and sleeping in the hotel room. Hooray!