Chicago!

Mark's work sent him to a nursing conference in Chicago, so with his travel paid for he decided to take Josiah and I along. The other children were well taken care of by my parents, my sister and her husband, and Michaela.

We arrived Sunday afternoon and after getting settled in our hotel room we took a walk down Michigan Ave. to Gino's East; there we all devoured a real Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza.

(Josiah taking his first bite)

After a long airplane ride and sitting through dinner, Josiah was more than ready to run. I took him outside and we walked up and down the block taking a few stops to admire the tulips. The entire downtown area had these gorgeous planters filled with tulips. Tulips are my favorite flower, so it was quite a treat for me.

(Josiah trying to tip-toe through the tulips!)

When Josiah saw Mark coming out of the restaurant he started running down the side walk. I thought I caught this picture of them before they embraced, but............

Josiah really just wanted the box of pizza!

Monday was a very full day for Josiah and I. After having breakfast with Mark and our three friends that came to go to conference, Josiah and I set off across Walton Ave, took a right on Clark and headed up to North Ave to experience the Chicago History Museum. We spent an hour and half there learning about Chicago, then headed to the gift shop where I bought some books and a toy bus for J. Next, we headed into Lincoln park and found Farm in the Zoo. Josiah was so happy to see the cows and the pig and ponies.

The farm was set up like a real farm. There was a dairy barn, then some cows outside, then the pig with a small out building, then the ponies, then a big barn with lots of activities for kids. Josiah liked the big John Deer tractor the best, and I had to pull him out crying so that the kiddos behind us could have a turn.

After the big barn, they had a picnic area and then a farm house. The whole area went in a circle and after passing the farm house we were back at the entrance. We walked out and with Frommer's book in hand we headed out to find the Wieners Circle for a Chicago-style hot dog. It was actually several blocks from where were and by the time I got there Josiah was sound asleep and I was starving. I ordered my dog and ate it outside while writing post cards to the kids. After lunch I started heading back to the park. I meandered down a path until I found the Nature Museum. Josiah was awake now and loved seeing all the big bugs!

My favorite part of the museum was the butterfly garden. There were so many butterflies there. It was by far the best B-fly garden I have ever seen.


Mark called while we were at the NM and said he and our friends were back at the hotel. I told him I was quite a ways from there and he told me to take a cab. I walked for a few blocks trying
to figure out how to get a cab. Michaela called while I was contemplating this and her advice was to do it like they do in the movies. So at the next stop light I yelled, "Excuse me, could I have a ride?" I wasn't sure how to get into the cab with Josiah, the stroller, and our bags, but somehow I managed and we were on our way back.

Our next adventure took us to Navy Pier,

and on an architecture tour through the city via a boat on the Chicago River. We saw some great buildings and learned a bit about, well, you know, architecture. It was also on this tour that Josiah chucked his newly acquired bus into the south end of the Chicago River - it's now "swimming with the fishes."

(a shot of the Sears Tower)

Having tried Gino's East pizza the night before we opted for Pizzaria Uno for our dinner this evening. This is our friend Audrey's favorite pizza. She is pictured here next to Mark along with Mayra and Gagan.

Finally, we made it back to our room where Josiah and I were ready to relax!

The next day, Josiah and I had breakfast at Starbuck's. I was determined not to go to SB while in Chicago, but in the end it's familiar and so that is where we ended up. After filling up on caffeine and yogurt we headed out to find a fabric store that I was told was on N Lake Shore Ave. It is, in fact, not there. The man at the desk informed me that this address was condominiums and that the fabric store was at Roosevelt and Canal. We headed back to the hotel so that Josiah could take a nap and I consulted Frommer's map to see where Roosevelt was. Nowhere near our hotel, but I saw on the metro map that I could take a subway. I talked to myself for a bit about this: Would that be safe, if I asked Mark what would he say? I decided to not ask and headed out. While folding up the stroller to walk down into the subway a very nice lady who grew up in the city and is now raising her two children there, helped me out. I admitted to her that I had no idea what I was doing and she kindly explained the subway to me, and the trip went quite smoothly.
The fabric store was not on the corner of Roosevelt and Canal, so I popped into a Radio Shack and asked for a phone book. I was just blocks away from Vogue Fabrics, not the store I was searching for, but it would do. After a very successful shopping spree we headed back to the subway to meet everyone.

Next on the agenda, the Hancock Observatory. They say this offers the best view, better than the Sears Tower. We were 96 stories up, up, up..............

(looking straight down)

( Navy Pier)

Wednesday brought rain to the Windy City, but I could not be stopped! Josiah and I braved the weather to find the Whole Foods Market. We wandered through the isles for at least a half an hour before purchasing some dark chocolate, tea for my mom and a natural laxative for Josiah. Before I made it back, Mark called to see where I was; they were ready to head over to the Field Museum.

(us posing with "Sue")

Sue's real head was too heavy to hang, so they have that on display upstairs. What a cranium! And check out those teeth!

After watching 'The Ghost and the Darkness' we said we would visit the museum that held the actual lions, someday. That day was today! They are actually smaller than they were when alive. After being shot they were made into rugs and by the time the museum got them they were in really bad shape. But, you can see here that someone did a great job putting them back together.


Here is Mark in the Egyptian area pulling a 6000 pound block.


Mark loved seeing all the dinosaur bones. Could you image living with these creatures around?
I wonder if they made pets out of them.

The museum was huge! We were there all day and still did not see everything. Josiah saw even less.....

We left at closing time; thankfully the rain had stopped because we had to wait, and wait,


and wait for a taxi.

Finally, we walked through Grant Park to catch a cab in front of one of the hotels on Lake Shore.

Josiah and I were on our own that night while Mark and our friends went to see Bill Cosby. With the weather looking clear, J and I took off to Payless so I could buy a pair of black shoes. We had a great walk, but it was starting to sprinkle as we were entering the store. By the time I made my purchase it was pouring! I wrapped my rain coat around the stroller and opened up my umbrella. We were getting wet but making good time as I ran down the sidewalk. While crossing the street just a few blocks from our hotel, the wind caught my umbrella and flipped it inside out. When that happened I must have loosened my grip on the stroller and the wind began to carry it off! I think I may have been screaming and panicking a bit as I struggled to regain control of the stroller, flip my umbrella, readjust the coat and finish crossing the street before the light changed! By this time Josiah was pretty concerned for his safety and began making little worried sounds. I reassured him and made sure he wasn't getting wet. I also put the umbrella in front of him to protect him from the wind. That meant, of course, that I was getting absolutely soaked! As I was nearing our hotel, I passed another where a Bell Boy (? is that what they are called?) who had seen me walking past several times during the week was standing out side. He asked, "Are you o.k.?" I hollered as I kept running, "Yes, I'm on vacation!" When we made it back to our room Josiah and I hugged and hugged as he laughed a sort of nervous relieved laugh. I was very relieved myself!

Thursday was our last day. Mark had to go to the conference to turn in whatever it is they turned in to get their credits so Josiah and I went down Chicago Ave. to the American Girl Place. I wish so much that I could have taken the girls with me. I took a few pictures to show them and bought each of them an outfit for their dolls. Josiah went through each floor saying, "baby, baby, baby, baby".

For lunch we went back to Gino's East, self-declared as a graffiti zone, where I snapped this picture for Madison.

That night Mark stayed at the hotel with Josiah so that I could go to Arun's with the girls.

Arun's is a Thai restaurant that serves a 12 course dinner. Here are all 12:

I know now that I have never been full before. Tonight, I experienced what it is to be full! The food was wonderful to say to least.

Friday saw us getting up very early to catch our plane. After take off, Josiah slept for about an hour and then played for the remainder of the flight. He did very well both there and back.

Here Josiah is back in his own seat in his own "ruck". As we were putting the suitcases in the car Josiah said, smiling, "home, ruck." (ruck= truck)

Sunday morning here at home, Josiah was standing on our bed chattering about something, then he took both his hands and raised them saying, "up, sky". Take off made quite an impression on him.

It was a fabulous trip, but it is always so good to be home. Maia seemed so big when I saw her and Moriah looked like a lady.

A huge thank you to Michaela for taking such great care of Maia, to my parents and especially my mom for having so many kids in and out of their house through the week, and to my sister for caring for Emily, Madison, and Maris, including them in their weekly schedule and making some fun memories for them. (check out my sisters blog to see what they did while we were gone)