CHICAGO!

A couple weeks ago we headed to Chicago to visit my brother and his girlfriend Amy, and we had such a great time!!! Amy was so sweet and let us stay at her cute place while she stayed with Matt. She has an apartment in an old house in a quaint neighborhood, and the architecture and woodwork there were beautiful! We spent most of our time with Matt and Amy, but it sure was nice to have our own space at the end of the day. Thank you for being so generous, Amy!!!

We arrived at Matt's place Friday afternoon, quickly freshened up, and then we were on our way to the Shedd Aquarium. Brett has always loved going to the pet store to watch the fish swim around in the little tanks, so we were extra excited to take him there.Traffic was slow on the way there, but for once we didn't mind at all because the Blue Angels were practicing overhead!! Brett was captivated, as were the rest of us! I've never been a huge airplane fan, but after watching what these guys could do, I changed my mind! I could've watched them all day!! They did all these twists and turns and dives and seemed to come so close to the cars and buildings. It was seriously so cool! 

We parked right by one of the harbors so we got to check out all the boats as we walked by. Brett was loving it! And, on top of that,we could still see the Blue Angels flying overhead! It was pretty awesome! None of the pics of the Blue Angles really turned out, but here is a pic of the harbor with the city in the background. 

After walking through the harbor we came to a sidewalk that led us to the Shedd. We had a great view of the city and lake!

You aren't suppose to use a flash while in the aquarium, so not many pics turned out well - but here are some that did :-)

The Jellyfish Exhibit was one of my favorites. They are fascinating to watch!

One of my best friends from college, Elena, joined us at the Shedd too. It was so great to see her and spend time together! I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the two of us! Next time for sure :-) Elena is always so good to Brett and loves to spoil him, so of course she insisted on buying Brett a couple surprises from the gift store :-) After looking at many of the exhibits we stopped for a snack, and Brett got his gifts. He was one happy little boy!!! Thank you, Elena!!

Brett sure does love his Uncle Matt :-)

Lastly, we went to the dolphin/whale show. It was awesome and Brett really got into it! I am so intrigued by the mammals of the sea, and sometimes wish I lived by the ocean and was a Marine Biologist. I seriously thought about this career choice, but was quickly deterred when I realized how many science classes were involved! Maybe in my next life.

After visiting the Shedd we drove back to Matt's place where Amy cooked us an amazing dinner of grilled sweet potatoes, pork tenderloin, and a salad. It was seriously the best meal we had all weekend!! She is such a talented cook!!!

Chef Amy in action :-)

We had so much fun hanging out on Matt's balcony. There is an airport near by so Brett loved pointing out all the airplanes!

Matt has a great view of the city from his place!

The next day we slept in a little and then all walked from Amy's to this cute little neighborhood full of shops and restaurants. There is a super cool toy store in the area that Uncle Matt really wanted to take Brett to, so that was our first stop. Together they picked out a playmobile boat. Brett was in Heaven getting spoiled by his favorite uncle! :-) Brett really wanted to play with his new toy so it was the perfect opportunity for a nice lunch. Brett is so good going out to eat these days, especially when he has a cool new toy from his uncle :-)

Later in the day we we ventured to Lake Michigan to catch the end of the Air Show. The weather could not have been more perfect!

High Fives!

Matt knew of a great look out area to watch the boats and airplanes, so he took us through this beautiful path to get there. 

Of course, once we finally reached the spot, the airshow was just about over. We couldn't complain though because the view was awesome, and we had already seen many planes that day!

Brett loved checking out the boats and being the center of attention all weekend :-)

I love this picture of our family!

Our little model :-)

Who knew there were such scenic areas in the middle of a big city!

On the way back to the car, we stopped for a rest. Matt and Brett got quite comfortable :-)

That evening Elena met us all for a late dinner at a cool brewery. The food was amazing, especially the mashed potatoes! I definitely want to go back next time we are in town! We brought an airplane sticker book and some legos for Brett to play with during dinner, and he was a total angel. He was so happy and content, we could've stayed all night if bedtime hadn't gotten in the way :-) After dinner, Amy and I took Brett back to her place so we could put him to bed, and the boys went out for a couple drinks at, get this, a convenient store down the street! Yes, you heard that right....apparently in Chicago you can find a bar almost anywhere! When they got back, we had some drinks together and Matt attempted to teach us a new game that he didn't even know how to play! Good times! Overall it was a great weekend and we hope to do this every year!