Chicago 2017

My little Family of 5 decided to take advantage of the long Thanksgiving weekend and take a little jaunt over to Chicago!  

It was glorious, adventurous, hilarious and exhausting all at the same time!

We experienced our first "uber" ride, walked over 20 miles over the course of the 3 days, ate some REALLY great food, tilted out over the city at what seemed like a thousand floors in the sky, watched dolphins twirl in the air, skated on ice, laughed until we ached, reenacted prehistoric times and basically had a BLAST together!

Here are just a few pictures from our time.  Due to the virus I picked up on Thanksgiving day, we opted for mostly iphone pictures, as my energy level was spent focusing completely on family (heading to the doc tomorrow if ear hasn't popped by the morning..high pain tolerance pushed me through)  

We saved up for the CityPass so that we could enjoy as many parts of the city as possible.  Favorites included the Shedd Aquarium, The Field Museum and we loved the SkyDeck! 

And, we couldn't leave the city without ice skating at Millenium Park. 

The whole family is rather tuckered out, but we wouldn't trade it for the world.  We have a gazillion "inside jokes" that we've taken away from the weekend, as well as memories that will last a lifetime...

I can't wait to add this little vacay into our Family yearbook for 2017!  

Day 1 was spent walking down Michigan Ave and taking in the sights and sounds of the city.  My girls and I aren't huge shoppers, so although we liked going into the unique shops and such, we rather enjoyed the window displays of Macys! We ate a late lunch/early dinner at Giordanos to avoid the crowds on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and we are so glad that we did...we were seated immediately and were able to enjoy a peaceful & delicious dinner...This was only possible after our early ice cream treat at Ghiradellis a couple hours before. We then walked over to Millenium park to view the Bean before heading over to the Macy window displays.

Day 2 started at the Shedd Aquarium, followed by the Adler Planetarium next door and a quick uber ride to do the 360 Chicago.  We had an incredible meal at the Weber Grill where E experienced her very first steak dinner before heading back to the hotel to swim, ice our feet and relax.

Day 3 began at the Field Museum (ubered there) followed by the Sky Deck and then ice skating at Millenium park before take a quick Starbucks break prior to jumping on the train to head back to the Midway. 

It was a jampacked weekend and one we will never forget! 

Saturday was the "BIG GAME" so of course my buckeyes sported their allegiance :) 

It had been a long while since we had been to the Shedd...and it was actually one of my favorite excursions.  With the City Pass you get to see the Dolphin show and a 4D movie...which was a super fun experience all around. 

 I thoroughly enjoyed the Field Museum too...Our eldest took the opportunity to "act out" as many prehistoric animals as possible...I won't post those pictures here, but you can be sure they will be added to our "yearbook" if you are ever visiting our home and want to see ;) 

We like to bring our own Sherpa along to carry all.the.things

Sporting awesome weiner hats! 

We did the tilt in the 360 Chicago as well, but to be honest, we enjoyed the SkyDeck much more...so if you are trying to decide between one or the other, our vote would be the SkyDeck.