Chicago

My sweet Hubs planned a really fun trip for the two of us to celebrate our 12th anniversary.  He hired a sweet single gal from our church to watch the boys (mid-20s, from a large family, loves kids, volunteers in the preschool department every Sunday - she is a precious, precious girl!), booked our flights and hotel, and planned all of the activities that we did.  We hadn't been on a trip, just the two of us, since we went to Europe when I was 4 months pregnant with Owen.  We love traveling together, so we were both thrilled about a little getaway.

We stayed at the Drake Hotel and it was gorgeous! 

We landed, checked in at the hotel, and then headed straight to U.S. Cellular Field to watch the Rangers play the White Sox.  Wade decided years ago that he was going to try to visit all of the major league baseball stadiums in the United States.  He buys a baseball from each stadium as a memento of his visit.  His baseball display is almost complete.  He hadn't been to U.S. Cellular Field yet, though, so this was the perfect opportunity.  :)

We had awesome seats - two rows behind the Rangers dugout.  Unfortunately, it was blazing hot (105 degrees!) and the Rangers lost.  Boo!  We still had a great time and managed to hop back on the subway just before it started raining.  Wade's strategy to beat the crowds paid off big time!

 We got cleaned up and went to a super yummy dinner.  Then we went to see the Blue Man Group at Briar Street Theater.  We really didn't know what to expect, as we had never seen them before.  It was a fun show!  There was a little bit of tacky humor, which was disappointing because I kept thinking about how much Clayton would have enjoyed it if it weren't for that.  :(

Of course, Wade got called out of the audience to stand up and wave to the crowd.  (What is it with my family getting picked for the audience participation portion of shows???)  He was a good sport, and we had a great time together.

 After a wonderful night's sleep, we woke up and strolled down Michigan Avenue.  We ate and shopped our way through the Magnificent Mile.  Ha!  We had popcorn from Garrett's for breakfast, shopped at the mall area (including the Lego store, of course), shared a hot dog at Portello's, split a small stuffed pizza at Giordano's, and saw a few sights along the way.  It was a really fun way to spend our day.  :)

There was so much that we didn't have time to do - the architecture boat tour, the Bean and Millennium Park, the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium...  We have lots of reasons to go back!  It was a really neat city, and I look forward to visiting there again.  It was a fun, whirlwind anniversary trip, and I am so grateful that Wade took the initiative to plan it.  Thanks, Babe!