Monday, September 7, 2015

Sweet Home Chicago

It's been a couple of years since I have been home and I was thrilled to be heading home for my nephew's wedding. The kiddos and I took a late flight on Wednesday night and I have to say, my kids are the best travelers. We even managed to snag a spot in the precheck line. It was ah-mazing!

The flight was uneventful, minus the two screamers. When we arrived Jill ran to meet her Busia and Dzia Dzio at the arrival area. Aaron walked because after all, his feet were tired.

Even though the flight was uneventful, the baggage claim situation was not. Our booster seats arrived in pieces and we were missing one. The airline gave us a temporary seat for Jill and I didn't realize until we got to the car that it was not the best seat for her, but it would have to work.

After a restful night of sleep, we headed downtown to see Tay Tay and have some lunch. This was the kiddos first time on the train and bonus, they were able to ride for free! They did not understand why it took so long to get downtown though, I think they are so used to monorail rides that last all of 5 minutes.

Once we got downtown we made the trek to my sister's office. The kiddos got to see street performers, the Joffery Ballet building (no ballerinas in the window though), the L, the Picasso at Daley Center and all of the boats on the river.

The kiddos were still tired from the night before, so I'm not sure how much they really took in on our walk. They did, however, enjoy the elevator ride in Tay Tay's building. Our skyscrapers are not as tall as they are in Chicago, so it was a blast for them.

Once we made it to Tay Tay's office, the kiddos were ready to take over. Jill made herself at home at Tay Tay's desk and Aaron was glued to the window. They also took all of her toys from her desk and set up a village near the window.

Jill managed to find Tay Tay's secret stash of shoes under her desk and may or may not have hid her cheetah pumps, you know, for safe keeping. She also wore them with her socks (that were mismatched) and Tay Tay's sweater.

Before we left they raided the snack drawer in the kitchen and maybe Busia was caught with her hand in the candy jar.

After our visit, we headed over to the Bridge House Tavern along the river walk for some lunch. Tay Tay recommend the grilled cheese with bacon, so of course that's what Busia and I had. We also had their popcorn that has smoked salt, jalapeƱo, honey and bacon on top.

Aaron was stuck between the duck tacos (no, seriously) and the fish and chips, but ultimately decided on the macaroni and cheese topped with BBQ pulled pork. Jill just had the plain macaroni and cheese. The food was crazy delicious, but the best moment of the entire lunch was when a bird flew through my mother's hair after it landed on our table. Jill was out of her chair so fast, I was afraid she was going to wind up in the river.

Once we wrapped up lunch, we headed back to the train, but first swung past ABC studios and saw ESPN radio. We had some time to kill in the train station, so we had some Starbucks and then boarded the train. Our ride home was uneventful, but the kiddos found their second wind.

When we got back to my parents house, Aaron and my dad went in the backyard and played catch. Yes, in Chicago in September you can play in the backyard at 4 pm and not break a sweat. It's amazing.

Dinner was at one of my favorite restaurants, Chef Klaus' Bier Stube. Lorren met up with us, too, and it was an awesome night. There was so much food, I'm pretty sure we took home half of all the dishes.

The kiddos were asleep within minutes of arriving back at my parents house and then Tay Tay and I were off to pick up Scott from the airport.

Day one was fantastic and I cannot wait to share the rest of the trip with you, including the wedding!

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