Summer Quadyssey: Chicago Part III

August 3rd, 2009

This post should wrap up our Chicago Quadysseys.  If you’ve missed Part I or Part II you can catch up here and here. Thanks for letting us take you along in our suitcases! (Hope you weren’t near the dirty sock corner)!

He Said:

By the time day two in Chi-town rolled around, I was really ready to go when the alarm sounded.  Day one had proven that I COULD enjoy time alone with the boys in the city, and I was ready to embark on a new adventure.

We had a laid back morning in the hotel with more PBS Kids on the large flat screen TV (we have a smallish old style TV at home) with cereal and granola bars.  Then after getting the boys dressed and ready for their day, we headed for Navy Pier, which was a couple miles east of the hotel, right down the river from us.  We made a short stop at the conference hotel along the way to drop off some supplies for mama.  I had heard that another "blog husband" and his daughter, were also looking for something to do.  So, after calling him and making plans to meet at the pier, off we went!

As soon as we got to the pier the boys started yelling "he-he, he-he, he-he".  They saw them before I did, it was the Budweiser Clydesdales.  Turns out, beer not only makes men bigger around when they drink it, but horses as well, because these things were HUGE!  Once we approached them, only Henry actually wanted to get out of the stroller to see them, as they were a little too intimidating to approach.

We had some pretty amazing weather for the entire weekend, but the sun was SO bright on this day, that after walking around the pier for a while and taking in the lake and boats, we decided we had better find some air conditioning somewhere to cool off a bit.  This is one wonderful thing about the mind of a 2 year old.  Even the lobby of a parking garage can be a playground.  All four boys ran round and round the lobby, entertaining their new friend.

We then walked back to the Sheraton to check in with mommy before heading back to the Westin for a nap.  We could not set foot inside the Sheraton without getting out of the stroller to check out the boats on the Chicago River.  Our boys got along VERY well with this sweet little girl….made me wish for a moment that I had one….BUT JUST FOR A MOMENT!!  I am very content where we are at right now! 

When we returned to the hotel for nap, the cleaning staff left a surprise for the boys on the bed.  You would have thought they were presents under a Christmas tree, the boys were SOOO excited about this!  Once they were down and asleep, papa took a nap of his own, preparing for the evening.

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She said:

Chicago, I forgot how beautiful you are in the summer!  Seriously, you’re spectacular!

Meanwhile, INSIDE I was able to attend a few BlogHer sessions on Friday and Saturday morning.  Far better than the thought-provoking packed sessions were the people, however.  How I wish I could go back for a few more days just to build more relationships!  It was nice to "live INSIDE my computer for a few days" as Mommy from the Midwest describes it so well! 

Before returning home to our little village, we enjoyed some of the sites of Chicago as a family of six. Sites and tastes, I should add.  Who can resist a Chicago style hot dog, after all?

You know you’re not in Hoosierland anymore when the signs read like this:

We spent most of the day checkin’ out the art and architecture of Millennium Park.

One last clip for the memory vlog:

Chicago, you were a wonderful host!  We hope to return soon.  Thank you for the beautiful memories and helping us realize we CAN do more than we imagined with our family!