Chicago

Ryan attended the annual SHRM conference this last week to get his final recertification credits for his SPHR and it just happened to be in Chicago this year.  Of course Lucy and I tagged along yet again because, well, why not?  I absolutely love Chicago and every time I go there I remind myself how much more I love that place!  I've decided it's definitely my favorite big city (of the ones I've been to).  That being said, of all the time I've spent there, it's only ever been in the summer, so I'm sure if I was there one winter, it would be a whole different story. :)

Anyway, we stayed in a Marriott right there in the middle of Chicago, just a block over from the Magnificent Mile.  It really was an awesome location for us during the day, but I now believe that downtown hotels, when traveling with kids, is not always your best option.  We had sirens blaring out of our window at all hours of the night, and they actually paved the intersection right outside of our window at 2am.  Oh well, we still had a blast!

We ate some Chicago hot dogs and a lot of chocolate cake and chocolate cake shakes and some ribs from Portillos, walked the Mag Mile a few times and along the waterfront in the city, visited Buckingham fountain, the bean statue (a.k.a. Cloud Gate), Millenium Park and Grant Park, and went to Navy Pier a couple of times.  So yeah, we had fun!

 This was Lucy's first carosel ride.  She begged to go on it, then was so serious and not loving it while riding, and then clung as tight as she could afterwards because she didn't want to get off.  Make up your mind, silly girl!

Family pic (kind of, not really) at the bean statue.  Lucy loved this place.

That's Buckingham Fountain in the background.  The big tall part only goes off for 10 or 15 minutes each hour, so we hit it at the right time.

I don't know what Lucy loved more, the fountains or hanging from the fence around it. :)  Probably the fence because she was mad when we kept telling her she couldn't actually go swim in the water.

The splash pad statue thing at Millenium Park:

 Lake Michigan in the background (one million times prettier than Lake Erie, that's for sure!), and Lucy was not happy to be taking this picture.

Lucy was totally over riding in her stroller by the end of each day and so Ryan sometimes carried her like this.  She thought it was hilarious when she would have to duck under low trees.

 There was a little space between this counter thing and the window (that is not the kind that opens, so don't worry) and Lucy loved to sit there and watch everyone way below her.  It kept her busy while I got things ready to go for the day.

 Ryan had his fair share of Chicago hot dogs while there, but I think he loved his ribs the most, since he took a picture of them.  It was a really, really good meal though!

And these are just a few of the things we love about Chicago.  The end.