Chicago 2012 - Day 2

We got an early start on what we knew would be a fun filled, exhausting day!

We started at the Shedd Aquarium and arrived in plenty of time to snap a few fun pictures with an unbelievable backdrop of the city skyline and a harbor of Lake Michigan.  This was Turner's first official bus ride - with many more to come as the trip moved along.

This expression makes me laugh, Turner had gotten her first sniff of a "random city stink " and she was trying so hard to smile through her agony!

On our way back to find Mark in the line, I told Turner I wanted to get her picture in front of the aquarium.  Again, I didn't tell her to pose, but this is the photo shoot that followed...ending with a split!

See that line in the background?  We arrived about 20 min before it opened and we were right at the bottom of the stairs.  Then we got to go around to another entrance, with no line, since we had a stroller. (Note: The stroller is the TICKET to faster lines at both the airport and several attractions.  If you are willing to haul it, it can be worth it for sure!)  When we came out of the aquarium around noon, the line was five times this long!  Go early!

Awesome JELLIES exhibit going on this summer!

The setting for this aquarium is just beautiful and so many portions are glassed in this manner, with beautiful natural light and an open outdoor feeling!

We caught up with Dora and Diego in their 4-D adventure - which was very enjoyable!

For lunch we explored a bit and tried a local establishment called Bockwinkel's.  This was a great little restaurant/grocery/deli mainly frequented by locals. We devoured fresh deli sandwiches, yummy soups, and the fattest homemade rice krispy treat I've ever seen.  This is a place we will visit each time we come to this city - it definitely made the list of favorites for Chicago!

The next stop was the Children's Museum at Navy Pier.  Much like the McWane Center in Birmingham, this is an educational fun-house for kids and Turner had a blast!   They had a cute fireman exhibit with trucks, poles, uniforms, and "stop, drop, and roll" simulation rooms.  They also had a huge rope climbing activity, as well as the "Circus Circus" simulation where kids could give their best efforts at performing in the Big Top!

This was right outside Circus Circus and made for interesting conversation for sure!

Turner's favorite exhibit including using the provided parts to design and construct an airplane of your choosing, and raising it up about 40 feet in the air and timing how long it takes it to hit the ground.  She built several airplanes, but was most proud of the one that flew the longest shown below!

Guess who took this picture?

Since the aquarium/children's museum area was quite a distance from our hotel, we knew we had a taxi ride to go at the end of our day.  We decided to splurge on the water taxi on the Chicago River, which took us on a scenic tour of some beautiful city skyline views.

We realized we were totally exhausted, and that it was the best decision to stop in at a restaurant sooner than later.  It was obvious that once we got in the hotel we probably weren't coming back out for the evening!  The concierge recommended a quaint, but authentic and fabulous Italian restaurant nearby called Trattoria No. 10.  It's funny that I told him "not fancy but nicer than McDonald's", and he sent us to what I call a nice/fancy restaurant with white table cloths and fancy china!  I would highly recommend this restaurant - definitely a quiet and romantic setting if that's what you desire, but it was also a friendly environment for Turner and other children.  The homemade ravioli was completely indescribable, in particular my butternut and acorn squash ravioli with sweet walnut butter--divine!

Poor Turner, she was so sleepy she just barely could get down this complimentary ice cream that comes with the kids' ravioli dinner.  But I must say I agree with my friend Star who tweeted back at us after we shared this picture, "Power through Turner!  Ice cream trumps sleep every time!"

It was an exhilarating and exhausting day!  We all slept well that night I can assure you!

Chicago 2012 - Day 1

On Thursday, July 26th Turner and I headed north to the Windy City to join Mark (after a work conference) for a few days of family fun.  We had the most magnificent time, and none of us wanted to come home!

Ever since Mark and I returned from New York in December of 2010, Turner has asked us hundreds of questions about what is was like to fly, ride in a taxi, etc.  This was Turner's first flight, subway ride, taxi ride, and train ride, so it was a treat for me and Mark as we watched the marvels of travel through the eyes of a child.

We arrived early so that Turner could take in the sights and sounds of the airport.  She did want to know why we weren't riding in one of the "pretty colorful planes" (Southwest) and why we would be traveling in a "plain old white" plane.  (Airtran)

After hearing the word "awesome" and "amazing" more times than I could count, we landed safely and made our way to the JW Marriott to meet Mark.  Our taxi ride was fairly uneventful (at least compared to the typical cab rides from LaGuardia to downtown Manhattan) and we were happy to arrive to a beautiful and spacious hotel and a happy family reunion.

I don't know what it is with me and hotel bathrooms, but the JW Mariott did not disappoint.  This spacious and immaculate bathroom had the deepest garden tub I have ever seen (Turner could easily back float), a double sink and vanity with plenty of room, a walk in tile/glass shower, and a separate enclosed water closet with a pocket door for privacy.  And as you'll see below, the icing on the cake was a little cup filled with cotton balls and Q-tips.  I'm easy to please and can be happy most anywhere, but the little perks do make me smile!  If you go to the Chicago area, this hotel is highly recommended by our family!

We got settled and headed out for some delicious Chicago style deep dish pizza at Pizza Due.  This is a super crowded popular local pizzeria, and though the wait was a little long it was worth it!  We also got to visit with our Auburn friend Corey (Mr. Torey to Turner) who was spending an extra evening in Chicago before returning to the Plains.  Notice in the pic with Corey Turner has on a pink shirt?  Good call Mark on taking an extra shirt so Pizza Due didn't ruin Turner's white shirt - isn't he smart!?

I swear those are fire-roasted roma tomatoes on top of that pizza and they were the yummiest things I have eaten in a while...

After filling up on pizza, we headed to the observatory atop the John Hancock building for some fabulous views of the city.  I guess it's the south Alabama country girl in me, but I never get tired of looking at big cities as dusk changes to nighttime sky.  Such a neat thing for Turner to see, especially with Lake Michigan as a partial perimeter.

My girl loves ice cream, and we capped off this fun day with a dipped cone on the way back to the hotel.  Life is good I tell you!

Wedding Celebration - Flower Girl Take 2

Last Saturday, Turner was the flower girl for the wedding of two sweet friends from church.  She does love any opportunity to dress up and be fancy, and I was proud of how well she did with a few distractions that come with outdoor weddings.  (Such as geese flying in to land in the pond behind her while they were reciting their vows.)

I also directed the wedding, which was a first for me!  Despite the heat and a quick rain shower about an hour and a half before the ceremony, the wedding went off without a hitch and the weather held off and provided us with a beautiful evening for a celebration. 

My beautiful sweet girl.

Turner and Jackson are big buddies and they were just tickled to get to do this together.  They had their own table all to themselves at the rehearsal dinner with real plates, silverware, and a flower arrangement.  They giggled through the entire dinner and played "I spy", which was too cute. 

Check out the curls in this picture, taken about 4:45pm.  Then take a look at the hair in the last picture below, taken at around 8:00pm.  Gotta love that summer-in-Alabama humidity!

This picture makes me smile because this was how they posed themselves.  We didn't tell them to hug, just get on the podium and smile.  You can tell the enjoy one another!

This is Turner's standard pose when she sees a camera these days!

The beautiful view at dusk.   The wedding was at the Alabama Farmers Pavilion (known by me as the little red barn on Auburn's campus).

Smiling with Daddy. I wish I knew how to photograph better in this extreme low light setting.  I tried everything I knew to avoid a flash, but could not get them in focus without it being blurry.  Mark was such a trooper for this wedding weekend - on the day of, he got Turner dressed and delivered to me for hair "fixing" and pictures.  Then he stayed around to help before, during, and after the wedding.  He is always such a huge help to me!