Texas Meets Chicago and Milwaukee

Elise, my sister, scored some cheap plane tickets and came up for a short mommy vacation. "Short" being the operative word. But then it is never long enough! And Saint Daniel (and I mean this with absolutely no sarcasm-my sister picked a keeper for sure!) had the kids for the weekend. Ok, we understand it had to be short but still.

She was flying into Chicago and Ian, my brother, and his family had just moved nearby. I drove to his house and he chauffeured us around Chicago after we stopped at the airport to pick up Elise.

Oliver joined us. First stop, breakfast.

Then we walked to the John Hancock building and saw the sights.

Navy Pier
Some tall building...
Lake shore heading north

Chicago skyline
Lincoln Park (I think. I know I am a country girl and the fact that I gravitate to the green parts in any urban sprawl prove it to me over and over!)

After that we walked back down the Magnificent Mile, ate delicious popcorn and walked some more we stopped for a break to cool off a bit. Elise, doing her thing:)
Millennial Park and the bean were part of the tour.
There was more walking and more things to see. Elise did a better job recording the whole thing than I, check it out.

After all that we stopped for a late lunch of deep dish deliciousness. Not to be repeating myself but everything I ate that was decadent deliciousness!
After lunch we headed back to the car and arrived just in time to get out of the rain. We drove back to Ian's house and visited with the whole gang. Ate some brownies and then found our way home to WI in the dark.

Sunday was Sunday and it was fun to have Elise sit in the pew with me and help entertain the wee one. She stands as witness that Chris is bishop.

Monday we planned to have a photo shoot. I have regretted, in years past, not making family pictures more of a priority and this was my first step towards improvement. The weather worked against me and after much hullabaloo about clothes (I don't like it when everyone matches but we still gotta go together. This is harder to achieve for me than actual matching, however!) we had to wait for it to get warm enough to go out. I never thought I would be the one to complain that it needed to be warmer!
But we got some wonderful pictures despite the grumpy baby and chilly wind. We went back the next morning to get some solo pictures of the more recalcitrant ones.

Now, hard work like clothes selecting and family photo taking deserves a reward.

For Elise, we planned a once in a lifetime opportunity for a Toilet Smash.
There was something in there. Hidden to the naked eye, stuck good and refusing to come out.

Curiosity drove us to find what required the replacement of a toilet. Safety glasses in place, they tried sticks.
Moved onto the hammer,

And then called in Dad. He found it. The happy meal toy that ruined my budget for the month of August!
Elise and I also got a bit of shopping in and I finally used my b-day gift card from my parents.

Then we went off to Sprecher's Brewery for the tour and tasting. The tour was a little pitiful but the soda was, wait for it, delicious!

Tuesday we visited a Cheese Shoppe and got some yummy snacks. I had sausage and herb and spice Havarti for lunch that day!
We came home for naps and had to get in some chick flick time. We opted for Anne of Green Gables, a long time favorite. We finished and ran off to the library to get Anne of Avonlea! We didn't finish it before we had to take Elise to catch her shuttle back to O'Hare.

But since I am due to see her TX this week (same screaming plane ticket deal!), we may finish it then!