Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Chicago Staycation

With a big family trip coming up in October (we're taking the kids to DISNEY) we couldn't let summer pass without doing some sort of getaway, so we decided on doing some of the fun touristy stuff in Chicago!

First stop on our way out of town, Portillos!!


When we arrived downtown we dropped off our luggage and parked our car at the hotel, and headed out on foot. First stop was to see the Bean and Crown Fountain in Millennium Park!







Next we headed over to Maggie Daley Park! I've been wanting to bring the kids here for a while! There are so many cool areas to explore! Definitely could have spent more time here, especially on a slightly cooler day! :)







Afterward we checked in to the hotel and got settled in our room, then headed down to Michigan Avenue for a fun dinner at the Safe House (a unique spy themed restaurant). We encountered a pretty long wait at dinner (we forgot to make a reservation) so everyone was pretty tired afterward. However, not too tired for a quick stop at Dylan's Candy Bar, a gigantic candy shop! The girls enjoyed choosing their own candy for their bags.




Everyone was pretty wiped out by the time we got back to the hotel, so we pretty much went to bed so we were ready to head out bright and early the next morning! First stop, breakfast at Stan's Donuts! The donuts were a bit more "gourmet" than we're used to, but we still enjoyed them nonetheless.



We took a quick uber ride over to the River City Marina for our 90 minute architectural boat tour down the Chicago River! We all enjoyed the views and the air conditioned lower level of the boat :)





Next we headed over to Navy Pier to explore the Children's Museum, have lunch and ride some rides!











We headed back to the hotel to regroup before making our way to Giordano's for dinner! We pre-ordered our food so we were in and out quickly, which was a pleasant change from the night before! We took some fun pictures on our walk back to the hotel!





Last activity for the day was swimming in the rooftop pool at the hotel! The girls had been SO excited for this!




We attempted to swim again the next morning, but the weather was pretty rainy! We puttered around the hotel before checking out, and thankfully the weather cleared just enough for us to explore a local park before heading home!




We had such a great weekend together! After months of anticipation I was definitely sad to see it end! We sure packed a lot into 2 days!! :)

Friday, July 26, 2019

July Fun

The girls had great July! They each had a fun camp week! Jemma completed another Jump Start Kindergarten camp and Jade attended a Fine Arts Camp for a second year! The following week both girls attended VBS which they LOVED!



The girls missed their last day of VBS but were even more excited for our extended family reunion on my dad's side! They couldn't wait to see their cousins and their "other cousins" (my cousins' kids)! We packed SO much into one weekend! Lots of eating, swimming, playing at the park and bowling!












We got some fun new stuff for the backyard, too! A big swing, nerf guns, water guns and a new patio set!