Isabel's Dream Day!

The day started with a her first train ride....which I didn't get a picture of seeing as how we were running for the train before it could leave us! Whew! Made it. When we got into Chicago she got to take her first water taxi ride. How cool is that! The Gulkes have a dear friend that knows the city very well. He decided to take the day and accompany us into Chicago and be our guide for the day....so, it was kinda like being in China all over again! Craig was so helpful and made the day a success!

Of course, everyone else was there too...and it was a first for Claire and the boys as well.

Beautiful girls, Mia and Becca.

Lovin' this!

Then we ate lunch at Gino's East, which is apparently famous Chicago style, deep dish pizza. Mmmmm! It was delish!

The crew at Gino's

Of course, it takes 45 minutes to get your pizza....but, it was worth it!

After a wonderful lunch, the little girls decided to take a nap! Together. In their strollers. In the middle of Chicago.

That is when the real fun began.

We hit the American Girls Store.

Isabel was so excited she couldn't stand it!

She got a new doll for her birthday. Meet Julie!
And spent another $100 bucks on clothes for her Elizabeth doll, that is waiting for us to come home.

What a big girl, carrying her bags in the big city!

Then it was on to Navy Pier.....

where fun was had by all!

The girls had a quite moment looking at Lake Michigan.

Awwww!

Then I lost my mind. Apparently. Because I agreed to ride this!

Ummmm......Do you see how tall this thing is?????

The Gulkes in one car- Becca, Scott, Mia, Mr. Craig and Josh.

Me and the girls on one side. I'm hiding my look of terror very well.

Paul and the boys on the other.

The little girls and the Daddies on the carousel

It was a wonderful day!

Dinner in Chicago

After our day at the Museum we had a dinner adventure! In an attempt to escape having to drive through the rush hour traffic when we left the museum, we drove through town to find a restaurant. Our family was in our car and the Gulkes in another, so we played follow the leader! That was exciting! Eventually, we made it to an area where Scott knew of some restaurants and we ended up at Ed Debevic's Diner. Half-way through our dinner, the servers got up on tables and danced! The literally threw our menus at us and our waiter sassed us regularly. We loved it! It is an old fashioned diner with rude servers and good burgers. It was a great day!

Chicago

We spent the day in Chicago with our good friends the Gulkes. We opted for a day at the Museum of Science and Industry, complete with passes to the Harry Potter exhibit. It was a big hit!

Parker, Noah, Isabel, Claire, Becca, Josh and Mia

City scape from our drive. This is just not something we get to see everyday.

See the next post for more pictures!

Pictures from the Day at the Museum

Becca and Isabel in an airplane exhibit.




The girls loved the chicks!

Scott and Paul

Submarine exhibit

Karla with Claire

Noah's really tall these days!

From St. Louis

This is will be my last post from St. Louis for a while. We will leave in a few hours and head towards our next adventure. CHICAGO! I have been looking things up and there is sooooo much to do there. I know we are going to have fun and we can't wait to see our friends again!

Yesterday was so nice in St. Louis that we just couldn't waste that good weather inside. Charleston is so hot and humid by now that you can't do anything outside....so we wanted to take advantage of the warm and breezy day! So, we wandered over to the zoo again this year. Did I mention that this place is free....another reason to go! We only had three hours and I knew I wouldn't be left feeling like I didn't get my money's worth since I didn't spend any!

Boy what a difference a year makes. Last year Claire was in the stroller with a blanket over her head. She was very afraid of animals and did not want to see any of them! This year she was out of her stroller and pointing and looking and getting close. She loved it! I loved watching her enjoy the day. Fun was had by all!



And, right at the end she conked out in the stroller. The End!