Chicago

Mom and Dad had so much fun last year when they took a trip to Chicago, so they invited the whole family to join them for a weekend Chicago trip this year. Elena and I stayed the night at Greg & Mary's so we could get up early to catch the Friday 7:30am train to Union Station. Elena loved the train. She acted as if she'd never seen one before, despite the fact that most of her young life was spent on trains!


The rest of the day Friday was spent at Shedd Aquarium (yay for penguin suits and slides!) and at the hotel. On Saturday Dad and Nate watched the kids so that I could go shopping with Mom, Sheila, and Katy. It was delightful, as shopping almost always is for me! Then we met up at Pizzeria Due for some deep dish Chicago style pizza. I found that I still favor Giordannos Pizza, but it was fun to try something new. After the pizza we took the El to check-out the world-famous Chicago "Bean", then walked over to view the Martha Stewart/Macy's HUGE Christmas tree. Finally we ended up at the Christkindlmarket, an American version of the German Christmas markets. I felt so at home there, it almost made my heart hurt. I do miss Germany, especially at this time of year. December was always my favorite month, and you always think of the people that aren't around you anymore when the holidays roll around.

The trip was absolutely wonderful. A perfect relaxation before the holidays strike. Greg and Mary have an even better post and description up on their blog if you want to look there (see the right hand side of my blog for the link).

Love you, family! It's always great to be together.