Chicago, how we love you

So good to be back in Chicago! It has been way to long.  About 6 years to be exact.  I always thought after we moved back to AZ, that we would vacation here yearly.  But life happened and well it took awhile for us to be ok with leaving our kiddos behind.  We love this city.  Full of life.  Full of character.  Unfortunately I was unable to see some of my old friends from work, because of timing but it was good to rehash the fun times KC and I had on our little adventure here.  Because it had been so long, we really wanted to go to alot of the same places that we called our regulars.  Argo Tea was first on the list.  I was dying for some iced caffeine and it was fun for KC to see his old work place.  We stayed at a awesome hotel and was with in walking distance of most everything we wanted to do.  We took trains everywhere and it was pretty amazing how that all comes back to you.  We seriously didn't have to look at any maps, we remembered exactly how to get to our favorite places.  

We got in Friday morning and headed straight to Wrigley field to get some drinks and wait in the lines to pick up our tickets to Pearl Jam and to get a t-shirt for KC.  Which ended up being a 2 hour wait in the 95 degree heat wave!  Kinda crazy for just a shirt, but really this was a once in a lifetime concert, and those shirts are priceless. The show started around 8:00pm.  But in the distance was a thunderstorm brewing and around 9:00 they decided they needed to clear the thousands and thousands of people off the field for safety reasons and wait until the storm clears.  Well 3 hours later it finally resumed.  Those 3 hours were quite a experience.  There was probably 100,000 people in the stadium all trying to go to the bathroom, get more beer and hotdogs, meanwhile it was pouring rain with thunder and lightning right above us.  It just goes to show how much this concert meant to everyone who were lucky enough to get tickets, because I'm pretty sure nobody left.  Everyone stuck it out, made the best of it, and had great attitudes.  So around midnight Pearl Jam came back on, and played until 2:00am.  It was one of the best concerts I've been to, and definitely one I will never forget.  The best part for me was looking over at my hubby and seeing his heart exploding song after song. Especially when Ernie Banks came out... who's kinda a big deal for Cubs fans.  He had goosebumps more than half the time, and it was a dream come true for him.  After the concert, you could just image the chaos that happened as 100,000 people tried to get home, most on the trains.  We went for a couple drinks after and ended up going to bed around 4am.

The next morning afternoon we headed straight for the West Egg, a breakfast diner that we went to almost weekly.  Oh how I missed this place.  It is heavenly.

can you find us?

 2 new stores that I would have LOVED to have had when I lived here...

 and then there's the Wabash Tap... the owner seriously remembered KC when we walked in

We had so much fun on our little getaway.  It was nice to just have to worry about ourselves and to have the freedom to do what we wanted when we wanted.  We held hands, snuck in kisses every chance we had, and just enjoyed each other away from our kids.   It was kinda funny though... as we walked around the city, just like we have so many other times, this trip was different.  It just didn't seem complete. We saw so many new kid friendly attractions that we had never noticed and caught ourselves saying "Rhone would love this".  It is our dream to one day be fortunate enough to bring the kids next time we go to the windy city.  To see their eyes pop out of their head with amazement at all the buildings, the art, the play areas, and all gorgeous parks.  

It's funny how kids do that to you, right?  As much as you try to disconnect, you can't.  Rhone and Lachlyn, you will always be on my mind. Always.  The love for you two is so incredible that it surprises me everyday when I see it grow, as if there's still more room.  I did learn however on this trip that 2.5 days is my limit.  I really did quite well up until Sunday.  But that last day, I just couldn't wait to get home to see you two!  And then when we didn't make our first flight on stand by, I thought my world had ended.  There were tears, anger, and bitterness.  It was my breaking point.  However the reality was that they were completely fine with out us.  They were on vacation too.  Beach, swimming, playing in the yard, watering plants, picking blueberries are just some of the activities that they were able to do with my parents.  Mom, Dad we can't thank you enough for taking Rhone, Lachlyn and Wabash for 4 days so we could do this for ourselves!!  Not only did you give this to us, but you gave our kids some amazing memories.  Rhone is still asking when he can go back to Grandma & Grandpas to go camping...

We are already looking forward to our next getaway... maybe September... maybe Italy...