chicago

pretty much matt and i were the only ones in our group who had been to chicago recently enough to remember it, so it seemed like a trip would be a great way to spend a gorgeous saturday. normally, it would take around two or two and a half hours to get downtown chicago from our house. notice how i said "normally". our original plan was to pick up the amtrak train in milwaukee and then take the "el" downtown. however, we thought that the amtrak tickets were around $20 roundtrip when in reality they were $42. well with four of us it was going to be cheaper to drive so back in the car we went. our next option was to drive to the nearest "el" station and park there before riding the rest of the way in with michigan avenue our goal destination. the first station we went to had a full parking lot with no alternative so we drove on to find another. after parking and getting up to the platform we couldn't figure out how to pay for the ride. and then we realized that this was not an "el" station, but an actual train station. either way it would get us downtown. so maddie had her first real train ride! she enjoyed studying the stop map and looking out the window. all in all our trip took twice as long as it normally would, but we made it!

madelyn did really great all day and even managed to get a pretty decent nap in her stroller. it is a toss up for her favorite activities of the day. first is the "bean" (its really called "cloud gate" but i have never heard anyone call it that). basically it is a huge metallic, reflective sculpture in millennum park that allows you to see most of the chicago skyline because of the way it is curved. to madelyn it was just a huge mirror. and she really enjoyed seeing her reflection in it.

next came her introduction to jamba juice. it was sort of a joke at first because she was trying to get a hold of the straw so i decided to let her try a little. and she just started chugging it down. we were all cracking up because she could suck it down faster than matt and i could - and without the brain freeze! here is some video of her enjoyment as we waited for the crosswalk on our way back to the train station.

then at the train station we learned that trains didn't come all that often and we would have to wait a little over an hour for our train. what to do with a tired and hungry baby in the mean time. well first we sat in the food court and found a new form of entertainment that lasted almost the entire time and then we got her a jamba juice to share with daddy (she drank almost half a medium one all by herself).

finally back to the car we all piled in and made the long drive home. (i didn't mention that four adults and a car seat make for a very cramped ride in our car.) love.