Chicago

Our family went to Chicago for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Tyson ran the St Paddy’s Day 5K and we wanted to see the river dyed green.  It was my first time to Chicago so I was super excited. We left early on Friday morning and had our first stop at the Chicago Airport for Tyson’s international re-entry interview. He can now enter the country faster. He doesn’t have to go through customs each time. While we were waiting for Tyson Lilly found a little stage (what looked like a stage) and did a beautiful dance for everyone. At the end she even made sure to bow. I am not sure where she learned that.  

After the airport we went to pick up Tyson’s race packet and got some lunch. We had lunch at Potbelly Sandwich Shop. The food was yummy but expensive. After checking into our beautiful hotel we went to Sears Tower which is now called Willis Tower. It was a foggy day so it wasn’t too crowded. I thought it was worth only being able to see a mile just for the lack of crowds.

The Hotel

 

 Once visitors are on the 103^rd floor they are able to ‘step outside the tallest building’ by using the glass observation decks. The decks allow people to see directly below them. It was amusing watching all the people that were scared of heights trying to persuade each other on the deck but then when it was our turn our 2 year old went rushing out without a second thought. She saw some teenagers doing handstands on the deck so she immediately tried to do it too. It was super cute. She also liked looking in the binoculars and insisted at stopping at each one.  

 

What the deck looks like

Lilly doing handstands

 

After the tower we ate dinner at an Italian restaurant down the street from our hotel. The food was alright but I ended up getting food poisoning. It was the worst experience in my life. I spent most of the night with extreme stomach cramps and vomiting. It felt like I was in labor. I was about 5 minutes away from making Tyson take me to the hospital. The only thing that stopped me was the fact we were in Chicago and I didn’t want to go to a hospital in Chicago.

Tyson’s race was early in the morning and I was still felt sick so I had to stay at the hotel. I felt so awful for not being able to make Tyson’s first race. If I could stand for more than a minute I would have suffered through it but I couldn’t … Lilly even had an adorable St. Patrick’s Day race outfit. Tyson was super sweet and got me some breakfast to try and gag down before leaving. Tyson did really well on his race. He finished and his time was where he wanted it to be. He enjoyed lapping people.

Tyson at his race

 

Lilly's St. Patrick's Day Outfit

After the race and Lilly’s nap I was feeling a little better so we ventured out to Michigan Avenue for some shopping. We stopped at the American Girl store. Lilly really loved the infant dolls but we thought she would grow out of that quickly so we didn’t buy her anything. We also visited the Macy’s and picked out Lilly’s Easter dress. Unfortunately, I only lasted two stores before I had to be done.  On the way back to the hotel we took a driving tour of Chicago. We saw the dyed green river, the sight of the Chicago World Fair, Lake Michigan, and downtown Chicago. Since it was St. Patrick’s Day weekend we also got to see all the partiers out in their green outfits. 

We then headed back to our hotel. For dinner Lilly and I had Wendy’s (I eat a plan backed potato) while Tyson went out to find me some milk. It was amazing how much better I felt after drinking some milk. I really appreciate Tyson taking care of me.

The next day we checked out of our hotel and went to the Shedd Aquarium. It was a nice aquarium but the line was very long and we had to stand outside in the cold. Another drawback was that parking was more expensive then admission for the whole family into the aquarium.  However, once we were in the aquarium we had a good time and we wore Lilly out for the drive home.  

 

Of course we couldn’t be so close to a Boston Market without stopping there for lunch on our way home. Yuuummmy!! I love that food and no food poisoning from them.