chicago! :)

we're back from the 'windy city'.

which was not the case when we were there.

so i'll re-dub it the 'warm and a little humid city' - as that was our personal experience.

despite the temperature, we had an absolute blast in chicago.

it is such a neat city - it's full of history, but modern at the same time.

we did all the requisite touristy things - sears tower, navy pier, hancock observatory, the field museum, the shedd aquarium, the art institute, millennium park, the 'bean' and so much more.

we ate delicious food. deep-dish pizza was consumed (i loved pizzeria due, an off-shoot of the better-known pizzeria uno), chicago-style hot dogs were enjoyed and yummy soft-serve kept us cool as we wandered the warm city streets.

we visited with friends and family. we stayed with my aunt and uncle -- who i've only interacted with a handful of times because they live far away -- and it was an absolute treat to talk to them and get to know them better. they were such wonderful and generous hosts - and they're the neatest people. and...as an added bonus...we met up with a friend who recently moved to chicago. he played tourist with us and also showed us some of his new favorite finds.

we rode (lots of) trains, hopped the free trolley, walked until our legs were wobbly, snapped pictures of just about everything (we have 550 pics to prove it!), laughed about silly things and created a wonderful memory. it was great to have some time to spend together before things get busy and stressful once again.

just what will be keeping us busy? well...in the next few weeks, matt starts his new job, school starts for me (in exactly three weeks!), and we're moving north on september first. lots going on...but all of it is good, so i'm just gearing up. :)
hope you are all enjoying the last days/weeks of summer.
also...enjoy just a small sampling of our pictures of chicago fun.

the view of sears tower from our architecture boat tour.

delicious deep-dish pizza.

taking a picture with the bean and the city. (i'm the gal in the blue) :)

one of my favorite paintings -- 'a sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jatte' by georges seurat

the neat kimodo dragon mouth entrance to the wonderful shedd aquarium

sue, the world's largest female t-rex skeleton, in the field museum

grant park -- being taken over by the lollapalooza music festival. sadly, we didn't get to walk through it...so this is the next best thing. :)

the view of the downtown from the sears tower - beautiful views. :)

'the dark knight' -- the new batman movie -- was filming in chicago at night. sadly...there were no christian bale sightings. :( but this is a blurry picture of gary oldman doing a scene for the movie.

matt and i enjoying the city. it was a wonderful trip - can't you tell by our happy faces? :)