Last weekend Josh and I were in Chicago for two reasons: (1) to have fun, and (2) to see family. As luck would have it, we got both!

Let's talk about fun:

Architecture Boat Tour

Saturday was our fun day - not that family isn't fun, but what I mean is city fun, a totally different type of fun (you know what I mean). Unfortunately the weather wasn't the greatest. Chicago was living up to it's name as the windy city. Plus it was gray and cold (and some rain). But this didn't stop us, we had plan for fun, and who's to let weather get in the way.

Ever since I heard about the Architecture boat tour, I wanted to go. We asked the concierge if she thought it would be a bad day to go considering the weather. She said, "oh no, there is an inside that's heated and you can have drinks." That sounded good. Josh and I were picturing a glass covered, dome thing over the boat. Perfect.

When we arrived, we found this magical boat we imagined was not this boat. This boat had a inside, sure, but you couldn't SEE anything upwards. And might I add, this was a boat tour to look at buildings, and in skyscrapers, how the heck do they expect us to sit inside and see things (crazy concierge). So we decided to brave the cold because we actually wanted to see what the guide was going to point out and talk about.

Huddling on the top of the boat, with a Swiss Mix hot cocoa in hand, we endured the windy, cold weather. Luckily, it didn't rain. And as we cruised along, and turned off the main river, the wind calmed and it was more bearable.

All that said, we enjoyed the tour very much. We learned a lot about Chicago and it's architecture. We got a great view of the buildings, and saw a lot of the city. We were glad that we went on the tour, but also glad to be done and in a tea shop warming up...

Ferris Wheel

After tea and some shopping on the loop, I had this strange desire to go on the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier. So we trekked up to the pier (mind you, still windy and cold). We got in line, bought our tickets, and then hopped into the little compartment. Up we started.

I have to say, a little bubble of panic rose inside of me, and I looked at Josh and said, "oh my God, why did I ever say I wanted to go on this thing. Holy cow!!" (flattening my hands on the seat). Josh asked if he could come sit next to me, and I said, "no, you can NOT move, we need to keep the balance." At which, Josh started to laugh. Then I relaxed a bit and some-what enjoyed the rest of the ride (although, still nervous).

Excited Josh. Panicked Heather.

(side note: even though I'm smiling in the above picture, deep down I was still panicked. I'm a master of disguise)

Now, let's talk about Family:

If you didn't know, about 3/4 of my family is in Chicago. My parents were born and raised there, but moved to Cali before I was born. When I was younger, we'd go to Chicago almost every summer, so it's almost like a home away from home. Now, the past few years, we've been going at the end of April. My Grandma Ruth's birthday is at the end of April, so it's nice to go for her birthday (and my Uncle Mike & cousin Scott's b-days too).

We had a big birthday celebration on Sunday at my Aunt Ann & Uncle Mike's house in Crystal Lake. All the kiddies, aunties, and family showed up to party. My grandma had a big 91 years to celebrate. Doesn't she look good?