Chicago Trip Finale

John arranged a surprise for my birthday. I thought that our trip to Chicago involved the American Girl store on Monday and the Children's Museum on Tuesday. While I took Ellie to the restroom at Gino's (a great Chicago pizza place), my parents sneaked in and hid around the corner. Ellie and I returned and I got a very big surprise to see my parents there...in Chicago! My mind was racing. Why were they there? Were they going to the Children's Museum with us?

Nope. They were there to take the kids home with them and give John and I some time alone in the big city! Wow. They all definitely surprised me!

We got the kids on their way to Nana and Pop's and John and I checked into the Crowne Plaza. Our room was AMAZING. It was a suite (free upgrade for my birthday). Two large rooms and LOTS of windows. I think we were on the 30th floor. It was cool to look out over the city and see the lake, the buildings, the traffic, etc.

We walked to Navy Pier. That turned into a much longer walk than we expected. After seeing the sights there, we headed back toward the hotel. On the way back we stopped at a restaurant for an appetizer. It was called the "Purple Pig". It was kind of a fancy place that specialized in wines and cheese. The cheese was interesting and the wine tasted great. I've never been to a place like that, so it was fun to try something new.

That evening, John treated me to The Blue Man Group. We took the train to the show, which of course was an interesting experience :-) We ate at a great restaurant around the corner from the theater. All I had was salad, but it was great. The dressing was garlic/dill. YUM. There is a picture of the restaurant included here.

The show was indescribable. I can't even put it into words what it was like. John and I ended up being a part of the show. They prepped us by saying "all you need to remember is Captain Crunch". Well, we couldn't imagine what we would have to do...with Captain Crunch. All I'm going to say is that we were in the spotlight for about a minute and the Blue Men were singing to us. It was awesome to join in the show!

I think that's it. We had an amazing time. Thanks to John for arranging all the fun. Thanks to Nana and Pop for driving to/from Chicago and keeping our kids for two nights. We should do it all again sometime!