Chicago & Wisconsin Family Anniversary Trip

 We came back Monday from a long weekend gone for our 15 year anniversary.  We had a lovely time celebrating with friends and family.  Our first stop was Chicago and Christi's parents went along for this part of the trip. 

 Two children rode with them and .....

 two children rode with us.

 Because of the time difference (and we totally forgot about that), we were an hour ahead of schedule, so we saw some things we wanted to get in before our tour at the mission.

 The Bean

 After the Bean we headed for the big fountain, but took a detour here in this lovely little garden.

 The fountain was a quick stop as we were getting close to tour time and didn't want to be late for that.  And we had to walk all the way back to our vehicles and get through the city.

 Pacific Garden Mission proved to be most of our favorite part of the trip.  It was very eye opening and put a lot of things into perspective as to how we look at people. 

 Our tour guide was spectacular.  We pray that he finishes the program at the mission and furthers himself to live for the Lord. 

 Lunch time!

 We all enjoyed our meal at Giordanos.

Our next stop was the American Doll Store.  The children seemed to be getting bored with all the walking, so while we ate, we figured out how to get to the Doll store as we knew the 3 oldest would enjoy it.  They get the books from the library and get so excited when a new one comes out.  So, when Diella opened the door to the store and saw what it was, her mouth literally dropped open with a huge smile on her face.  We walked through the historical part of the dolls, then upstairs they went.  Jonathon and I lagged behind a little to find out where some other things were that we wanted to see, and by the time we caught up to them they weren't in the store anymore.  My mom found us and said that the children got to the top of the steps and saw the Lego Store outside of the American Doll Store and they exited one store and went right into the other one.  So, we played a little in the Lego Store, then made our way back down to the street via the Doll Store to take some pictures of the chidlren next to the doll they love reading about the most. 

 The John Hancock was a must see for the children since they've never experienced anything like it before, and it was in the area where we were, AND we had coupons.  Of course, what would you expect.  : )

 Josiah said that it made his feet feel funny when he looked out, so he always kept a hold of the rail.  After awhile he had to stop looking out because it was making him feel sick.  But he did enjoy the view.

 We crossed the street after our John Hancock experience to taste some samples of chocolate in the Hershey and Giardelli stores.  Yummo! 

 Now started our hike to Navy Pier.  We weren't sure about the long trek, but we all made it and got some really great exercise in too.

 The ferris wheel is in sight.  We are getting closer to our destination!

 The men and children rode the ferris wheel.  I was surprised that the children decided to do it, but I guess the day was about overcoming a little fear.  They did it and liked it too!

 Left over pizza for a snack before we headed back on our hike to the vehicles.

 Quick stop at the fountain for a jumping picture. 

We made it back to our vehicles and got out of town.  What a crazy city to be in, drive in and live (for those who live there).  It is fun to visit, but I sure love my country life.  : )

Next we headed to the hotel for the evening.  Swimming and a little TV watching ended our evening.  Some of us woke up early the next morning (which was Benaiah's 3rd birthday), got breakfast and then went back to the room to wake everybody else up.  After breakfast, some grandpa monster play, and some Scripture reading, we parted our ways with my parents and continued our journey on into Wisconsin.



 We tried not to spend too much time in the van without getting out and stretching our legs.  We got some subway sandwiches for lunch, I had packed fruit, and we found a lovely little park where the children could run for a bit. 

Next stop, Manitowoc, WI to visit Matt and Wendy Campbell.  I went to school with Wendy and have been wanting to visit their home in Wisconsin.  We were so glad that we fit that into our weekend.  They took us to Silver Creek, a lovely park that was on the water.  What a great place to enjoy creation!

The following photos courtesy of Matt Campbell.

After the park, we headed back to their house for a wondeful buffet of food.  Food and fellowship was much enjoyed by all of us!  On our way to their house we spotted a nice little ice cream shop that Jonathon decided we should visit.  Well, that was on their list of things to do with us, and it was just around the corner from their house.  So, after supper we all headed by scooter, skates and feet to the ice cream shop for a delicious treat.  

 And if you were me, you got 3 cones.  Haha!  Just kidding!  Notice the boy below?  That's why I held the cones.  Jonathon cleaned him up from dripping blue ice cream.

 Happy 3rd Birthday Benaiah! 

We ended our day with the Campbells by playing, singing, and a short visit after the children were in bed.

The next morning we hit the road to head for Ontario, WI.

 Our van full of tired and good travelers.

 We took a pit stop at Wildcat Mountain State Park to find a letter box.  It proved to be unsuccessful and no box was found.  : (  But we did get a good hike in, and I was reminded that this old pregnant body isn't what it used to be.  : )

 After hiking and working up a sweat, we headed to Dave and Karen Carr's house for a wonderful visit.  We started out by getting our pictures taken by Krystal, Dave and Karen's daughter.  It was a little windy and rain taunted us a bit, but when we were all cleaned up and ready to smile, the rain cleared and the sun even tried to shine through.  We are so pleased with the moments that Krystal captured.  We had the pictures taken for a special anniversary project that we are working on, so keep checking in for that post.  Hopefully we can have it done within the next couple weeks or so.  

The following photos courtesy of Krystal Muellenberg Photography (you can see more at her blog):

Aren't they lovely?!

I didn't get any other pictures taken at the Carr's.  The time just went so fast.  The children had fun playing with Amelia, Karen fixed a delicious meal, we got the grand tour of their barn that they are turning into living quarters, we visited before Dave had to go to bed, I gave Karen a foot massage, and then it was bedtime.  It seems we packed so much into every day of our trip.  I did manage to get up and out to the van to get my camera to take a picture of Amelia leaving for her day at school.  The children were excited to watch her get on the bus.  

 We loaded up, gave our hugs to Karen and hit the road to go home.  Was a nice quiet trip home.  The children enjoyed going back through Chicago and naming some of the things they could see from the van as we went by.  Hopefully, we made some great memories with them that they will remember forever.