the windy city

my brother just moved to chicago this summer so that he can go to law school. we decided to make a quick trip to see his new place, which is very much 'in the city' (and i only say it that way, because we had just left jenni's house, which is the COMPLETE opposite!)

we had a ton of fun! the kids enjoyed being in the city, there was always something to look at! we walked everywhere, mostly because parking is completely ridiculous. we found a few local playgrounds, and explored the break wall (can't remember what it was exactly), and walked along the very busy 'bike road'.


this is 'the bean'. we went here simply because that's what everyone does when they come to chicago. it's really big, and all the kids were enjoying their silly reflections.




jessy's in pink and matt's behind her, jonny's still wedged under the left side


this was at one of the playgrounds. it was a pretty big playground, and not surprising, pretty busy! there are apartments everywhere! all those kids would have to have someplace to play! it even had a splash area, though we weren't prepared for it, so jonny was wet the rest of the afternoon.


this is the frank gehry designed amphitheater in millennium park. i think it looked cool, so i took a few pictures. there was a little concert going on, so we were serenaded while we walked. it was nice.


this is buckingham fountain. we were all pretty hot and tired when our walk from the field museum took us here, so we just sat on a bench and had a snack. it's a really big fountain. we drove past it at night too, and it was all lit up with cool colors!


we took 'the L' to the field museum. it was crowded, of course, because everyone takes public transportation in chicago, but the kids were able to look out the window. the other people probably thought i was crazy, taking this picture, but i couldn't help it! they were just so excited!


the city skyline


with matt


this is a weird splash area in millennium park. it has these 2 huge towers, facing each other, and every few min. faces will appear and make silly faces at each other. then, unexpectedly, they open their mouths a little and water spews out! it's really funny to watch everyone's reactions, the kids all go to the splashing, and the unsuspecting adults run away! we were prepared this time for the water, so the kids were in their suits, luckily, because it wasn't that warm that day!


jonny's in the orange shirt under the water, and jess is in the pink running away


spish...splash


we went to one of matt's favorite new spots for dinner, i think it is actually thai, but he kept saying chinese. the kids had fun using their chopsticks, the 'trainers' with rubber bands on the top . they did really good with them!


jessy liked the food too, some things were too spicy for her, but she ate pretty well!