Chicago

If you follow me on Instagram, there is no reason to keep reading this.  It is simply a regurgitation of my photos from our recent trip to Chicago.  Once again, I can thank Instagram for eating my blog.

Will and I spent a total of 49 hours in Chicago last week.  We were there celebrating our 5th anniversary, which was in May, and Will's 31st birthday.

It was W.O.N.D.E.R.F.U.L.!

Seriously, it was the most fun we have had in a very long time.  Kid free fun that is. We have plenty of kid-full fun around here.

We stayed at the Park Hyatt. Super nice. We rarely stay at hotels with over-sized tubs and flat screens in the bathroom.

Here is the view from or hotel window:

Or first stop was Giordano's Pizza.  Good. A little too much emphasis on crust for us. We walked right in and to a table.  Perks of being there on a Monday at 11 AM.

Afterwards we headed to the Willis/ Sears tower.  We went right to the top.  No lines at all.  It was worth the 36 bucks.  Very touristy, but that is what we were!

We tried Garret's popcorn.  The Chicago Mix was melt in your mouth yummy.

We checked out Millennium Park.

After regrouping and taking a nap in our hotel, we checked out the view from the Hancock Tower.  No joke, the best view was in the women's bathroom of the Signature Lounge. We didn't even pay to go in the tower.  We actually didn't even buy drinks at the lounge.  We just checked out the view.

From the top:

From the bottom:

Afterwards, we found a Portillos and tried a true Chicago dog.
Note: We got tons of great restaurant recommendations, and I originally wanted this trip to be a foodie adventure.  We decided to just stick to trying some of the food Chicago is known for...pizza and hotdogs.  We hope to go back one day and try more food.

I really wanted to see the Theatre District.  We took the train to walk around that area for a bit

Afterwards, we hit a local Irish Pub.  Not sure of the name, but it seemed more like a local spot. It was a perfect spot to unwind and talk.

Day 2 was much more relaxing. We strolled around Navy Pier that morning.

Afterwards, we took an architectural river tour through a company called Sea Dog.  Our tour also included a speed boat ride on Lake Michigan.  If we could only choose one thing to do in Chicago, this would be it.  It was so cool!  I loved seeing and hearing about all the history of downtown.  It was well worth it!   We had heard to make reservations beforehand. We didn't, but our boat was nearly empty.  Another perk of being there during the week I guess.

Our boat just so happened to be cruising under that waterfall as it turned on that morning.  It turns on for a minute every hour or so during the summer. They usually time it to miss it.   Obviously, they didn't this time.  There were a few folks that were mad.  I honestly thought it felt awesome.

Then, we went to Gino's East.  We liked it the best!  Less emphasis on crust, and more on the toppings! We took Man vs Food's advice and tried the meaty legend. Glad we did!

Our final adventure was watching the Angels play the Cubs at Wrigley Field. This was our third Angel's game together.  The first two were in Los Angeles exactly 4 years before.

Chicago was a great adventure.  We laughed at the fact that we traveled by car, plane, taxi, subway, train, bus, and boat in just 2 days.  We really don't live that type of life here in Helena, and it was a nice change of pace.  We love exploring new places together and look forward to the days our kiddos can share in the experience with us!

Beach 2012

We just spent the last couple of days at the beach...just the 3 of us.  Our last little vacation as family of 3!

It was a great break from routine.  We spent our mornings at the beach, our afternoons at the pool, and our evenings back on the beach!  This was pretty much our agenda.  We ventured out for ice cream and lunch at Bahama Bob's, but other than that, we kept a low profile.

Hudson loved digging around in the sand:

He admired the ocean:

His favorite part was probably such close access to a swimming pool:

He liked to ride the rope, as he called it:

Off the side of the pool was a laundry room. The door was always open to it, and for some reason, this stressed Hudson out.  He talked about the door that is always open and would constantly ask me to go shut it.  This is what he is thinking about in these pics:

Since we were at the beach, we broke the rules:

I loved getting some quality family time with these guys.  No distractions.

I seriously passed out every time Hudson did.  I took naps daily and feel asleep on the couch every single night.  It was wonderful!

Next time we hit the beach, we will have little Clara Mae in tow!

I'm on a boat!

The Hubs and I just got back from a 3 night cruise to the Bahamas. It was a great way to celebrate our anniversary, the end of the school year, and surviving our first year of parenthood. This was Will's 4th trip to the Caribbean and my first! We honeymooned in Cabo, so I'd never seen the beautiful water of the Caribbean until this trip!

We boarded in Port Canaveral, Florida on Friday afternoon. We spent the remainder of that day pigging out, hitting the casinos, and having the best conversations over cold drinks on the top deck. We also went to some of the shows on board and got to know our sweet waiter, Domingo. Domingo has a 7 month old baby who he hasn't seen since he was 2 months old. His family lives in India while he lives on a cruise ship supporting them. In 3 months, he will go home for 10 weeks. After that, he repeats the process. It broke my heart! It was crazy to see how many nationalities work on cruise ships. Will and I talked about how it would be a great way to help reach the nations if we were single.

Pictures of our first day:

Leaving Port Canaveral:



Watching our ship leave a tiny footprint in the big ocean:



The sunset:




After a yummy breakfast on our second day, We read on deck while waiting for our ship to port in Nassau.



Around 10, we were able to see the island. My camera does not do justice to how beautiful Nassau looked from our ship.



Once we docked, Will and I ate more yummy food before we made our way to the famous straw market. I was tricked into buying necklaces for starving children THREE times. These people came out of nowhere putting necklaces on me. First they said they were free, but after the necklace was on they said to give a donation to the starving children. Then, they proceeded to tell me how much to give. I may not be a great judge of character, but after the 4th person tried to put a necklace on me, I began to doubt that this money was actually going to any starving children!


We sampled some of the local brew at a little place called Casablanca. We talked with another couple while people watching and looking at our ship from port.







Afterwards, we explored the town. Will gave in and bought a pricey Cuban cigar from a very questionable man.





We headed back to the boat for an afternoon nap before our ship's formal dinner. Our waiter brought us two appetizers and four main courses. We were stuffed and that was before he brought us three desserts! The waiters sang "Happy Anniversary" to us and made us a flower out of a napkin.







We decided to walk back into Nassau later that night. I accidentally bought a $13.00 pina colada. If you know me, you know I'm cheap! This nearly put an end to my night, but I tried to forget it! We spent the remainder of the night on the boat participating in the entertainment. Will even had a part in the Battle of the Sexes game show.

Day 3 was by far our favorite! We went to Royal Caribbeans private island-Coco Cay. We started off by snorkeling. It was so much fun! I felt like I was in Finding Nemo. Sadly, Will lost his wedding ring. Don't worry, we replaced it back home with a Walmart special.





We spent the next three hours talking, eating barbeque, and reading in a hammock under the palm trees. My kind of paradise.




We spent the rest of the afternoon taking in the scenery.










We finally had to say goodbye to Coco Cay. We boarded the boat for our final night of food, shows, and casino fun. We ended our wonderful trip watching the sunset once again.






As much fun as we had, we missed our little guy so much! I cried real tears twice. It is good to be home.































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