I'm back...I went: CHICAGO

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel 
                 only read one page.” –Augustine of Hippo

We just returned from 3 weeks in Chicago. It was a wonderful trip where I was able to accomplish 18 LIFE LIST items and TRAVEL TIPS and as an extra bonus I got to see a friend from college whom I haven't seen in 6 years!

It was the busiest vacation I've ever been on but I enjoyed every second. I love being able to take our daughter on these extended trips which give her a variety of new experiences. I know she's only 2 years old and she won't remember these things but it's about two things 1. making memories for us and having remarkable pictures to fill her albums with and 2. many of things we do are highly advanced for her age, but I think it's so good for her brain just to take in so much. I can see her making connections, for example while we were walking out of the Field Museum she was asking me questions that not only she's never asked before but they were types of questions she had not asked previously. Watching her learn is so fulfilling- In just 19 days my little girl got to touch a real dinosaur bone, watch a squirrel being bottled fed, Elmo explained the big dipper to her, she touched a starfish, ate a hot dog from an iconic restaurant, she fed a rare albino deer out of the palm of her hand, went swimming, met new people, saw large artistic sculptures in a big city, we had a picnic in a Japanese garden, saw cars flooded and she got to pet a reindeer.

This trip was very special to us as it was Z's second extended stay in Chicago. We were her for 5 weeks when she was just 5 months old. So for us it was nostalgic and we kept reminiscing about our previous trip with our precious little babe all while creating new precious memories as a family. We took advantage of the opportunity to retake many of the photos that we took of her when she was a baby.

On a personal level this trip left me with some profound reflections concerning the state of my blog and my weight. I cannot believe how much my life has changed in just two years...it is mind blowing how much has happened. The last time we were here, we didn't really do too much...this time we had so many activities scheduled and were not even able to get to several of them. I could easily spend another three weeks here-in fact I may have to make another trip sometime this year, even if it's just for a weekend.

Even though we got to have a lot of new experiences, and re experience a few things, I still have a long list of activities I still would like to complete in this diverse metropolis!

Based on my first trip here as an adult with friends paired with the first trip my first with my husband I took here in 2008-I did not have a good impression of Chicago and I had zero desire to ever return. But I have to say, this city is REALLY growing on me.....actually I'm kind of in love with it.