A Weekend Stay in the Windy City

One of our last weekends in Chicago we decided to take one last trip to the city to see the sights, and spend the night!  It was so much fun, we were so glad we did it.

On the Friday we decided to go, we met Chris for some lunch at one of his favorite little hole in the wall places called Chicken Planet.  We grabbed it to go, and went on the roof of his office building to eat.  The food was delicious and we had some great views of the city to enjoy!

After lunch, we headed over to the Sears (aka Wills) Tower to see the Sky deck and the sights.  Good thing we brought the iPad that had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on it because someone got a little fussy waiting in line!

The sights were totally worth the wait!  I couldn't believe how beautiful it was.  It had me wishing we could have lived in the city so we could have views like that all the time.  Parker even braved the glass box!  He had way more guts to do it then his own parents!  Haha.

After looking at the sights, we headed back to our hotel to put Parker down for a nap, and to rest for a bit.  A little while later we headed out to find some dinner, and then walked over to see the Buckingham Fountain.  Parker wanted to play in the water so bad that he tried several times to fit through the fence!

Once it got a little too chilly to be out, we headed back and gave Parker a bath in the big bathtub and called it a night!

The next morning we got up early, got some breakfast, and lounged around our room, and then got ready for all the adventures we had planned.  First up was The Field Museum!

We got to see all kinds of exhibits, but our favorite was "Sue" the dinosaur! 

Last but not least, we couldn't leave Chicago without paying a visit to the historic Wrigley Field!

The day was hot, and the Cubs were playing really well, but we only lasted about 2 innings...it was still fun to go and see what this place was all about!

Thank you Chicago for all the fun you showed our family.  We will miss your beautiful city, the friends we made, and of course the delicious Chicago Dog!!  See you again one day.

Zoo Lights

Last weekend we had some of Chris's family in town, so we decided to head downtown to explore Navy Pier, and to see the Lincoln Park Zoo-lights.  I have been missing my tradition of seeing the lights at Temple Square, so this came close to feeling like that.

At Navy Pier we walked around the different stores, and we obviously had to get some yummy Garret popcorn ;)  Parker didn't care about any of that though.  He just wanted to run around!









After the Pier, we ventured off the to zoo.  We haven't been to this zoo yet, so we had no idea what it was like.  It's amazing!  We definitely want to come back when it's warmer and show Parker all the animals.  It's a beautiful zoo, and they did an amazing job with all the lights.  We were really impressed!

We only got to see about a third of the whole zoo because A) it was pretty cold, and B) we were dumb parents and forgot gloves for Parker, so he was pretty done with the whole night 30 minutes into being there.

Look!  They had a BYU tree!!  Haha :)  - They also had a Utah tree...

It was such a fun night, but by far the best part of the night was this view...I mean really!  I couldn't stop taking pictures it was so beautiful.  And just think...this is only a portion of the Chicago skyline.  So cool!

Thanks for coming to visit Grandpa Jim & Lisa!  We had fun showing you a little bit of the city.  Until next time!

Enjoying Chicagoland

Last week Chris and I hit up Chicago again.  We figured since the weather was changing soon, we should take advantage of the beautiful city before it becomes the frozen tundra.  So we packed up our bag and headed in to the city. 

Our first stop was the Shedd Aquarium.  What a fun place to explore!  Parker couldn't get enough of all the different kinds of animals that we were able to see -- granted we did just do the basic admission, so there was actually a lot more to see that we were able to.  One day though maybe :)

Parker's favorite part about the aquarium had to have been this huge fish tank in the center of the first floor area.  He just stared at all the fish, and whenever one would swim in front of him, he would squeel with excitement.  It was so fun to watch him experience something new!

After the aquarium, we headed outside to walk around and city the city from a few different views.  Man I could not get enough of it!  You would probably be really sick of seeing the city if I posted all the pictures I actually took...haha.

Aren't my boys cute???

We hung out by the harbor for a bit, and Parker got see the sailboats taking their last "summer" cruise around the lake.  After that we headed over to Michigan Avenue, or as we "Chicagoan's" call it -- The Magnificent Mile.  It's where all the high end stores are, along with a few other goodies.  I of course had to swing by the Tiffany & Co. store...hello!  But my other favorite stop had to have been the Hersey store.  So fun!  

We have really enjoyed exploring this city, and are sad to see winter closing in on us -- hopefully not too soon!  But so far, it's definitely been a favorite pass time for me since we've moved here.

Night on the town!

Last weekend Chris and I decided we needed a break from unpacking and hanging things up, and to go explore the area we live in.  Enter downtown Naperville!

We had heard about this area from our neighbor, and thought it would be a great place to check out.  The weather was a bit crisp (just how I like it this time of year!), so we grabbed some jackets and headed out.

We started our exploring by walking the Naperville River Walk.  It was beautiful!  There were so many trees, and the river itself was so pretty.  It would've been even better though if the leaves on the trees were changing color :)

After walking the river trail for a bit, we headed to the downtown area.  The streets are lined with shops and restaurants.  We found this little Mexican place for dinner that had great food!  I would definitely go back.

We then walked the streets and checked out the different shops.  We found an Apple store, and just had to go in.  Too bad they didn't have any of the new phones out to play with yet.  After that we grabbed some yummy gelato.  I felt like I was back in Italy as I was eating it.  SO good. 

By the time we finished it was dark and a bit too cold for Parker to be out, so we decided to head home.  Overall though, downtown Naperville was a nice escape from our not yet completed home.  I am hoping to go back and explore the rest of it! 

Chicago Livin' - a tour around the city

The McNulty family has officially been in Chicago for one week.  Hello, where did this time go!?!  Oh I know, it was spent unpacking, and cleaning, and more unpacking.  That's the moving life though, right?

It's safe to say that we are enjoying ourselves so far being in the big city.  I don't know about Chris, but my head is still spinning from everything, so I know that being here hasn't really hit me yet. 

More on all that later though...!  On to the fun stuff now :)

This past weekend, we took a break from unpacking, and cleaning, and traveled into the city to take a tour, and sight see.  So glad we did this!  There is SO much to see and do in this city, I feel a bit overwhelmed, but excited at the same time.

Guys, this city...I mean!  It's so beautiful!!  I couldn't stop looking at everything we were passing.  And I definitely drained my battery with all the pictures I was taking.  We got to see and do so much through the tour we took, I'm so glad we did it.  Money well spent right there!

One of my favorite spots that we stopped was Millennium Park where the famous "bean" is located.  Parker got a kick out of seeing his own reflection in it!  It was fun walking around and seeing all the artistic features the park had as well.  Cool place to visit for sure!

I couldn't get over how there was a river running right through the city.  We took one of the boat tours, and got to hear all about the various buildings that are located right on the river, as well as within the city.

Another favorite spot was Navy Pier.  So fun!  I went back when I was in high school, but didn't remember much, so being able to go again was really fun!  I think we barely scratched the surface in seeing everything that this place offers.  Definitely going to come back to this location.  

Another thing that surprised me was how blue the water was by the pier.  I had to keep reminding myself that it's not the ocean, and that it's a lake.  So pretty!  Can't wait to come check it out next summer -- I don't think we will get to it this summer :)

I have to keep telling myself that we are not on vacation, and that we do indeed live here.  There's still so much to see and do, and explore -- another thing that adds to my head spinning -- that I can't wait to do!