My Family Rocks!!!

I am very late in posting about this visit, but it does not take away from how important this occasion was for me.

Back in October, I had a visit from 2 of the most special people in my family- my aunt Val and my cousin Christina. Val had been trying to get up here for some time, but Christina found the perfect opportunity when she signed up to perform in a majorette competition in a western suburb of Chicago. They came up for a long weekend, and we did everything to make the most of our time!!!

They flew up on Friday evening, and one of the first spots we knew we had to take them- our fave pizza place, Lou's! It was a long wait, but so well worth it. They loved it, and you can't come to Chicago without indulging in some deep dish! Afterwards, we headed back to our place, where they were pretty amazed with the views from our place. All of us gals snuggled on the couch and shared a walk down memory lane by watching our wedding video. Something I myself haven't done in years, and what a blessing it was to revisit that time!!!

Saturday morning, they made the trip out to the competition, while I spent the day working. We hooked back up that evening for another night of experiencing Chicago's great food!

Sunday, started off our day downtown at a great breakfast spot called Yolk, where we fueled up to do some sightseeing. It was SOOOO cold that day, it really made us bundle up!
We hit Michigan Avenue for some shopping, yet, mostly the window kind :) One of the highlights of the day- getting out of the extremely cold and windy weather and stopping by the Ghiradelli cafe. Of course, it didn't stop us from indulging in ice cream sundaes!!! Delicious!!!
I never get to go shopping with 'the girls', let alone my family, so it was a great time!!!
Here, Christy was trying out at new look @ Forever 21. Glamerous dahling!!!

After we all walked our tails off- or at least the sundaes- we headed back to our place to chill out for a bit before our dinner plans. Yep, most Chicago visits, especially the first ones, are all about some food! We did dinner @ Opera that night, which is one of my most favorite restaurants in the city!!! It's Japanese-Chinese food with a unique twist- and we all just had the best time!!!

Monday, we hit historic State Street for some more shopping!!! I definitely wanted to show them the major highlight, as well as one of the shopping meccas of the city- the infamous site of the Marshall Field's, which is now Macy's. It is amazing, with nearly 10 HUGE floors of just about anything you could think about. My favorite part was when we hit the floor with FAO Schwartz, and we all had such a great time making new friends!!! This was my favorite guy, and he immediately went on my Christmas list!!!
Christy added the pony to hers...pay attention Steven :)


Tuesday was their departure day, but we made sure to make the most of it, driving around and exploring different neighborhoods. We started off at Northerly Island by my place to see the museum campus. The best shots of the Chicago skyline are here, so we took advantage!!! I look like an Eskimo posing with them, but the coat was much needed, as it was super cold out there!!!
We drove onto Navy Pier, when Val did her part by leaning on some architecture...

One last picture to share, although she may kill me!! Christina had bought some snacks, including some Fruit Roll Ups. I have not had them in YEARS, so I re-discovered my love for them. The cool part was that they had tatoos on them for you to put on your tongue. Oh my- we were driving down the road sticking them to our tongues and nearly crying from laughter. It was hysterical. Val's attempt here was definitely one of the best!!!

It was the greatest, just getting the chance to spend time with them and showing them this wonderful city we live in!!!
Now, we definitely expect them to say fabulous things so we get more visits!!! :)