Home Again, Home Again

Megan and I are home from Chicago. Our trip back was a little bit of a fiasco, taking almost 12 hours and a car, train, plane and bus to get us home. But it was well worth it! We had a blast visiting Aunt Kate and Uncle Paul and celebrating Megan's 5th Birthday. (Which is really next week.) I had so much fun being with my sister, experiencing city life, and playing with just Megan. It was special for me to have time alone with her, spent doing exactly whatever she wanted. I saw a little girl come to life that so often has to play the role of the oldest child, the big sister, Mommy's helper. I think Megan really enjoyed not having to always set the example or share adult attention.

We had a birthday party at The American Girl Place on Sunday to which Kailey, Samantha and Molly were all in attendance. (Kailey is the American Girl doll Megan got from Grammie Susan and Papa Don for her birthday. Samantha was my doll as a child and Molly was Katherine's doll. We got them out of the rafters in Papa's garage and they made the trip with us on the airplane just for this special party!) Paul's cousin Misty and her daughter Katie also joined us, as well as Katherine's girlfriend Melissa. It was a very fun, special day for Megan.

The rest of our trip was jam packed with visits to the Shedd Aquarium, the Hancock Building, Navy Pier and the Ferris Wheel, Millennium Park, Lincoln Park Zoo, shopping on Michigan Avenue, and many yummy restaurants. I'll try to get our pictures from the trip up tomorrow with more stories about our adventures. For now - here is a picture (from my phone) of Sunday afternoon at the beach. Megan on the shore of Lake Michigan with the Chicago skyline in the background. I love how city meets beach in this picture. So un-California. And so what I love about Chicago.