Our friends Shawn and Sara moved to Chicago when we moved to Memphis in 2007. Which means that we had not seen them in a really, REALLY long time! (Don't worry Shannon and Andrea--ya'll are next on our list!) So, we traveled by way of plane to see Shawn and Sara which was a pretty interesting trip (flying with a baby), but Hannah was awesome! She even got a certificate signed by the pilot for her first flight. We also got a picture of her in the pilot's seat (check out http://weinbergfamily1336.shutterfly.com/).
On July 3rd, Hannah was ready to get a move on and see all the sites. She tried to talk Granpa Shawn into letting her drive, but he told her not until Sara got her coffee!
Hannah stylin and profilin in her stroller. By the end of the day, a few of us had tried to talk her into moving over and sharing her seat. Downtown Chicago + Sara as tourguide =lots of walking!Our first stop was the SHEDD Aquarium, where Hannah purchased a cute baby penguin toy and saw lots of new underwater friends!
Sara and Hannah
Shawn, Hannah, and Sara (talking to the turtle!)
Hannah (in Daddy's arms) looking at the starfish
Belguia whale
Belguia whale
Downtown Chicago right outside of SHEDD Aquarium
Daniel showing the dinosaur his daughter, or showing his daughter the dinosaur? Not sure!
The next two pictures are really awesome! In Millennium Park, there is the Crown Fountain. The Crown Fountain is two glass block towers that stand 50-foot tall. It has pictures of Chicago citizens posted on it through a "movie-like" style where every few minutes the person on the wall will "spit" and water will come out of the mouth. Tons of kids were gathered around in bathing suits waiting for it to happen.
On the 4th, Shawn and Sara had a little party at their house. We met a bunch of their friends and had a blast. Before the party, Hannah entertained herself with the penguin she got at the aquarium.
She also made time for school...
Hannah and Jackie
Jen talking with Hannah
Jen learning how to roll over from Professor Hannah
Hannah saying goodnight to everyone while Granpa Shawn carried her around in style!
On July 5th, we went on a driving tour of some of Sara's favorite Cityburbs, then she took us to Navy Pier. During our tour, we drove past a girl selling food for a Cubs game. Guess what her name was? HANNAH!!!
Wrigley Field
Navy Pier
Navy Pier
Navy Pier
Inside the Navy Pier building were a bunch of little shops, and leading to those shops was a display of stained glass.
After Navy Pier, we returned to Sara and Shawn's place to pack up. Since it was Sunday and Sara and Shawn had to work the next day, we decided to stay in a hotel downtown. This way we would be close to Union Station and Sears Tower (now Willis Tower). Before we got a start on our day, Hannah had to show her dad the streets we should take to get to our destination.
Views from the Tower...
The Skydeck is located on the 103rd floor of the Tower. This year they completed renovations that included adding glass balconies that extended out of the wall about 4 feet. It was opened on July 2, 2009. Since it was just opened to the public, there were a few photographers there. Hannah had her picture taken by a professional photographer while she was sitting on the glass balcony.
Part of the draw for Daniel to go to Chicago was the food. Sunday night at the hotel we had Giordano's Pizza, some of the best stuffed pizza I have ever had. But I do feel that I have failed when I did not take a picture of this masterpiece, especially when I think back to how excited Daniel was about the pizza!
He also got to partake in having a Chicago dog...this I did succeed in taking a picture.
Even though we enjoyed our visit with our friends, and then family later in the trip, I think one of the highlights of the trip was riding the train. We took a train from Union Station in Chicago to St. Paul, MN. This was a 8-hour train ride, and we all loved it! The only thing I would do differently next time is request a sleeper car.It was a first for Hannah, so of course I got tons of pictures! You might be wondering how we kept a 6 month old entertained during an 8 hour train ride...well, Daniel did a great job being her entertainment!
Other than the sleeper cars (next time!), the main cars (where we sat), the Amtrak has a dining car (with delicious food!) and an observation car. In the observation car, the chairs are turned to view directly out of the windows and an employee gives you history of the sights you are seeing during the ride.
After we arrived in St. Paul, Daniel's sister picked us up and since we had arrived so late (10pm) we had to wait until the next day to see the boys. When the next day arrived, we started the fun but in a more relaxed fashion! We went to Lake Ann so Daniel could work with Hunter on his swimming technique since he has his first triathlon coming up. Hannah was ready to cheer them on in style!
Daniel and Hannah
Daniel and Hunter
Colton
Hunter, Colton, and Hannah
The next few pictures might not seem like a lot of excitement to some people, but it was Hannah's first exposure to grass and man, was she cute!
Daniel and Hannah
Daniel and Hannah
Daniel and Hannah
Hunter, Hannah, and Daniel
Hunter's toes and Hannah
Daniel and Hannah (my favorite picture!)
Hannah
Hannah
Diana (Daniel's sister) and Hannah
Colton, Hunter, Diana, and Hannah
Colton enjoying a piggyback ride from his Uncle Danny
While we were visiting in Eden Prairie, we also got to visit Diana's in-laws, Fran and Gordy. Fran and Gordy live off of Lake Mitchell and we planned on taking a boat ride, but the weather didn't like our plan and decided to rain us out. Instead we enjoyed some visiting time inside but this did include homemade ice cream, which was yummy!
Fran, Hannah, and GordyEden Prairie, MN is so drasticly different from Memphis, TN in the winter AND THE SUMMER! While our friends in Memphis were experiencing Heat Advisory days (stay inside and crank up the AC), we were playing outside in the front yard of Diana's home.
Colton riding his bike
Hunter and Diana playing Chuck-OWe had a great time all in all, but it was great to head home to our doggies who we missed greatly!
Our flight home got re-routed AGAIN and Daniel decided to try to make it even more entertaining by flying with an expired license (July 6th expired, July 11th flight), but thankfully TWA is prepared for this and allows a 30-day window. Due to being re-routed, we got to experience another train. This one is located inside of the Atlanta Airport and connects the different concourses. Hannah and Daniel weren't too sure about this type of train...
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