Tour de Chicago | {Chicago Travel Photographer}

Raise your hand if you’re bbq out?

Yeah, me too.
Consider this post a type of blog cleanse. A shot of lemon water, and green tea, if you will…to clear your palate. I know, I know…you can thank me later, ha!

My family and I headed West…midWest that is to middle America for some fun, family, and good food in none other than Chicago!

I’m not gonna lie, the trip was long, but thankfully Dora, Mr. Bull (aka Red Bull), and Starbucks helped see us through to the end.

Along the ride, I was slightly obsessed with all the old, rustic barns we saw between PA and Ohio! I didn’t want to bore ya’ll so you get just one. Just trust that I had my husband giving me the sideye as to why I was snapping so many pics of farmland. he he

The biker club had hubby and I rolling! They were so organized, riding in the perfect flying duck formation, having elaborate hand signals to communicate when to switch lanes. It was like watching a carefully orchestrated ballet. accept with bikes. and dudes dressed in leather.

Our trip was peppered with stops to visit friends and family, and the first one happened with a good college friend of mine. Isn’t she gorgeous?!  I can only dream of looking this fabulous whilst preggo! I snapped this quick pic just as we were leaving. She’s an amazing woman, and I am lucky to call her my friend. And if you’re reading this Mon, we are still talking about the Lox you prepared for us!

Hubby was on a mission to get to The Taste so as soon as we made it into town, he whisked us down to Grant Park to enjoy the some local Chicago fare. But to our surprise the highlight wasn’t the food, but the kiddie play area!

I was quite thankful impressed with the activity area for children.  There were crafts, a gigantic sandbox, and even a hoola hoop station. Check out Mikayla and her smooth moves. She was totally enamored with her version of “hooping”! i.e. pushing the hop around with her hands,  LOL!

The stand out had to be the gym area for my little tumbler. Now, granted she was very apprehensive at first, but with some gentle encouragement she took off and really had a ball!

Just look at the determination. The focus….and….she….nails….the dismount! A perfect 10!

Sadly, WWIII broke out when it was time for us to leave.

My little guy was less impressed with all the grandeur. I pretty sure he was a lot overwhelmed. That was until, I gave him one half of the bucket and sand combo we scored from the sandbox area.

One time for free functional toyage!

For the rest of the trip that shovel was like an extra appendage.

Meanwhile, as  I was dragging Mikayla along we were  leaving, out of nowhere appears this giant wheel thingie. Apparently, the giant wheel thingie is actually called a german wheel and surprise, surprise its used to do all kinds of gymnastics tricks.

Way to be a toddler peacemaker, those German folk.  Now I’m wondering if I could fit one in my garage and keep on permanent standby to circumvent any toddler tantrums *sarcasm*.

Later that evening, we decided to brave the crowds and head down to The Navy Pier to take in the fireworks show. That again was a bit of an adventure, buuuuuuut once we arrived we quickly decided the carousel was a great distraction to kill time.  I love the picture below with the Chicago skyline in the background. But most importantly the look on my daughters face seeing those fireworks was worth all the bumping and nudging we had to endure.

The best part of the trip had to be celebrating this dude. The big one, not the little one. He turned 30 on July 4 and well, I just think he’s awesome. Darn cool. Funny. Christian. Cute. But most of all my best friend. Plus, he does things like rap stories from made up lyrics  for our kids. I mean does it get any better?

Happy 30th Birthday, Chauncey! I love you more than words can describe! ♥♥♥